lurch@vedge.UUCP (Lurch) (04/19/88)
Many years ago, I bought a VIC-20 (I was young and naive). I have now matured to the point where I own an A500 (512K, single floppy drive). The VIC just sits in my parents attic collecting dust (at last, something the VIC does well!). My question is this: what can I do with my VIC? A friend suggested using it as a file server, but it only has a tape drive, no floppy. I have considered using it to make tape backups of disks, but there must be SOMETHING a little more useful it can do. I dont mind doing a little hardware hacking. In fact, I'm taking a course this summer in micro-processor hardware hacking and I need a course project. Being new to Amiga's and computer architecture, I have little grasp of what the Mongoloid might be used for. Any and all suggestions are welcome. Thnx. -- | "I gave you seven children woman...Now you want to give 'em back!" -BB King | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Jeff Smith Visual Edge Software, Montreal, Quebec | | ....sun!decwrl!decvax!watmath!onfcanim!vedge!lurch |
joe@lakesys.UUCP (Joe Pantuso) (04/21/88)
In article <263@vedge.UUCP> lurch@vedge.UUCP (Lurch) writes: >Many years ago, I bought a VIC-20 (I was young and naive). I have now >matured to the point where I own an A500 (512K, single floppy drive). > Commodore was young and naive too then. But don't feel bad, look at how many folks still use C-64 (and look at how many FOOLS buy C-128 systems for the same cost as an A500, figure that one...) >The VIC just sits in my parents attic collecting dust (at last, something >the VIC does well!). My question is this: what can I do with my VIC? Old hardware is always good at collecting dust. It would make a really terrific door stop, but I would think it classier to use it as a bookend or perhaps as a planter. > >A friend suggested using it as a file server, but it only has a tape drive, >no floppy. I have considered using it to make tape backups of disks, but >there must be SOMETHING a little more useful it can do. Even if it DID have floppies it would be horrifically S-L-O-W and the storage space minute to the extreme. > >I dont mind doing a little hardware hacking. In fact, I'm taking a course >this summer in micro-processor hardware hacking and I need a course project. >Being new to Amiga's and computer architecture, I have little grasp of what >the Mongoloid might be used for. Any and all suggestions are welcome. Thnx. >| Jeff Smith Visual Edge Software, Montreal, Quebec | Concider how little speed and memory the VIC has. Just waiting for it, and tieing up a port on your machine, far outweighs any benifits it could provide. The Amiga would probably bench at 1-200 times faster than the VIC, ack. If you need a hardware hack for your course though there is always somthing... Off the top of my head I would say try setting it up as a secondary screen. It has a very low text resolution though, wich limits it's possibilities. I have *no* knowledge about the hardware specifics of the machine, so I have no concrete possibilities. -Joe@lakesys.UUCP
NETOPRHM@NCSUVM.BITNET (Hal Meeks) (04/21/88)
>Stuff about Vic20 sitting in closet, gathering dust. What to do with it?
Gee, I have exactly the same problem. This is what I had thought about
doing:
Adding a RS232 adaptor to the back and hanging it off of my serial
port. Would make a dandy post-mortem debugging tool. Maybe open
a cli window on it? Hmmmm............
