Commodore 128

[@BilHerd]

LOL... We included spider eggs, nasty ones, but I assume that they, and their children, are long dead. WOOT! How much do I owe you? Also I didn't know if the RF modulator actually worked, your the first I have seen to use it. XP Now if I could just remember where I have seen that keyboard layout before... :P

[@gklinger]

Taylor and Amy make a video about the Commodore 128 and along comes the guy who designed the computer. We are living in magical times,.

[@fractalMD]

Looool. You like how we just talk to you like you are there?

[@BilHerd]

A little spooky, every time you said the name my cat would look at me as if to say that I had unfinished business to deal with.. @@fractalMD So glad no wig!

[@BilHerd]

Rewatching now, smilin big. Will pass onto the team of very excellent people. :D @@fractalMD

[@fractalMD]

@@BilHerd We *nearly* trotted out the wig. It was a close thing.

[@alpdingo]

The 1982 C64 sales brochure (which can be viewed online) touted CP/M compatibility as a selling point though it didn't really eventuate as a practical option. The same brochure also had pictures of a number of Commodore (primarily VIC 20) games - including one that looked cool - a WWI flying game "Ace of Aces" which also didn't eventuate but peaked the interest of one of my Apple II+ friends. A title called Ace of Aces was released in 1986 by US Gold set in WWII and featuring a Mosquito fighter-bomber.

[@michaelblair5566]

I had a Commodore 128 flat version I got back in 1985. The ultimate 8 bit computer! Of course I mostly used it to play Commodore 64 games of course!

[@fractalMD]

Of course!

[@mike_pena]

As a kid, I always wanted to have a C128 after my Plus/4. Thirty years later I finally have one! Love your videos!

[@fractalMD]

DREAM ACHIEVED!!!!

[@kontrarien5721]

Just recently got the old 128D set up. Runs like a champ. Treated myself to an Epyx Fast Load clone cartridge. Why, oh why, did I not have one of those back in the day?

[@ActionRetro]

CP/M, the OS for distinguished connoisseurs

[@fractalMD]

PINKY OUT!

[@michaelblair5566]

Messing with CP/M made me ready for MS DOS when I got my first PC in 1990!

[@notthehelper6289]

I love that those disk drives have the same CPU as the C64 in them but are ungodly slow.

[@tonyshaw13]

loved the graphics and sound of the c128 mode, both in 40 column And 80 column modes, never used the CP/M side of things, but back in the day (um 40 plus years ago) I was never interested in that side of things, and you ladies are well jammy getting your hands on a fully working C128

[@weepingscorpion8739]

I really, really need to repair our C128. I miss that machine so much. I also have a 1571 but the power board broke during shipping so that will need some serious TLC. And I also have the rare 1570 disk drive and a 1541-II which was the original disk drive we had with the 128 so yeah... 3 disk drives. I never had that. There are even 1581 and FD-2000 replicas that you can build so I might migrate from 5.25" to 3.5" disks, especially the FD-2000 would be nice as it supports 3.5" DSHD disks which would be sooo convenient seeing as I have so many HD disks from my PC era. Anyway, this was so great to see. I hope that the community will make more games for the 128, the best currently are perhaps Ultima V from back in the day (and which is nice to play with multiple disk drives especially if they have the burst mode) and also Attack of the PETSCII Robots which uses both monitor outputs at the same time. *sigh* really gotta repair ours now. Wish me luck.

[@fractalMD]

GOOD LUCK!

[@damianscott431]

Your 1541 can be saved ... the likely culprit for putting on a fireworks display and letting out the magic smoke is C15 a 10uf 25v Tantalium capacitor (from the front of the drive, this is located on the right hand side of the PCB closest to the front) . Good Luck!

[@fractalMD]

I think you are right. There is a very crispy capacitor.

[@jeffreyphipps1507]

Two main issue with the C-64 CP/M cart was 1) The 1541 drive could not load normal CP/M disks because Commodore used GCR and CP/M machines used MFM (if memory serves) and this meant that there was almost no available software for the machine. 2) CP/M typically operated on machines with 80-column displays. The C-64, if it could get CP/M software, still ran using 40-column displays by default.

[@VeronicaExplains]

This might be my favorite computer. Three in one!

