i want to buy a Commodore 64 - what should i look out for and a few other questions.

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

so for my dad's birthday i want to get him a Commodore 64. he always goes on about how he had one as a kid etc so... 

 

but, i don't know anything about the C64. i don't know what display interface it uses, i don't know what common faults are, what to look for etc. 

 

to know if it's even practical to get one at all i'd like to know the following:

• can i use a regular CRT tv with it?
• are there many common faillures?
• are spare parts cheap/easy to get?

 

i'd really like to get him one but if it's really unpractical or otherwise difficult to get a working C64 set up then i won't bother. 

[Unimportant]

11 minutes ago, firelighter487 said:

can i use a regular CRT tv with it?

Yes: https://www.c64-wiki.com/wiki/A/V_Jack

12 minutes ago, firelighter487 said:

are there many common faillures?

One failure mode is in the power brick, which subsequently fries a lot of chips inside the C64. Some hobbyists have designed protections against this ( https://console5.com/wiki/Commodore_64_Power_Saver ).

15 minutes ago, firelighter487 said:

are spare parts cheap/easy to get?

Some common parts like RAM and 74 series glue logic is still readily available. But the custom MOS chips (MOS was Commodore's own chip designer/fab) such as the 6502, PLA's, VIC and SID are getting increasingly rare.

[Bartholomew]

10 minutes ago, firelighter487 said:

so for my dad's birthday i want to get him a Commodore 64. he always goes on about how he had one as a kid etc so... 

 

but, i don't know anything about the C64. i don't know what display interface it uses, i don't know what common faults are, what to look for etc. 

 

to know if it's even practical to get one at all i'd like to know the following:

• can i use a regular CRT tv with it?
• are there many common faillures?
• are spare parts cheap/easy to get?

 

i'd really like to get him one but if it's really unpractical or otherwise difficult to get a working C64 set up then i won't bother. 

First: that very nice of you

 

getting a "real" one (as in, with keyboard + powersupply) could be a relative pain to use (more cumbersome than the below alternatuves).

 

If you want to provide a quick and easy trip down memory lane just by a few games, the classic bleepy sound and music and mechanical joystick, search the net for "c64 joystick with games". Thats a joystick with c64 and 30 some games included.

 

Another alternative is a c64 mini (search it); allows for usb keyboard and hdmi ouput for easy display etc.

 

Just wanted to mention these alternatives

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

1 minute ago, Bartholomew said:

If you want to provide a quick and easy trip down memory lane just by a few games, the classic bleepy sound and music and mechanical joystick, search the net for "c64 joystick with games". Thats a joystick with c64 and 30 some games included.

i see... he always goes on about 2 games. Aztec Challenge and Emerald Mine i believe. if there is an alternative that includes those 2 games i will be really happy. 

 

2 minutes ago, Bartholomew said:

Another alternative is a c64 mini (search it); allows for usb keyboard and hdmi ouput for easy display etc.

i want to use a CRT if possible. for retro reasons lol. and because i have a few. so HDMI is not preferred in this case. 

[naijer]

You need an NTSC C64 or C64c
NTSC is the region/standard Netherlands uses for old t.v's overthere

you need adaptor cable like this -

https://www.retrogamingcables.co.uk/micro-computers/commodore/buy-commodore-c64-vic20 128-audio-video-rca-phono-av-cable-tv-Lead-for-sale

if you dont buy a tape drive/disk drive or more recent storage (noawadays people use SD cards in there c54's) you will only be able to use cartridges with it.

you will prob want joysticks, stay away from sega ones, although they fit, they will most prob fry your c64.

depends on how much you are going to spend, but you could just buy a boxed/complete ntsc system?

 

 

 

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

@naijer i thought EU was PAL? and the USA was NTSC?

[Unimportant]

26 minutes ago, firelighter487 said:

@naijer i thought EU was PAL? and the USA was NTSC?

The Netherlands was PAL, yes. But France was SECAM so you can't make blanket statements about the EU.

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

1 hour ago, Unimportant said:

The Netherlands was PAL, yes. But France was SECAM so you can't make blanket statements about the EU.

oh I had no idea.

[Guest]

The 8 bit guy on YouTube has looked at alternatives & is designing his own Commodore 64 for cheap. 

[Guest]

 

 

Another alternative would be a raspberry PI. It is really simple to build and setup with hundreds of C64 games. You can even buy c64 cases to fit them, joystick adaptors and all manner of other things to give the whole retro feel. You can even put it into tape loading mode so it takes just as long to load every game with all the accompanying sounds. I have seen people go as far as connecting a tape machine up to a Pi for the full effect but to me that is a step too far. 

 

Here are some links - https://www.google.com/search?q=pi+c64+emulator&rlz=1C1GCEA_enGB846GB846&oq=pi+c64&aqs=chrome.0.0j69i57j0l4.3727j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8