|
|
 |
| Commodore 64 serial
number UKB 2387629 made in England. |
|
| The Commodore
64 with its exceptional (in 1982) 64 KB memory was
a great leap forward in home computers. In fact
only about 38KB was available in Basic but, because
the memory used by the computer itself was duplicated,
it was possible to use over 80KB with machine code
programming. The breadbin nickname came from its
bulky shape, copied from its predecessor the Vic
20. |
|
| The earliest
versions, including my first, had orange function
keys like the VIC. Later models had grey function
keys. Commodore had an unlimited licence for Microsoft
Basic 2.0 and so this, rather than the more expensive
but more useful 4.0 already used in some other Commodore
machines, was installed. The PET graphics were included
but sprites and exceptional sound capabilities made
the 64 a great games console. |
|
|
|
|
| At the rear is
a cartridge slot for games and programming aids,
a screw to adjust the tv signal, rf output to a
tv, rgb output to tv or monitor, the serial port
for disk drives and printers, the datassette connection
and an RS-232 connector for other peripherals. |
|
|
|
|
| Startup Screen |
|
|
|
|
|
| On the side are
two ports for joysticks, paddles, light
pens and light guns. To the right are
the on/off switch and the power connection. |
|
|
|
|
|
| My
64s |
|
|
| |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
| Serial
UKB 182449 (England) |
Serial
UKB 238985 (England) |
Serial
UKB 381574 (England) |
| New
luminances |
Orange
function keys |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
| Serial
UKB 1684408 (England) |
Serial
UKB 2387629 (England) |
Serial
WGB 7518 |
| New
luminances |
New
luminances |
Orange
function keys |
| Keyboard
faulty |
|
My
first 64 |
| |
 |
Needs
a good clean and service |
|
|
|
| |
Serial
WGB 40407 (West Germany) |
|
|
|
|
|
| The Commodore
64 was a major advance in memory, graphics and sound.
Despite its suitability for gaming, Commodore also
tried to advertise the 64 as a business machine.
Some good software was available, but anyone who
used a computer in the office was used to an 80
column display. The 64 had only 40 columns. |
|
| Released in 1982,
estimates for the total number sold vary from 15,000,000
to 30,000,000! The Commodore 64 was one of the more
expensive micros on the market but was also one
of the most popular. The 64 was supported by a wide
range of peripherals and an enormous quantity of
software. |
|
| Early 64s suffered
from problems with colours. This was addressed in
later models. UKB 1684408, UKB 182449 and UKB 2387629
have these 'new luminances'. Unfortunately, I had
already dealt with the problem by selecting colour
combinations which were easy to read on the 'faulty'
machines but not so good on the corrected ones.
I still use the older 64s for my own software. |
|
|
|
|