[@fractalMD]

It really is pretty damn cool! And when you talk to Bil Herd in your video and he up and answers... AND Veronica makes a lovely comment... Peak retro? 😃

[@lovemadeinjapan]

All 3 flawed. The C128 is a mess. I still have it cause it looks cool as tapestry on the wall.

[@AureliusR]

@@lovemadeinjapan Why so negative?

[@lovemadeinjapan]

@@AureliusR The C128 is a disaster as a follow up to the 64. 1) It is 99% used in C64 mode, which does not offer anything new, even the video output is lower quality then on an original breadbin. 2) The flaws of the BASIC are not fixed. You might believe if BASIC went from 2.0 to 7.0, you get a lot new. Well, you didn't, and again, versions were not compatible, so no way to run a C64 program in C128 mode. 3) The new video-mode is a total joke with its secondary output. In theory it could be cool, 2 screens on one machine, but again, because of the weird concept and weird signal not compatible with SCART, there was hardly any software for it. 4) Disk access was not improved a lot, same lousy commands, same low speed, The 1571 was a bit better, but nowhere near the speed a rusty old NEC 765 chip from 1980 delivered on Z80 machines. 5) It had a 4 MHz Z80 sitting there for nothing. Poor Z80. So next to the MSX2, the C128 is laughable. A disaster. A pretty one, but with 0 use.

[@mxg75]

Because the 40 and 80 column video signals are generated by two different chips using different APIs, it's technically possible to use both simultaneously in a dual monitor setup. Attack of the Petscii Robots has gameplay on the 40 column VIC II monitor and a map on the 80 column VDC monitor.

[@fractalMD]

Badass

[@lovemadeinjapan]

Utterly stupid. Get a CPC 6128 instead. Much nicer machine.

[@AureliusR]

@@lovemadeinjapan Now why would you go and say such a thing

[@lovemadeinjapan]

@@AureliusR I hate my C128, thats why. Dumbest machine I own.

[@AureliusR]

@@lovemadeinjapan Jeez, if you hate it that much, sell it to me

[@BobIrving2]

Wonderful! I loved my 128 for the 80 column mode word for word processing. Even used *WordStar* on CP/M. Good times! Thanks for being awesome.

[@fractalMD]

Thank YOU for being awesome!

[@JeffSmith03]

I'm so glad you conquered the problems; no spiders, RF works then you had compatible monitor, ok first drive blew up but you even had the newer model, disks working... next to design your own OS! You can still re-cap that older drive just need lot of cleanup. At least you learned why we "re-cap" the old electronics! Those old capacitors will indeed dry out the eloctrolyte fluid, causing it to short out then when it heads up, the paper is flammable because it's dry, hence replacing the caps that are going bad. People replace all of them but usually they don't all go bad that fast.

[@humbugcritic]

My favorite Christmas memory - I was 10, in 1985 - my dad let me stay up late and help wrap gifts for the first time. I helped him wrap my best present ever, my brand new C128, in gold and silver foil paper. I could not wait to wake up and open it, and begin my new life as a pre-teen, no longer a little boy. We stayed up that night to watch the HBO Christmas present, which was a mystery movie, we had no idea what it would be. The tv flickered on and the opening credits began to roll for, for the first time ever on television broadcast, Ghostbusters. My dad and I hugged and high fived and stayed up all night to watch it. One of the happiest nights of my life. Thank you for triggering this memory. You ladies are 100% delightful. And you possibly old enough to remember this technology?!!

[@TaylorAmyShow]

What a wonderful memory, thank you for sharing this. We were the same age on Christmas 1985 :)

[@fractalMD]

So lovely!

[@humbugcritic]

I completely forgot you could run CP/M on it! My dad had a Kaypro 4, which was a super cool, 100 pound “portable” computer with an ominous glowing green screen and some assorted ASCII games like “hunt the wumpus” and “catchum”. I think I was able to get them going on my 128 in CP/M mode.

[@ChristopherGruber]

I'm sorta jealous. When I was a child, I desperately wanted the Commodore 128 but I never could talk my family into buying it for me. After this computer, I wanted the Amiga 1000 and never got that one either. Such is life.

[@fractalMD]

It's not too late!

[@GarthBeagle]

1:09 "🎶8502 🎶 ..we're not doing that" Love the SID music!

