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Commodore Vic 20 (VC 20)

Vic 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)

Vic 20 Vic 20

It's the classic breadbin shape we all know and love

Vic 20 Vic 20

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

Vic 20

I even got a dust cover as well

Vic 20

Standard issue Datassette, works with the C64 as do most of the VIC peripherals

Vic 20

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

Vic 20

Standard Commodore joystick, I already have one of these

Vic 20

Remember I said earlier there's no RF out for a TV, well you had to use an external modulator instead

Vic 20

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

Vic 20 Vic 20

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

Vic 20 Vic 20 Vic 20

Bit grubby, and yellow, but otherwise in good condition, notice the different badge to the one above

Vic 20

Another dust cover

Vic 20 Vic 20

The PSU, it was tested and it outputs 9.8 Vac and 5.2 Vdc, so all good

Vic 20

Modulator box, a very short RF cable though

Vic 20 Vic 20 Vic 20 Vic 20

A boxed C2N datasette unit in very poor condition, looks like a cable was wrapped around it and it reacted to the plastic

Vic 20 Vic 20

Personal computing on the VIC 20, A friendly computer guide

Vic 20 Vic 20

Connection and troubleshooting guide

Vic 20 Vic 20

A Vicsoft leaflet

Vic 20 Vic 20

The warranty card, the serial number matches the computer, and the date is 23/05/1983, it was a Monday

Vic 20

Membership to Vicsoft, it cost £5 on the 15/11/1983, and that was a Tuesday

Vic 20

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

Vic 20

A 3rd party 16KB RAM Pack

Vic 20 Vic 20

Not sure what was in this box, it's not in the best condition

Vic 20

Time to test, but that plug needs some attention

Vic 20

It boots, a glorious 3583 bytes free

Vic 20 Vic 20

16K RAM pack working, now there's an outstanding 19967 bytes free

Vic 20 Vic 20 Vic 20

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

Vic 20 Vic 20

Here is the Chess game, I tried Chess once, didn't like it


Vic 20 Vic 20 Vic 20

The next Vic 20 came in a box, the outer sleeve isn't in a bad condition

Vic 20

All nicely packed

Vic 20

The bottom poly is in a poor condition

Vic 20 Vic 20

The machine itself

Vic 20

The modulator box

Vic 20 Vic 20

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

Vic 20

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

Vic 20 Vic 20 Vic 20

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

Vic 20 Vic 20

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

Vic 20 Vic 20 Vic 20

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!

Vic 20 Vic 20 Vic 20

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

Vic 20 Vic 20

Another copy of An Introduction to BASIC, but in a poor condition, and missing a cassette

Vic 20

Sargon II Chess

Vic 20 Vic 20

Matrix, by Jeff Minter

Vic 20 Vic 20

Awari game, the cassette contains versions for the Commodore 64, Vic 20, Spectrum, and BBC Micro

Vic 20 Vic 20

I remember these cassettes

Vic 20 Vic 20 Vic 20

I also remember these cassette carrying cases


Random bonus items

Vic 20 Vic 20

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



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