Rebuilt 2 "long electronics board" VIC-1541s

[eslapion]

Hi people,
I recently started playing lego with my dead 1541s and VIC-1541s. In the pile, I found two defective VIC-1541s.

One had a broken power connector, the other, a faulty mechanism. So I took a standard 1541 whose electronics board was dead to fix both of them. They both work fine now.

Both of these drives have their 6502 and 6522 chips dated around early 1982. Which means they were made before the C64 existed. They were truly intended for VICs. Both of them have an electronics board that is much longer than normal.

Correct me if I'm wrong but these drives are not exactly a common find.

Is there anybody that would be interested in these?

These are for sale to the highest bidder but I'm not sure I want to offer it on eBay and be confronted with shallow collectors complaining about the yellowing and the scratches on the casing.

I might even want to keep one for myself as it would sure make a nice companion to Mr. 7829 (VIC-20 with PET style keyboard serno. 7829 that I got last year).

[idrougge]

Both of these drives have their 6502 and 6522 chips dated around early 1982. Which means they were made before the C64 existed. They were truly intended for VICs. Both of them have an electronics board that is much longer than normal.

It probably means that they were intended for the C64. After all, they're 1541 drives, and not 1540 drives, and the C64 already existed on a planning or prototype stage. =)

[PaulQ]

Not necessarily...I have seen Commodore 5.25" disk drives labelled "Vic-1541" and colour co-ordinated to the Vic 20 colours.

[eslapion]

It probably means that they were intended for the C64. After all, they're 1541 drives, and not 1540 drives, and the C64 already existed on a planning or prototype stage. =)

These are VIC-1541 and not beige 1541...

Also, see this picture

[Centallica]

They made both Vic 1540 and Vic-1541 in white for the Vic-20.

Both not anywhere in the production numbers of the beige 1541's.

The Vic-1540 being the earliest (and scarcest) and the Vic-1541 coming out later as the 1541 beige.

http://www.baltissen.org/newhtm/1541b.htm

http://www.zimmers.net/cbmpics/d1540s.html

http://www.zimmers.net/cbmpics/d1541s.html

I'd be interested in a Vic-1540 if you had one as I already have the Vic-1541.

Brian

[eslapion]

They made both Vic 1540 and Vic-1541 in white for the Vic-20.

Both not anywhere in the production numbers of the beige 1541's.

The Vic-1540 being the earliest (and scarcest) and the Vic-1541 coming out later as the 1541 beige.

http://www.baltissen.org/newhtm/1541b.htm

http://www.zimmers.net/cbmpics/d1540s.html

http://www.zimmers.net/cbmpics/d1541s.html

I'd be interested in a Vic-1540 if you had one as I already have the Vic-1541.

Brian

Did you check the picture I posted the link to above?

My first floppy drive was a VIC-1541 and it had an electronics board identical to the beige 1541 (or the short board on the pic).

The links above do not show the various insides of the VIC-1541.

If you want me to turn these drives into VIC-1540 drives, all I have to do is switch one of the ROMs from 901229-03 to 325303-01...

[Centallica]

They made both Vic 1540 and Vic-1541 in white for the Vic-20.

Both not anywhere in the production numbers of the beige 1541's.

The Vic-1540 being the earliest (and scarcest) and the Vic-1541 coming out later as the 1541 beige.

http://www.baltissen.org/newhtm/1541b.htm

http://www.zimmers.net/cbmpics/d1540s.html

http://www.zimmers.net/cbmpics/d1541s.html

I'd be interested in a Vic-1540 if you had one as I already have the Vic-1541.

Brian

Did you check the picture I posted the link to above?

My first floppy drive was a VIC-1541 and it had an electronics board identical to the beige 1541 (or the short board on the pic).

The links above do not show the various insides of the VIC-1541.

If you want me to turn these drives into VIC-1540 drives, all I have to do is switch one of the ROMs from 901229-03 to 325303-01...

What you can't read or do you only understand pictures? It talks about the various long and short boards that your pictures shows

* 1540
This drive is not known very well but is in fact the predecessor of the 1541's we know of. It has a ivory coloured case with brown labelling and it was developed for use with the VIC-20. It contains the "Very Long Board" (VLB).