[@fractalMD]

😂

[@treyduval5399]

Great show, im subscribed! I had a C128 and never really used the CP/M mode, but booted into C64 mode a LOT for the games! Didn’t know there was a Star Trek game!

[@fractalMD]

Epic, right?!

[@TheREALJosephTurner]

I remember when the magazines had pages of programs you could type in. Typing in those hundreds of peek/poke numbers was maddening. Get just ONE digit wrong, and your eyes would cross trying to find where you made the mistake!

[@fractalMD]

Oh yeah. TOTAL insanity.

[@jeffreyphipps1507]

The C-128 is unusual in a few ways. 1) the 1571 would boot CP/M from a Commodore formatted disk, but then CP/M knew how to manipulate the hardware of the 1571 to read MFM disks like from Kaypro, giving it access to hundreds of software programs. However, by this time people were starting to move on to machines running MS-DOS. 2) For some reason, the C-128 required the Z-80 while booting. I don't remember why. 3) the C-128 could run the Z-80 for CP/M, however, I don't remember the Z-80 running at the speeds normally associated the normal speeds used in CP/M machines. 4) Technically, the C-128 can be expanded past 512K - but MMU management becomes a problem. 5) the C-128 can have the 80-column RAM expanded to provide better color in the display. 6) The C-128 is largely, though not 100%, C-64 compatible. 7) The C-128 is NOT subject to the "brick of death" problem that plagued the VIC models (that had the brick) and C-64s.

[@davidkudrav7018]

“So much power!” “So much brick.” I died. 😂😂

[@fractalMD]

Sup Kudrav!

[@CoCoNutBob]

lol... So many more levels of truth in that statement than they even realized! 😂

[@Commodore128Mode3]

Congratulations on obtaining the greatest 8 bit computer of all time! I still feel equally excited every time I set my own Commodore 128 up.

[@fractalMD]

We are fans!

[@another3997]

Yes, but congratulations on getting the C128 too. It's a pity they couldn't show the best 8 bit of all time as well. 😂

[@hobsonbeeman7529]

This was back when computer users did a lot more than just turn it on and browse the internet. I used to spend a lot of late nights working on the Commodore 128 with 1571 drives and a Jiffy DOS module and installed case switch to toggle between Basic 7.0 and Jiffy DOS, it was a lot of fun!!!

[@fractalMD]

Not *nearly* as much tinkering these days.

[@allenhalsted4895]

Such a great way to start the week, thank you!

[@fractalMD]

CRUSHING THIS MONDAY!

[@USBMEDICMalcolmScole]

I remember the smell of the fresh openbox ....... sold a lot . . . great keyboard loved my speccy....and its little interupt button......FREEZE time for a coffee

[@fractalMD]

And the manual smell!

[@derekchristenson5711]

Your excitement over seeing the A> prompt appear on a Commodore 128 was similar to mine when I first got CP/M booting on my Apple IIe with Z80 co-processor card. 🙂 After a lifetime of associating that kind of command line with IBM compatibles (and later), seeing it on a machine with a 6502 main CPU is somehow very novel.

[@fractalMD]

Totally agree!

[@darioperezdario2638]

I just happened to find this video from your girls channel and I loved it. I am convinced that the Commodore 128 is a little-known and underrated computer today. I love it. I discovered it a few years ago, and I loved it when they managed to run CP/M 80 on that Commodore 128. Try running GEOS for C128. It's slow but interesting.

[@fractalMD]

We will!

[@jeffreyphipps1507]

I enjoy this machine very much. I tend to use the 80-column mode most for both C-128 programs and CP/M programs. I run the output of the machine through a video converter and use a flat screen. Lifting CRTs is just not good for my health, or that of the monitor should I drop it.

[@bretlinden8248]

I'm 1:30 in, and I just wanted to pause and say how excited I am to watch the rest. I grew up in some poverty, but I had some friends that had the C64 and would occasionally take pity on me and let me play with theirs. However through all my friends, and even my school, I never got to see a C128 live and in person. So, this should be interesting and educational for me.

[@fractalMD]

❤

[@Alexandrashepiro]

The C128 was my First computer. I had so many games on Disc and Cartridge! I and got really good at programming! I could make graphics, music. I used to program my computer for when I left for school till i goty home to see how far i could get it to count up! I still have all my Discs! Sometimes I would get so inviolved with a chess game, or programming, I would just be at the computer all night writing a program or playing a game!