--halsnyderw@pawl23.pawl.rpi.edu (Wilson P. Snyder II) (04/21/88)
In article <263@vedge.UUCP> lurch@vedge.UUCP (Lurch) writes: >The VIC just sits in my parents attic collecting dust (at last, something >the VIC does well!). My question is this: what can I do with my VIC? If you have a printer you can use the VIC as a cheap printer buffer. The VIC has the user port and keyboard connector which provide enough I/O lines for a centronix input and output port. You will probably want to get more memory for the machine, you may be able to find someone with a 16K cartridge for $10 or so, or you could just build a bank switched memory board. This use is being done by one of the members of my Computer Culb (Champlain Valley Commodore User's Group.) A added advantage it total programmability - he has it set up to translate the graphics for his printer. ______________________________________________________________________ Wilson P. Snyder II Address under renovation. 318 Crockett Hall, RPI Use "R"eply to mail to me. Troy, NY 12180-3590 518-276-2764, 802-658-3799 in summer ______________________________________________________________________
haitex@pnet01.cts.com (Wade Bickel) (04/21/88)
lurch@vedge.UUCP (Lurch) writes: >the VIC does well!). My question is this: what can I do with my VIC? > >I dont mind doing a little hardware hacking. In fact, I'm taking a course Perhaps you could use it as a terminal in conjunction with WACK, a system monitoring tool available for the Amiga. This was a suggestion someone else recieved in response to another posting. I intend to explore it as I have a Wyse-50 gather dust. Would someone care to comment on whether it is reasonable to use a VIC-20 as a terminal for WACK? I assume you would need some hardware for the VIC as well as a terminal program. Good Luck, Wade. UUCP: {cbosgd, hplabs!hp-sdd, sdcsvax, nosc}!crash!pnet01!haitex ARPA: crash!pnet01!haitex@nosc.mil INET: haitex@pnet01.CTS.COM
mills-c@pike.cis.ohio-state.edu (Christopher Mills) (04/21/88)
In article <340NETOPRHM@NCSUVM> NETOPRHM@NCSUVM.BITNET (Hal Meeks) writes: >>Stuff about Vic20 sitting in closet, gathering dust. What to do with it? > >Gee, I have exactly the same problem. This is what I had thought about >doing: > >Adding a RS232 adaptor to the back and hanging it off of my serial >port. Would make a dandy post-mortem debugging tool. Maybe open >a cli window on it? Hmmmm............ >--hal Not bad idea. I hacked up my old Atari 800 (anyone out there have one of them before the Amiga too?) as a dedicated printer buffer for my Epson DX-10 daisywheel (it was a gift). It helps out a lot (I think the phrase "DX-10" refers to its speed - 10 cps!). -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- _____________________ | Christopher Mills. (_)________________ \ | mills@baloo.eng.ohio-state.edu ________________|\ \ | mills-c@pike.cis.ohio-state.edu (_)______________\_\ \ | Current Thought: Must be nice to have ______________________\ | a laserprinter. (_)____________________| | DISCLAMER: I really wish I could blame | my thoughts on someone else... -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
andy@cbmvax.UUCP (Andy Finkel) (04/21/88)
In article <263@vedge.UUCP> lurch@vedge.UUCP (Lurch) writes: >Being new to Amiga's and computer architecture, I have little grasp of what >the Mongoloid might be used for. Any and all suggestions are welcome. Thnx. If you have no serial terminal at home... Assuming you have the RS232 adapter (or can hack one out of optoisolators, or something to get the voltages right) you can use the VIC-20 as a serial terminal on the Amiga for things like using ROMWack, and other serial debugging tasks. (That's what I use my Plus/4 for, anyway) andy -- andy finkel {ihnp4|seismo|allegra}!cbmvax!andy Commodore-Amiga, Inc. "C combines the power of assembly language with the flexibility of assembly language." Any expressed opinions are mine; but feel free to share. I disclaim all responsibilities, all shapes, all sizes, all colors.
SLMYQ@USU.BITNET (04/23/88)
I myself used to have a VIC-20. (Three *whole* K all for me! :)
Take a look around the VIC-20 and see what you can think up.
o Controller ports: You could use these with the Amiga's port 2,
and have up to three joysticks along with the mouse at the same
time, or four joysticks without the mouse! Great for multiplayer
games.
o Cartridge slot: Use this for anything you want - you can do
practically anything with this. You might want to hook the VIC-20
up to the Amiga through here if you don't want to tie up the
user port.
o Video port: You could have two screens on your Amiga! One could
be for detailed graphics (the Amiga screen), and the other could
be for a short (!) descriptive text or status screen or some such.
o Cassette port: As mentioned, you could make the VIC-20 into a
tape backup system with the cassette.
o User port: You could use this for communicating to the Amiga, or
if you can find a way to use the cartridge port for this purpose,
you could use this port for other things. I can't remember much
about the VIC-20's user port, but if it's a lot like the C64's
(which I believe it is) then it's quite easy to hook up your own
homemade hardware to this port. Use it for a robot controller!
(BTW, that's one thing I really wish the Amiga had: an easy way
to hook up your own hardware.)
Anyway, these are some ideas to munch on.
