VIC Expansion 1005 by Handic

[orion70]

Hello again. Last time we talked about this 3-slot expander made by Handic, it was quite some time ago. I recently acquired a boxed, working one via online classifieds. I must say I was lucky to find it working, judging from Boray's experience. No manual, only a card sleeve with the name (VIC Expansion 1005) on it.

My question is: does a manual for it exist somewhere, or given the trivial use of it, the few lines in three languages on the box back were considered to be enough for the end user?

Cheers.

[doug_in_nc]

That's a cool find! I had never even heard of that expander, and unfortunately I can't find any manual for it anywhere. In fact I can barely find any reference to it at all outside of Denial. I had a Stack Expander (4 slots) as a kid, but those don't seem very common these days either, especially on this side of the Atlantic.

[ral-clan]

Cool,

You should create a DENIAL VIC-20 WIKI page for this piece of hardware.

[highinfidelity]

What an xcellent finding and what a nice addition to your remarkable collection! And it's even boxed - almost unbelievable! I especially like the Commodore-wannabe lettering and colour of the box, it nearly looks like a genuine Commodore item!

This unit very closely recalls me of the VIC Trislot I owned as a kid, and all the issues that came with it. I wonder if those two ICs soldered on the PCB address at least some of the incompatibilities between the Super Expander and the Programmer's Aid, which of course was my goal in the '80s.

The lines on the back clearly refer to an "instruction manual", so yes, I figure that there indeed had to be a user's manual coming with it.

[orion70]

Thank you Highinfidelity... Yep I didn't notice there was a word about the instructions on the back of the box . So guys, let's go hunting for them!

As for the VIC Trislot, I remember well that thread, and the problems you had with the device back then... Another possible expansion was cited here viewtopic.php?f=13&t=6708 - but I couldn't get more info about this one (very nice retro 1020-lookalike).

https://archive.org/details/Sperimentar ... 5/mode/2up

[highinfidelity]

I've read back with amusement my comments to that thread that - my goodness! - dates back to almost ten years ago now! It is absolutely evident that at the time I was at a peak minimum appreciation for IBM compatibles, terminals and alike! I haven't changed much opinion in the meanwhile, but for certain the cool 1020 docking station that you own would have driven me completely crazy as a kid, and even today I really like it when I see it featured in your retrocomputing corner.

About this other black unit you mentioned, if one forgets the ugly black colour, the front switches are a useful feature that for some reason Commodore didn't deploy on its 1020 unit. If only they had put pushbuttons that would recall the look of the VIC keyboard instead of the sliders, I would drool for it!

[orion70]

Yep apart from the bad color scheme (maybe it was intended to fit the computer's color for the C64 version), it looks like a refined 1020. It has a front panel with memory switches, fuse replaceable from a side slot, and other nice features. You don't have to move the monitor each time you want to change the cartridge.

What's mysterious about this device is that there are no schematics for it - as if it wasn't a DIY project - but you don't find any info about where to buy it either. No brand or model or label whatsoever. So a 1984 guy read the article, saw the pictures, drooled a lot, but couldn't do anything to get it