[@marksuper4920]

Hooray!! My favorite computer!! When i was a kid, my dad bought a 128 from an unclaimed freight / salvage store after our C64 stopped working. The c128 has some cool features like its 'advanced sound and music' in basic - I hope you enjoy it! Also, if the disk is formatted right, the 1571 can read both sides without taking it out and flipping it!

[@fractalMD]

We are totally enjoying it!

[@jeffreyphipps1507]

You can also boot CP/M from Evie's cart - I'm pretty sure. Any, disk simulator should be able to boot a D64 image of the CP/M boot disk. You'll still need the 1571 drive to run any disk from the CP/M environment that's not an image file (though more CP/M images are now available).

[@JamiesHackShack]

Fun one! Cool to see the excitement of booting up cpm on it. 😀

[@fractalMD]

The most excited anyone has ever gotten about cpm, lol.

[@zh84]

I remember at the local university's open day playing "Star Trek" on a terminal attached to a VAX minicomputer. That took me back... On another note, does Amy ever actually look through her spectacles? I've only seen them on her forehead, never over her eyes ;-)

[@fractalMD]

Mostly keeps back my 8 tons of hair, but I do wear them in space space shuttle in space from space one. Space.

[@SanityClauseUK]

Let's go, a new episode! I love your videos so much, keep them coming!

[@fractalMD]

Awe, thanks!

[@osgnuru]

I so badly wanted one. I still do. My hope for a VR afterlife is to code on a C128.

[@fractalMD]

In every life! 🤣

[@nigec4969]

I never owned a Commodore 128, I had a C64. The C128 is so expensive on Ebay.

[@fractalMD]

Yeah, eBay is not cheap for this stuff!

[@bobtherieau6086]

Hands down, this is your finest 8502/Z80 episode ever. A masterwork!

[@fractalMD]

**chef's kiss**

[@CheshireNoir]

Your excitement with the new toy comes through the screen so well 🙂 Yay Commodore 128! There are a handful of C128 specific programs, but most seem to be business applications, which probably explains why my C128 sits on the shelf most of the time.

[@fractalMD]

The C64 mode is def clutch.

[@BenInSeattle]

Yup, not much available. There was Zork, of course. There was also Smallterm, a C128 mode program which lets you download CP/M software and write it directly to a CP/M disk. Or, you could use DESterm to login to a UNIX box and run TREK in glorious ASCII at 1200 Baud.

[@mogwaay]

Ha haa, loved Amy backing up before drive no.2 way switched on 😂

[@fractalMD]

Fool me once....

[@PunmasterSTP]

The C64 and C128 were a bit before my time, but it's always fun seeing old hardware get explored!

[@fractalMD]

And a good time was had by all!

[@barryon8706]

The computer I have the fondest memories of, by far.

[@fractalMD]

It's a beaut!

[@AlanGrassia]

Sorry to hear about the Magic Smoke, but WOW! You got it working *with* the disk drive. Very cool. Awesome video!

[@fractalMD]

Thx!!!!

[@David_Ladd]

Nice find ladies :D Most people used the Commodore 128 in Commodore 64 mode. The box is in really nice condition too!

[@fractalMD]

David Ladd!

[@David_Ladd]

@@fractalMD You rang madam! :D

[@fractalMD]

@@David_Ladd Woo!

[@svenvandevelde1]

Thank you for showing CP/M. This machine is part of my youth. Thanks for bringing the C128 alive again in a fun way.

[@fractalMD]

So much fun!

[@EricsEdgeVideos]

I’m so geeked that you are so geeked about CP/M. One of the programing environments on my bucket list! And, bring on the rap!

[@fractalMD]

Woo! Eric, do NOT tempt us.

[@EricsEdgeVideos]

@@fractalMD consider yourselves tempted

[@jeffreydurham5342]

Wow! I bought one of these when they were first available. Also had a 64 and a plus4

[@fractalMD]

Niiiice!

[@Otakunopodcast]

There is a way to use both video chips on the C128 simultaneously, though I have no idea how to do it. The Commdore 128 version of Attack of the PETSCII Robots displays the game on one screen and it also draws an overview map on the other screen that updates live as you play the game.

