I Made A Commodore SX-64 From A Trashed TV

[@legacyoftheancientsC64c]

Oh man, that Emerson tv just uppercutted me in the nostalgicles. That is the exact tv my dad had. He worked as a night security guard at an airport lot for a rental company and he always had that little tv in his tiny booth. I used to hate it when he'd occasionally ask me to keep him company on a Friday night shift (I wanted to be home playing with my C64c), Now I'd give anything to see him again. RIP Dad.

[@RetroHackShack]

RIP Indeed. What a nice memory.

[@legacyoftheancientsC64c]

@ackShack Your build turned out great. I just ordered a resin printer off Amazon and was wondering what I should print first and your video has given me the idea to print and paint miniatures of the entire C64/128 family, including the SX. Also a quick question, you mentioned you got the monitor off e-waste. Is that an online place? All the e-waste places I googled near me are just intake, apparently they don't let you take or even rummage through the piles.

[@RetroHackShack]

@nelsoncabrera6464 In person only on Wednesday's. You can see some of my recent hauls on my second channel @retrohackshackafterhours

[@RetroHackShack]

+1 for nostalgicles LOL

[@SixOThree]

@@legacyoftheancientsC64c We have an e-waste center near me where you basically carry items into a shipping container. Sometimes I take items out and nobody says anything.

[@Toonrick12]

I love the small details on the back label. The serial number being RHS? *Chef kiss* This really does look and feel like a mini Commodore portable. (So much so it actually can be considered portable.)

[@RetroHackShack]

Thanks! Not sure anyone would notice that stuff.

[@Toasty_Gaming]

I have this exact emerson crt. A few days ago I finally found an SX-64 after years of looking. I thought to myself, man that little emerson looks a lot like the SX-64. Wouldn't it be neat if someone made a mini SX-64 out of it? Low and behold, someone did EXACTLY that. Pretty crazy the chances of all of that.

[@igorperuchi2114]

Congratulations, you've just made a work of art!

[@ohioterran7374]

Wow! That is an awesome use of an old portable TV and a C64 mini! Nice job! Very cool!

[@aaronjamt]

Great idea, reusing the mini TV! Potential idea for the name: since it's smaller than an actual SX-64, and especially smaller than an actual breadbin C64, you could call it the XS-64 (extra small 64).

[@RetroHackShack]

hmm. maybe so

[@joecan]

Interesting. Did you consider using a Pi3 running bmc64. That would output composite directly and I feel the bmc64 would give you a superior c64 experience and easily provide vic20, all PETs, c128 & plus4. It would also allow using the actual sx64 rom or any custom c64 rom to give you that authentic sx64 colour. What you made there is awesome.

[@RetroHackShack]

Thanks! I thought about it, but this C64 MINI was collecting dust (literally) and I can use the more expensive Pi for other things. I can always swap it out in the future now that I have done the hard part.

[@alunroberts1439]

I would like a vic20 with zoks Kingdom

[@humidbeing]

Wow I was not expecting that little TV to look so much like a Commodore. Excellent job this really turned out great!

[@ANTandTEC]

That is a cool idea - turned out nice 👍 I keep looking out for an SX-64 to buy, getting scarce now.

[@stopthebus]

Crazy. back in the 1980s I was given an SX-64 but it came without the keyboard. It was of little use to me as it was so I gutted it but left the tube and drive circuitry intact and converted it into a portable TV!

[@brianv2871]

Really good job and an interesting idea. I can see why you'd use the mini, i also bought both c64 and amiga minis on sale just to put on my office replicas display, so i can technically also use the innards for a project as well, so this gives me some ideas.

[@wimwiddershins]

That's really cool! Especially the floppy.

[@borf42]

That is a beautiful project! Love it!

[@trekintosh]

Oh hey I’ve had this idea for some time (though with a pi or similar, something I can make happier with the resolution), but this is such an incredibly well realized build. The attention to detail is truly fantastic, the blue trim pieces in particular really please me. The floppy drive too! Good on you for this build.

[@RetroHackShack]

Thanks!

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

You might also want to have access to the radio as well so what about a change over relay triggered from somewhere from the C64 Mini.

[@paulb4uk]

Superb work looks great.

[@infinitecanadian]

I must note that these can still be used by people with broadcast equipment, and there is a market for radio televisions even today.

[@augurkur]

Q102 base is the composite input from pin 1 on the tuner. Q102 is a preamp that feeds into the SAW filter and then the video chip on its two VIF pins. Never saw in the video where you tapped the video but you probably have S-Video compatible inputs on the chip after the video chip.

[@RetroHackShack]

Right at that test point I showed.

[@augurkur]

@@RetroHackShack I must've blinked! I scrubbed around s couple times.

[@viewer377]

@@augurkur Around 13:15 Q101 is shown as being disconnected. A few moments later Aaron says that J26, a jumper link can be cut more easily - it is a little hard to read because it is towards the bottom of the shot, but the earlier mentioned TP101 test point seems to be poking out of the board nearby, to the left of J33.

