home | lewin's resume | contact lewin | zws.com
vintage computing | coin-op games | technical docs | mp3 music

you are here: home | vintage computing | commodore 64c

commodore 64c:

	quick facts

Overview Photograph
FCC ID	BR98YV-64
Model or Part #	n/a
My unit's vintage	Serial #CA1277474
CPU	MOS 6510 enhanced 6502-compatible microprocessor.
Memory	64K RAM (bank-switched over ROM).
Operating System	CBM BASIC V2 in ROM.
Ports	Commodore serial port (for printer, disk drives and other peripherals), cartridge port (compatible with C64, SX64 and C128), user port (compatible with VIC-20, C64 and C128), video out, RF out, two 9-pin digital joystick/paddle ports (Atari standard; one port can be used for a light pen or mouse), proprietary cassette recorder port (compatible with VIC-20, C64 and C128).
Video/audio output	NTSC (PAL in PAL markets) with separate chroma/luma signals and audio on a proprietary DIN connector. This model also has a built-in RF modulator with RF output provided through a single female RCA connector. The C64C has advanced color graphics with a pixel resolution of up to 320x200 (plus a border area) and hardware sprites with hardware x2 scaling and vertical/horizontal hardware flip capability. The C64 series also has quite advanced three-voice mono audio provided by the Commodore SID chip.
Available peripherals	Far too numerous to list. The most common peripherals were the VIC-1541 5.25" single SSDD floppy drive (and its smaller, mechanically superior successor the VIC-1541-II), the C2N (1530) Datassette, and one of a variety of different monitors. The C64C can also use the VIC-1571 5.25" DSDD and VIC-1581 3.5" DSDD floppy drives, but these weren't as commonly used by C64 owners because they were considerably more expensive than the 1541 and the C64 wasn't capable of using all their extra features.

The Commodore 64 was probably the best-selling 8-bit computer system of all time. Originally, the C64's plastic housing was made from the same mold as the VIC-20 (and later the C16), but in a gray color that is often referred to as brown, for some weird reason (Am I color blind?). The C64's keyboard style and feel was also slightly different from the early-run VICs, though the mechanisms are mechanically and electrically compatible.

The C64C cosmetically fits into the same family as the Commodore 128 and the Amiga 500 (though due to its simpler electronics, it's much smaller). It spruces up the color and styling of the older C64 without adding any significant features. All the C64 peripherals I know of are compatible with the C64C. The major change seems to have been integrating a lot of the discrete logic from the old C64, and the use of higher-density DRAM chips.

When I was in high school (a term which in Australia means years 6-12 of school, referred to as Form 1 through Form 6 in my former home state), many of my friends had Commodore 64s, while I was still laboring along with my venerable VIC-20. My aunt's family, 600 miles away, also had a C64 with which I loved to play. I eventually inherited that machine some time after I had begun to build my original vintage computer collection, and it became part of a happy family of four C64s and two C64Cs.

For more information on the C64C, refer to the Commodore 64 page.

	downloads