[@fractalMD]

Niiiiiice

[@CallousCoder]

I still need to do a video on CP/M on the C128 but it is soooo slow! It's just not funny :D C128 is a CP/M machine for sure.

[@fractalMD]

Make videos! 😃

[@AddieDirectsTV]

5:27 that was an aggressive punch of Run/Stop

[@fractalMD]

It needs to know who is boss

[@AddieDirectsTV]

@@fractalMD hahahahhahaha

[@jeffreyphipps1507]

One last thing - when the C-128 is operating in fast mode, the VIC chip cannot operate to display things. If you write a program to operate in fast mode while in 40-column mode, the screen will blank while displaying. However, the same is not true of 80-column mode where the VIC chip is not used. Generally, when the pseudo-CGA mode is used, the machine flips into fast mode (twice the speed). This shuts down the VIC chip. If you drop to slow mode in 80-column mode you can display on BOTH the 40-column screen and the 80-column screen. I don't really see that the loss of speed is compensated in order to have two screens, but that's just me.

[@m7hacke]

I don't know if you figured it out yet, but you can use both video outputs at the same time. You have to use the S-Video output (DIN connector) and not the RF connector. You also have to be in slow mode.

[@JohnGuillorykf5qeo]

Press esc followed by x to switch screens.

[@no1leader135]

First thing I do, if I start in the 80 columns mode - typing "fast" to switch the CPU in 2 MHz mode. 😁 You can you use dual monitors. Start in 40 columns mode and then type "graphic 5" to switch the output t0 80 colmuns screen. Now you can program and using the basic 7.0 commands: 10 graphic 1 : rem set 40 col to graphic mode 20 circle 1,50,50,50 : rem make a circle Great video! 😀 P.S.: To use CP/M you have to use a 1570 (only one side) or 1571 (two sides) or 1581. And the best command: GO64

[@fractalMD]

PRO TIPS!

[@NeverlandSystemPunkGirlChloe]

OMG I LOVE your vids. This is all stuff like so not even "late" last century and so beyond my imagination... but you two ladies make it SOOOOOOO fun and interesting. I love this ancient tech stuff- how did you like get on the internet with a computer this slow or primitive? (total GenZ troll joke, of course! LOL)... Seriously though... LOVE this cool retro tech stuff and your presentation. I learn so much.

[@fractalMD]

Excellent!

[@Chris.Wiley.]

Yay! Another episode of the Taylor and Amy Show!!!!!!

[@fractalMD]

Rejoice!

[@lurkerrekrul]

Unless I'm mistaken, I think pretty much all the Commodore floppy drives are compatible with all the various Commodore systems. The 1571 is a double-sided drive, so it has heads on the top and bottom, which come together on each side of the disk when you turn the latch. The fake disk is there to make sure that the heads don't hit each other. Actually, all the Commodore floppy drives came with at least a cardboard disk in them. I never had smoke come out of a floppy drive, but typically the first thing I do before trying one, is to open it up and clean the heads, They can tend to accumulate gunk off the disk. As for the monitor connection, I don't know about the C128 as I never had one, but on the C64, the monitor connection was basically S-Video. If I recall correctly, my 1080 monitor only had RGB and separated composite inputs. I don't remember what it was from, but I had a cable with a DIN plug on each end that fit the monitor port. I cut the other end off and connected the appropriate wires to three phono plugs. That gave a great picture with the C64. Of course I used that monitor primarily on the Amiga with the RGB input. The Star Trek alien race is pronounced Or-gain-nee-ans. They appeared in the 26th episode of the first season of the show. They appeared to be a simple, helpless people, but they were really quite powerful and forced a truce between the Klingons and the Federation. If you liked that Star Trek game, there are other versions of it on the C64. One is a little more graphically polished, one has a manual docking with a starbase, etc. The most polished version is Space: The Ultimate Frontier, which is an unlicensed clone. It's like a more advanced version, but without the Star Trek license. BTW, you probably know this, but you can get a USB interface that will let you read from and write to a Commodore floppy drive using a modern computer. You can then download games off the net, write them to real floppies and load them on your C64 or C128. The only downside is that a lot of stuff is meant for PAL regions (UK, Europe) and may either not work correctly on an NTSC (American) machine, or even not work at all.

