Need Advice for Commodore and Atari Computers Accessories

[VinsCool]

Hiya!

I figured I might be asking here, since I recently got a bunch of old Commodore machines from my step father.

What Power Supplies should I get for my VIC20, C64 and C128?
I was told the originals (that I do not have yet) are a no-no, so I might as well buy them now.

Also video cables, I need Composite video, and audio through RCA cables (or anything that makes me not use the RF port, or require hardware modifications for the time being), What should I get for these 3 systems as well?

I don't mind if things are a bit expensive, I just want to make sure they are reliable quality.
And also compatible with North American (60hz) standard, lol
Links on ebay or amazon or anything are welcome.

Also, if any of you have "must get" suggestions, I'm open for them!

Thanks for in advance.

 

[Alexander1970]

Hello.

Hiya!

I figured I might be asking here, since I recently got a bunch of old Commodore machines from my step father.

What Power Supplies should I get for my VIC20, C64 and C128?
I was told the originals (that I do not have yet) are a no-no, so I might as well buy them now.

Also video cables, I need Composite video, and audio through RCA cables (or anything that makes me not use the RF port, or require hardware modifications for the time being), What should I get for these 3 systems as well?

I don't mind if things are a bit expensive, I just want to make sure they are reliable quality.
And also compatible with North American (60hz) standard, lol
Links on ebay or amazon or anything are welcome.

Also, if any of you have "must get" suggestions, I'm open for them!

Thanks for in advance.

Maybe this helps for the Power Supply Question:

https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=c64+power+supply&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

The 3rd Party power Supplies should be ok and working like the Original.
Unfortunately I only can confirm it for the Amiga.

I am pretty sure,original Power Supplies are very,very hard to get....and,of course,very expensive...
Also there is maybe the Danger of "Failing from one Second to the Next"...because of the Age...

This Site have good References in European/German Forum(s):
https://www.c64psu.com/
(from Poland,do not be afraid...)

You maybe should avoid "China" Products and EBay "selfmade".......


Good luck,my Lady.

 

[vincentx77]

Commodore 64 power supplies were complete and utter shit. At least, they were for the older models. I used to keep a box fan blowing on mine all year long and it would still overheat and cause my C64 to crash. The C128 and Amiga aren't nearly as bad, though as far as the Amiga is concerned, I should probably point out that I didn't get an Amiga 500 until 1990, so they'd been in production for a couple of years by that point. I got the others earlier in their life cycle. All of these, btw, were NTSC.

All of the machines offer a composite signal from their DIN connectors. The problem is, you may well need three different cables, at least if the C64 is a very early model. Later C64s and C128s have the same DIN output connector, so yay!?!

https://www.keelog.com/power-supply/

This guy seems to have a good reputation, especially with NTSC machines. He's even done custom jobs in the past where the VIC-20 and the C64 have been connected to the same PSU and can both been run at once.

Wait until you get a taste for this stuff. I won't be long before you're back trying to add an Amiga to the collection. No single computer is as iconic as the C64, though (unless it's the Sharp X68000, but that's a completely different matter).

 

[tech3475]

Bare minimum for power supplies is to check the voltages, although a replacement may be better longer term.

Another thing to consider are things like tape/floppy emulators, RAM expansion, etc. You may want to look at different options such as the pi1541 or if you want something more higher end, the Ultimate II.

Don’t know about modern Joystick options.

May also want to open them up and inspect them for things like capacitor leak, corrosion, etc.

 

[VinsCool]

May also want to open them up and inspect them for things like capacitor leak, corrosion, etc.

Opening, cleaning and repairing is literally the first thing I have been doing so far.
It's common sense to see if it's alright before attempting to power it on

 

[tech3475]

Opening, cleaning and repairing is literally the first thing I have been doing so far.
It's common sense to see if it's alright before attempting to power it on

Should have seen an A500 I purchased on ebay, the expansion card was so corroded from battery leak that one of the pins was gone.

I obviously returned it, don’t know how the seller thought it would be remotely acceptable.

 

[Silterpy]

I would recommend Adrian's digital basement on youtube. He has some very informative/interesting videos on vic20s and commodore. I believe he has some videos on psu's.


https://www.youtube.com/c/adriansdigitalbasement

Sent from my SM-G975W using Tapatalk

 

[VinsCool]

Alright so regarding the stuff, I actually went ahead and ordered a bunch of things tonight.

Brand New Modern C64 Power Supply -> Seems to be the same one on the Keelog website, so I hope it's a good deal!
C64 to C128 PSU adapter -> Apparently just needs to convert the pins layout to work, so no need to get another PSU, I suppose? Worth a try.
SD2IEC Adapter -> Seems cheap and good enough for loading stuff, I would go to Ultimate II already if it wasn't so expensive, so I am going to give this one a shot. I also own an original tape loader if anything else fails, too.
C64 Composite cable (compatible with several Commodore machines too) -> Seems like I am getting the all-in-one composite and audio output cable here Also pretty cheap.

Also ordered this on a sudden moment of excitement, and so I hope it's worth it considering I wanted an Atari machine for a pretty long time anyway, so woohooo!

 

[VinsCool]

Here's an update:

I received the Keelog PSU for C64 today
I only need whichever video cables I ordered to test a computer now!

I also got 2 1702 Commodore Monitors, and they were tested and work great, so I ended up ordering more cables for the s-video (Luma+Chroma) input, as well as an adapter to get s-video slit into this format.
Currently waiting for them in the mail.

