Here you will find miscellaneous hard to find documentation in Adobe Acrobat format.
I am immediately looking for the following: DNA Manual and the manual for the Bit FiddlersThe Machine Language Manager cartridge. If anyone can help me locate these, or any other hard to find Astrocade manual/book not on this site (in either electronic or printed format), I would be very grateful.
| Viper 1 and Extended BASIC | Viper 1 and Extended BASIC documentation |
| Peek n Poke Manual | Peek n' Poke Manual - Information concerning Peek, Poke and Call not found in the Bally BASIC Manual. Useful for a BASIC programmer, but also gives tantalizing hints and clues for the Machine Language programmer. - Added Oct 26, 2000 |
| (1-58) (59-116) |
Bally BASIC Manual - This manual is for the second version of the Bally BASIC cartridge, the one that has the built-in microphone jack (often referred to as AstroBasic, as it is here). Make sure to download both of the files. File one is pages 1-58 and file 2 is pages 59-116 (the manual is in two parts so that it can fit on floppy if need be). |
| (1-68) (69-102) (103-143) |
"Nutting" Manual - This manual is actually called The Handbook of Hardware + Software, but is nicknamed for the hardware documentation that Dave Nutting Associates, Inc. released in 1978. The Bally FAQ has this to say, "Source of most of the programming support for most of the arcade quality games made for the Bally/Astrocade systems." If that isn't a recommendation, then I don't know what is. Thanks to Frank Palazzo for scanning this in and Rob Mitchell for pointing it out. I have broken the manual into three parts (about 2.3 MB each) to make it more managable. Finally, if anyone has this manual without the "Propietary Information" overlay, let me know (when you see the manual, you will see what I mean). - Added Nov 5, 2000 |
| Bally Description | Cursor's Bally System Description - Useful manual put out by the Cursor group in the early eighties. It is similar to the Peek n' Poke Manual, but aimed directly at machine lanuage programmer's. Tons of useful, well presented, understandable information. - Added Nov 5, 2000 |
| Bally Subroutines | Bally On-Board ROM Subroutines - Useful manual mentioned in the Peek n' Poke manual. Explains what the on-board ROM routines built into the Astrocade ROM do. This manual was used as a reference for BASIC programmers so that they could save a few bytes when programming. A Hex dump of the Bally 8K ROM is included as well. - Added Nov 10, 2000 |
| Burn-in Tester | Home Video Burn-in Tester (with source) - These are the instructions to use with a piece of hardware (and cartridge?) released in 1980 that allows the Astrocade's hardware to be tested. The source is included. - Added Nov 10, 2000 |
| service manual | PA-1 Bally Service Manual - This is the official Bally Service Manual that contains such useful information as System operation, Disassembly, Mother Board Parts List, Layout, Schematic and more. If your Bally is broken and you know have some electronics knowledge, then this should be just what you are looking for. - Added Nov 10, 2000 |
| Spectre Docs | Spectre Controller Docs - This is the documentation for the special controller used for ICBM Attack. It contains program examples so that the controller can be used from BASIC, plus a letter explaining some problems people have been having regarding the ICBM cartridge. - Added Feb 10, 2001 |
| Tid Bits | Slap-Dash Tid-Bits - One Page. These are tid-bits of information from Brett Bilbrey. They originally were included in Russ Perry Jr.'s newsletter Slap Dash. Thanks to Russ for permission to use them here. - Added Mar 5, 2001 |
| CES Trade News | CES Trade News - One Page. CES trade newspaper article on the Astrocade. - Added Mar 5, 2001 |
| Programming Sheets | Astrocade Programming Sheets - Five Pages. Five useful programming sheets. - Added Mar 5, 2001 |
| CES Booth 2501 | CES Booth 2501 - One page. Astrovision CES Booth 2501 Ad. - Added Mar 5, 2001 |
| Product Decription | Product Description - Twelve pages. See how the ZGRASS looks compared to released computer systems of the same period. - Added May 4, 2001 |
| R&L 64K RAM Board Docs | R&L 64K RAM Board - Twenty-three pages. The documentation, including minuture schematics, for this monster Astrocade RAM board. - Added May 4, 2001 |
| Bally Cassette to ROM | Cassette Tape to ROM - Two pages. Directions written in 1985 by Leroy Flamm that explain how make a cartridge from a tape program.- Added Aug 20, 2001 |
| File Search in AstroBASIC | File Search in AstroBASIC - Three pages. How to search for files on a cassette tape using Astro BASIC. Written by Michael White - Added Apr. 3, 2002 |
| Bally BASIC Demo Printout | Bally BASIC Demo Printout - Three pages. This a printout of the Bally BASIC program that is contained in the Bally BASIC Demo cartridge. - Added Apr. 3, 2002 |
| ZGrass Manual (part 1) ZGrass Manual (part 2) ZGrass Manual (part 3) |
ZGrass Manual - 144 pages (62pgs, 34 pgs, 48 pgs). ZGrass is the language that was included with the UV-1 computer (a medium-cost (started at $3000) graphics machine (circa 1982) that shares the Astrocade chipset). ZGrass is also the name that is most often associated with the unreleased 'add-under' expansion unit for the Astrocade. This manual gives insight into what the 'add-under' could have been... This is a large download (part 1: 4,327K, part 2: 2,316K, and part 3: 3,105K)- Added Apr. 4, 2002 |
| Astrocade Memory Expansion | Astrocade Memory Expansion Project - Inexpensive memory upgrade project proposal by Mike White, March 2002. We need feedback on this. Anyone have the will and know-how to build this? - 1 Page (80K). - Added April 6, 2002 |