[@fractalMD]

Nice! Thanks for all that good info!!!

[@MrRac2010]

Mi primer ordenador fue ese! C128 Saludos

[@fractalMD]

Nice!

[@SimonJustesen]

Yay! I remember a childhood friend who got a C128. I'm pretty certain he used it in 64-mode, like... 90% of the time Was PacMan really this noisy?! Wow.. I don't recall that🤣

[@fractalMD]

I can totally see how that would be the case.

[@IsaacKuo]

BTW, you can use dual monitors, switching freely between using the 40 column screen and 80 column screen. It's great for programming, since you can have one screen with your code while running the program on your other screen.

[@fractalMD]

Don't it at the same time was what we couldn't parse.

[@IsaacKuo]

@@fractalMD To switch to the 40 column screen, type in "graphic0" or "gR0". To switch to the 80 column screen, type in "graphic5" or "gR5". It's not as convenient as just pressing that 40/80 column key. Oh well!

[@commodorechronicles]

Yay! It's my favorite ladies of retro! With a C128! Serendipitous!

[@fractalMD]

Woooooo!

[@chrissimpson1183]

You let the magic smoke out!

[@fractalMD]

And it was STINKY

[@chrissimpson1183]

@@fractalMD I bet!

[@arntfu]

Simply the koolest komputer from Commodore, and I think you ought to try playing "Volley for Two" on it. It's great fun!

[@fractalMD]

Oh cool

[@DJTI99]

You did a thing!!!!

[@fractalMD]

We totally did a thing!

[@chrissimpson1183]

The C=128 case is almost Amiga like.

[@zh84]

Exactly what I thought. I wonder if they reused the moulds?

[@chrissimpson1183]

@@zh84 To save money

[@madigorfkgoogle9349]

actually, Amiga 500 case is almost C128 like.

[@juhojohansson1716]

​@@zh84as similar as it is, no... It was a styling thing. Amigas have the 3,5" disk drives integrated and everything.

[@zh84]

@@juhojohansson1716 Thank you.

[@xXDelorXx]

I had a permanent smile on my face for 18 minutes while watching this video😄

[@fractalMD]

That makes ME smile. 😀

[@tonycosta3302]

You should do an episode on GEOS. I always thought it was underrated and overshadowed by the Amiga and Atari ST. But for an 8bit GUI, it was pretty good. Im curious how it compares to the Apple IIgs GUI.

[@fractalMD]

Hey, always on the look out for new video ideas.

[@brendanstone3073]

@@fractalMD There's a video called "Commodore 128D GEOS Battle Station" that may give you some ideas! Also, it's worth testing how the new "C64OS" works on the C128! Something I haven't seen much of! In addition to the dual-screen "Petscii Robots" mentioned in another comment, the freeware new "Eye of the Beholder" port for C64 runs better in a C128. Also, it's dual-screen! Those are probably the most C128-optimized games.

[@GeoffSeeley]

CP/M was never going to work on that 1541 anyway 🙂 The 1571 was pretty unique in that it could read both GCR and MFM disk formats, the former was Commodore and the later CP/M and other PC formats.

[@fractalMD]

It was also very explode-y.

[@BilHerd]

LOL... I forgot that. Kudos Greg Berlin.

[@RetroTechChris]

Nice! I just can't keep up with all of these cool Commodores! But they are keeping up with me.

[@fractalMD]

I mean, they don't even NEED us, lol.

[@joelavcoco]

"A legitimate A: prompt..."

[@fractalMD]

RIGHT?!!?

[@IsaacKuo]

I love that Star Trek game, and it was awesome to see Taylor completely obliterate that Klingon starship right away! There were a lot of different versions of the classic Star Trek on the C64. I tried to program one in BASIC from vague memories, but it was not very good. Still, it's a fun programming project!

[@fractalMD]

Never seen this version and it's pretty neat.

[@sd2257]

Awesome those 8 bit computers were so popular in the day

[@fractalMD]

It's a solid little machine :)

[@thegabe4569]

Your episodes openings are epic 😎

[@fractalMD]

😎😎😎😎😎

[@mzody]

While I'm an Atari guy, I was still smiling and giggling the whole way through this.