[@RetroHackShack]

@viewer377 J26 just happens to be a jumper that is directly in the path from q101 to that test point. So by cutting that jumper in attaching there, you've accomplished both cutting the connection and having a nice place to insert the video. Of course you can solder to the test point, but I didn't want to do that.

[@evanallen5377]

You just completed almost the exact project I have been working on here and there for years except I am building it around the hummer dtv board (but that same tv). I got stalled making sure my receipt printer was working as a proper iec printer

[@RetroHackShack]

Receipt printer is a great pairing

[@Enigma758]

Funny how you played a track from "Risky Business" as you're discharging things! 😃

[@samshort365]

Actually, these TVs can be very useful. I have a similar TV in my garage which is now just collecting dust, but, after we lost analog signals I used a RF modulator/transmitter I bought on eBay to watch videos anywhere in the house.

[@hosk1677]

I really dig this mod, nice work!

[@MrDDawson]

Amazing build and amazing idea. I love it. Great work dude.

[@bufordmaddogtannen]

Please consider using shielded cables for a better experience... They help with fringing and buzzing.

[@RetroHackShack]

Yeah. I was surprised I didn't get more interference, but in the end I could detect anything on the video or audio lines.

[@Godzilla_Jesus]

Nice job, very nice job!

[@proteque]

This looks awesome! Great build!

[@alunroberts1439]

How about a LCD screen can you get on same size. Or 3D print a hole case with a LCD and add other functions.

[@RetroHackShack]

Yes. Those projects already exist. Very cool

[@pinrod1]

Looks like youre keeping up with the commodore!

[@AS-ly3jp]

Awesome!!!

[@joeventura1]

Well done sir!!!

[@domramsey]

That looks so good Aaron. I'm lucky enough to have a real one, but I think I'd use something like this more.

[@RetroHackShack]

Thanks!

[@markdjdeenix6846]

looks nice .the paint mismatch is becuse of the original colour of the case and your printed front were difrent colours .primer would have matched it . i am realy impressed .looks awesom

[@solarbirdyz]

It has very similar ratios to the Osborne Vixen, the successor to the Osborn 1 that did eventually ship. That's not a bad thing in any way (nor does it make it less SX-64-like); it's kind of neat that it has a ... similarly continued aesthetic. I think it adds to the verisimilitude. Nice job!

[@markderoller7645]

Looks really good!

[@joeaugustine9629]

What a great idea! Better than the original probably!

[@RetroHackShack]

Thanks!

[@chucku00]

Impressive. Hats off. You could replace the USB power brick of the C64 mini with a 12V to USB 5V power converter (used mainly with automotive appliances, PCB or module form factor) if you can get a 12V 1A source coming from the TV circuitry. These converters are more reliable than noname 5V USB power bricks and really affordable. Oh, I forgot : if you want to make a similar project with another portable TV you could use an old (10+ years) MK802 smart TV stick with Android 4 where you can run ancient versions of Android games or even some emulators. Even better, an Ugoos UG008 that has a LAN port, a WiFi antenna connector and a 3.5 TRRS audio-composite video jack in addition to the HDMI connector.

[@RetroHackShack]

Yeah. I had to cut that part out for length, but I tried using the 10V or so coming off the TV power regulator, but I was spiking up over the 1A limit I had with the little regulator I had on hand.

[@chucku00]

@@RetroHackShack _"Les grands esprits se rencontrent" - Voltaire_ Jokes aside I'm really envious about your modding abilities in electronics and the way you added the aesthetical touch to this mod. I'm too much of a serendipity addict to have this kind of dedication but I'm doing small mods at my own level (using an old smartphone with a MIDI app and some fishtank tubing for a quick and dirty (but functional) talkbos, or adding a line out on a musical toy electronic keyboard to use it with a multi effects guitar pedal to get a very cheap synthetizer).

[@RetroHackShack]

@chucku00 Sounds cool!

[@chucku00]

@@RetroHackShack Thanks! Even if my technical electronics knowledge is very limited I really appreciate the ideas and the way people can reuse old hardware to give them a new and unexpected life, especially in the audio-visual domain and IT.

[@CriticalThinker-42]

Looks Great! Too bad you can't use an EPYX Fast Load Cartridge in its top. I used an Apple // C Monochrome 9" monitor sitting on top of my first SX-64 for text based work. I only paid $125 for my Second SX-64, with Commodore printer, Fast Load Cart, and box of software. Like all good things from back then, their both long gone. The first one I sold to help finance my first PC clone, and the second vanished with time. I think a micro Black Hole ate it. Enjoy!

[@Stoney3K]

I wouldn't be surprised if the CRT in that Emerson television is the exact same as the one in the SX-64.

[@RetroHackShack]

Matsushita. Technically it is 5.5 inches.

[@MrChristopherMolloy]

Great job 👍

[@GeoffSeeley]

Nice job!

