J.Ivy Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 (edited) So I have an idea, making some new Commodore Pet cases out of fiberglass. Ive always loved the look of the early PET, but honestly, id like one with a modern p.c inside of it. An issue i have is that it has the 9" screen, thats tough to find. perhaps enlarging it to accept a 10" 4:3. The keyboard would be another issue to sort out. So this is just an idea that im tossing around. I still have to find someone with a PET case that will let me pull a fiberglass mold off of it. If i get this project underway, do you think a few others would be interested in me making them a fiberglass PET shell? Edited November 6, 2015 by J.Ivy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 How much would something like this cost? Wouldn't mind adapting a TI-99/4A with its cassette player shoved in instead. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.Ivy Posted November 6, 2015 Author Share Posted November 6, 2015 (edited) It would need to be made in four pieces, upper and lower shell, monitor and monitor bezel. If i buy the cloth, gel coat, resin, etc, in bulk, i couldnt see the cost going past 80 bucks each. Decisions would have to be made. What to do with the keyboard and tape player holes.. do i fill them in or not? Should I enlarge the 9" 4:3 monitor, or leave it stock size? As well as, since this is a hinged case, ill need to mold in a piece of wood into each of the case halves, then find a suitable hinge for it. Edited November 6, 2015 by J.Ivy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 The PET line is cool looking - don't get me wrong, at one point I had my entire livingroom filled with various models - but somewhat impractical, takes lot of space and hard to move. If the idea is to fit a PC inside, perhaps you should consider making a PET inspired case, leaving more room for own design changes. Besides, there still should be quite a few broken PETs that takes more to salvage than reseat the chips, so you might get lucky and find a genuine one to mod without sacrificing a living one. You still have the problem with finding a suitable display and how to interface the keyboard. Even the C64x redesign which added an extra row of keys didn't yield an optimal modern PC keyboard layout, IMHO. No matter how to go ahead, good luck! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.Ivy Posted November 7, 2015 Author Share Posted November 7, 2015 Dont worry Carlsson, I dont plan on modifying a real PET. Just pulling a set of molds off of one, making a PET STYLE case, then modifying the cloned case to NOT have the cassette and chiclet keyboard holes in it. Pulling a final mold off of that one. Then the builder could use whatever keyboard he cared for as a keyboard. Could mount any p.c inside of it they cared to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertB Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Now I see this thread... Well, I will be up in the Pacific N.W. this Thanksgiving but not for long. I'll be arriving on Wednesday and departing on Saturday. (Perhaps another time?) Which would you prefer... a PET 2001, a PET 4032, or a PET 8032? FCUG celebrating 34 years this month, Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertB Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 I wrote: > ...I will be up in the Pacific N.W.... To be more specific, the Portland, Oregon area with a side trip to southern Washington State in order to bring Ray Carlsen a load of C= items to repair. And to pick up repaired C= items from Ray, Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 It's an interesting idea, but I just don't see much of a market for it. Certainly that particular PET model is undeniably cool (I recently included a photo of mine in a PC Gamer article I wrote and also in an Armchair Arcade posting about upgrading it), but I don't see the value in using the form factor for modern PC components. Vintage all-in-one computers are among my favorite aesthetically, but they're a pain to store and move about. What I think might be cool - but again, who knows what type of market there is for the effort - would be a miniaturized version, with the same form factor, just in a more practical size (kind of like this, a la a mini arcade cabinet). You could then stick a Rasberry Pi in there, small LCD monitor, and fully functional mini keyboard. I'm not sure what you'd gain necessarily by doing that, but certainly there does seem to be some type of market for Pi cases, and certainly using the original PET as a design model would be as cool as any other. Of course, it ultimately comes down to cost, because you not only have to make the fiberglass case, but also have the necessary internal mounts, ports, etc. I can't imagine that being cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 I'd find a way to jam a TI and a cassette recorder in there... Please make it the PET 2001 with cassette.... Absolutely one of the sexiest computer designs ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamchevy Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 So I have an idea, making some new Commodore Pet cases out of fiberglass. Ive always loved the look of the early PET, but honestly, id like one with a modern p.c inside of it. An issue i have is that it has the 9" screen, thats tough to find. perhaps enlarging it to accept a 10" 4:3. The keyboard would be another issue to sort out. So this is just an idea that im tossing around. I still have to find someone with a PET case that will let me pull a fiberglass mold off of it. If i get this project underway, do you think a few others would be interested in me making them a fiberglass PET shell? Looks a lot like the big brother to the star force pi emulation console. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.Ivy Posted November 27, 2015 Author Share Posted November 27, 2015 (edited) Now I see this thread... Well, I will be up in the Pacific N.W. this Thanksgiving but not for long. I'll be arriving on Wednesday and departing on Saturday. (Perhaps another time?) Which would you prefer... a PET 2001, a PET 4032, or a PET 8032? FCUG celebrating 34 years this month, Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm I wish I had seen this reply earlier Id have begged to borrow a 2001, id love to get a chance to pull a mold off of one. I have no plan to market these, id just like to build a few for myself. As well as pop out a few more for those who want them. Edited November 27, 2015 by J.Ivy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertB Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 J.Ivy wrote: > I wish I had seen this reply earlier I will be back in the Pacific NW for a longer time next summer. Still need the PET 2001? Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.Ivy Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 J.Ivy wrote: > I wish I had seen this reply earlier I will be back in the Pacific NW for a longer time next summer. Still need the PET 2001? Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm Sure thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gagarin Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 Any update on that subject? I was hoping to get one for RaspberryPi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arnuphis Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 Sounds like fun but if I had to go for one of those 'all in one' retro PC cases it would be the Sharp MZ-80B. That was one damn fine looking machine and the tape desk is mounted flush with the screen leaving space for a nice big keyboard with numeric pad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.