Commodore Equipment

From: Gil Parrish <107765.1161_at_compuserve.com>
Date: Thu Jul 17 15:33:50 1997

Message text written by INTERNET:classiccmp_at_u.washington.edu
>I have the low-profile version of the machine, with no monitor or drives.
I
plan on getting the 8050 drives today at noon, if they're still there.
There was also an IEEE-488 printer to go with it.<

That's what it sounded like; this seems to be the most common machine in
the P/B line, at least in the U.S. It's the same as what I have.

>[[ BTW, I'm still on the fence as to whether I'll keep this one or not...
It seems rather unique, which I like, but I'm not sure if I'd actually use
it, which is something I like to do as well... ]]<

"Using it" is somewhat problematic. While there is a fair chunk of
software out there for the PET/CBM line, a lot of that won't run on the B
series, at least without modification. As a "for instance", the typical
way to find out how much memory you have on a Commodore machine is the
check FRE(0). The "0" is a dummy variable on most C= units-- checking
FRE(0) will give you the same answer as FRE(1) or FRE(10), etc.-- but "0"
is the one typically used. However, on the B series, the variable makes a
difference; since it is bank-switched, the different variables let you
check different banks. As I recall, a PRINT FRE(0) command on a B-128
yields-- 0. So any software that checks for free memory-- and a lot of
PET/CBM software did, since there were 8K machines, 16 K machines and 32K
machines-- asks a B-128 that question, gets "0" in response, and crashes.

I note the TPUG newsletter seems to indicate the group has some B-128
software, so you could try that route if you wanted. Or, trade the unit
off, since it sounds like other folks might be interested.

>Anyway, again -- I love this list! :-)<

I'm finding it interesting too, at least when it covers the home 8-bits
(which I know something about) and not mini-mainframes (which mean nothing
to me personally).
 
>-- and thanks one and all for the
help you've given me for the help on this little beastie!<

Hopefully, that's what we're here for!

>I'll let y'all know if the 8050 was still there.<

If you want to trade it off, you might not want the drives. Those 8050 and
4040 units are VERY heavy, and a true Commodore enthusiast may already have
a compatible drive with his PET/CBM equipment. And there ARE other CBM
drives that will work; you might run across them elsewhere. (Actually, one
of the nicest drives to own is a third party dual drive called an MSD-SD2.
It is a smaller and quite rugged drive, which uses the 4040/1541 format.
It has both an IEEE port and a Commodore serial port, so it will work with
virtually any C= unit ever made (not counting Amiga and PC-clones).
Further, another party came up with a "mass duplicator rom" for it, that
allows quick copying from one drive to the other. In fact, it will copy a
standard Commodore disk in 15 seconds, or 22 seconds for copy with verify--
and it doesn't even have to be hooked to a computer to do so!)

Gil Parrish
107765.1161_at_compuserve.com
Received on Thu Jul 17 1997 - 15:33:50 BST