Good places to buy a Commodore 64?...

[ataridave]

Just curious, and what would you need to hook it up to your TV set? The C64 version of Pac-Man looks almost identical to the Atari 5200/800 port:

 

I LOVE that sound; the SID is awesome!

[Video]

Best place? Probably Ebay Like you didn't see that coming. As for hooking it up, you can hook it up with a standard RCA cable and game switch box like an Atari, or there was a video cable that looks like the Genesis cable that worked (though I don't think the Genesis one specifically does)

 

If you can find one, it's a great system, but apparently it's kinda flakey, I don't remember haveing problems with ours, other than the stock PSU is an overheating piece of shit, we got a third party one that was metal and stayed cool though and never had problems beyond that. Bunch of great games for it too.

[atarian63]

Just curious, and what would you need to hook it up to your TV set? The C64 version of Pac-Man looks almost identical to the Atari 5200/800 port:

 

I LOVE that sound; the SID is awesome!

Craigslist also, make them show you it works, power supplies were a major problem with c64.

[ataridave]

Just curious, and what would you need to hook it up to your TV set? The C64 version of Pac-Man looks almost identical to the Atari 5200/800 port:

 

I LOVE that sound; the SID is awesome!

Craigslist also, make them show you it works, power supplies were a major problem with c64.

 

Ok, thanks! How many cartridge games came out for it? 4jay's sells "C64 Power Supply- Rebuildable", and here's a list of their cartridge games, although I don't know if it's a complete list: http://www.4jays.com/c64cart.html

 

This looks like a great deal, although I don't know what the black box on the right side of the C64 is for:

http://cgi.ebay.com/commodore-64-1541-computer-system-w-all-cables-games_W0QQitemZ290356526196QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item439a98fc74

Edited October 7, 2009 by dave4shmups

[ataridave]

Just curious, and what would you need to hook it up to your TV set? The C64 version of Pac-Man looks almost identical to the Atari 5200/800 port:

 

I LOVE that sound; the SID is awesome!

Craigslist also, make them show you it works, power supplies were a major problem with c64.

 

Ok, thanks! How many cartridge games came out for it? 4jay's sells "C64 Power Supply- Rebuildable", and here's a list of their cartridge games, although I don't know if it's a complete list: http://www.4jays.com/c64cart.html

 

I deleted that listing, those have to be pirated disks. I asked this question about Atari 8-bit computers, so I might as well ask it about the C64: Is a disk drive hard to hook up, and what command promps (if any) do you have to type in for most games to run?

[ApolloBoy]

Just curious, and what would you need to hook it up to your TV set? The C64 version of Pac-Man looks almost identical to the Atari 5200/800 port:

 

I LOVE that sound; the SID is awesome!

Craigslist also, make them show you it works, power supplies were a major problem with c64.

 

Ok, thanks! How many cartridge games came out for it? 4jay's sells "C64 Power Supply- Rebuildable", and here's a list of their cartridge games, although I don't know if it's a complete list: http://www.4jays.com/c64cart.html

 

I deleted that listing, those have to be pirated disks. I asked this question about Atari 8-bit computers, so I might as well ask it about the C64: Is a disk drive hard to hook up, and what command promps (if any) do you have to type in for most games to run?

Not a whole lot of cartridges were out for the C64, and most of the ones I've seen for sale tend to be either educational games or utility carts. Pretty much all games released after 1984 were on floppy disk (or on tape if you're in Europe), so having a 1541 (or equivalent) is essential. The 1541 is very easy to hook up; just connect it to the C64, plug it into the wall, and then load the disk by typing "LOAD "*", 8,1". You might also need a Fast Load cartridge since the 1541 is one of the slowest disk drives on Earth.

[NightSprinter]

Though there are some timing issues with some and others won't work at all.. if you've the patience to wait five or so minutes there's also a dearth of games on cassette one can import from Europe through eBay as well. I've been enjoying the hell out of Gauntlet on mine with my 1530/C2N recorder.

