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My First C64

R

RoadWarrior

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Joined
Jun 28, 2012
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Got it off Craigslist for $30, probably the second most interesting meeting from that site. Anyways it has the box and Styrofoam for both the C64 and Floppy Drive, cords and everything. Kick is that I don't have a tv to see if it works! I plugged it in just to see if the power light will turn on, it does... sort of. Light comes on bright but immediately dims slowly until it fades away. Quick Google search tells me maybe the PSU is old or maybe a few other things may be wrong inside the computer.

Not really attached to the C64, it was introduced over 10 years before I was born and have never seen one in person. I just got it to see what the most popular PC was like. I think I will just clean it up and put it back on Craigslist to see if I can get my money back or a little more. On a side note there is another C64 with a Zenith amber monitor, tape drive, floppy drive, and a nice full box of games and software for $120, it seemed like a decent deal but would like your input.

 
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Be careful with that power supply. If it's suspect, using it repeatedly could very well be cooking the expensive chips inside the 64. The power supply was the 64's weakest link from the beginning, and has gotten worse with age.

Regarding that $120 price, that's a fair--not great--deal for a tested, working, complete 64 with disk drive, monitor and some software. The key to a 64's value is for it to be tested and working, because there are several chips inside that haven't been manufactured by anyone in 20 years, and they're expensive. The SID goes for about $35, the PLA goes for about $20, and the CIAs go for about $10. I won't pay more than $10 for an untested and untestable 64 for that very reason.
 
So I went ahead and bought that other setup lol, got it for $100 instead of the $120. Much happier with this one. Everything works and has more disks and manuals I can handle, sorry I didn't picture everything yet. It did come with an extra power supply so I tried out the other C64 I previously bought. The monitor turns solid when flipped on, but the Commodore doesn't bring up the command screen. So does that mean it is broken?

 
Looks nice and clean! Too bad the monitor isn't color, but it's a great start. You didn't say where you live, but you should be able to pick up a small color TV for little to nothing if you want to go full color. Here in Iowa you can't give old CRT TVs away.

Your other unit has obviously got more serious problems. Hard to say what's wrong, but it could be any number of things.
 
I have been loading and trying out the various software I had gotten with the setup, sadly more work/school related stuff than games but still neat. It surprised me how much room the Commodore and its accessories take up! One thing I noticed is when the floppy drive is reading, on some programs the red LED turns off it starts making a loud "clacking noise" Not sure if that is normal or not and what is causing that noise. Also is it OK to plug the same kind of power cord the Commodore uses into the floppy drive? I only have one power cord but got a spare PSU and not sure if it was meant to be plugged into the floppy drive. Thanks.

 
RoadWarrior said:
Also is it OK to plug the same kind of power cord the Commodore uses into the floppy drive? I only have one power cord but got a spare PSU and not sure if it was meant to be plugged into the floppy drive. Thanks.
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The clacking is normal. Welcome to the wonderful world of Commodore. Ah, the fun days of Drive Music (IE a program written to control the disk motor and clacking noises in such a way as to play surprisingly recognizable pop/rock tunes of the day - rather cool, but I'm betting not the best thing for the longevity of the drives!)

So far as your floppy power supply, the C= and VIC 1541 units just use a normal 3-prong computer power cord exactly like we use with our computers today. The actual power supply is built into the drives themselves.

Models released after the 1541 (ie the 1541-II, 1571, 1581, and some third-party drives) had external power bricks.
 
Maverick1978 said:
The clacking is normal. Welcome to the wonderful world of Commodore. Ah, the fun days of Drive Music (IE a program written to control the disk motor and clacking noises in such a way as to play surprisingly recognizable pop/rock tunes of the day - rather cool, but I'm betting not the best thing for the longevity of the drives!)

So far as your floppy power supply, the C= and VIC 1541 units just use a normal 3-prong computer power cord exactly like we use with our computers today. The actual power supply is built into the drives themselves.

Models released after the 1541 (ie the 1541-II, 1571, 1581, and some third-party drives) had external power bricks.
Click to expand...

Thanks for answering my questions.
 
KevinO said:
Looks nice and clean! Too bad the monitor isn't color, but it's a great start. You didn't say where you live, but you should be able to pick up a small color TV for little to nothing if you want to go full color. Here in Iowa you can't give old CRT TVs away.
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Or alternatively use a video capture card or usb device. I find this a great way of saving space.
 
Since the C64 can output S-Video directly (you just need a cable: make, or buy for ~$10), I would suggest looking into a relatively modern LCD TV with S-Video input. It seems that HDMI is/has ousted S-Video, so look for something a little older that does not have HDMI. I use a Coby LCD TV, and the wonder of that particular model is that it appears the VGA input can actually sync down to CGA rates, so I can use it (with appropriate cables) on my Atari STe as well.
 
RoadWarrior said:
One thing I noticed is when the floppy drive is reading, on some programs the red LED turns off it starts making a loud "clacking noise" Not sure if that is normal or not and what is causing that noise.
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The loud, clacking noises are caused by read errors on the floppy disk. Two causes for that -- the disk is old and the magnetic material is flaking off or the disk has a form of copy-protection.

Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
July 27-28 Commodore Vegas Expo v9 -
http://www.portcommodore.com/commvex
 
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