CR Badge on a 2-Prong VIC?

[chysn]

I have a 2-prong-PSU VIC-20, made in Canada. Its case is slightly shorter than that of my U.S.A.-made CR VICs. But it has the CR-style rainbow badge. I realize it's not impossible that it's original, because I don't think any two VIC-20s are alike, but it seems more anachronistic than other potential differences.

Has anyone else seen such a thing, or is this probably an aftermarket badge?

[Vic20-Ian]

Could it be a case / Motherboard transplant?

[ral-clan]

My thought, having been exposed to Commodore hardware for 40 years, is that they often mixed and matched pieces they had on-hand in the factory, especially when ending one run of parts and starting another. So the motherboard may have been a left over from the earlier line, when they switched to the new labelled cases.

We shouldn't even assume that the rainbow badges were always with the new cases though, there may have been some mixing and matching with the older bronze badges while the old plastic cases were being transitioned out for the new Cost Reduced VIC-20 with the newer plastic case.

Usually the cases used with the newer rainbow label were from moulds based on the C64 case, meaning there is a little notch on the top of the cartridge port of the newer case, which matched where the RF out would be on the C64. The sizing was also very slightly modified. This means that the top half of a newer style case (which *usually* had a rainbow badge) would not fit the bottom of an old style case (which *usually* contained a 2-prong motherboard. If your rainbow badge is stuck to an older style case, that might prove interesting (i.e. indicate it was from the time when parts were transitioning to the newer Cost-reduced/Rainbow badge VIC-20s), but I don't think there would be any way to determine for sure if this was even done originally in the factory or was a user swap.

Picture of both cases:
http://dunfield.classiccmp.org/vic20/h/back.jpg

[chysn]

My thought, having been exposed to Commodore hardware for 40 years, is that they often mixed and matched pieces they had on-hand in the factory, especially when ending one run of parts and starting another. So the motherboard may have been a left over from the earlier line, when they switched to the new labelled cases.

I've noticed the same. I definitely enjoy the crazy amount of variety.

Could it be a case / Motherboard transplant?

After reviewing nearby serial numbers at the VIC Registry, I have no reason to suspect that this VIC-20 has been modified. Somewhat quirky, sure, but its quirks aren't unprecedented.

Of my three VICs-20, this is the only one that I haven't had open. Now that I think about it, of the dozen or so VICs I've owned, it's the only one I haven't had open. The time will come, and I might learn more about it based on the chip date codes.

Usually the cases used with the newer rainbow label were from moulds based on the C64 case, meaning there is a little notch on the top of the cartridge port of the newer case, which matched where the RF out would be on the C64. The sizing was also very slightly modified. This means that the top half of a newer style case (which *usually* had a rainbow badge) would not fit the bottom of an old style case (which *usually* contained a 2-prong motherboard.

Yes, this one does have the cartridge port notch. I also have a CR VIC with a notch, but the (slightly) taller case.

I'll add that this is a remarkable VIC-20 in another sense. Usually, VIC-20 video looks pretty fuzzy on my 60-inch plasma TV with the composite output. This one looks ridiculously crisp, like it was designed for a use on a big TV. It's very cool.