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Ruben's Retro Corner:
Commodore VC 20 (1983)

About the machine

The VIC-20 was Commodore's first colour home computer, announced in 1980. The VC-20 was re-badged for sale in Germany, owing to the unfortunate meaning of the original name. Commodore had the PET, but it was the VIC-20 that propelled the company's machines into the mainstream, and set the stage for their incredible C64.

This PAL VC-20 is from 1983, with the "cost reduced" short board. Note the beautiful rainbow badge, indicating it was built alongside the C64. I bought it broken from a chap in the UK in 2023, and restored it with some retrobright, reseating its hodgepodge of mismatched ICs, and replaced the broken keyboard with an "Aldi 64" unit (while retaining the orange function keys). The modern round-pin sockets and extensive flux residue on the back indicates this machine had a rough life, but I'm so happy she's functional and beautiful again. I agree with Adrian Black, the VIC-20 had the best breadbin case.

The last thing I want to do is get c0ppertragon's VIC-20 Digitiser to use on modern displays. Unlike the common S-Video mod, this isn't destructive.

Photos

Components

System

Component	Part	Year	State	Memo
Name	noel	-		His VIC-20 video really helped!
Case	Stock	1983		Retr0brighted for blotching
Keyboard	Aldi 64	1985		Replaced dead board
Motherboard	PAL shortboard	1983

System

Component	Part	Socket	Month	State	Memo
CPU	MOS 6502 B	UE10	06, 83
CIA 1	MOS 6522	UAB1	??, 86		Must have been replaced
CIA 2	MOS 6522	UAB3	46, 82
VIC Video	MOS 6561-101	UB7	18, 83		Want the VIC-20 Digitiser
BASIC ROM	MOS 901486-01	UE11	38, 83		BASIC 2.0
KERNAL ROM	MOS 901486-07	UE12	52, 81		Must have been replaced

Storage

Component	Part	Year	State	Memo
Primary Cart	Penultimate+ cart	2023		From TFW8b. Even has memory expansion!

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