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Breadbox C64 with white keyboard? (U.S. "ALDI" version?)

vwestlife

vwestlife

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I just got this C64 on eBay. As pictured, it is the old breadbox style case, but has the white keyboard from the C64C. The box still pictures the original black-keyboard C64, but the serial number sticker on the box matches the machine. The sticker on the bottom of the machine says Made in USA.

It also came with a C64C style beige power supply brick, as well as an official Commodore dust cover, an obligatory Epyx Fast Load cartridge, and a few extra serial cables.

2pqs8pe.jpg


I'm just wondering if Commodore ever shipped U.S. market C64s like this -- basically equivalent to the German market "C64 ALDI" -- or if someone just swapped the keyboard on this one. I haven't yet opened it up to check if it has the newer style motherboard with the 8580 SID chip -- however, it was my understanding that this newer motherboard was for PAL regions (Europe) only.

For reference, here's a photo of the German market "C64 ALDI". My C64 looks identical to this.

800px-100_4448.JPG
 
Did you try to get any signal on a monitor or TV yet? If so, and you did get one, that'd mean it's not the original PAL version.
 
Given that the serial number on the box matches the machine and the keys are dark on the box, I'm picking the keyboard has been swapped with a 64C at some stage. They are completely interchangable.

My 64C came with dark keys when I first obtained it. Not being that familiar with the machine, I didn't realise they should have been white. It was the result of a keyboatd swap I'm sure.

Tez
 
NsMn said:
Did you try to get any signal on a monitor or TV yet? If so, and you did get one, that'd mean it's not the original PAL version.
Click to expand...

It puts out crystal clear NTSC. Unfortunately it will need some repair, because many of the keys on the keyboard generate incorrect characters, and the joystick ports are going wacko: the player on the screen wiggles around all by itself even with no joysticks connected, Port 1 only responds to the directions correctly if I hold the button down, and I can't get Port 2 to respond to the directions at all.

Oh well. Maybe I can swap in the motherboard from my perfectly-working but rough-looking 64C, and then it'll be a matched setup inside the box! :)
 
Although I don't really know the US models, I agree with the others it most probably is a keyboard swap. The European C64's were sold in continuously different packaging so the Aldi and other models had a distinctly different packaging than what the original 1982-1986 breadbox had. If Commodore would've gone retro in the US as well, I doubt they would re-produce the old boxes and even more use a picture of an old style C64 on the box. :-D
 
Probably a swap from a C-64C or a C-16. IIRC Radio Shack at one point sold C-16 keyboard assemblies as experimenter parts. I think you can probably interchange them.
 
The C16 has slightly different print on the keycaps. Same layout and electrical connection, but different set of keys. Those on the picture definitely must be from a C64C.
 
carlsson said:
The C16 has slightly different print on the keycaps. Same layout and electrical connection, but different set of keys. Those on the picture definitely must be from a C64C.
Click to expand...

Yes, I have a C16 and this is definitely not a C16 keyboard. The C16 keyboard is gray with black letters and the layout is different: for example, the four arrow keys are separated, not combined into left/right and up/down. Also, there is no RESTORE key, and the layout of the punctuation and math symbol keys is different.
 
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