 

[Deleted member 668561]

well if you want high quality:

c64 s-video+ composite: https://ebay.to/2VQLxd6
never worry about DIN connectors again!

Alright so regarding the stuff, I actually went ahead and ordered a bunch of things tonight.
-snip-

Also ordered this on a sudden moment of excitement, and so I hope it's worth it considering I wanted an Atari machine for a pretty long time anyway, so woohooo!
View attachment 235997

with 256k, its a steal , untested atari's are more likey to work than an untested c64...

 

[VinsCool]

with 256k, its a steal , untested atari's are more likey to work than an untested c64...

I also won an EBAY auction on a untested "reported" non working 800xl, with the box and everything for $94
Currently working with the seller with the shipping since it was unexpectedly higher than their intended price.

 

[Deleted member 668561]

I also won an EBAY auction on a untested "reported" non working 800xl, with the box and everything for $94
Currently working with the seller with the shipping since it was unexpectedly higher than their intended price.

mine also came with an arcade style, and original joystick, i like to find bulk deals if possible

Eh is it just 64k, or does it have expansions?

I don't need a box, tbh , just a flash card, and SIO drive emulator, I need to get a wireless SIO adaptor, or SIO modem, so I can use some bbses,

now if it was boxed, with a floppy drive and some carts....

I used to have a 128, and also a commodore colt, sadly I don't have them anymore, i don't think I could find another colt especially cause I got both for free, I loved the commodore 2002 monitor

 

[Deleted member 668561]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Kung-Fu-Fl...628268?hash=item3b5310012c:g:Rl8AAOSwrYBfx~H9

A cheap all in 1 loading solution for C64, even Supports Disk Images

 

[VinsCool]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Kung-Fu-Fl...628268?hash=item3b5310012c:g:Rl8AAOSwrYBfx~H9

Very cool.
Seems like it's PAL only, however. I only have NTSC machines around right now.

For the time being I have a SD2IEC coming, so that should do a good enough job.

 

[AmandaRose]

I also won an EBAY auction on a untested "reported" non working 800xl, with the box and everything for $94
Currently working with the seller with the shipping since it was unexpectedly higher than their intended price.

If you see anyone selling an Atari XEGS let me know its the last atari I need to complete my Atari collection.

 

[VinsCool]

If you see anyone selling an Atari XEGS let me know its the last atari I need to complete my Atari collection.

There's this guys from France selling a reportedly non working unit, but I may be possible to save it.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/EN-PANNE-HS...463326?hash=item3b508c9e5e:g:vsAAAOSwNXZfjvLB

 

[AmandaRose]

There's this guys from France selling a reportedly non working unit, but I may be possible to save it.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/EN-PANNE-HS...463326?hash=item3b508c9e5e:g:vsAAAOSwNXZfjvLB

Hmm not a bad price either. I have some thinking to do lol.

 

[VinsCool]

Oh yeah while I'm here, I got to test one of the C64s with the new PSU, and it works!

I still have no proper video cables currently (waiting for the mail deliveries), but I managed to find an old RF switcher box in my stuff.
The thing was really shitty to get working, but eventually was good enough to just get video and sound of that C64.
Played around for an hour (I can only do ao much with no way to load my own code other than write it manually), but the computer itself seems to work very well.
The keyboard has a few keys that are a bit unresponsive, but that is not something impossible to improve later with some more conductive material on the plungers or the board itself.

I also ran this BASIC line of code to see if I was able to get any sound, and it worked, so I know the SID chip should be good as well

10 poke 54272+rnd(1) *25,rnd(1) *256 : goto 10

 

[Deleted member 668561]

If you see anyone selling an Atari XEGS let me know its the last atari I need to complete my Atari collection.

I know a guy who had one, he was showing it off at the local retro game store here a few years ago, IMHO, I just want an 800, and 1200xl (if I can ever find one, you have that in ya collection)

There's this guys from France selling a reportedly non working unit, but I may be possible to save it.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/EN-PANNE-HS...463326?hash=item3b508c9e5e:g:vsAAAOSwNXZfjvLB

France = SECAM

 

[AmandaRose]

Oh yeah while I'm here, I got to test one of the C64s with the new PSU, and it works!

I still have no proper video cables currently (waiting for the mail deliveries), but I managed to find an old RF switcher box in my stuff.
The thing was really shitty to get working, but eventually was good enough to just get video and sound of that C64.
Played around for an hour (I can only do ao much with no way to load my own code other than write it manually), but the computer itself seems to work very well.
The keyboard has a few keys that are a bit unresponsive, but that is not something impossible to improve later with some more conductive material on the plungers or the board itself.

I also ran this BASIC line of code to see if I was able to get any sound, and it worked, so I know the SID chip should be good as well

10 poke 54272+rnd(1) *25,rnd(1) *256 : goto 10

Any plan's to get an Autographies Microsound 64 keyboard for your 64? They are great they give the user direct real time control over the SID chip. No scanning is involved, so it's possible to play runs and trills at speed. There's a choice of either monophonic or three-voice poly modes, and you can even select the in-between variant of two voices, should you find that prospect appealing.

The strongest part of the system - for me at least - is the clear and simple screen display that allows you to organise the various available parameters for each 'sound', before storing it on disk or cassette for future use. Autographies provide no preset voices or silly suggestions about how to make the sound of a violin.