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Commodore 64 - what was in the original box

billdeg

billdeg

Technician
Joined
Nov 18, 2003
Messages
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Location
Landenberg, PA USA
I posted this on Homestead mailing list, but I did not get an answer, so I thought I'd try here....

I am sorting through a slew of C-64's to match boxes with systems and their
accessories and I was wondering if when you opened the "traditional" 64 new
for the first time, how were the bits and pieces laid out? I never got a
C64 new.

Was the C64 accessory box in the back or front? What came in the accessory
box, and what was under the computer in the box between the Styrofoam?

I know that there were many variations over the years, I am asking about
the first few years in particular. When I search the web, there does not
seem to be a consensus.

In short, what came in the standard, traditional, original C-64?

Thanks

Bill
 
billdeg said:
I posted this on Homestead mailing list, but I did not get an answer, so I thought I'd try here....

I am sorting through a slew of C-64's to match boxes with systems and their
accessories and I was wondering if when you opened the "traditional" 64 new
for the first time, how were the bits and pieces laid out? I never got a
C64 new.

Was the C64 accessory box in the back or front? What came in the accessory
box, and what was under the computer in the box between the Styrofoam?

I know that there were many variations over the years, I am asking about
the first few years in particular. When I search the web, there does not
seem to be a consensus.

In short, what came in the standard, traditional, original C-64?

Thanks

Bill
Click to expand...

Purely from memory:

Big black power brick
Commodore 64 spiral bound manual - Using the Commodore 64, maybe?
RF connector
RCA style RF cable
The machine

Aside from a postcard for warrantee or something, I don't recall anything else in that box. It has been a long time, though. :)
 
But my question is about the orientation of the materials, not just what was in the box. Robert Bernardo told me that the accessories box was in the front. I noticed that some accessories boxes fit better than others, and some fit in the back better than in the front.

I believe Robert though, the accepted answer is "box in front", computer facing up in back. The user guide is under the computer with the associated paperwork/special offers. The rest of the items (RF/cable, power brick) in separate bags with ties in the accessories box.

I assume the Commodore 64 Programmers Reference, a much larger book than the User Guide, was an extra you could buy off the front counter at the shop.

The movie "Electric Dreams" has a great scene in the early part of the movie with a computer store counter if anyone is interested to see the kinds of choices one had back then if you wanted to buy a computer from a department store in California USA in 1985 ish.
 
billdeg said:
I assume the Commodore 64 Programmers Reference, a much larger book than the User Guide, was an extra you could buy off the front counter at the shop.
Click to expand...
Correct. The Commodore 64 Programmers Reference Guide (PRG) was available at computer shops and at bookstores.

As were the VIC-20, Commodore 128, Plus/4 PRG's,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
 
Did you even get a user's manual with the computer? I know newer C64's tend to come with them, but I clearly remember when my brother bought a VIC-20 in 1984, it was not supposed to come with a user's manual. Thanks to my mother being persistant, the seller had to chase down a manual and include for free anyway. Perhaps it was region dependent, or that with the C64 which was more expensive, it was given that a manual should be included for free.
 
FWIW I've got some VIC20s in the box and that's how they were packed; accessories in box in front, computer face up behind.

Didn't the 64 also come with an RF switch? Was the video cable an option?
 
carlsson said:
Did you even get a user's manual with the computer? I know newer C64's tend to come with them, but I clearly remember when my brother bought a VIC-20 in 1984, it was not supposed to come with a user's manual. Thanks to my mother being persistent, the seller had to chase down a manual and include for free anyway. Perhaps it was region dependent, or that with the C64 which was more expensive, it was given that a manual should be included for free.
Click to expand...

Yes you did, I think your retailer was trying to pull a fast one. My Dad got me one of the first VIC-20's in the UK (serial number < 200) in 1981 and it definitely came with the "Personal Computing on the VIC= 20, A friendly computer guide". IIRC, Michael Tomczyk made a big deal of making the VIC accessible and usable by the computer illiterate straight out of the box.

Rob
 
Does this help? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVSkltX3hB4

I got that exact RF switch in the bubble pack as shown and I remember opening the box like the video. I did also get a black RCA cable that went from the C64 to the RF switch. Another video on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQxYEmYLp-U shows a little adapter that converts the two prong 300 ohm antenna leads to a 75 ohm coax but I don't recall getting that. I had one but I don't think it came in the box.

Edit: This was what my original manual looked like: http://www.commodore.ca/manuals/c64_users_guide/c64-users_guide.htm On page 2 of the "Setup" section it confirms what came in the box and the 300 ohm to 75 ohm adapter did not come with it.
Hope this helps.
 
Last edited:
Hm, interesting. I think I have both public and internal price lists where the user's manual is listed separately. Surely it could be a spare part for those who misplaced or damaged their copy, but no other parts like extra PSU's or RF cables were listed separately in said price lists.
 
The RF modulator is built into the C64, but in the packaging was an RCA cable to connect from the RF modulator port to the included switchbox, which connected via screw terminals to the VHF antenna input of a television.

My C64, bought new August 1984, came with an instruction manual but not the Programmer's Reference Manual.
 
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