* 1541-1
The first 1541's were 1540's but with an altered ROM. The alteration was needed because the VIC-20 worked at exactly 1 MHz and the C64 worked on a little slower or faster frequency, dependent if it is a PAL- or NTSC-machine. At this moment I cannot give more info on this item because I haven't studied it yet.
Personal note: I own a 1541 that is labelled 1541 on the front but 1540 on the back.

* 1541-2
With this 1541 I mean the well-known brownish one. This one contains the "Long Board #1" (LB1).

* 1541-3
This one looks like the previous one but has a white colour. This one contains the "Long Board #2" (LB2).

* 1541C
This is the white 1541 with a turning shutter. The previous drives had the vertical opening/closing shutter. This one contains the "Short Board" (SB).

* 1541-II
This is the small 1541 with the external power supply. This one contains the "Very Small Board" (VSB).

The above list is far from complete. I myself have two 1541C's which I opened out of curiosity. One contained the SB, the other a "Long Board" but WITH the "track 0"-detector. So I also have to do some study on this subject. Any input from you is welcome.

As I mentioned, the difference between the 1540 and the 1541-1 was only a different ROM. The ROMs of the later models have been updated several times as well. IMHO this is a SOFTWARE matter and so I won't pay further attention to this item in this document.

[eslapion]

I didn't say it didn't MENTION them, I just said it didn't SHOW them... sorry for the confusion.

* 1541-1
The first 1541's were 1540's but with an altered ROM. The alteration was needed because the VIC-20 worked at exactly 1 MHz and the C64 worked on a little slower or faster frequency, dependent if it is a PAL- or NTSC-machine. At this moment I cannot give more info on this item because I haven't studied it yet.
Personal note: I own a 1541 that is labelled 1541 on the front but 1540 on the back.

This is a copy of a post I just placed on the Lemon 64 forum:
===============================

the serial number on mine is 103433, and oddly enough, the FCC sticker claims it's a VIC-1540... i guess these are just the original 1540 boards with different roms?

Hey, what do you know!! I didn't notice that but it is true!! Mine too has an FCC sticker on the back that says VIC-1540.
===============================

So I assume this is exactly what I have... a pair of VIC-1540s but with an updated ROM.

[Centallica]

I didn't say it didn't MENTION them, I just said it didn't SHOW them... sorry for the confusion.

* 1541-1
The first 1541's were 1540's but with an altered ROM. The alteration was needed because the VIC-20 worked at exactly 1 MHz and the C64 worked on a little slower or faster frequency, dependent if it is a PAL- or NTSC-machine. At this moment I cannot give more info on this item because I haven't studied it yet.
Personal note: I own a 1541 that is labelled 1541 on the front but 1540 on the back.

This is a copy of a post I just placed on the Lemon 64 forum:
===============================

the serial number on mine is 103433, and oddly enough, the FCC sticker claims it's a VIC-1540... i guess these are just the original 1540 boards with different roms?

Hey, what do you know!! I didn't notice that but it is true!! Mine too has an FCC sticker on the back that says VIC-1540.
===============================

So I assume this is exactly what I have... a pair of VIC-1540s but with an updated ROM.

Amazing what you'll find when you read something

[eslapion]

Well, they do have something else in common with the original VIC-1540... the stupid head stepper motor only has a small hole for the screws and that makes them nearly impossible to realign!!!

Horror!!

[idrougge]

It probably means that they were intended for the C64. After all, they're 1541 drives, and not 1540 drives, and the C64 already existed on a planning or prototype stage. =)

These are VIC-1541 and not beige 1541...

Since the C64 was first sold as the VIC-64 in Sweden, I would never have paid any attention to that. Come to think of it, my first drive was a VC-1541, with a "garage door" opening.

[carlsson]

Wow, a garage door opening. Would that be a 1541BFP, interpreted as Big Foot-Print?

[wiskow]

Wow, a garage door opening.

Just don't try parking your car in there!

-Andrew

[carlsson]

Would it be total nerdish to build a full-size garage decorated as a disk drive?

[wiskow]

Would it be total nerdish to build a full-size garage decorated as a disk drive?

Yes... But I'd like to see that!

Or how about a garage door that opens like an Alps 5.25" drive mechanism???

-Andrew