[@fractalMD]

😃😃😃

[@floydjohnson7888]

I was under the impression that the C128 marked the end of Commodore's 8-bit era, with the Amiga line set to take center stage.

[@fractalMD]

8 bit Era is forever!😊

[@megatech1966]

I had a C128 back in the 90’s. Sold it to get an Amiga. Just recently got a C128 again. I love it. Installed c0pperdragon component upgrade to get jailbar free 40 column. I also got RGB2HDMI TTL for 80 column. Works well.

[@fractalMD]

Is it weird that I like the jailbars?

[@megatech1966]

@@fractalMD yes. Extremely 😂

[@fractalMD]

@@megatech1966 😫

[@awilliams1701]

oh look at that a space and rocket center shirt!!! (I drive by there a lot). I live in huntsville.

[@fractalMD]

Fellow Alabamian!

[@awilliams1701]

@@fractalMD I'm from Ohio I only live in Alabama. Lol

[@fractalMD]

@awilliams1701 It's okay, I forgive you!

[@ferndog1461]

How to we spread to this enthusiasm ? Enjoy the retro talk.

[@fractalMD]

😃

[@shawnerz98]

In 1997, I had one. I had it for several years, but then got rid of it. In the 2010's, I grew nostalgic and bought another (probably from eBay). It started having random halt and reboot issues. Probably a bad cap on the motherboard. I ended up getting rid of that one too. I guess it's time to find another, eh? ;)

[@fractalMD]

Yes!!!

[@ChrisMasto]

That is my favorite computer of all time. I really wish I’d hung on to mine. (And if you ever want to unload that thing, I’m there!)

[@fractalMD]

We'll keep you in mind. The Lab is not as Tardis like as one would hope.

[@CronoCloudAuron]

If you have any kaypro software disks, cp/m on the 128 can read them, and other cp/m formats too. The 128 wil run software slower than other cp/m machines though.

[@fractalMD]

Time to break out the Mandelbrot set!

[@AddieDirectsTV]

12:15 y’all are so damn adorable 😊

[@fractalMD]

😊

[@LasseHuhtala]

That was so my dream computer back in the day, which I could never afford.

[@fractalMD]

It's not too late!!

[@LasseHuhtala]

@@fractalMDI've had a few since then, but Amigas were my main drug. I think I've had over 20. (I'm back down to 2 now so I'm okay.)

[@cpm1003]

"Time Elapses" LOL!

[@fractalMD]

Boy does it.

[@timothyp8947]

Soon after leaving school, my best friend from school got himself a C128 to replace his Acorn Electron. Don’t think at the time I’d have swapped it for my beloved Plus/4 even though the C128 was more capable. It did mean he could nab some of the BASIC programs I’d written.

[@fractalMD]

I also want that Acorn.

[@ahc2369]

Love the floppy drive software! My first computer ONLY had two 5 1/4 floppy drives. No hard drive at all. Super powerful!

[@fractalMD]

Taylor still has her Tandy EX which was unburdened with a pesky hard drive.

[@ahc2369]

Oh, the freedom of those salad years!@@fractalMD

[@fractalMD]

SALAD DAYS OF YORE

[@jamesross3939]

In the past .... when the earth was cooling!!! hahaha! good one!

[@fractalMD]

😅

[@RetroTechorDie]

Great machine!

[@fractalMD]

Sooooo great

[@tonycosta3302]

Wasn’t the C64 basic never updated because Tramiel was too cheap to pay MS for a newer version? He apparently got a great deal on a one-time, unlimited use license from MS.

[@fractalMD]

For real?

[@tonycosta3302]

@@fractalMD From Wikipedia: "Commodore licensed BASIC from Microsoft in 1977 on a "pay once, no royalties" basis after Jack Tramiel turned down Bill Gates' offer of a $3 per unit fee, stating, "I'm already married," and would pay no more than $25,000 for a perpetual license." I believe the C64 sold around 18 million units over its lifetime, making that the deal of the century.

