Commodore C16 Repair

Well Sheeeet
Wouldn't you know it the C16 was DOA. First powered it on to find it totally dead, had a look and the inline fuse had blown so that's not promising. Had a spare so that went in and...
Black screen of death. Rats...
So I have a new TED chip coming in the next day or two, but researching this computer seems to point to the 8501 CPU in more cases whereas I thought the TED was the main failure.
There is a guy over in Europe who makes a 6502 CPU replacement so I have that lined up as well. I have also some PLA PCB's on the way so I can make some new PLA chips with some GAL's.They will run better/cooler than the original PLA so I might use one anyway even if the PLA is good. So PLA, CPU & TED are covered there is only some Logic chips and RAM left after that and I suspect they are all good as the 74LS257's used in this C16 are TI and not MOS chips. I know the 555 reset circuit is working as the Logic Probe shows the reset line to the CPU going LOW when the button is pressed and then HIGH again when released.
It seems a lot of effort to go through you would think but the C16 is pretty much mint. The case and keyboard are in excellent condition so if I get it working it would be a great example of the series.
I'll post some pictures In the next post and you'll see what I mean.

 

Best of luck Richie, it's in good hands, I've heard that a lot of the new PLA's actually are as compatible and run much better, I know that's the case for the C64, so why not for the 16. Never had a 16 so the TED chip is a mystery to me (Commodore do love a custom chip)

 

That's a pity Richie, it would have been hoping for too much to have it arrive all working after getting the Dragon that way.

TED seems to be a regular fault in the C16 and Plus/4 but with your skills I'm sure you will have it up and running soon enough no matter if it's a dodgy TED or a knackered CPU.

Look forward to seeing the pictures, it's hard to get a nice condition C16 these days, they all seem to have been battered about a bit.

 

Turns out it was the TED chip after all and not the CPU. I have Heatsinked the 8501 and TED to try and keep them cooler. I will probably get another TED as a spare next month and have replacements for the 8501 and PLA ready as well, If and when the current chips fail. I guess you can tell that for now the C16 is staying here. I will stick some photos up showing it and it working later.

 

That's excellent mate, good result. Are you going to get an SD card reader for it?

 

I have a Pi1541 for disk emulation and I have been able to create new D64 images and add PRG files to them to make compilation disks so I can work it that way. I need to get the chips sorted first before I splash out on a SD2IEC from Future was 8-Bit or similar. Plus there seems to be a lack of C16/+4 versions.

 

Glad you got it going, knew it was in the right hands..Never had a Plus 4 or a C16, I joined at the Vic20 stage, still have great memories of the old 20.

Was quite a leap from ZX80/81 to Vic20, colour AND sound..

Glad its working, hope you find some cheap storage / loader.

 

They're nice machines Paul. I prefer them to the C64 because of the more colourful palette. Even if they don't have a SID for sound.

 

Because I like to tinker with games, the more features the better, but I did love my Vic.

 

I have a wee soft spot for the Vic, it always seemed a cheerful machine lol. My TheC64 maxi is the Vic 20 design one for that very reason. And Jeff Minters games were excellent on it.

 

He did a lovely submarine game on a C16 that he showed us, no idea if it ever got released. It was before he was the big programmer.

The ZX80 has some amazing games considering it's limitations. I remember a comp called 1K wonders, a title I have never found, found similar named stuff but not what I got mail order. What this guy crammed into 1K was incredible. But yeah, the Vic20 was my first real games computer, Jelly Monsters (?) was a great PAC man clone. Arcadia was great, Hell, I even enjoy the text only adventures

 

Here is my C16... very nice condition.

 

Looks great...Nicely done..

 

Sweet, case looks in good condition.

 

Yeah the C16 is in great nick and there is no yellowing of the keyboard. So now it’s working I’m really pleased with it. Like I said earlier I prefer the C16 over the Plus 4 and C116 so I’m a happy bunny.

 

Always great to hear a success story, you have great times with it..

