Sorry, this entry is only available in Italian.

Some new games or tools (Cracked / Trained or Unrealeased) for Commodore 64 have been released from your favorites groups.

Titles:

• Savage [jewel]
• Blackjack aka Twenty-One +2 DE
• Star Trek: The Next Generation
• Honey Bee +29D [crazy hack]
• Mini Arcade: Climax +3FD [pal/ntsc]
• Havoc +18D [crazy hack]
• $2000-$3fff &D
• Boxing Manager 2 +2D
• Chopper Commander +29D [crazy hack]
• Vertical Shooter Preview
• Ah-Type Preview
• Unknown Shooter Preview
• Stinger! +3D [onefiled]
• Target Renegade +7DG +Pic 101%
• Revelation +5DGH 101%
• Xmas Crazy +5
• Confused? +D
• Santa’s Christmas Caper +25D [crazy hack]
• Complex +2D
• The Adventures of Alain [seuck]
• Boom and Bust +2
• Melting Trail
• Props +
• Cherry Picker +
• Old Sam +2
• F1 Tornado +27D [crazy hack]

Download: All Games in One Archive (3035)

source: csdb.dk

Video Genie (or simply Genie) was a series of computers produced by Hong Kong-based manufacturer EACA during the early 1980s. They were compatible with the Tandy TRS-80 Model I computers and could be considered a clone, although there were hardware and software differences.

The computers making up the series were:

• Video Genie System (EG3003 – first version, early/mid 1980)
• Video Genie System (EG3003 – second version, late 1980)
• Genie I (EG3003 – third version, late 1981)
• Dick Smith System 80 MK I (EG3003)
• Genie II (EG3008 – late 1981)
• Disk Smith System 80 MK II (EG3008)
• Genie III (EG3200 – mid 1982) – a more business-oriented machine with CP/M-compatibility.

Although Video Genie was the name used in Western Europe, the machines were sold under different names in other countries.

In Australia and New Zealand they were known as the Dick Smith System 80 MK I (EG3003) and System 80 MK II (EG3008), and in North America they were sold as the PMC-80 and PMC-81. In South Africa the Video Genie was sold as the TRZ-80, a name similar to its rival.

In early 1983, the related Colour Genie machine was released by EACA.

Features:

• CPU: Zilog Z80, at 1.76 MHz
• Video: Monochrome
  • 64×16 / 32×16 uppercase text
  • 128×48 block graphics
  • Composite video output, cable included
  • RF TV signal output, cable included
• 16 KB RAM, expandable to 48 KB
• 12 KB ROM containing Microsoft LEVEL II BASIC
• Storage: Built in 500 baud cassette deck
  • Cable for using an external cassette deck included
• Built in powersupply

Autopsy:

source: wikipedia

The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 and manufactured until 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU running at 1.79 MHz, roughly twice that of similar designs, and were the first home computers designed with custom co-processor chips. This architecture allowed the Atari designs to offer graphics and sound capabilities that were more advanced than contemporary machines like the Apple II or Commodore PET, and gaming on the platform was a major draw – Star Raiders is widely considered the platform’s killer app. Machines with similar performance would not appear until the BBC Micro in late 1981 and the Commodore 64 in 1982.

The original Atari 400 and 800 models were released with a series of plug-n-play peripherals that used Atari’s unique “SIO” serial bus system. Over the following decade several versions of the same basic design were released, including the XL and XE series of computers and matching peripherals. All of these used the same basic logical design, with various changes to the physical layout to lower production costs as chipmaking and manufacturing processes improved over time. The early machines were expensive to build, but dependable. Later models like the XEs were greatly cost-reduced and generally not as robust. Sub-models of these later designs were sold into the eastern European market after sales of the main lineup had ended.