[@fractalMD]

@@tonycosta3302 Noice

[@juhojohansson1716]

One thing worth pointing out is, when powering on an untested C64 or C128 is to check the health of your power brick... The reason why it is so important, is because the way the "brick" works, is there is a good ol' coil transformer, wich is basically eternal, wich is good. But that outputs 9 VAC, and the 64 & 128 need 9 VAC. But most of the electronics is povered by 5 VDC and the way the brick does this is it has (obviously) a rectifier to make the AC to DC and then a voltage regulator of sort to adjust the voltage down to nice and smooth ('ish, hopefully)... But if (and when) the regulator fails, it often basically shorts out... And with a shorted out regulator the brick will be pushing 10 volts down the 5 volt line, wich can fry a whole bunch of chips in a hurry. And unfortunately the Commodore PSU's really don't have much (any) safety features... So I really recommend people, if you are going to use original PSU's, do check them and adding some safety devices (like fuse and overvoltage protection) is a good practice.

[@fractalMD]

Well said

[@BilHerd]

@@fractalMD The C64 supply is absolutely a landmine as it fails in a way that gates 8-9V to the chips! The C128, being a switcher, usually just fails inert.

[@fractalMD]

@@BilHerd duuuuuude!

[@BilHerd]

BTW my plan is to introduce you to the designer of the Commodore Power Supply at VCF East. (Yar!) He also did the VIC chips, the C64 design and something with Ensoniq... @@fractalMD

[@Florin76]

When Commodore wanted to put everything in the same product, 3 computers in 1, but they missed the target! The main drawback of the C128 is that the C128 mode is a different machine, with a video chip less powerful than the VIC2, lacking sprites and is incompatible with the C64 software. The C128 mode is like a Plus4 with 80 columns mode and 128K of RAM. Weird machine that didn't convinced.

[@fractalMD]

I like to think of it as a turducken you can retrobright.

[@BilHerd]

Actually same VIC chip at all times (40 col), and there are sprite and sound commands built into Basic!

[@TheREALJosephTurner]

Oh, and I vote yes for the 128 song being the next music video.

[@fractalMD]

I'll add it to the tally! Z80 ppl are making the most noise, i think, lol.

[@AddieDirectsTV]

5:50 is baby Commodore!

[@fractalMD]

👶

[@chrissimpson1183]

I remember that ST game is got very hard quick.

[@fractalMD]

It's pretty cool!

[@JohnGuillorykf5qeo]

Press ESC and then X to switch screens.

[@fractalMD]

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@Mark-pr7ug]

Would love to see these two gorgeous ladies unbox an Amstrad CPC 464 home computer.

[@fractalMD]

Indeed! We need one!

[@solarbirdyz]

so much power SO MUCH BRICK I loved my C128. 80 column plus FAST mode was the best thing in the world, particularly for GEOS but not just. I was so mad at all the terrible terminal emulation software (most of which didn't even do 80 columns, and that which did couldn't manage 1200 baud. So I decided to write something to demonstrate the C128 in FAST mode could manage 1200 baud in uncompiled BASIC... and succeeded. It got published. :D Also also you can totally use both 40 and 80 column displays at the same time. From BASIC even. Maybe not with the RF modulator but with luma/chroma and 9-pin output at once. CP/M for the 128 wasn't bad. It was slower than the Z80 would lead you to believe because it could only access memory at 2mhz. With a 1571, you could also read and write Kaypro diskettes (and run most of the software), and several other CP/M formats as well, like the Osborne, I think? And maybe some others. But the Kaypro format support was what mattered for CP/M.

[@solarbirdyz]

There are also at least two versions of the C128 onboard ROMs, and the easiest way to tell them apart is whether CAPS LOCK works on the letter Q. Version 1: it does not. Version 2: it does. It also fixes some other bugs. I think there's also a ROM upgrade for the early 1571 which improves its behaviour and speed as well, though.

[@fractalMD]

I mean this stuff is CUH RAY ZEE.

[@solarbirdyz]

if by crazy you mean awesome xD depending on the C128 you also have either 16K or 64K of separate video RAM for the 80 column mode. With 16K it can do 640x200 monochrome graphics, with 64K it can do 640x400! And the 16K versions are upgradeable! But 640x400 is interlaced so does not look so great and 640x200 was good enough for GEOS. @@fractalMD

[@gkwgeek4509]

dat refresh rate on the commodore monitor

[@fractalMD]

I know!!!!!

[@paullee107]

Hi ladies. You you pls tell me what type of cable is capable of 80 column mode?? I finally got a 1084S but still no 80cols.

[@MQsto]

RGBi with 9-pin D-sub connector.