 

If I can just figure out why the hell none of my tape recorders (computer or otherwise) will let me press play+record at the same time..

[desiv]

There are also "cable to your PC" options, and you use your PC as a floppy server.

I haven't done this, and I know there are several different options, so it might take a bit of research, but it might be a nice addition to a real 1541 (or an option).

 

Again, don't have one and haven't used one. Just have read about them.

 

Called things like x1541 or xe1541 (or 1541xe?)

 

See, that was almost informative..

 

desiv

Edited October 9, 2009 by desiv

[Reaperman]

might want to check over on the lemon64 buy/sell forum for buying commodore hardware. that's where I got mine a couple years ago. I just started a wtb thread stating what I wanted, and a pretty reasonable price.

 

Seems like I spent a little less than on ebay, and being a commodore forum, their members had stacks of extras, I actually got it from somebody who knew what 'decent shape c64' looked like and was more than willing to test it. (it was getting to me that ebay had so many $50+ untested/incomplete/beat up c64's)

Edited October 10, 2009 by Reaperman

[nathanallan]

might want to check over on the lemon64 buy/sell forum for buying commodore hardware. that's where I got mine a couple years ago. I just started a wtb thread stating what I wanted, and a pretty reasonable price.

 

Seems like I spent a little less than on ebay, and being a commodore forum, their members had stacks of extras, I actually got it from somebody who knew what 'decent shape c64' looked like and was more than willing to test it. (it was getting to me that ebay had so many $50+ untested/incomplete/beat up c64's)

Get Lemon64 to advise, that's for sure. A neat place is vintagecomputer.com (no dash in there) they have a Commodore section and set prices. Only thing is you have to call them on the phone.

 

I'm personally glad you want a C64, it was my very first computer I still love it.

[Herbarius]

and what command promps (if any) do you have to type in for most games to run?

 

Most original disks (i.e. with just one game on it) should be working using the following:

 

LOAD "*",8,1

 

The "*" means it should just load the first program on the disk.

The 8 is the device ID for the disk drive.

The 1 tells it to load the program in binary mode [?]. For most games it should be used, if it won't work you can try without it. Some games automatically run after you entered that command, if it does not, you have to type RUN.

 

If you know you're loading a BASIC program or the file listing you don't need the argument ",1":

 

LOAD "*",8

 

If you loaded a BASIC program or something else that needes to be loaded without the ",1" argument, you'll always have to issue RUN before anything happens.

 

 

If you have multiple games on one disk (i.e. pirated disks ) or don't know what's on it, the file listing could help. To get it use this command:

LOAD "$",8

and after that type

LIST

 

you'll get a list of filenames and you can proceed to load them using

LOAD "<filename>",8,1

replacing <filename> with the name you got from the list, or

LOAD "<filename>",8

if you know it's a BASIC program / won't work with the ",1" argument,

 

and then RUN, if needed.

 

 

It's unusual for those old games to have an option to exit the game and return to the prompt. If you want to turn it off, just turn off the computer or reset it, maybe after saving your game to disk, if the game has that feature. However, watch if the disk drive is working and wait until the LED goes dark before attempting to power off/reset to prevent the disk from getting screwed up. Even if you somehow manage to "exit" the game you might want to reset the system anyway, as the loading of the game, using the ",1" argument, might have overwritten parts of the RAM essential to the operating system, so if you try to load another game without resetting first you may find your C64 refuses to follow orders

Edited October 11, 2009 by Herbarius

[desiv]

Again, don't have one and haven't used one. Just have read about them.

 

Funny thing about timing...

 

Went shopping yesterday, swung by Goodwill, as usual...

 

Found a C64 with power supply and a 1541. (no serial cable) $10!

 

C64 works. Haven't tried the 1541 yet.

 

Looks like I'm back at C64 gaming.... :-)

 

desiv