Overall, the Atari 8-bit computer line was a commercial success, selling two million units during its major production run between late 1979 and mid-1985, putting its sales on par with machines like the Sinclair ZX Spectrum and TI-99/4A. Its primary competition in the worldwide market was the Commodore 64, by far the best selling computer of the 8-bit era. Atari also found a strong market in Eastern Europe and had something of a renaissance in the early 1990s as these countries joined a uniting Europe. Some estimates place sales during this period at another two million units.

The early machines: 400 and 800

Management identified two sweet spots for the new computers: a low-end version known as Candy, and a higher-end machine known as Colleen (named after two attractive Atari secretaries). The primary difference between the two models was marketing;

Atari marketed Colleen as a computer, and Candy as a game machine or hybrid game console. Colleen would include user-accessible expansion slots for RAM and ROM, two 8 KB cartridge slots, RF and monitor output (including two pins for separate luma and chroma) and a full keyboard, while Candy used a plastic “membrane keyboard”, non-accessible internal slots for memory, and only RF output for video.

The Atari 810 Disk Drive was Atari’s first disk drive for its line of Atari 400/800 computers. Providing 88K of storage per disk side, the 810 gave Atari computer users the ability to quickly store and retrieve documents and program files to and from the storage device. Up to 4 Atari 810′s could be daisy chained together via the Atari SIO bus for a total of almost 360K of on-line random access file storage and retrieval.

The Atari 810 came in two different versions; the Tandon mech version and the MPI mech version. The Atari 810 is rather large compared to other companies disk drives and has an external 9Vac power supply. The reason why the drive is so large is that there is no disk drive controller in any of the Atari 400/800 computers, instead each device that connects to an Atari computer through its SIO bus is actually an intelligent device with its own intelligent communications controller and floppy disk controller.

The case design was conceived by Kevin McKinsey of Atari’s Home Computer Industrial Design group. The case is interesting in that the top and bottom covers are actually the same part made to assemble the top and bottom sides. Adhesive labels on the back of the 810 would block unused ports on the topside of the cover.

The Atari 410 came in 2 different versions, the above shown is the Atari 410a Tawain version. The Program Recorder was well built and strudy with built in power supply and SIO cable, the 410 didn’t need a bukly external power pak like most other Atari 400/800 components, how the SIO cable being built in and the Program Recorder having no daisy chain port on the unit meant that it had to be placed at the end of the SIO chain.

The original idea of the SIO (Serial I/O) port on the Atari computers was that it was to be used only for the Data cassette drive, however its functionality was extended so that it could use all Atari peripherals including disk drives, printers and modem. The Atari 410/410a had a unique feature exclusively used by Atari. They could play two seperate tracks on a tape, this proved very useful for interactive programs where a user would run a program and would hear audio music/speech while the other track would load the next part of the program.

Below a collection of a high-quality photos

source: wikipedia atarimuseum.com

I thank Piero Todorovich for the donation.

Electronic components donated:

• 1 x MOS 8566R2 (VIC II PAL C128)
• 1 x MOS 6569R3 (VIC II PAL C64)
• 1 x MOS 8563R9 (Video Display Controller VDC)
• 2 x MOS 6526 (Complex Interface Adapter CIA)
• 1 x MOS 8722R2 (Memory Management Unit MMU)
• 1 x MOS 6581R3 (SID)
• 1 x MOS 6581 (SID)
• 1 x MOS 318018-02 (Commodore 128 BASIC Lo Rom)
• 1 x MOS 318019-02 (Commodore 128 BASIC Hi Rom)
• 1 x MOS 251913-01 (BASIC/Kernal ROM C64C/C128)
• 1 x MOS 318020-03 (Commodore 128 Kernal Rom)
• 1 x MOS 390059-01 (Commodore 128 character Rom)
• 2 x TMM 23256P (256k BIT Mask ROM)
• 1 x OKI M2764Z (8K x 8 PROM)
• 1 x AMI 6359112 (IBM 5150 ROM Basic 1.1 FA000-FBFFF; IBM P/N: 5000022)
• 1 x AMI 6359113 (IBM 5150 ROM Basic 1.1 FC000-FDFFF; IBM P/N: 5000023)
• 6 x AMI 6359300 (CGA/MDA BIOS ROM)
• 1 x AMI 6277356 (IBM EGA BIOS ROM)
• 2 x MOTOROLA 5000027 (IBM 5160 BIOS ROM)

This a special edition of the Commodore C64, celebrating the 1.000.000th sale of the C64 in Germany. This is one of the most desirable Commodore items. There are about 300 golden Commodore C64 produced. The numbers from 1.000.000 until 1.000.100 were for the staff of the Commodore factory Braunschweig.

