BSS 01

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BSS 01
Computerspielemuseum-14 (16948383310) .jpg
A white BSS 01 with black paddles and black buttons
Manufacturer VEB semiconductor plant Frankfurt (Oder)
Type stationary game console
generation first generation of consoles
Main processor none
Graphics processor none
Storage media None (4 games integrated, 2 more after conversion)
Controller 2 paddles firmly attached to the console
Online service none
Units sold about 1000
predecessor none
successor BSS 02 (planned but never published)
info The only game console built in the GDR

The BSS 01 (derived from the word B ild s chirm s piel 01 , also TV game or RFT TV game (called RFT stands for radio and telecommunications technology )) is a 1979 to 1981 of which to combine microelectronics Erfurt Stationary game console built in the GDR belonging to the VEB  semiconductor factory in Frankfurt (Oder) . Due to the high starting price of 500, 550 or 620 marks in the GDR, it rarely found its way into private households. The system is a so-called Pong console and is therefore one of the first generation of consoles . The BSS 01 is the only game console manufactured in the GDR and was only sold in the GDR from 1980 to 1984.

A successor called BSS 02, probably with color instead of black-and-white video output, was planned, but the production of game consoles in the GDR was discontinued in favor of radio alarm clocks. It is not known whether prototypes, sketches or the like of the BSS 02 exist.

Development and dissemination

In the 1980s, video games in the GDR were supposed to introduce children and young people to technology and show the GDR as a progressive country. The BSS 01 was built between 1979 and 1981 as part of the production of consumer goods at the semiconductor plant in Frankfurt (Oder). The basis for this was the AY-3-8500-7 pong video game circuit imported from the non-socialist economic area from the US company General Instrument , on which six different pong variants ( tennis ( pong clone), soccer , squash , practice and two shooting games) were saved.

The BSS 01 had a retail price of 500, 550 or 620 marks in the GDR (this corresponded to about half of an average monthly income in the GDR at that time) and was therefore mostly delivered to youth centers, leisure and educational institutions, where they could be played for free were built. According to a catalog from 1984, however, the price of the console was reduced to 330.00 marks in the GDR in 1984. The console was sold exclusively in the GDR from 1980 to 1984. A total of about 1000 units of the system were manufactured and sold in the first series production of the BSS 01; there were no more series production.

A black BSS 01 with black paddles and orange buttons

Depending on the stock of materials, the versions of the console could differ slightly from one another, for example in the housing color (white or black), the paddles (white, gray or black) or the buttons used on the right-hand side (yellow, orange or black), whereby the Buttons on the left side are always black and the on / off switch at the top right is always red. For an unknown reason, the sticker at the top left says "TV game" for some versions of the console and "RFT TV game" for others. All devices have a sticker with a serial number on the bottom of the recess for the right controller. These are labeled with "insert" and below the serial number of the respective console. Today only individual copies are sold at high prices, copies with original packaging are usually rarer and more expensive. In the Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe, you can play on an old armchair in the style of the 1980s on a tube television with the BSS 01.

Technology and games

The console is connected to a screen via the antenna socket. The image is output with 312 lines and a refresh rate of 50 Hz in black and white on channel 3 (VHF). The BSS 01 is supplied with power via an integrated power supply unit (220 volts, 2 watts). Sound effects are output via a piezo beeper (ARZ 090) built into the console , not via the TV set. The console is approx. 32.5 cm long, approx. 5.5 cm high and approx. 17.5 cm wide and weighs about 1.3 kg.

The AY-3-8500-7 circuit used for the console had already been used in various western Pong consoles, and corresponding games are also integrated in the BSS 01. There are four different variants Pong been seen legally playable with the console, tennis , soccer , squash and pelota were called . The first three games can only be played with two players, a computer opponent is not available as the BSS 01 has no built-in CPU . The game of pelota is designed for one player. However, the two shooting games can only be played with a light gun, which was never officially released for the BSS 01. By interfering with the hardware, it is possible to connect such a lightgun to the BSS 01, which enables both games. If none of the game selection buttons are pressed when the game is switched off and the console is then switched on, the often hidden, handicapped version of football contained in the AY-3-8500-7 chip is activated, in which the right player has another bat directly in front of it the right stick striker, making the game more difficult for the left player. The ball is thrown in either manually or automatically, depending on the setting. It is controlled via a rotary control on the paddle , which is firmly connected to the console. After 15 points each game is over and can be restarted. On the console there are two columns of mechanical buttons with which you can make various game settings such as deflection angle, ball speed, club size, ball insertion and zero position (right column) and with which you can switch the console on and off and select the games (left column) .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e OLD-COMPUTERS.COM: The Museum. Retrieved April 18, 2019 .
  2. ↑ a b Game console "Screen game 01". February 18, 2017, accessed October 5, 2019 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g video game device BSS01 Misc semiconductor plant Frankfurt / Od. Retrieved January 6, 2019 .
  4. ↑ a b Jan Bojaryn: BSS 01: How the GDR raised the socialist offspring with its own console. In: Motherboard. March 27, 2015, accessed January 6, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Christian Huberts: Poly-Play, BSS 01 & KC85-4 - Games for Socialism. October 3, 2016, accessed January 6, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Screen game 01. In: mediengeschichten. July 12, 2011, accessed January 6, 2019 .
  7. ↑ a b Rft Bss 01. Retrieved January 6, 2019 .
  8. ^ Süddeutsche de GmbH, Munich Germany: catching pixels with Pittiplatsch. Retrieved May 12, 2019 .
  9. ↑ a b pongmuseum.com - and the ball was square ... RFT - TV game BSS 01 made in DDR - GDR. Retrieved January 6, 2019 .
  10. ↑ RFT screen game 01 - BSS01 - Retro-Konsolen.de. Retrieved January 6, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Screen game 01. In: zkm.de. ZKM | Center for Art and Media, accessed April 27, 2020 .
  12. ↑ Pong Picture Page. September 25, 2015, accessed January 6, 2019 .
  13. ↑ a b www.robotrontechnik.de - The history of computer technology in the GDR. Retrieved May 26, 2020 .
  14. ↑ pongmuseum.com - and the ball was square ... RFT - TV game BSS 01 made in DDR - GDR. Retrieved January 6, 2019 .

literature

Web links