On 5 Nov 97 at 10:16, Zane H. Healy wrote:
> Tim D. Hotze Wrote:
> >>Congradulations on getting your VIC-20, and I would like to know about it's
> >>specs.
>
> Tim,
> I got the VIC dug back up again. So let me see what I can come up with for
> specs from the manual. Not much, it's about the most pathetic list of
> specs I've seen, so I'll add comments.
>
> Video display is 23 rows x 22 columns
>
> On the back:
> Expansion Port (for cartridges)
> Most carts were games, some were memory expansion, others were l
> languages, or applications software. I had a five slot board that
> plugged in here and then allowed you to plug in five cartridges. You
> could then select the cartridge you wanted with a rotary switch.
> 5-pin Video port (For connection to TV)
> Serial Port (For special accessories like printer, disk drive, etc.)
> Note, this is a 6-pin DIN plug, nothing like a modern serial port. It
> is possible to build an X-1541 cable that allows a 1541 drive to be
> connected to a PC's parallel port. The VIC can use either a 1540 or a
> 1541 disk drive. Not sure on printers, I had a funky little plotter
> that used miniature ball point pens (4 colour).
> Cassette Port (tape cassette goes here)
> The VIC and C-64 use a proprietary cassette interface, in order to
> connect a casstte drive to it you need one of their two models. It
> took
> about 5 minutes to load an 8k program.
> User Port (for special accessories)
> This is a lot like the Cassette Port connector. It could be used for
> stuff like a modem or RS-232 connector.
>
> Right side:
> Game Port (For Joystick and other game control devices)
> On/Off switch
> Power Cord Socket
>
> The keyboard is the same as the C-64, the colours are different with the
> case being a whitish colour.
>
> Zane
The Vic20 was a great machine for it's time, at a price that
allowed a whole generation access to computers.
Actually there were several models ,one off-white and another
beige. Some had a two pin PS connection and later ones the same as
the C64. Even Byte magazine ran a couple of series of hardware hack
upgrades.
There's a bunch of stuff available on the inet. One of the best is
the " Official" Vic20 FAQ by Ward Shrake, a beautiful, one could
almost say, eulogy, more than faq. If one can be found the Vic20
"Programmers Reference Guide" has a full fold-out schematic.
The FAQ and links as well as emulators, can be found at
http://home1.gte.net/salzman
ciao larry
lwalkerN0spaM_at_interlog.com
Received on Thu Nov 06 1997 - 02:22:43 GMT