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Bally Keyboard (Grayscale) Bally Keyboard (Color) Bally Computer System
Bally Console and Programming Keyboard.

A grayscale version of this color picture can be found in the Arcadian 1, no. 4 (Feb. 19, 1979): 29. The grayscale and color versions, while similar, are from different sources. Notice the differences between them.

Bally_Keyboard_(Blended) Bally_Keyboard_(close-up) Bally Computer System
Color vs. B&W
This is an animated GIF and close-up created by Richard Degler to emphasize the differences between the B&W and color versions of the "Bally Programming Keyboard."

Here are Richard's comments on the animation: "Looks like the same pictures to me, just that the B&W version had some gold trim drawn back in, plus the interior and two switches airbrushed out."

The keyboard close-up shows the switches at 50% and also the Cursor D-star below. Richard says, "Those reset and on/off switches are too close to the top row of the keyboard anyway! What's that circled-plus key on there with the shift-for-BREAK for? And where's the BackSpace key?? I need that more often!!"
Bally Home Library Computer with Keyboard Bally Home Library Computer with Keyboard

This picture is from the 1978 JS&A "Products that Think" Catalog.
Zgrass UV-1r DATAMAX UV-1R Zgrass Graphics Computer

This fuzzy, B&W picture is from the February 1983 issue of Leaves of Zgrass. This was the only "quality" picture available of the UV-1 on Ballyalley.com until July 2021.

Datamax UV-1R Computer DATAMAX UV-1R Zgrass Graphics Computer

"The UV-1R Zgrass Graphics Computer puts computer graphics capabilities into the hands of the graphic artist. The UV-1R uses advanced video game technology and the powerful Zgrass language to produce exciting video images and high-speed animation."

This B&W picture is of much higher quality than the one from the February 1983 issue of Leaves of Zgrass.. This picture is from the flyer for the DATAMAX UV-1R Zgrass Graphics Computer. A 600-dpi, PNG version of this picture is available here (this 600-DPI scan is about 13MB; it's a large download!).

Datamax UV-1R Computer System DATAMAX UV-1R Zgrass Graphics Computer System

This UV-1R with its accessories is a complete UV-1R set-up. This computer system was available from Datamax, Inc., 1965 Pratt Blvd., Elk Grove Village, IL 60007. The "R" in UV-1R stands for Rackmount, as this is the system that is meant to go in a rack in a production studio. The UV-1R used the same three Bally custom chips used in the Bally Arcade/Astrocade; it ran in hi-res mode.

In January of 1983, the complete system in the picture would have set you back about $17,000! The UV-R1 computer, just the stand-alone system, without the accessories, in January 1983, cost $7,695. Michael Matte, who sent the flyer from which this picture was scanned, included a revised price list from July 17, 1984 which shows the reduced price of the UV-1 to be $2,000 only six months later! That's quite a decrease in the price of the system!

Here's what makes up the complete DATAMAX UV-1R Zgrass Graphics System (this information is taken directly from the flyer):
  1. Graphics Tablet: the electronic canvas upon which an image can be drawn. Summagrahics Bit Pad One with power supply and four-button cursor.
  2. Video Monitor: Panasonic CT-1350 MG
  3. DATAMAX UV-1R Zgrass Graphics Computer: the heart of the system, contains the Zgrass language. Z80 microprocessor, 320 x 201 pixel resolution, 256 colors with four colors displayable per screen area.
  4. Computer Terminal: Televideo 910
  5. Floppy Disk Drive: for auxiliary storage. DATAMAX DFD-1 Dual 5.25" Floppy Drive with .77 Mbyte capacity.
  6. DATAMAX RGB Converter: for direct RGB output.
  7. Joystick Hand Controller: for special input purposes.
This picture is from the flyer for the DATAMAX UV-1R Zgrass Graphics Computer System. A 600-dpi, PNG version of this picture is available here (this 600-DPI scan is about 5MB; it's a large download!).

Zgrass UV-1r Zgrass UV-1r - This color picture is taken from Lance's Astrocade html FAQ.
ZGrass 32 ZGrass 32 Zgrass 32 - One picture is from Atari Gaming Headquarters (I think), the other is from the Digital Press CD, from 1997. I wish that I knew where this picture originated.
ZGrass 32 Photo ZGrass 32 - Color Zgrass 32 - The grayscale version is a high quality photograph from Bally. This picture is LARGE; try zooming in with a software program... there is all sorts of detail here. The color version is a low-res scan taken from a sales flyer. Both are of the same hardware.
Z-Grass 32 and Add-Under (Animated GIF) ZGrass-32 and Add-Under Animation - Created by Richard Degler. Here are Richard's comments: "[I] was struck by the similarity of the Z-Grass 32 picture [to the programming keyboard]. Stretched it to the same width and added gray bars to match the height, then animated between the two add-unders. Not quite the same angle but definitely influenced by the first, as you can see in the grayscale."
ZGrass (From YouTube) Zgrass - Low-Res still picture from 'Zgrass Paint Demo' 1980 Video on YouTube.
Viper_Polaroid_03 ZGRASS - This is a Polaroid from the Bob Fabris Collection. This picture appears to show the ZGRASS unit that was featured in:

1) PDF of Entire Issue - ARCADIAN, 5, no. 12 (October 24, 1983): 173-174.

2) Text from Arcadian about ZGRASS Only - ARCADIAN, 5, no. 12 (October 24, 1983): 173-174.
ZGrass from Viper Systems ZGRASS - This is the original picture that was used to show the ZGRASS unit featured in ARCADIAN 5, no. 12 (October 24, 1983): 173-174.

Since this picture is so rare, there is also a 2.5MB, 300dpi scan available here.
Z-GRASS Add-Under (Inside) Z-GRASS Add-Under (Outside) Z-GRASS Add-Under

These two pictures of Z-GRASS hardware are from the Bob Fabris Collection. No documentation accompanied them, so I'm not sure from which era this version of the Z-GRASS originates from. It could possibly be from the Bally/Dave Nutting Associates era (1970's), the Astrovision/Astrocade, Inc era (1981/82), or Viper Systems (1984).

On January 23, 2016, Lance Squire wrote: "Looking through the Z-GRASS pics sent me, The board in the open pic is an almost exact match for the Z-GRASS Pre-production board for the Viper ZGRASS 2000. Even the switch on the front of the case matches the one in the Pre-production board picture."

On January 28, 2016 Lance added: "I sent Ed Larkin links to [these] pics and here is his reply, 'The picture of the Z-Grass 'add-under' image from Bob was our plastic version (which looked pretty cool) of the unit before we switched to metal for FCC purposes.' Ed also notes that he doesn't remember how they were planning to get high-res working on their Z-GRASS systems. The current [prototype] version is low-res only."

For archiving purposes, lossless, TIFF versions of these pictures are available.
  1. Z-GRASS Add-Under (Inside) - 14.7MB.
  2. Z-GRASS Add-Under (Outside) - 15.5MB.
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