Vic-20 score and questions

[save2600]

Just landed my very first Commodore Vic-20. This thing literally looks brand spanking new. I'd be surprised if whoever used it, kept it out for more than a day or two before putting back in the box. Anyway... it came with a rectangular black box that I'm guessing is an RF modulator (nothing is labeled and it didn't come with its manual, just some promo stuff) and only features ONE controller port. Umm... is this like a TI-99 scenario where you need a special box in order to get 2 players going or does it only accept a single Atari joystick? And holy puny power supply Batman! lol

[RMK305]

Amazing looking condition. Good find.

[save2600]

Amazing looking condition. Good find.

Thanks! Yeah, they keys look untouched and there's no real dust anywhere to be found. Got it for $25. Looking on the 'net, I noticed some have the vertical rocker-switch for the on/off and a C64 looking power supply receptacle. This as a small horizontal on/off switch with a goofy rectangular 9vac plug. Taking a stab here, looks to be one of the earliest models they released.

[save2600]

Shoot... just plugged this puppy in and all I get is a green border and grey middle. BASIC does not come up. Looks like I might have to open her up and see if there are any I.C.'s that need to be re-seated.

-edit- WHEW! That's all it was. A chip just wasn't making good enough contact in its socket. I get BASIC now and 3583 bytes free... woohoo! lol  Damn this thing is clean inside.

[tone007]

Taking a stab here, looks to be one of the earliest models they released.

The 9V only powered ones were earlier, but the very earliest came with "PET" style keys, similar to the ones on the PETs:

Not the best to type on, but they look cool.

As for startup, should be able to just turn it on and go, though that particular variety seems to take a few seconds to show the BASIC screen (mine do, anyway.)

[save2600]

Oh wow - yeah, so mine must have been in the middle of their product life then as it has C64 style keys. And yes, BASIC seems to take longer to boot than a C64 does. So what about the singular joy port? Are all games designed to be single player? If so, that kinda sucks Donkey's Kong  

[tone007]

There were some two player paddle-based games, I believe (since the two paddles plug into one joystick port.)  The majority of games are probably one player, though I'm no expert.

[save2600]

Thanks Tone. Sounds as if it's wired exactly as a 2600 port then. Oh well, still a neat little system. I've really been getting into classic computing lately and this old Commodore stuff really does "rock" for what it is.

[redrumloa]

Nice score. You are right that the black box is an RF modulator, the Vic 20 came with one. Earlier Vic 20's came with a 9VAC power supply like you have, later ones came with a C64 style PS. AFAIK all of them had only one joystick port and the games from the time only had single player mode.

Once you start loading programs from tape or floppy disk, things will get more complicated. There were several RAM expansion modules and programs written for one won't likely work on another. Like if you try to use an 8K game with a 16K expansion, probably no dice. The memory map changes with each expansion.

You might want to invest in this.
http://for8bits.com/jpg_fe3_case.php

[Ral-Clan]

or this...

http://www.mega-cart.com

You also need to sign up to the Denial forum, where all the VIC-20 experts hang out.

http://www.sleepingelephant.com/denial/

...and check out their VIC-20 Wiki.  Most of the questions you've asked have been answered in detail there:

http://sleepingelephant.com/denial/wiki/index.php?title=DenialWIKI_Home

[save2600]

You might want to invest in this.
http://for8bits.com/jpg_fe3_case.php

Thanks for the info Red, thought you might have some input here    Wow - never saw that 512kb ram cart before, but am familiar with some of the other RAM expansions and how goofily the Vic addresses extended memory. That's why I've ordered that MegaCart doo-dad. Seemed like a good "all -in-one" beginners scenario for me.

And thanks for the Denial links ral-clan. Am vaguely familiar with 'em, but haven't sat down and really paid much attention yet.

[pwermonger]

If you want a cheaper cartridge than the Mega-cart (which is about $100 and has all the cartridge games plus tape and cassette games plus the ram expansions) look around for hte Behr Bonz cartridge. It's simpler, only having the cartridge games, but also significantly less expensive for a great collection of the games for the Vic, a lot of which came on cartridge. Cartridge was a lot more popular on the Vic than 64 where the floppy drive really came into its own.
 
And yes, the first Vic's had the weak power supply but the Pet style keys that have flat tops. I have two of these. Second model have the weak power supply (two pins into the Vic) with the C64 syle keyboard where the keys are concave shaped on top. Funny these are called C64 style since they were on the Vic before the 64, but all 64s had this style. Latest models have the concave keys and the C64 style milti-pin power connector. Even though there are two keyboards, all are the same connector and interchangable.

[tone007]

The Behr Bonz is pretty cool, at $30 or whatever it was it's enough of a workout for my VIC-20.  Megacart looks like fun, but I can't justify the cost.

[ElPolloDiabl]

I saw a documentary from the 80s once. There was a sign saying:

Crays 68040 Supercomputer.

If you are Vic 20 obsessed I ran across an emulator once, worked flawlessly. Anyone know it and can link to it?