|
|
 |
| Commodore VIC 20
serial number WGB 26443 made in West Germany (9
volt input). |
|
| Announced in
1980, the VIC 20 was the most popular micro computer
of its day. It had good colour and sound and could
be connected to a standard television. The VIC video
chip from which the computer takes its name was
intended for the video game market, which promptly
collapsed. Commodore produced many games on cartridges
while most software was on audio cassettes. The
VIC used the 1530 datasette, Commodore's own tape
drive. It could also be connected to Commodore printers
and disk drives. The initial low memory could be
enhanced by adding more in the cartridge slot. Because
of its comparatively low cost, the VIC 20 was a
run-away success and the first home computer to
sell over one million. |
|
|
|
|
| On the rear of
the VIC (from left to right in the photo) there
is the cartridge slot, the serial connector for
disk drives and printers, the video-out socket,
the datassette connector and an RS-232 connector
for other peripherals. |
|
|
|
|
| The VIC could
be connected to a television via a modulator.
Two versions existed as shown above.
A better picture could be achieved by
using a SCART lead instead. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| The side view
shows (from left to right) the control
port for joystick or paddles, the on/off
switch and the power connector. |
|
| The top image
shows the early, two-pin 9 volt power
conector. The lower one shows the later
multi-voltage DIN connector. This, in
different shapes, would be standard
practice in future Commodore micros,
except the C16. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| My
VICs |
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
| Serial WGB
26443 (W.Germany) (9v) |
Serial WGB
70795 (W.Germany) (9v) |
Serial WGB
148572 (W.Germany) |
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
| Serial WGB
206107 (W.Germany) |
Serial UKB
192272 (England) (VC20) |
|
|
|
|
|
| Jack Tramiel
wanted to dominate the home computer market by producing
a cheap, easy to use computer to beat the opposition.
The result was the VIC 20, a colour computer that
could be connected to a television set. |
|
| My first VIC
had a 9 volt power supply. Later versions had a
multi voltage supply. The VIC was the world's first
colour home computer. It could be taken out of the
box, connected to a television and it was ready
to use. Games could be loaded from cassette or by
plugging in a cartridge. |
|
| The VIC had a
similar keyboard to the PET including the graphic
characters but without the separate number keys
and a screen of only 22 columns. The four function
keys on the right (giving eight options using the
shift key) can be programmed. |
|
| In Germany the
VIC was sold as the Volks Computer or VC20. Curiously,
all my VICs were made in (West) Germany except the
VC20 which was made in England. I found the 22 column
screen limited what I could do and bought a Commodore
64. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| The VIC 20 had
only 3.5kb memory available to the user. This could
be increased by adding memory cartridges. These
came in 3kb, 8kb and 16kb versions. There were also
switchable cartridges that avoided the need to remove
them when only the lowest memory was needed. A problem
arose because adding memory forced the computer
to move its own memory so that a program written
without expansion might not run with additional
memory installed. Memory could be reconfigured within
software. An alternative was to use a motherboard,
a piece of hardware which could hold several cartridges.
By moving the switches on the motherboard, different
memory configurations could be selected. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| No expansion
- 3583 bytes free |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 3k expansion
- 6655 bytes free |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 8k expansion
- 11775 bytes free |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 16k expansion
- 19967 bytes free |
|
|
| |
| A large amount
of software was also available on cartridge. This
automatically configured the necessary memory. |
| |
|
|
|
| Stack
four slot switchable motherboard for VIC 20. |
| |
