Denial

Looking for a "2" keycap and post from and older style VIC keyboard... The ones with a circular shiftlock cutout on PCB, and with post slots on keycaps lower and thinner.

My VIC's on the opposite side of the problem - switch is really loose. Once I get the calipers out and measure the old switch and slot I'm pretty sure I can find another rocker or slide that'll fit in the cut out... won't be an exact match, but it'll fit. As this is my "work" VIC, I don't ...

I have a early VIC with switch problems too... Haven't seen any suggestions so I guess I'll have to crack it open, spec it out and look for a close equivalent.

-John-

The day I bought my C16 locally, the same retrogaming store had a VIC-20 but the VIC was missing keys and definitely looked beat up, but the 16 was fine. So I guess it depends where you're looking? When, where, phase of the moon... lot of luck as well. In general, all things being equal, I've found...

Personally, unless it's in really good shape, working, and with "guaranteed not DOA", $100 USD is still a bit steep for a VIC on ebay... Pre-eBay, There wasn't a system I couldn't pickup between $20 - $50 USD. Today, with a little patience, you can pickup a working working VIC/64 on eBay f...

At This point, the only missing piece in my VIC setup is an 40/80 column cart... I'd say FE3 is a must have. If I ever complete my game, it's gonna be needed. :) Definetly, I have an FE3 and it's probably one of the best VIC-20 add-on's out there... if it had a 40/80 column output option, I'd say it...

rhurst wrote:Presenting runner-up to the Kenbak, the Wang 2200

Wow, 1973, Pre-microprocessor, CPU made of a couple hundred TTL chips, tape drive... Must have one! There's an emulator for that..

Yes, I would say in comparison to most other black and white machines, the ZX80/81/Sinclair 1000 are "jarring" and "obtuse." Whether it's the flat membrane "keyboard" or the fact that everything is essentially input via keywords/shortcuts, it's not particularly intuiti...

[snip]... The ZX81 series actually has solid support too, but it's a very different beast and is a rather jarring experience if you're not prepared for what it actually is when going in. Even among black and white computers it's one of the more obtuse to use and function. Hmm, I don't know about th...

ZX-80/81 was cheap "learn how to program" computers and games was more a bonus then a vital part on such computers. The VIC chip was created to run arcade games at first but ended up in Commodores new computer instead. Vic-20 was good for both gaming and educational purposes in the early ...

I just bought ZX81 (I hope it works). Maybe VIC is better than it? But who cares. New machine, new challenges. Every one of these old machine offers it's own unique challenges, and I'm a big fan of them all :) The ZX81/TS1000 has a pretty active community and if your curious about what the little Z...

A standard pencil eraser works wonders on dirty cart pins as well. Also, the pins on the socket might need some attention. I've used lens wipes and a thin cardboard/plastic strip to clean them out. It's not as good as the eraser trick but, as I haven't seen a good socket cleaning kit in ages, it's b...

I've never read (or I don't remember reading) that the Tandy/Radio Shack affected Chuck Peddle and CBM with their development of the PET (and hence the VIC-20). I wasn't trying to say there's any sort direct design influence, but the sales figures of the early home/personal computers certainly did....

I think you need to define "weak" by the standards of the day when the machine was released. As such Mattel Aquarius would be my pick... Released in 1983, Mattel programmers immediately dubbed it "a machine for the seventies" and generally considered being assigned to working on ...

Pedro Lambrini wrote:So, after about a year or so of neglect I decided to play around with my FE3....

In the same boat here... had to put everything down, just getting back to it.... Did they ever get the FE3 home page up again?

-John-