The rest was given to hard- en software companies, magazine-publishers and distributors. The C64 is a computer system with a keyboard, external power-supply and a motherboard. On the motherboard you will find a MOS 6510 processor, RAM / ROM memory, MOS 6569 VIC-II video chip, MOS 6581 SID sound chip and twice a MOS 6526 CIA. PAL version.

source: ebay.de richardlagendijk.nl

Autopsy:

In 1990 Amstrad introduced the “Plus” range which tweaked the hardware in many ways and added a cartridge slot to all models. The Plus included the 464 Plus, 6128 Plus and the GX4000 video game console (which is a cut down Plus without the keyboard nor support for non-cartridge media). All of the range included a cartridge slot and additional hardware improvements.

Most improvements were to the video display which saw an increase in palette to 4096 colours and gained the capability of hardware sprites. Splitting the display into two separate windows and pixel scrolling both became full supported hardware features although both were possible on the non-”Plus” hardware using clever programming of the existing Motorola 6845. An automatic DMA transfer system for feeding the sound chip was also added but the sound chip itself remained unchanged. Additionally, the BASIC command set for disc access was improved.

These models did not do very well in the marketplace, failing to attract any substantial third party support. The 8-bit technology behind the Plus was starting to look a little out of date by 1990 and users resented the substantial price hike for cartridge games compared to their tape and disc counterparts. However, the Plus machines did sell well in France where Amstrad still had a large following due to the success of the classic CPC range there.

The range was officially titled as ‘Amstrad 464 Plus’, ‘Amstrad 6128 Plus’ and ‘GX4000′ and the ‘CPC’ (standing for Colour Personal Computer) abbreviation used in the older generation was dropped. However, many Amstrad users refer to the Plus range as ‘CPC Plus’ or ‘CPC+’ due to the inherent similarities of the two ranges.

from: cpcwiki.eu

This is an old Commodore VIC-20 Home Computer (PAL) with a “Microgramma Extended Fonts” keyboard. The same keyboard is also used in the Commodore PET computer.

The “PET” style keyboard used on the VIC-1001 and early VIC-20s

The keyboards used in VIC-20 computers were manufactured for Commodore by Matsushita Corporation of Japan. Those used on the very first VIC-20s were almost completely flat-topped and identical in shape to that of Commodore’s PET computer (however, on the VIC-20 the PET’s number pad was replaced by four wide function keys).

The keyboards on later VIC-20s were manufactured with slightly concave tops. The concavity of the “F” and “J” keys was slightly more prominent to provide tactile feedback for touch-typists seeking the “home” position.

Commodore VIC-20 8-bit Home Computer

The VIC-20 (Germany: VC-20; Japan: VIC-1001) is an 8-bit home computer which was sold by Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore’s first personal computer, the PET. The VIC-20 was the first computer of any description to sell one million units.

The VIC-20 was intended to be more economical than the PET computer. It was equipped with only 5 kB of RAM (of this, only 3.5 KB were available to the BASIC programmer) and used the same MOS 6502 CPU as the PET. The VIC-20′s video chip, the MOS Technology VIC, was a general-purpose color video chip designed by Al Charpentier in 1977 and intended for use in inexpensive display terminals and game consoles, but Commodore could not find a market for the chip. As the Apple II gained momentum with the advent of VisiCalc in 1979, Jack Tramiel wanted a product that would compete in the same segment, to be presented at the January 1980 CES. For this reason Chuck Peddle and Bill Seiler started to design a computer named TOI (The Other Intellect).