[@RetroHackShack]

Thanks

[@coyote_den]

I think that CRT is in fact a bit sharper than the one in a real SX-64. The SX-64 CRT had a perfectly flat face, color and geometry was good, but the dot pitch was too coarse for 320x200 with a border.

[@dmcintosh1967]

On some of these "5 and smaller TVs they often use for external antenna jack is 3.5mm jack for the external antenna. You can get an F-type to 3.5mm adapter for cheap. Others just use spade terminals. Its ether one or the other. As F-type or what you call coaxial I don't think was used on these 5" and smaller sets. I do now it was used on sets 9" and up.

[@RetroHackShack]

Cool. I suppose I could have made one in a few minutes too.

[@properjob2311]

i always wanted a sx64

[@airborne0x0]

Suggested name: Sx-63 1/2 (double meaning, it is a 3.5" floppy after all)

[@obsoletebutneat]

I always wanted to do this with a Sinclair ZX-81.

[@lefauve]

Nice build! Don't you have lag issues with the hdmi2rca adaptor? I tried one when i got my 64 mini, looking exactly like yours, but it was impossible to play any game because of the delay. I ended up using an hdmi2vga adaptor, which had a lot less lag.

[@Njbuilder95]

its awesome, but did u take apart the c64 mini? i dont see it in the final product, i watched the video in two parts so maybe i missed it but is the c64 stuffed in the case with the crt?

[@RetroHackShack]

Just the guts of the mini. You can see it toward the end of the video

[@Njbuilder95]

@@RetroHackShackall i saw was the stuffing of the av wires and stuff in the battery case. After or before that? I dont know how i still dont see it but at least i know what happened now, thank you! Great video, im a new fan, ill be signing up for your patreon soon tho, so Ill just see it then

[@tarzankom]

@7:20 If you were connecting and disconnecting the ground lead from the strap around the CRT, is there a reason you couldn't simply solder a male quick connect terminal onto the strap, and then terminate the ground wire with a matching female connector? It just seems like it would be an easier solution than soldering and de-soldering the wire a bunch of times.

[@RetroHackShack]

Totally. If I only knew when I started how many times I would be doing that.

[@gregfugate11]

My best friends little brothers bedroom tv growin up was a Commodore 1702 moniter

[@MrSoloun]

Kewl build :)

[@Green_House]

G R E A T job ! ! ! 😀 👍

[@bitoxic]

Neat project!

[@RetroHackShack]

Thanks

[@kingforaday8725]

Im just infatuated with these old small TV's. I have 16 of them in my collection. Fortunately they are dirt cheap or free. Probably about $100 invested in the entire lot.

[@CollinBaillie]

Woohoo! "across" not "acrosst/acrossed". Music to my ears!

[@user-nd8zh3ir7v]

very cool!

[@aguiristante]

fantastic

[@LuisG-SC]

Very good indeed, nice work :)

[@RetroHackShack]

Many thanks!

[@shanee7511]

SO I have an E-waste site within about 50 miles from me. Can anyone explain to me, are you able to just stop in a pick up items that were left there? Is there a cost? I would LOVE to have a source for parts/components.

[@digitalman4404]

Cooool!

[@bratboy5203]

Is that music tangerine dream from risky business?

[@andrewdupuis1151]

i use have that monitor it stopped working few years ago

[@sideburn]

Good job. Bring it to VCF SoCal:)

[@RetroHackShack]

When is that again? Seems like I was booked that weekend.

[@volkerschmale1968]

Wow, what a nice job;-) Thank you for this Video and i hope, you have wake up sleepy Dogs so that a lot of people doing such Mods. Greetings from Germany. Volker

[@RetroHackShack]

Oh yes. They will come out. 😊 But it seems there are plenty of these around.

[@andrewdupuis1151]

sometimes i see those tvs

[@bashkillszombies]

You didn't give it a make over. You destroyed it. For what? You won't use it just like you didn't use the C64 mini. I get that it's not a valuable piece of history, but I can't help but recall that I watched 9/11 in a guard hut on that exact TV unit we had hidden under the desk behind a foot heater. It breaks my heart and infuriates me to see perfectly good units in really good condition like that being destroyed by man children who will never even use the junk they make from destroying old tech.

[@stephenbarrs2318]

How about a Bluetooth nini key board.

[@RetroHackShack]

Sure

[@wastelandwanderer3883]

At least no rings on those fingers! 🤭

[@RetroHackShack]

Doesn't fit on my chubby fingers any more 😁

[@RonHelton]

👍👍👍👍

[@RetroHackShack]

😊😊😊😊

[@stay.in.school.]

9.5...2:58

[@herrbonk3635]

6:36 HDMI? What has that modern standard to do with the old VIC-64 (or with a TV from 1985)?

[@herrbonk3635]

Aha! Now I see that you are using an emulator, not a real VIC-computer.

[@NuntiusLegis]

Nearly as ugly as the original SX-64. Sorry, never liked the thing. But great work of course.