The VTech Socratic Method

Summary

We’ve had a lot of fun with VTech’s computers in the past on this blog. Usually, they’re relatively spartan computers with limited functionality, but they did make something very interesting in the late 80s. The Socrates is their hybrid video game console/computer design from 1988, and today we’ll start tearing into it. Checking it out These machines are oddly inexpensive and plentiful on eBay. I suspect that, like most “educational” computers, they made way too many of these, selling them very cheaply in anticipation of big sales of cartridges to make a constant influx of cash over time. The classic razor-and-blades model. As a result, retail stores were allowed to slash the prices on seasonal sales, which flooded the market. Most of the boxes I see on eBay have two or three price tags stuck on top of each other, indicating they were certainly not bought at full MSRP. As you might expect for an eBay transaction, my Socrates showed up late, completely filthy, and in a heavily-damaged, too-big box. Luckily, the Socrates is built of some pretty thick plastic. I spent a lot of time rubbing it down with wet wipes and paper towels soaked in Windex. I was not hopeful that the keyboard worked, as the sticker on top was wavy, which indicated water damage to me. In photos, I thought the big blue thing was a power button. It turns out to be a window looking into an expansion bay with a male edge connector inside it: This is apparently where you put expansion devices, such as the voice module. We’ll talk about that in a bit. The back of the system has two coaxial RF jacks. One is for “Antenna In,” and the other is for “RF Out.” I guess they decided this would be simpler for the end user than putting the switcher/tap outside the computer like most systems do. This isn’t going to last long. Disassembly “Educational,” eh? The way I learn best is by taking things apart. That’s how I got kicked out of the military museum. And the grocery store. This thing is held together by an ins...