Gallery:

source: sleepingelephant.com/denial/wiki wikipedia

Some new games or tools (Cracked / Trained or Unrealeased) for Commodore 64 have been released from your favorites groups.

Titles:

• Aviator Arcade [16kb cartridge]
• Pixel City Skater
• Aviator Arcade +3
• Voivod Attack [16kb cartridge]
• Voivod Attack +5
• Cosmic Ark +4HFD 101% [pal/ntsc]
• Pixel City Skater [16kb cartridge]
• p0snake +2DP [pal/ntsc]
• p0snake [16kb cartridge]
• Honey Bee +6FD [pal/ntsc]
• Honey Bee Redux [16kb cartridge]
• C-2048 [16kb cartridge]
• C-2048 +
• C-2048 +HF [pal/ntsc]
• Race [16kb cartridge]
• Race
• Toyz [16kb cartridge]
• Cowboy Duel Junior +1F DE [english+german] [pal/ntsc]
• Blackjack aka Twenty-One (C64 & PLUS/4)
• Cowboy Duel Junior – Live Your Dream …Again!
• Falling [16kb cartridge]
• Falling &MHS
• Blackjack aka Twenty-One +1
• Falling [pal/ntsc]
• Falling +1H
• Toyz
• Falling
• Tiger Claw +3D
• Penultimate Fantasy [pal/ntsc]
• Tiger Claw [16kb cartridge]
• Mini Arcade: Climax [16kb cartridge]
• Brick Buster [16kb cartridge]
• Penultimate Fantasy [16kb cartridge]
• Mini Arcade: Climax +D
• Brick Buster +3D
• Penultimate Fantasy + [pal/ntsc]
• Penultimate Fantasy +
• Fickle [16kb cartridge]
• Tutti Frutti 64 V0.1 [16kb cartridge]
• Penultimate Fantasy 100% +3DF [pal/ntsc]
• Tutti Frutti 64 Preview +2
• Fickle +5D
• Brilliant Maze +2D
• Mini-Arcade: Climax +1FD [pal/ntsc]
• Attack of the Mutant Aliens +

Download: All Games in One Archive (3117)

source: csdb.dk

Repairs and calibrations made:

• After a few days of normal use of the Apple /// is died the Keyboard Encoder (341-0035-00). I have replaced the chip with the Keyboard Encoder SMC KR3600-075B1 which fortunately is still available.
• Removed the filter capacitor.
• Replaced the bulb of the power-on that is embedded in the keyboard.
• Replaced all rubber feets.
• Calibration of the Floppy Drive.
• Replaced some switches of the keyboard.

Repairing keyboard Apple ///:

It seems incredible but there is always a button that doesn’t work ;-D

I found on some keyboards of the TI-99/4A the same buttons but with the plunger much smaller. I have used the plunger of the Apple /// button on the TI-99/4a button and i have fixed the problem elegantly ;-D

Thank to my friend Ninetyniner Iuc for the donation of spare parts.

Gallery:

12►

The Apple III (often rendered as Apple ///) is a business-oriented personal computer produced and released by Apple Computer that was intended as the successor to the Apple II series, but was largely considered a failure in the market. Development work on the Apple III started in late 1978 under the guidance of Dr. Wendell Sander. It had the internal code name of “Sara”, named after Sander’s daughter. The machine was first announced and released on May 19, 1980, but due to serious stability issues that required a design overhaul and a recall of existing machines, it was formally reintroduced the following autumn. Development stopped and the Apple III was discontinued on April 24, 1984, and the III Plus was dropped from the Apple product line in September 1985.

