Commodore 64 Laptop

Step 7 Testing the unit

Before screwing everything together I test the unit to see if it's working, not on fire, if the 1541-III-DTV SD card is working, etc.

Looks good, so I can attach the McMaster-Carr friction hinges to the back, call it a day, and play some M.U.L.E.!

Comments

[MRHint]

Ben Heck, this is awesome! I can't wait to see your next project.

[boothby171]

Face it, fellas--when real computer aficionados get together, they don't talk about "Oh, I'm liquid cooling my latest eight-core Xeon..." (wait..maybe they do), thet talk about their first Commodore, or Osborne, or how they had to re-order their FORTRAN deck when it spilled in the hallway

[sqeeek]

Lol I know a place out here in Utah that's been around for 50 years and never changed, called Central Utah Electronics. They still sell Vacuum tubes and original Kaypro Portable's for original list price o.O

[Astinsan]

They will be sitting on that kaypro for a while. 1800$ for a luggable 35lb computer... It better come with a dolly. hehe..

I remember the commodore and the atari. I didn't like the atari that much. They keyboard was the bubble key version. The commodore had its issues. It would overheat sometimes and would need to be re-soldered (never turned it) I still have my modem for the commodore 64 think its 75 baud. blazing fast! :)

[Atarimark]

Well as an Atari man myself, I have to say that this build is spectacular. Back in high school we had one guy from our group who had a C64 and we never let him live it down. He would be proud of your work and so should you.

[vader0ne]

Man all this talk about the commadore 64 is making me thinking of digging out my old vic 20 and my 128 also have a 64 in my closet along with my big box full of loadstar mags and suitcases of floppies, and modified disk drives. I learned basic programing on these and learned how to hack programs...GREAT MACHINES BACK IN THEIR DAY.

[MrNate]

M.U.L.E. = Best. Video. Game. Ever.

This is a ridiculously awesome build.

[murrayc]

My copy of M.U.L.E. would never load, so I've never experienced the game I've heard such great things about. I still have my Commodore around... maybe I should look for a different copy.

[mrwolfe]

Dude, you must be seriously old to even KNOW what M.U.L.E is! LOL

[sqeeek]

Not true, my dad set me up with an old C64 when I was a kid, and later an emulator... My first programming language was the C64 basic, and M.U.L.E was awesome. Still play it sometimes, on an emulator.

[dla888]

What is M.U.L.E.?

[NightGod]

http://www.atarimule.com/ Such a classic game...

[FFantasyGrl1980]

The first computer I ever used was a Commodore64. It was set up in my grandparents living room. I learned to program in the games I wanted to play. I will forever remember load"$",8,1

[Dr Morbius]

I remember it being LOAD "*" ,8,1 There was even a disk "magazine" for C64 called "LoadStar". Nice...Ben should be called Ben "Hack"endorn. He's awesome. Like this instructable.

[bitterbug]

One command loaded the directory of games on the disk, the other loaded and executed the first program on the disk - which could be a menu of the programs if it was a crack disk with a bootloader :)

[Dr Morbius]

Yup.

[cwrudns]

Very cool instructable. I really like the new sleek look of the C-64 . . . a beautiful transformation. The greening of the machine is a bonus! Thanks for sharing your work!

[Pauper]

(removed by author or community request)

[darkclaw42]

Owning something that very few people have, like a Porsche, is something that people can be proud about. Its just a matter of opinion. I think it would be pretty cool to have a ancient piece of tech in my room that I had made. Its something I can brag about, and even sell in the future.

[zack247]

shut up. you are just jealous that you can't have one

[Pauper]

No, I WON'T shut up. Ever heard of America ???? I'm allowed any opinion I choose !! I suggest you follow your own advice !!

[zack247]

ok, seriously man, if you didn't like it, why did you read the instructable?

[carpe_noctem]

he shouldn't have told you to shut up but still, lean back a moment and look at this as a 3rd person. This guy works hard and flexes some brain to remake a classic, and puts in the extra work to document how he did it for the little boys and girls at home, should they choose to follow his lead. But then some jerk (thats what i'd think you were) starts calling your hard work a flinstone mobile on the first comment. If you don't want to do the project alls well but don't go and talk shit either. BTW, ending a question with four question marks is akin to pausing with a stupid expression. and users from all around the use instructables (im in russia right now) so the america comment is stupid. perhaps we could use a little censorship...

[TarScrap]

You should make a giant rack of ribs-shaped peripheral for your Flintadore 64.

[wenpherd]

what if you wanted to play one of those old games like zork

[robotguy4]

Who wouldn't want a Flinstones mobile? I mean, its green (fairly low carbon output compared to other cars), its eye catching, very cheap to maintain, and the entire frame is either biodegradable or inert! Also, it does wonders to your thighs!

Also, the point, in this case, isn't to own a smanshy-panshy computer, but to own a piece of computer history that has been modified into a form that can be lugged around without too much of a problem. Kind of like the Lappy 486.

[dla888]

C64 is history. Many people loved it, it has sentimental value. Some people learned their first programming languages on it.

[Joe Martin]

Your statement has no valid point to it. Without people MAKEing things you wouldn't have the Porsche in the first place would you ;)

[JonnyMac]

Why do we build anything? -- because we can and the process of building satiates the desire to create/build, even when the device we're building is decidedly retro.

[mediasmith]

Or, often just to see if we can.

[BlowStuffUp]

right!!

[strods]

First: this isn't like taking a Porshe and turning it into the Flinstone car.
This is more like taking the Model T and turning it into a Honda.  It's a hell of and upgrade and modernization to a piece of equipment that has sentimental value to many, MANY people, and proved reliability.  (How often did a C-64 crash?)
Why does a painter paint, when printers can print.  Why do chefs cook when we have take out and delivery? 
A large part of the problem of this day and age is the majority of people are like that.  They want to 'buy', 'pick up', or whaterver else you want to throw in for consumersim, and be just like everyone else.  What we need is creativity like this.   Individuality like this.

[mdwfg]

i'm late into commenting but hell yeah you're damn right!!!!!!

[mediasmith]

Can we "Amen!" here?

[saintneko]

If you want your car in the shop every two weeks, stick with the Porsche. If you want a car that has lasted 30 years and will probably last 30 more, go with this Honda (slowly but surely you'll get where you need to go).

[ReCreate]

People tend to like these old computers,for some reason...

[zack247]

maybe its because they were practically invincible.

[mg0930mg]

People tend to like these, because they're awesome. If you never had the old videogame consoles, you wouldn't have the new ones. To this day, I still play my N64 more than my PS3.

[ProjectZro]

HAHA yah i find myself playing VC games on my wii more than the wii games and my xbox 360 combined. and no i didnt pay for them like a moron. and NO im not pirating i own the games but my old system dont work on my tv anymore for 3 reasons 1) cord is broken 2) No outlets left on my wall 3) Controller got lost in the move. retro is better at times seeing as back in the day it was about fun not graphics.

[ReCreate]

Yes probably since you got more and better games for the n64(more entertaining not graphically)