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1+ GHz Commodore SX-64 Mod
Spider[DAC] writes "I just found this site, about a person who modified a Commodore SX-64 to contain a 1.2 GHz PIII system. It appears to be a really cool system, and apparantly requires some specially made hardware to make it all interoperate properly. A well-documented read, and definitely something to dream about doing yourself."
Destroying the rarest C64 ever made to change it in to a PC?
People that do this don't deserve to have old computers. (IMHO).
This is like taking a Model-T Ford and "converting" it into a Toyota Corolla.
If you could be told what you can see or read, then it follows that you could be told what to say or think - BoC
What makes this stuff interesting is that you can do any of this stuff (if you limit your slachdot reading and tv watching)
This guy says it's just a Windows XP machine with an emulator running...so basically it's just a modern computer in an old case. This has been done before.
Chalk one vote for nostalgia and leaving rare and cool things alone.
...modified a Commodore SX-64 to contain a 1.2 GHz PIII system.
Hardly a 1+ GHz Commodore SX-64 Mod. More like a simple case-mod effort. Slapping a small form-factor MB into an SX-64 case is kinda cool, but it ain't that cool. Now, building a real C64 notebook or building a souped up C64 (not emulated) would be damn cool.
Woah, cut the guy some credit! This isn't just a case hack; he didn't just spend 4 hours with a dremel.
He went to the trouble of using the orignal keyboard. That means he designed and programmed a microprocessor to convert the matrix from the keyboard into the serial stream for the ps/2 port.
According to his tech page, he's going to build a switching power supply, which isn't easy to do right, to replace the 1U power supply he's currently using.
Oh, and there's the sound interface, too, more custom hardware.
Sure, he's using an emulator, but, he's also using a lot of the original hardware.
I'd like to see you do that.
fnord.
16 comments and slashdotted
That means people are reading the damn link before posting. Hooray.
This is Old News.
In the late 1980's, one of the Amiga luminaries, Dale Luck, got his hands on a Commodore SX-64 (when they were slightly less rare), hollowed it out, and stuck an Amiga 500 in it.
Apparently one of the toughest parts of the hack was getting the keyboard to work as the C-64 keyboard layout and electronics are completely different from everything else. Fitting the motherboard was also a bit of a squeeze. All in all, it was an amusing hack, but because the SX-64's color monitor was of such low resolution, it was a struggle to read, even at 640 * 200 pixels. So it was cute but, alas, not useful.
As others have already observered, gutting one of these rarities to stick a PC in it is just sacrelige.
Schwab
Editor, A1-AAA AmeriCaptions
No it's not. The VIC-20 used an 8-bit Motorola 6502 microcontroller. It's dead simple. If you took a university course in computer systems architecture, they might have you design a similar CPU for your semester project. They might even have you build it in VHDL, which you could synthesize onto an FPGA.
Some old systems are intersting for the nostalgia. Others are interesting for novel design. The CPU in the VIC-20 is far less interesting than the nostalgia gleamed from playing old games and reliving your childhood for an hour or so.
My other first post is car post.
I know that I can sell it right now for $400. I also know I can wait 5 years and it will be worth a grand - if I put it in it's case and leave it in the closet.
If I play this guitar, invaribly I will put a ding in it here, a scratch in it there. I will need to change its strings, adjust the bridge, most likely adjust the neck. All these things are pretty much normal maintainance for an instrument that has not been played, or is heading into a new season.
Say this guitar has a bad pickup in it (and I have decided to play it). I have these options:
Leave it alone.
A new Pickup
Rewind the Original pickup.
A new pickup destroys (the collector's) resale and also maximizes choice.
A rewound pickup is less damaging to resale, but does not present as much choice.
Blahblahblah.
My point is this: People are watching too much Antiques Roadshow, and Lost Treasures, and endlessly refreshing pages on eBay. They lose sight of an important thing.
In 90 percent of collectables, the 'collectable' item was *meant to be used*. Crackerjack toys were meant to be played with, China teapots were meant to serve hot tea, guitars were meant to be played, cars were meant to be driven.
That is the purpose of their existence. These items had something special about them: they worked well for their purpose, they were fun, they never broke, or you had your first date in one.
In many of these items, form follows function - an apple peeler used by Gramma looks pretty much the same as one you can buy now. In some guitars (especially) function follows form - they look great, but were cheaply made, or are banged up and *used*.
If I love the form of a NeXT cube enough, I'll want to use it all the time. I'll want to see it, and touch it, and *use* it but I don't do things that that hardware can do.
Sure, I have stuff that is put away and not modded, or used. I have Hot Wheels still in the package, I have a guitar that sits in a case, I have a Beatles keychain in a drawer. I can look at these things and be happy I have something that not many others have - but I'd rather be using them in the context of their creation.
Some things I have learned in my short lifetime - Keep and use the things you love, get rid of the things you don't. Life is too short to be worried about resale.
You get one ticket for the ride, make sure its the ride you want to be on.