The Apple III could be viewed as an enhanced Apple II – then the newest heir to a line of 8-bit machines dating back to 1976. However, the Apple III was not part of the Apple II line, but rather a close cousin. The key features business users wanted in a personal computer were a true typewriter-style upper/lowercase keyboard (as opposed to the Apple II which was based on a teletype keyboard) and 80 column display. In addition, the machine had to pass U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) qualifications for business equipment. In 1981, International Business Machines unveiled the IBM Personal Computer (IBM PC) – a completely new 16-bit design soon available in a wide range of inexpensive clones. The business market moved rapidly towards the PC DOS/MS-DOS platform, eventually pulling away from the Apple 8-bit computer line.

Despite numerous stability issues and a recall that included the first 14,000 units off the assembly line, Apple was eventually able to produce a reliable and dependable version of the machine. However, damage to the computer’s reputation had already been done and it failed to do well commercially as a direct result. In the end, an estimated 65,000–75,000 Apple III computers were sold. The Apple III Plus brought this up to ~120,000. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak stated that the primary reason for the Apple III’s failure was that the system was designed by Apple’s marketing department, unlike Apple’s previous engineering-driven projects. The Apple III’s failure led to Apple reevaluating their plan to phase out the Apple II, and eventual continuation of development of the older machine. As a result, later Apple II models incorporated some hardware, such as the Apple Scribe Printer, a thermal printer, and software technologies of the Apple III.

source: wikipedia

Some new games or tools (Cracked / Trained or Unrealeased) for Commodore 64 have been released from your favorites groups.

Titles:

• Paper Plane +1HFD 100% [pal/ntsc]
• Donkey Kong Junior +6HD [onefiled]
• Paper Plane +21D [crazy hack]
• Paper Plane
• Bruce Lee II Preview
• Donkey Kong Junior +5HD [onefiled]
• Bomb Fusion +32D [crazy hack]
• Laberinto [spanish]
• Donkey Kong Junior +3D [onefiled]
• Paper Plane &H [pal/ntsc]
• Rocky Memphis Preview 2 +1M
• Rocky Memphis Preview 2
• Rocky Memphis Preview 2 + [onefiled]
• Moonspire Preview +2
• Moonspire Preview
• X-Force +35D [crazy hack]
• Kanga +3D
• Rocky Memphis Preview 2 [pal/ntsc]
• Pandora +4DS +Pic
• Laberinto +2T

Download: All Games in One Archive (3108)

Gallery:

The Macintosh SE is a personal computer manufactured by Apple between March 1987 and October 1990.

This computer marked a significant improvement on the Macintosh Plus design and was introduced by Apple at the same time as the Macintosh II. It had a similar case to the original Macintosh computer, but with slight differences in color and styling.

Features:

The SE’s notable new features, compared to its similar predecessor the Macintosh Plus, were:

• First compact Macintosh with an internal drive bay for a hard disk (originally 20 MB or 40 MB) or a second floppy drive.
• First compact Macintosh that featured an expansion slot (SE stood for “System Expansion”).
• Used the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB), introduced with the Apple IIGS, for keyboard and mouse interface.
• Improved SCSI support with faster data throughput.
• Better reliability and longer life expectancy due to the addition of a cooling fan.

source: wikipedia

I have received a Commodore Amiga 500 to use as spare parts. I decided to restore because it’s a ASSY 312512 (Revision 3) with key-switch like IBM chiclet keyboards.

The cleaning took me a whole day but with a great satisfaction at the end of the work. The Commodore Amiga 500 works fine, the floppy drive reads very well and i have added a memory expansion (FAST RAM) of 512k.

Gallery of images (before and after cleaning):

Read more…

Tomasz “Tebe” Biela has released an update of the program Graph2Font v3.9.9.3 and the Atari Graphics Studio v2.9.9.

This project began many years ago as a simple graphics converter for Atari but over the years the features are significantly increased. The converter runs under Windows.

Download:

• Graph2Font v3.9.9.3 (Full) (1399)
• Graph2Font v3.9.9.3 (Lite) (1262)
• Atari Graphics Studio v2.9.9 (1295)

source: g2f.atari8.info