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Commodore 128 with floppy drives but NO cables

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bettablue

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The title says it all.

I was just given a Commodore 128 with 4 floppy drives. When the guy told me he was giving me a Commodore, I THOUGHT he was going to give me a C64, but alas... Not my lucky day.

The computer looks OK, but man those drives are grungy lookin' things. Two of the drives are a really sickly yellow and one is much better, but still "off". I haven't looked at the last one yet though, it's still in the original box. The sad part is that there are no cables at all. E-Bay has two cables for about $11.00 each, including shipping. When I power up the computer, it seems to work fine, but with no cables to really test it, I'm not completely sure just what I have here. So, besides E-Bay, is there someplace I can get a set of cables to connect it to a TV, and one floppy drive? At least that way, I can see if it's workingbefore I do anything with it. I hate to spend money on something if it's not going to work. But, if I have to, well... I would like to keep the price down as much as possible.

Anybody want a C128? I'll take a C64... (OK I'm kidding, but only slightly)
 
The 128 is a much much superior machine and nearly 100% compatible with the C64. Is there a particular reason you don't want the 128?

What drives did you get? The C128 should be used with 1571 drives for maximum potential, but is fully compatible with the earlier 1541/1541-II.

$11 for the cables inc. shipping isn't completely horrible, considering the cost of the components and time to make your own. If you keep your eye out for long enough, you might get lucky and get a lot/package deal of someone clearing out the garage/basement.

Congrats on the machine though. :)
__
Trevor
 
http://store.go4retro.com/products/Commodore-IEC-Disk-Drive-Cable.html


To get software on your computer, you need a way to talk to the old drives or talk to modern storage on the commodore.

I prefer the uiec for most things.

http://store.go4retro.com/products/uIEC_SD.html

Takes an sd card and runs ALOT of the games and geos, etc.

or

http://store.go4retro.com/products/ZoomFloppy.html

This allows you to write d64s, (and soon .nibs / g64s.) back to your disk drives using USB from the computer and a iec cable to the disk drive. (Single cable nib support is only for the 1571s.)


Or do what I do, and have both. :D

Later,
dabone
 
The C64 is smaller and more "classic," however the 128 has nearly full C64 compatibility. In addition, it gives you more fun to play with (C128 software), more OS's to play with (CPM, anyone?)

On top of that, you'll find that the outside of the 1541's matter little when it comes to functionality. Some of the grungiest-looking drives that I have are the best performers. Word of caution though: clean the heads with alcohol and q-tips, and use old disks for initial testing.
 
All you need to connect a 128 to a TV is an RCA video cable and an RCA-coax adapter from Radio Shack (ask for part# 278-276). I have a writeup on my blog with more details: http://dfarq.homeip.net/2005/01/how-to-connect-a-commodore-64-to-a-television/ (the 128 connects the same way as a 64).

$11 isn't too bad for the drive cables. They cost $10-$15 in Commodore's heyday. You could make a cable from Radio Shack parts but you'd probably only save a couple of dollars that way. I would think your chances of at least one of the drives working would have to be pretty good, because most people didn't have 4-drive setups. Whatever unit he used as drive #8 would have seen far, far more use than the others and taken most of the abuse. But someone who was serious enough to have 4 drives probably kept it all in good working order.

Edit: Jim Brain has drive cables for $5 each: http://store.go4retro.com/products/Commodore-IEC-Disk-Drive-Cable.html
 
The other thing to keep in mind is that if a Commodore drive doesn't work on the first try, it might be set as something other than drive 8. No telling how many people trash working drives because they are set to drive 9 and they don't know any better. Not that anyone on this forum would do such a thing. :)
 
All good recomendations. I definitely like the card adapter idea. I'm getting ready to add an XTIDE to my PC, and there is someing similar for the Apple ll series too. Since I keep all of my software stored on my primary PC for all of my vintage computers, using removable media is definitely the way to go for me. I really don't have the luxury of connecting all of my vintage computers to my Windows 7 machine. I like the simplicity of using removable cards too. In fact, both the Apple lle and my 5150 can use the same type of CF card. The formatting will be a bit different, but I have a CF rard slot on my Windows 7 computr that will allow my to partition them any way I wish. I'm finding that there really are a lot of options for using these vintage systems.

Unfortunately, there were no disks, no software of any kind with the exception of a Quick Loader cartridge.

I have to do a lot more research before I decide what I'm going to do with it. I would still rather have a C 64 though. Call me silly, but I like the design better. And to be honest, I have never used a Commodore before either, so no matter which one I end up with, I'm going to have some fun.
 
A C64 breadbox is better if you're short on desk depth. A C64C is better if you have some monitor stand to push it side. A C128 is better if you have all the space it needs and you're actually interested in the 128K and CP/M features it offers beyond 99% C64 compatibility.