 

I have heatsinked the CPU and TED chips and the PCB's have arrived for the PLA replacement. If anyone needs a PLA for their Plus 4 or C16/116 I have spares.
I plan to fit an internal SD2IEC like Tynemouth Software did, there is so much space inside the C16's case it is insane. They could have fitted a 3.5" Drive inside the case.

Imagine a TED computer.. Has 64KB RAM, no built-in software but has empty sockets for ROM's that can be fitted. It has a built-in 1581 3.5 disk drive on the left hand side, keeps the C16's keyboard. It also has a SID chip sound board available to be fitted if needed.
That would be a interesting project. Kind of goes against the original concept of a computer that would sell for $49 and compete against the ZX Spectrum, which is what Bill Herd said was the original goal.
The C116 with it's chiclet keyboard would have been that machine. However, I still don't think the C116 would have made a dent against the Speccy, It had too much of a head start and too much software support. The C116 would have needed at least 32KB not 16KB, especially by the time it was released. Looking at some of the C16 games people did make some great games in that tiny amount of memory but the extra memory of the Plus4 makes all the difference. The Plus4 version of Mercenary-Escape from Targ is really good. Pet Rescue from Psytronik is a really good, modern game. I think I'm rambling so I'll get my coat.

 

Sounds like it's going to be a brilliant machine when finished Richie. The C16/Plus 4 are way under-rated. Some really good games especially within 16k like you say. The newer homebrew 64k titles are very impressive.

My three favourite minority systems are
Commodore 16
Oric Atmos
Dragon 32
Would love to have a little setup with all of them switched into a 14" crt telly

 

Yep, the little crt is so key to reliving the experience, the notion of blowing up already pixelated graphics just makes it feel false (for me). I rarely use a full screen on my 27" monitor when looking at the C64 or Atari, I use the crt emulation on Altirra or soft screen on the C64, it just looks right. I was given a Sophia 2 (which seems to have died) and I looked at my XL on the monitor in pin sharp graphics. Yes it was super clean and not an artifact in sight, but it looked odd to me. It would be like ZX80 emulation without that little screen roll at the beginning.

My real machines do go into a 14inch monitor, the comp signal is a little (very little) bit cleaner but it looks right. Right size and right aspect.

As for Richies sterling work on his machines, amazing stuff. I was the same a while back, sadly hand tremors and pain mean I rarely touch a soldering iron, solder splatter from a hand twitch could lead to a dead machine. So it's really nice to see a man after my own heart, looking after and upgrading our little man toys, he puts so much effort into it, massive set of clapping for that.

Applause for a fellow tinkerer, his exploits are a master class in making good an old machine and actually knowing a great deal about the machines..Nice one mate. Credit where credit is due.

Careful tho, all this good work and you will have Andy sending you another duff Oric to look at. Personally, I always thought the duff state was just how they were.

 

Just spent the last hour playing some games on the C16/Plus4. Tetris (nice version), Arkanoid (very colourful and smooth), and Turbo Outrun (probably the best 8bit version).

 

To be fair, none of the 8 bit versions of Turbo Outrun were much good. I seem to remember the C64 version was done by Chris Butler, he was the go-to guy for 3d versions (Thunder Blade etc) and it was dire. Glad the old C16 was doing good stuff.

On a nice note, I have a new toy coming thanks to a quick sale of sommit. The new toy is a WiiU, got it for a nice price and even got a fiver knocked off. I have a Wii and always wanted a WiiU and a PS3, Well the WiiU itch has been scratched. The machine itself does not have a huge catalogue, but the stuff I like is on it, and best of all, its jail breakable too

Even got 2 real games for it as well..

 

I have a Phat PS3 with a Sixaxis controller going spare. I fitted a 320GB HDD in it replacing the 40GB original and I’ve redone the thermal paste. The only problem is the touch button for power on/reset is a bit iffy. That said you normally use the controller to power on and off.
I still have my Black WiiU, it’s a great machine. Sadly the shop has shut now so you cannot buy any games from Nintendo’s eShop. Disk only from now.

 

Oh, what you want for the PS3 Richie?

 

£30? What kind of games do you like?

 

I’ll stick some in.. plus Phat PS3 can be custom firmwared if you want to