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Re: Versions of the VIC-20
Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2016 8:06 am
by srowe
I've created a Google Form that can be used to collect this information easily.
https://goo.gl/forms/Wvq4RlCQBN4IM1er2
Re: Versions of the VIC-20
Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2016 8:13 am
by Bobbi
Awesome
Where does the submitted info get stored?
I think we should eventually paste the info into the Denial wiki because things hosted elsewhere always seem to go dead after a couple of years!
Maybe I will store it all in Practicalc
We should eat our own dogfood!
Re: Versions of the VIC-20
Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2016 8:50 am
by srowe
Bobbi wrote:
Where does the submitted info get stored?
It goes into a Google spreadsheet
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing
Re: Versions of the VIC-20
Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2016 9:57 am
by Bobbi
Cool. I will put my two in there later - expecting one to arrive today from ebay
Re: Versions of the VIC-20
Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2016 5:17 pm
by Bobbi
I put my two machines in.
I would suggest you also add a field allowing the date codes on the ICs to be recorded.
Most VIC-20s are no longer with their original owner and even if they were we can not reliably remember purchase dates (usually.) I think my original VIC must have been Xmas '82, but that machine has long passed to other hands. However we can all record date codes (format 5081, where 50 is the week and 81 the year.) That way it is possible to roughly correlate serial numbers with production dates.
My CR on the other hand is a 1983 machine (and even so, it has the old case and an adaptor to mount the CR board in the old case.)
Re: Versions of the VIC-20
Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2016 1:21 am
by srowe
Bobbi wrote:I put my two machines in.
Thanks!
I would suggest you also add a field allowing the date codes on the ICs to be recorded.
Will do, I didn't want to assume people were happy to open up their VICs.
Most VIC-20s are no longer with their original owner and even if they were we can not reliably remember purchase dates (usually.) I think my original VIC must have been Xmas '82, but that machine has long passed to other hands. However we can all record date codes (format 5081, where 50 is the week and 81 the year.) That way it is possible to roughly correlate serial numbers with production dates.
I still have my warranty card with the date my Mum bought it. Good idea though for those that don't remember. Shall I just collect dates for CPU, VIC, VIA?
My CR on the other hand is a 1983 machine (and even so, it has the old case and an adaptor to mount the CR board in the old case.)
Interesting, perhaps there should be a separate record of mainboard type and power connector?
Re: Versions of the VIC-20
Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2016 5:33 am
by Boray
Note that many Vic-20s you buy today probably are put together from different machines, making this a difficult task. One of my CR machines is in an older non-CR-case for example.
Re: Versions of the VIC-20
Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2016 6:33 am
by Bobbi
Yes it is true - there are lots of frankenstein's monsters out there!
My CR machine has a non CR case too, but I think it came from the factory that way because there is a metal adaptor plate to allow the new board to fit in the old case.
Re: Versions of the VIC-20
Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2016 4:20 pm
by srowe
I've added date codes to the form, you should be able to update your entry. If not let me know the codes and your serial number and I'll do it manually.
Re: Versions of the VIC-20
Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2016 4:31 pm
by Bobbi
For V059443, the date codes are as follows:
CPU 5081
VIAs 4781, 5081
VIC 5081
Re: Versions of the VIC-20
Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2016 2:20 pm
by Kakemoms
Bobbi wrote:
Jogi's list is at
http://nemetzpower.de/Denial/Jogi.pdf
I tried to make a start, focusing on the PET-style keyboard machines.
J) 101519, 104419 (Japan)
N1/N2) 505599, 515986, 520314, 532337 (all Japan)
N1/N2) V0016318, V0081396, V0086373 (all US)
P1/P2) WG0000427, WG0000505, WG0000908, WGA0005832, WGA0007142,
WGA0007180, WGA0008594, WGA0009945, WGA0010763, WGA0012011,
WGA0012088, WGB0008008, WGB0012906, WGB0013269, WGB0014395,
WGB0085453 (seems an outlier), WGC0000543, WGC0000691, WGC0001056,
WGC0040947, WGC0041038, WGC0059533
So we know production of the early PSK machines occurred in Japan (with two different mainboard variants?), in the US and in West Germany at least. Japan made at least 32k PSK machines (excluding VIC-1001), US at least 86k and West Germany seems to have at least 12k+14k+60k=86k (weird coincidence!)
My Vic-20 (bought in the US in January this year) has a serial 504543, Made in Japan with 3/81 (March 1981) manufacturing date inside. More info
in this thread with more early serials/pcb numbers.
As the manufacturing rate was more than 1000 machines/month, my guess is that the first serial 50xxxx rolled off the Japanese manufacturing line around December 1980/January 1981. Jack probably took the decision to sell them after CES 1981 (January), but they may have been made before that.
Re: Versions of the VIC-20
Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2016 11:19 pm
by dragos
I have an early VIC-20 with the FCC warning sticker:
image by
markgladson, on Flickr
Serial number is pretty high:
image by
markgladson, on Flickr
The VIC chip is REALLY OLD:
image by
markgladson, on Flickr
and here is a shot of the whole board:
image by
markgladson, on Flickr
The joystick port is interesting:
image by
markgladson, on Flickr
The part number is 1001006 rev e
it is (c) 1980
Re: Versions of the VIC-20
Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2016 5:20 pm
by Bobbi
That is a very nice early machine with the VIC-1001-derived mainboard.