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My new PET - CBM 8032

S

sgifanatic

Experienced Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2014
Messages
136
Location
Texas
Found this at a local computer store. Asked the sales person if I could turn it on, and he let me. I was greeted by Commodore BASIC 4.0 in ROM, so I paid them what they were asking for it and picked it up! From no Commodores in the summer to a 64, Amiga 500 and now a PET in the last couple of months, I might have bitten off more than I can chew :) That said, I'm thrilled to own this system. The first two things that struck me were that the display is quite sharp and nice. I love the green tint. And the second was the fact that the keyboard on this system is SO much better than the 64!

I have much to learn... the disk drives, I am sure, will need cleaning. And of course, I have no software for it, thus begins another search!

Here's a picture. Right after I plopped it on a table in the garage and turned it on. Any thoughts or advice for a first-time PET owner will be appreciated.

DSC_3001.jpg
 
Nice. I wish I could wander into a store around here and find such a bargain! Working as well. Looks like you already have the drives so you are set. That keyboard makes such a 'classic' sound when you type on it.

Enjoy!
 
Congratulations! I love the 8032 and it's my second favorite of the PET family (the SuperPET being the king!)
After you get your floppy up and running start here for some software:
https://archive.org/details/Commodore_PET_TOSEC_2012_04_23
http://www.zimmers.net/anonftp/pub/cbm/pet/
http://petlibrary.tripod.com/

You can order the TPUG CD for $20 Cdn here:
http://www.tpug.ca/2009/12/tpug-library-cd-available/

You may want to buy a PetDISK for US$55 (use SD cards instead of floppies):
http://www.bitfixer.com/bf/petdisk

Have fun and enjoy!
 
amadama said:
Congratulations! I love the 8032 and it's my second favorite of the PET family (the SuperPET being the king!)
After you get your floppy up and running start here for some software:
https://archive.org/details/Commodore_PET_TOSEC_2012_04_23
http://www.zimmers.net/anonftp/pub/cbm/pet/
http://petlibrary.tripod.com/

You can order the TPUG CD for $20 Cdn here:
http://www.tpug.ca/2009/12/tpug-library-cd-available/

You may want to buy a PetDISK for US$55 (use SD cards instead of floppies):
http://www.bitfixer.com/bf/petdisk

Have fun and enjoy!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips. I had looked at the PetDISK but am glad to know it is member-endorsed! I have ordered both items... the TPUG library CD and the PetDISK.

Any particularly iconic/fun programs that are must-haves on the Pet?
 
Arnuph1s said:
Nice. I wish I could wander into a store around here and find such a bargain! Working as well. Looks like you already have the drives so you are set. That keyboard makes such a 'classic' sound when you type on it.

Enjoy!
Click to expand...

To be perfectly honest, I am not sure if this was a bargain. The value range listed for the 8032 on this page (http://www.vintage-computer.com/pet8032.shtml) starts at about $25. I paid closer to the $150 at the top end of the range. And only after several visits to this particular store did they turn up something worth purchasing. Finding vintage computers can be tough :)
 
dave_m said:
I agree. $150 for a working PET is a great price.
Click to expand...

...and it came with the 8050 floppy drives also? That was a deal for sure. Congratulations. For historic appreciation and fiddling around, PETs are awesome. It's not a C64 in terms of software offerings but it is it's humble beginnings. Pretty soon, you'll want an earlier PET and who knows, maybe a KIM-1 :)

Have fun with it.
 
Thanks, dave_m and snuci, that certainly makes me feel even happier about the purchase.

As I mentioned, I took amadama's advice and ordered the PetDISK as well as the PUG CD. That'll be a starter for me in terms of programs.

I am most interested in video tricks to get high frame rate anim/vid playback going. Stuff like this, in particular:

Video playback on commodore PET computer (CBM3032)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TFWWnThs9w

The other thing that intrigues me is using audio in/out cables with my Windows Phone, along with an audio editor app, to use the phone as "cassette tape". My phone, like most, has a single in/out jack, but I think I have a breakout lying around somewhere. Might take me a bit to find the cables and jack, but I want to give this a whirl.
 
Uh, yes, now that I've read up on it, indeed, it doesn't look simple. And given that I can't find any listings for the CBM 64K expansion kit, it is probably not an easy thing to find.

I found Billdeg's documentation of the upgrade, but noted that he fried components (luckily on the expansion board!) in the process. I would rather have a 32K PET than a dead PET, aka no PET at all :) Perhaps I'll be able to subdue my presently heightened risk aversion once I've gotten to know my way around the system.

Here's Billdeg's writeup for those interested: http://vintagecomputer.net/browse_thread.cfm?id=286
 
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