Retro-Z Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 (edited) Hello All, Just wanted to pass on some advice regarding an aftermarket Commodore 64/Vic-20 composite video cable being sold on Ebay. I purchased one of these, and it is incredibly defective. The seller did offer to allow a return for a full refund, but I didn't want to pay to ship a faulty item back just for the few dollars I'd get for the returned item. The seller is aware that other Ebay buyers are having issues with this cable, as they stated some buyers reported problems. At first I felt maybe my early model C64 was simply having an issue, but after purchasing a different cable from another Ebay vendor, it was obvious the 1st cable was complete junk. The cable ends aren't even the right colors (yellow for audio, white for video???)!!! When plugged in "correctly", the audio made an obnoxious buzzing and the video was only in black & white!!! Here is the cable you DON'T want!!!: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Commodore-64-128-VIC-20-Monitor-Cable-AV-A-V-Cable-/171133765096?pt=US_Video_Game_Cables_Adapters&hash=item27d85e05e8 Don't waste your money. Buy something else. This one worked great: http://www.ebay.com/itm/231133276547?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 Just hoping to save some AtariAge forum members from wasting their money. Edited February 11, 2014 by Retro-Z 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/221947-do-not-buy-these-commodore-vic-2064-video-cables/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Both make funny comments about the VIC-20, which makes me think neither cable is designed to be a video cable. Early VIC's had a stronger (?) "Video High" signal that shares pin with the Audio In on the C64, but as long as one uses "Video Low" (pin 4, composite video) the same cable should work on both without any particular adjustments. Since you only got B&W, it sounds like the first cable uses pin 1 (luminance), 2 (ground) and 3 (sound). If you got a first generation Genesis, SMS or similar, you might find this cable work better with that system than the C64. Of course there may be a case of signal leak, poor impedance, short circuit, poor solder joints etc in either or both parts of the cable, but based on the picture, I wouldn't surprised if the cables from the first seller are surplus DIN audio cables for whatever purpose, and he found that they may double as computer cables. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/221947-do-not-buy-these-commodore-vic-2064-video-cables/#findComment-2926123 Share on other sites More sharing options...
desiv Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Careful, an improperly wired cable could send the 6V the Vic has on Pin 1 (or 6 depending on your counting?) to your audio/video input... Not sure what that would do, but wouldn't recommend it.. desiv http://www.hardwarebook.info/VIC-20_Video Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/221947-do-not-buy-these-commodore-vic-2064-video-cables/#findComment-2926151 Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbit Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 I always hunt down "old school" cables. The cables sold today are mostly homebrew cables. You can tell by the 5-pin din connector (it is not one solid round piece like the vintage cables) and the wires are often very thin and cheap. There are exceptions such as the ones Myatari sells....those are rather nice. I have one or two of those, and the rest are hardcore vintage, thick cables. They have four connectors (black/white/yellow/red) and have handled every console or computer that accepts this connection. It is just a matter of finding which color is video and which is audio Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/221947-do-not-buy-these-commodore-vic-2064-video-cables/#findComment-2926163 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg2600 Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 I bought these awhile back, S-Video trumps composite after all. http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-DUAL-Composite-S-VIDEO-video-Audio-Cord-Commodore-c64-64c-sx64-128-128D-4-/161163756316?pt=US_Vintage_Computers_Mainframes&hash=item25861bc31c 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/221947-do-not-buy-these-commodore-vic-2064-video-cables/#findComment-2926169 Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmetal88 Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I wouldn't doubt if that 'bad' cable is an incorrectly advertised Genesis 1 A/V cable. It looks exactly like the cable I have for my Genesis, and I know that one doesn't work on my C64. I had to make my own C64 video cable, and it also works on my Atari 130XE and my TI-99/4A. 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/221947-do-not-buy-these-commodore-vic-2064-video-cables/#findComment-2926314 Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertB Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 desiv wrote: > ...an improperly wired cable could send the 6V the Vic has on Pin 1 (or 6 depending on your counting?) to your audio/video input... > ...Not sure what that would do, but wouldn't recommend it.. As one of our members found out, the electrical "feedback" caused his VIC-20 to smoke. C= repair technician Ray Carlsen found out that a resistor had melted. Truly, Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://videocam.net.au/fcug Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/221947-do-not-buy-these-commodore-vic-2064-video-cables/#findComment-2926403 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatta Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Yes, I bet if you check the pins with a continuity tester, you'd find that it's a genesis cable. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/221947-do-not-buy-these-commodore-vic-2064-video-cables/#findComment-2926554 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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