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Sord M5

Sord's little Japanese Z80 (1982) — the same hardware trio as the SG-1000 / ColecoVision (TMS9918A + SN76489), in a cartridge-computer form. Sold in the UK (CGL M5) and very popular in Czechoslovakia. Standard 8-bit repair: recap, contacts, PSU.

Sord M5 (CGL M5)

Sord M5 (CGL M5) — photo by liftarn, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons).

Identification

  • CPU: Zilog Z80A @ 3.58 MHz; low RAM (4 → 20 KB with expansion).
  • Video: TMS9918A (MSX/ColecoVision VDP) → RF/composite; Sound: SN76489.
  • Media: cartridge (BASIC-I/G/F, games) + cassette; rubber keyboard.

Repair (technician)

  • Recap (PSU + board) → Recap.
  • Cartridge contacts: oxidation → clean the connector (the #1 "won't start" cause).
  • Rubber keyboard: contacts / membrane → clean.
  • VDP / RAM: substitution on a partial picture (VDP shared with MSX/Coleco).
  • PSU: period regulation → service.

Modernisation & mods — what to buy, how

  • Storage: multi-game cartridges / M5 flashcarts 🟢; community SD solutions 🟡; cassette → audio 🟢 from a PC/phone.
  • Video: RF output → composite mod 🟡; the TMS9918A VDP suits RGB mods 🟠, even a F18A VDP replacement 🟠 (remove the VDP) for crisp digital VGA/RGB.
  • Reliability: light recap; clean cartridge contacts.

⚠️ Do not host ROMs/games — method only.

See also

Sources & attribution

Review & corrections

How this space is used

Spotted a wrong value, an outdated procedure, a chip reference that does not match your board? Say so here, with what you observed (model, board revision, serial number, measurement). Every report is cross-checked against a source before anything changes — an unverifiable correction is published as “reported by …, not cross-checked” rather than silently applied.

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