Interesting Commodore 16 discovery

Barney · Post by **Barney** » Mon May 10, 2010 7:38 pm

Has anybody ever wondered why EVERY SINGLE Commodore 16 on earth DOESN'T WORK!!! Either the person selling it on ebay states that it doesn't work, or it's untested (in other words it doesn't work), or it's missing the power supply (don't bother buying one because it wont work) or the Commodore 16 light comes on but no picture. This is really beginning to piss me off. I think the Commodore 16 may be the crappiest computer ever made (but one of the best looking).......Oh, by the way did I mention that I bought a Commodore 16 a year ago without a power supply on Ebay. You guessed it, I found a compatible adapter and discovered that the damn thing didn't work. I rebelled by gutting the damn thing and modding it into a Vic-20.

Schlowski · Post by **Schlowski** » Tue May 11, 2010 12:41 am

I rebelled by gutting the damn thing and modding it into a Vic-20

That's what most people seem to do - using the nice black case as a modding base. My avatar is my black VIC

I can't really remember but I think my C16 must been defective, too, otherwise I wouldn't have sacrificed a running Commodore of any kind to mod a VIC.

RobertBe · Post by **RobertBe** » Tue May 11, 2010 1:04 am

Heh, I have a few C16s in storage, but I've never powered them up to see if they work.

Something to check out when I get
back to the storage,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
July 24-25 Commodore Vegas Expo 2010 -
http://www.commodore.ca/forum
and click on ComVEX

Boray · Post by **Boray** » Tue May 11, 2010 3:13 am

I think the Ted computers are more sensitive to static electricity than other Commodores, which can kill the Ted chip or the cpu...

Pedro Lambrini · Post by **Pedro Lambrini** » Tue May 11, 2010 6:47 am

Indeed. Invariably it's the TED chip that goes. I must be lucky as I've only ever had 2 C16's and both have worked fine. It seems to be typical of my life though as I have always had problematic C64's which seem to work for everyone else!

It's a shame so many people have bad luck with them as they really are great machines - it's actually my 2nd favourite computer after the Vic.

Luzur · Post by **Luzur** » Tue May 11, 2010 6:49 am

my boxed C16 works fine, so i dont dare to use it much (i started it like 2 times in 3 years).

and the broken one i got from the dump i made into a black C64 instead.

Boray · Post by **Boray** » Tue May 11, 2010 6:54 am

I have one working PAL Plus/4 and one working NTSC Plus/4... and one Plus/4 with a dead cpu...

Schlowski · Post by **Schlowski** » Tue May 11, 2010 6:58 am

That raises one question for me: I have a PAL Plus/4 and a PAL C16, both worked fine when I started them the last time, that must be at least a year ago, can be even more. Should I start them to verify that they work or should I leave them alone and hope that they will work if I need them one day?

robinsonmason · Post by **robinsonmason** » Tue May 11, 2010 9:35 am

Call me paranoid but I often use pads like these, especially when performing upgrades or opening cases. http://tinyurl.com/287qzh2

Pedro Lambrini · Post by **Pedro Lambrini** » Tue May 11, 2010 4:09 pm

Schlowski wrote:That raises one question for me: I have a PAL Plus/4 and a PAL C16, both worked fine when I started them the last time, that must be at least a year ago, can be even more. Should I start them to verify that they work or should I leave them alone and hope that they will work if I need them one day?

If it was me I'd wait. It would be typical to switch them on, see that they work, put them away again and the next time you need them they'll be dead!

Anyway, why aren't you playing Adventures in Time on them?!

Boray · Post by **Boray** » Tue May 11, 2010 4:21 pm

Schlowski wrote:That raises one question for me: I have a PAL Plus/4 and a PAL C16, both worked fine when I started them the last time, that must be at least a year ago, can be even more. Should I start them to verify that they work or should I leave them alone and hope that they will work if I need them one day?

Just don't put them in a plastic bag or something like that. I have mine in an ordinary wooden drawer...

saehn · Post by **saehn** » Tue May 11, 2010 10:15 pm

...inside an anti-static bag within a box full of desiccant?

Bacon · Post by **Bacon** » Wed May 12, 2010 5:39 am

Luzur wrote:my boxed C16 works fine, so i dont dare to use it much (i started it like 2 times in 3 years).

Why? If you're not using it you don't really need a working one, do you?

I say enjoy it as long as it lasts instead of letting it gather dust. The day it dies is the time to put it on a shelf.

Unless you're saving it for some special occasion, that is.

Luzur · Post by **Luzur** » Wed May 12, 2010 7:11 am

because it is my boxed one, and the only one i have now, since i modded the other one.

saver71 · Post by **saver71** » Mon May 17, 2010 5:01 am

Barney wrote:Oh, by the way did I mention that I bought a Commodore 16 a year ago without a power supply on Ebay. You guessed it, I found a compatible adapter and discovered that the damn thing didn't work.

I also bought a C16 without power supply and solved with a Switching Mode Universal Power Supply (Matsuyama, stabilized output and 1500mA Max). I set on 9 volts and my C16 works perfectly.

Denial

Interesting Commodore 16 discovery

Interesting Commodore 16 discovery

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