I just thought I would introduce myself. My name is Anders Persson and I'm living in Sweden. I have a Vic20 (PAL 1.11MHz) that I bought from my brother in 1987. And I'm using it from time to time. You can download my programs here: http://home.worldonline.se/boray/datorm ... tware.html
I don't have the TV on top of the Vic1020 like in those pictures, but I am using the Vic1020 expansion box now (since a couple of days). I've had it since I bought the Vic20, but I thought it was faulty and never fixed, because it damaged the computer in 1983 when my brother won the expansion box in a programming contest... But aparently, it was mended after all!!! I have also moved a rectifying bridge and a power regulator out of the computer and into the vic1020 to keep the heat down. And I have put a colding plate on the vic chip! Well, that's my Vic20... It works, and it looks cool, until you look inside!
Yes, the vic20 PAL version is faster than the NTSC version. But with the C64, the PAL version (0.98MHz) is slower than the NTSC version. Which means the PAL Vic20 is much faster than the PAL C64. (About 20%). Here is a comparision I made (in Swedish): http://home.worldonline.se/boray/datorm ... speed.html
Sweden? jag vill aka dit!.. var ar ni nagonstans? kan du skilja mellan oss? jag bor i Chicago... jag haller pa att lara mig svenska! skriv till mig but in english... ha ha! are there any black people like me in sweden?
Good sentences, but you have to use ÅÄÖ (switch keyboard layout?) to eventually be fully accepted. Black people? We have people of all kinds of colour, heritage, religion, opinion and so on.
Since the VIC (and most other computers before ~1987) was built for US-ASCII purposes, it natively doesn't do ÅÄÖ or other national characters like Ñ, Ç, Î, È etc. In the case of Swedish characters, the common solution was to switch character and Kernel ROM and rebuild the keyboard slightly. The characters we replaced were [£] for ÄÖÅ and some of the shifted graphic characters for capital letters while being in lower case mode.
This modification contained a few misfortunes, like not all graphic characters were accessible from keyboard anymore, but at least it was an official Commodore upgrade unlike the German hacks to get ÄÖÜß.
Btw, my C128 (and probably all Swedish 128s) has a caps lock key to change the charterset to include or exclude Swedish characters. Quite nice! Works even in C64 mode...
Yep, the C64 and C128 were available pre-modified (it was even called VIC-64S or something like that for a short while), and the C128 was designed with the caps lock switch as Anders mentions. The VIC-20 never was sold in modified state, so you had to order a DIY kit or let a repairman do it if you preferred to keep your warranty.
Also, I doubt that the VIC-21 (VIC-20 + 16K RAM) ever reached Sweden. I had never heard about this marketing gimmick until it was mentioned over Internet.
The portable SX64 was called VIP-64 in Sweden, which makes me wonder what they had called a portable, 40 column VIC-20 fitted with 16K extra memory, Swedish characters and a bonus game.. probably VIP-41SGS.
Well, that's my Vic20... It works, and it looks cool, until you look inside! 
