Commodore Vic 20 (VC 20)
Here is my Commodore Vic 20, although the label says VC 20, I was under the impression these were only available in Germany? The serial label on the bottom of the unit does say Vic 20 however. This Vic 20 is in near immaculate condition
The machine came with only 5KB of RAM, although it could be expanded to 64KB. The display was odd as the pixels were wider than they are tall, so you got a resolution of 176x184 (22x23 characters)
It's the classic breadbin shape we all know and love
On the right side is one Atari compatible joystick port, a power switch, and the power socket, earlier versions of the VIC used a two prong connector (see the Vic below)
And on the back is a large expansion or cartridge socket, monitor port (there is no TV out here), serial port (for disk drives), cassette port, and serial port
I even got a dust cover as well
Standard issue Datassette, works with the C64 as do most of the VIC peripherals
Standard wedge PSU, this one works with the C64, but earlier versions had a different connector (see below)
I tested the voltages and they were 5.2V and 10.6V, these are within spec, but never trust these units, get a modern power supply or an in-line saver device
Standard Commodore joystick, I already have one of these
Remember I said earlier there's no RF out for a TV, well you had to use an external modulator instead
Despite trying, I could not manually tune it in, so I had to give in and do a full scan, which found the Vic outputting on CH36 as you would expect
Working perfectly, unlike most of my other Commodore machines!
More VIC goodness
I have managed to pick up a boxed Vic 20, AND another Vic 20 with accessories
Bit grubby, and yellow, but otherwise in good condition, notice the different badge to the one above
Another dust cover
The PSU, it was tested and it outputs 9.8 Vac and 5.2 Vdc, so all good
Modulator box, a very short RF cable though
A boxed C2N datasette unit in very poor condition, looks like a cable was wrapped around it and it reacted to the plastic
Personal computing on the VIC 20, A friendly computer guide
Connection and troubleshooting guide
A Vicsoft leaflet
The warranty card, the serial number matches the computer, and the date is 23/05/1983, it was a Monday
Membership to Vicsoft, it cost £5 on the 15/11/1983, and that was a Tuesday
A 3rd party Vic Pack, BUTI? BVTI?, I don't know, but it contains a few extended BASIC commands which can be seen below and by typing help, and it gives an extra 3KB of RAM
A 3rd party 16KB RAM Pack
Not sure what was in this box, it's not in the best condition
Time to test, but that plug needs some attention
It boots, a glorious 3583 bytes free
16K RAM pack working, now there's an outstanding 19967 bytes free
I noticed the BUTI/BVTI cartridge is not the same size as the other ones, and it was a struggle to get it lined up enough to push in, but it works as well, you can see a list of the extended commands by typing HELP, and it gives a mighty 6655 bytes free to play with
Here is the Chess game, I tried Chess once, didn't like it
The next Vic 20 came in a box, the outer sleeve isn't in a bad condition
All nicely packed
The bottom poly is in a poor condition
The machine itself
The modulator box
I didn't know this when I bought it, but it's one of the earlier two pin PSU machines, the cable has polystyrene stuck to the cables
Testing the voltage, 10.72 Vac, but the PSU states an output of 5.3V, however the Vic says 9 Vac by the power socket, it's all so confusing
Anyway a Google search suggested the voltage was ok, so lets fire it up, and it boots
However the modulator that came with this Vic seems to have a problem with the sound carrier, or it's not a UK one broadcasting on PAL-I, maybe PAL-BG? Meaning there was just white noise coming from the TV, so the modulator from the other machine was swapped in, and it works fine with this one
Here is a comparison of the side plates, notice the different power switch
Software
An Introduction To BASIC, I had a version of this for my original Commodore Plus/4
Please ignore the mark down the middle of the cover, it was right at the top of the box, and I cut the box open with a knife, I am not happy about this!
No idea what the plastic bit is for? It has Commodore written on it, I worked out it fits in the box, no idea what the other space is for though
Software updates
Another copy of An Introduction to BASIC, but in a poor condition, and missing a cassette
Sargon II Chess
Matrix, by Jeff Minter
Awari game, the cassette contains versions for the Commodore 64, Vic 20, Spectrum, and BBC Micro
I remember these cassettes
I also remember these cassette carrying cases
Random bonus items
I also got these two other power supplies in the box with the first Vic, one is an Atari 2600 PSU (and tests within spec), but the other one I have no idea? What uses 3V at 250mA?
For more retro hardware check out my online museum here