Bryan Ford (SLMYQ@USU.BITNET)leblanc@godzilla.ele.toronto.edu (Marcel LeBlanc) (04/24/88)
In article <601@lakesys.UUCP> joe@lakesys.UUCP (Joe Pantuso) writes: ... >Commodore was young and naive too then. But don't feel bad, look at how many >folks still use C-64 (and look at how many FOOLS buy C-128 systems for the >same cost as an A500, figure that one...) First time computer users and most hackers would probably opt for the A500, but this doesn't include everybody. >Old hardware is always good at collecting dust. It would make a really >terrific door stop, but I would think it classier to use it as a bookend or >perhaps as a planter. Planter? That sounds like a good idea! ... >Concider how little speed and memory the VIC has. Just waiting for it, and >tieing up a port on your machine, far outweighs any benifits it could provide. >The Amiga would probably bench at 1-200 times faster than the VIC, ack. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This is obviously a joke. 2-3 times faster maybe, but not 100-200 times! >I have *no* knowledge about the hardware specifics of the machine, so I have >no concrete possibilities. > >-Joe@lakesys.UUCP Marcel A. LeBlanc University of Toronto -- Toronto, Canada also: LMS Technologies Ltd, Fredericton, NB, Canada UUCP: {decvax,ihnp4,linus,utzoo,uw-beaver}!utcsri!godzilla!leblanc ARPA: leblanc%godzilla.ele.toronto.edu@relay.cs.net CSNET: leblanc@godzilla.ele.toronto.edu CDNNET: <...>.toronto.cdn BITNET: leblanc@godzilla.ele.utoronto (may not work from all sites)
morgan@brambo.UUCP (Morgan W. Jones) (04/27/88)
In article <263@vedge.UUCP> lurch@vedge.UUCP (Lurch) writes: >Being new to Amiga's and computer architecture, I have little grasp of what >the Mongoloid might be used for. Any and all suggestions are welcome. Thnx. - Door jam - Paper weight - Blunt instrument (suitable for a wide range of malicious acts) - You could sell it to Toshiba to sell to the Russians as "Advanced American Technology" - Pencil holder (though it wouldn't even do that very well) etc. Sorry, I couldn't resist. >| Jeff Smith Visual Edge Software, Montreal, Quebec | -- Morgan Jones - Bramalea Software Inc. morgan@brambo.UUCP ...!{uunet!mnetor!lsuc!ncrcan, utgpu!telly}!brambo!morgan "These might not even be my opinions, let alone anyone else's."
lphillips@lpami.van-bc.UUCP (Larry Phillips) (04/27/88)
In <2853@crash.cts.com>, haitex@pnet01.cts.com (Wade Bickel) writes: > Would someone care to comment on whether it is reasonable to use a > VIC-20 as a terminal for WACK? I assume you would need some hardware > for the VIC as well as a terminal program. The VIC used a software UART, just as did the 64. You could, with some clever programming, make it go 2400 bps. So in addition to a level converter to change TTL <-> RS232, you would probably need a hardware UART and a small program to manage it. Might be cheaper (and certainly easier)to buy a used 9600 bps capable glass teletype. -larry -- Janus? Well, look at it this way. If you squint a little, the J could be Amiga checkmark, and the rest of the word describes MsDos. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ | // Larry Phillips | | \X/ {ihnp4!alberta!ubc-vision,uunet}!van-bc!lpami!lphillips | | COMPUSERVE: 76703,4322 | +----------------------------------------------------------------+
lphillips@lpami.van-bc.UUCP (Larry Phillips) (04/28/88)
In <2853@crash.cts.com>, haitex@pnet01.cts.com (Wade Bickel) writes: > -- Janus? Well, look at it this way. If you squint a little, the J could be Amiga checkmark, and the rest of the word describes MsDos. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ | // Larry Phillips | | \X/ {ihnp4!alberta!ubc-vision,uunet}!van-bc!lpami!lphillips | | COMPUSERVE: 76703,4322 | +----------------------------------------------------------------+
kurt@tc.fluke.COM (Kurt Guntheroth) (04/30/88)
Use the c64 for an intelligent 64K printer spooler. If you wanted to do data compression, it would hold even more than 64K of text. Use the c64 as a data compressor and communication processor. With suitable encoding and decoding on either end, you can get almost 2400 baud performance out of a 1200 baud line. Use the c64 as a debugging terminal connected to WACK and the amiga serial port. Use the c64 as a bookrest to hold up your amiga manuals.