David Terrill sent in his new c64 project. It’s almost an end-all c64 mod. He lopped off the back half of the case, added s-video, a piggybacked secondary sound chip, 1/4″ audio, stereo input, audio feedback, a serial port, DIN sync… and more. If you dig c64s or hardware bending, check out his write up.
That look amazing…. Whats the big obession with first post?
Posted at 5:16 pm on Oct 3rd, 2006 by Tom Parker
awesome! more hacks like this!
Posted at 6:02 pm on Oct 3rd, 2006 by danadamkof
This is definately a good hack, since, unlike other ‘hacks’ i’ve seen (which involve ripping the guts out and replacing it with a pc), this guy keep the c64’s basic functions basically intact. He upgrades the video output (s-video) as well as showing interesting mods for the SID chip(s) that he placed in the machine. All in all, a good hack with consideration for the original functionality the machine.
well, as you can clearly see in the in-depth article that he uses 8580R5 SIDs. it’s the latest revision of the SID chip.
Posted at 5:51 am on Oct 4th, 2006 by stonda
I’m a younger geek, and not trying to flame but what exactly is the point of using C64’s as sythesizers… and what kind of audio quality would it have after the SID Piggybacking?
Posted at 6:52 am on Oct 4th, 2006 by Fragged
What an amazing mod. Technically, it’s like 6 mods plus a prophet64 installation guide. Just… wow.
#8: UK PSU for sale here for just under $16:
http://www.bullnet.co.uk/shops/test/psuand.htm
As for US ones, some light googling might turn one up – or at least a schematic or two.
Posted at 8:45 am on Oct 4th, 2006 by pragma
>> 13
I’m also a younger geek, but I can do research.
In the electronic music world, unique sounds are vital (musicians are known to collect toy keyboards along with old record albums for source material), and the SID sound chip is … very unique. As an added bonus, a great deal of software has been written to take advantage of this. The Chiptune scene that has pheonixed in popularity lately is only adding fuel to the fire. Similar mods have been done to the NES.
Ths mod is awesome, makes me want to grab a C64DTV to do a feasibility study…
Posted at 9:09 am on Oct 4th, 2006 by snow-nine
@12
Remember to that this is an analog synth… something that is less and less common. Analog devices just sound different from digital ones. I assume it is because they are somewhat less precise but that lack of precision creates a unique and maybe more “organic” (whatever that means) sound than digital ones.
Sure you could probably almost reproduce the sound with some clever effect programming but that would require better hardware/software and would probably never get it quite right. Read up on any band that uses synths extensively and you will probably find that lots of musicians have very strong opinions about getting a particular synth sound just right.
Plus analog synths are just cool in general.
Posted at 9:54 pm on Oct 4th, 2006 by bp
Dang, I wish I still had my C64. Those were the good ol’ days!
Posted at 11:41 pm on Oct 5th, 2006 by Gamer X
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This is cool, all c64 mods are!
First post too eh ;)
Posted at 4:29 pm on Oct 3rd, 2006 by weirdguy