When it comes to buying or building cables, unless one has a vast surplus of connectors, cabling and spare time, I think buying a cable is more economical than making your own unless you have special needs. There used to be straight 6-pin DIN cables for other purposes that worked as well, but these are not easily found today. In any case, barely any DIY from scratch can beat Jim's offer at $5 + shipping for a cable.
 
I think you just nailed my point. I really don't care to use CP/M. Sorry, but I've never used it, and don't know anything about it. However, when it comes to DOS, and the gaming ability, that is something I'm interested in. Your comparison is also spot on. I do have a display I can use it with, actually it's an old 13" color TV. With a C64, I can more easily push the computer aside. I'll be using a very small card I built some years ago for use with an old Atari system that I no longer have. And again, there are so many games available for the 64, that I doubt I'll ever really miss the difference. Still, I'm going to order the required cables and give the 128 a go.

There is also a "quick Launch" cartridge with the computer too. Ive been looking for information on what it does, but can't seem to find anything. Google hasn't really been nice on that one.

Sorry, I have one more question. Since there are no cables with the computer, I need to get whatever is required to connect it to the floppy drives and to a TV. Which part #s should I be looking for? There are a lot of different cables on E-Bay and I'm starting to get confused. (my normal state)

Thanks much for your assistance too. I really do appreciate the help.



carlsson said:
A C64 breadbox is better if you're short on desk depth. A C64C is better if you have some monitor stand to push it side. A C128 is better if you have all the space it needs and you're actually interested in the 128K and CP/M features it offers beyond 99% C64 compatibility.

When it comes to buying or building cables, unless one has a vast surplus of connectors, cabling and spare time, I think buying a cable is more economical than making your own unless you have special needs. There used to be straight 6-pin DIN cables for other purposes that worked as well, but these are not easily found today. In any case, barely any DIY from scratch can beat Jim's offer at $5 + shipping for a cable.
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Peedenmark7 had some commodore RCA cables for sale in the appropriate forum - check with him. They were NOS, and cheap. You've already been pointed to Jim Brain's store for floppy cables, and power cables for the 1541's should be self explanatory. Worse-case scenario, use a 9-pin serial cable and connect your C128 RGB to your RGB monitor (assuming that you have one with a 9-pin RGB - if not, they are definitely worth picking up as they work with so many vintage console and computer equipment)
 
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I think I may have one monitor already possibly two. Although I don't know how comapatible they are with the Commodore. The first is an IBM 5153, and the other a Tandy T1000 monitor. I'll definitely be selling the Tandy in a couple of weeks, so if the monitor works with the Commodore, I'll keep it.

Maverick1978 said:
Peedenmark7 had some commodore RCA cables for sale in the appropriate forum - check with him. They were NOS, and cheap. You've already been pointed to Jim Brain's store for floppy cables, and power cables for the 1541's should be self explanatory. Worse-case scenario, use a 9-pin serial cable and connect your C128 RGB to your RGB monitor (assuming that you have one with a 9-pin RGB - if not, they are definitely worth picking up as they work with so many vintage console and computer equipment)
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That monitor will only work with the rgb port. I.e. no c64 mode, no 40 column mode, no vic chip.
So if you are looking for gaming, RGB is not the way to go.


I really love my 128's, I much prefer the keyboard over a standard 64. My setup is a 4:3 15" lcd tv, with a svideo cable for the 128, a uiec sd card drive, loaded up with tons of games. Add to this some wico boss joysticks and it's a great gaming setup. I also bought a monitor stand so the 128 sits underneath the monitor.

It would run you under a 100 to get that setup for gaming. Just pm me if you get a uiec, and I'll shoot you over a ntsc game collection. (Alot of the software for the commodores are pal, and you have to make sure and get the ntsc versions if you live in america.)

Later,
dabone
 
You want your C-64? Power up your C-128 and type "GO64". Voila. I find that the C-128s are holding up better than the C-64s. I can't count how many broken C-64s I have, but I've got four working C-128s.

The only C-64 software I find that doesn't run well on the 128 is demoscene stuff, since the programmers usually take advantage of the glitches in the C-64 architecture. In some cases, you need a certain revision of the C-64 for it to work right.

As for cables, I run across them somewhat frequently in the thrift stores. You could also find yourself another system to steal the serial cables from. I used to be short on the cables at one point, but after acquiring three C-128s and numerous C-64s, I've got a few kicking around.
 
bettablue said:
There is also a "quick Launch" cartridge with the computer too.
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Is that a printed label that says so, or rather home made? I suppose you need to plug it in and take notes or pictures of the screen in order to determine what it is and does. A random guess is that it holds some ROM program that one would use frequently, or perhaps even a battery backed up RAM chip onto which you could load your favorite (small) application for as long as the battery would hold.
 
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