Is Commodore 64 Monitor worth$40?

[vintagegamer89]

I have an oppurtunity to buy a Commodore 64 monitor from a friend for $40. I dont think its worth that much, but someone else will probably tell me otherwise......

[Brad2600]

Depends on which model it is and what condition it's in.

 

I only paid $10 for mine and it's a basic model with 2 A/V inputs. There's a model that's more desired that you can use as a TV.

[desiv]

Depends on the shape it's in.. $40 seems a bit high for an older monitor, although I do admit they were good monitors (1702 I'm assuming) with dual inputs. Nice...

 

My favorite Commodore (and all time really) monitor was my Amiga monitor.

 

The 1084S. It had the dual inputs, built in stereo, and the scan rate was standard, as in if you wanted to, it makes a great bench Arcade monitor!!

 

Triple threat!!

 

Been planning on looking for another one of those..

 

I preferred the image on my Amiga 1200 with the 1084S to everything out, including VGA at 800x600. Of course, it was hard to argue with even higher resolutions and even more color and hardware acceleration of the later PCs, but the 1084S could hold it own for QUITE a while.. Especially if you were doing a bit of video work. Bush the button to see you're video out results, push again to see the Amiga res.. Nice..

 

er.. what were we talking about again? :-) Oh yeah, C64 monitors.. $40 OK, but seems a bit high honestly..

 

desiv

[Ze_ro]

It really depends on which monitor you're talking about... Commodore made a ton of different monitors. The most common is the 1702 (very square, brown monitor, with hook-ups in the back and front), the 1902 (white, with all hook-ups in the back), and the 1084S (white, hook-ups in the back, intended for the Amiga).

 

The 1084S is easily the most sought-after, mostly because it can handle an RGB signal to give a better picture. The 1902 is a monitor that was meant for use with the C-128, and can handle doing 80-column mode with that machine. It's almost essential for getting the most out of a C-128, but you won't get much use out of it's digital RGB mode with anything else. The 1702 is the most common, and it's probably the one you're talking about. Aside from the fact that it has dual inputs, it's really nothing better than a TV that has composite video jacks on it. The 1084S is probably worth the $40, but I doubt I'd pay $40 for either of the other two.

 

--Zero

[CSIXTY4]

$40 is a good price if the unit is in good shape and there isn't any shipping involved.

 

I still use a 1084S with my C128 and the picture is BEAUTIFUL.

[christianscott27]

depends on your patience level. i've found that commie monitors turn up in thrifts pretty often, usually for under $15. i scored a 1084s that way and could have scooped up more, i stopped at 3 assorted. at least in MA theres a law against throwing TVs and monitors in the trash so theres been a great selection at the thrifts here. so you do get a great picture but its really a small screen for gaming purpose, whats more fun is to get a Dreamcast VGA box, burn some emus and track down a big used monitor.

[GrizzLee]

I think $40 is a good price as well.

 

I used to find the Commie and Atari monitors at the thrifts all the time. Now, however, hardly any monitors of any sort can be found. Goodwill et. al. won't take them becuase it is against the law to throw them out in the landfills in Washington State and teh thrift sotres aren't willing to gamble with non-working stuff like this only to have to pay to get rid of it themselves. As a result, these monitors are hard to find anymore around here.

 

-Lee

[tyranthraxus]

If its the 1084S I'd offer him $35 The 1084 ( the mono version) seems

to be more common and its worth about half that. The other two aren't

bad either but no more than $15. I got a 1084S for free once and a

1702 for $5 at a garage sale. Chances are its the 1702 those are pretty

common.

[Max-T]

If you're talking about the 1702, I think $40 is a good deal for a near-mint unit.

 

Back in, I guess it was '83 or '84, my parents bought a whole Commodore 64 setup, including the 1702.

 

One we got cable TV service, I figured out that I could watch TV on it by using a VCR as the cable tuner, and using the A/V outs to the monitor. I used the 1702 as my television in this way for over a decade.

 

Then, when the Playstation came out, I found out that the 1702 supports what, in effect, is S-video. The 1702 has separate Chroma and Luma RCA jacks on it's rear panel. The modern S-video cable simply combines the Chroma and Luma pins into one connector. So, for it's size, the 1702 can give you a surprisingly good sharpness of display.

 

I still have mine, though i no longer use it. But I don't doubt that it could give me another good ten years of service if called upon.

 

The only thing I didn't like about that monitor, besides the fact that it only has mono sound, is that, compared with the picture tubes on most modern TVs and monitors, the screen itself, when turned off, is a rather light gray, as opposed to Panasonic's "PanaBlack" screens of today. But the 1702 produces so much brightness (I think they call them lumens) that when you're actually playing a game or watching TV on it, the black level doesn't bother you that much.

 

Well, I hope I was able to help you. I guess if the monitor you're looking at is another model besides the 1702, I've wasted both of our times. Sorry for that, if so.

 

But the 1702 served me well for many years, and ifyou are like me, and prefer a smaller television for gaming, then I'd recommend the 1702 as a cheap alternative to a brand-new TV that might cost three times as much.

 

Anyway, best of luck!

 

max

[Rob Mitchell]

I've found three commie monitors .. some with Magnavox stamped on them .. all for $5-$10 at the thift stores. Be patient and you can find one for much less than $40! Offer your friend $15 for it and tell him that you are being generous! Want stereo too? .. just get some computer speakers from a thrift for $5.

 

Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA

[Raijin Z]

Yeah, keep looking. I have two of them, and they've served me well over the years. The problem is, that solitary speaker on the side is distracting. Meh. Anyway, keep looking. Mine ran me in the neighborhood of $5 too.

[Brad2600]

I want a 1084S one day.

 

The one I have is the 1702 and it's a really nice unit. I saw another commie monitor at a thrift not too long ago but it was sold.

 

I play my NES and PS2 on the commie monitor sometimes. It's got a really decent picture and the sound is good.

 

Quite nostalgic as C64s were the first computers I ever used in school.

[jsoper]

Yeah someone posted that playing Vice City on a 1702 was a hoot -- the intro scene looks just

like a C64 and the monitor makes it moreso.

 

BTW, I paid $25 for my first 1702 at Goodwill, $15 for the second, and found the third

during city-wide trash cleanup day. At this rate, someone is going to pay me to take the fourth.

[Brad2600]

Yeah someone posted that playing Vice City on a 1702 was a hoot -- the intro scene looks just  

like a C64 and the monitor makes it moreso.

 

 

That someone was me.

 

I think one of these days if I end up getting a big enough apt, I'll set up a game room with several C64 monitors instead of regular TVs to hook my games up to.

[Raijin Z]

Hell, the ONLY game system I DON'T play on a C64 monitor is DC, and only because I have a VGA box for it.

[christianscott27]

i gave up gaming on my commie monitors other than for exhibit purposes, bottom line, its a tiny 13 inch screen.

[Max-T]

Sorry veer a bit off-topic, but who all agrees that smaller TVs/monitors are better for gaming?

 

I have a 42" widescreen HDTV, but I never have hooked up any of my game systems to it. Before a couple years ago, I played everything on a Commodore 1702, and now I play everything on a little 13" Toshiba flatscreen that has component and S-video inputs.

 

Even with the higher resolutions that the PS2/XBox/'Cube run at, I still think they just look better on a smaller screen. One of my friends has this gigantor like 65" projection TV. Trying to play a game on that thing is like sitting front row at an IMAX movie -- I have to move my whole head around to see different parts of the screen.

 

Anyway, that's just my little rant. Especially for Atari and other vintage systems, I think a 13"-19" TV is perfect.