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Sunday, 19 June 2022 08:56

My Commodore Notes

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These are my Commodore notes that don't fit anywhere else.

Retro Sites

General

Commodore and Vintage Computing Shops

  • Vesalia Online - The Amiga & Retrocomputing Store (Est. 1987) - Our shop offers a large range of hardware and software products for Amiga, Commodore and other retro systems.
  • DataServe Retro
    • The aim of our web site is to provide information on the range of 8 bit micro computers we restore and support - the Companies behind the featured machines, their development history, the different model releases and any other information we feel relevant that we have been able to dig up. This information can be found in categories specific to the particular manufacturer, click on an image to take you to the category you are interested in.
    • Bought my "Commodore 1531 Datassette Drive & Tape Counter Belt Set C1531DDTCBS" from here, great guy.
  • Commodore 16 and plus/4, Mutant Caterpillar Games Ltd Retro Store
  • Retro Computers Commodore C16 from eBay Webstore - Purchase Retro Computers Commodore C16 from SellMyRetro.com webstores
  • Sell My Retro
    • Buy & Sell Retro Electronics Home Computers Arcade & Video Games Consoles
    • Trading website dedicated to retro & vintage computers and electronics such as Sinclair, Commodore & Amstrad
  • MiniPET 40/80D - Replacement PET Motherboard - MiniPET 40/80D - Replacement PET Motherboard
  • Retro ShopBox | eBay Stores
    • We are a small business that specialises in restoring vintage computers, electronics, audio HI-FI gear and other specialty items. We also fabricate custom components for old machines. Contact us to find out how we can help you.Like us on Facebook (fb.com/retroshopbox) and follow us on Instagram (@retro_shopbox) for upcoming sales & new products.
  • Commodore - Shop - Retro Computing, mostly 8bit. Worlds best selling SD Card interfaces for Commodore C64 SD2IEC+, divMMC Future Sinclair ZXSpectrum, SD2PET CBM PET, Kung-Fu-Flash C64 and the Penultimate+ for the VIC20
  • Cespok64 | eBay Stores
    • Located in Spain
    • Excellent quality of products.
    • The owner is very knowledgeable about Commodore hardware.
  • Software Archive Wiki - The software is professionally recovered. Usually from magnetic disks using Kryoflux or Nibtools. If available meta data such as pictures of the disks and box content are created.
  • Manosoft Group | C=ommodore Passion - No meta description
  • The Commodore 64: The Birth of a Cultural Icon - Book - Kickstarter - No meta description

Commodore Only Sites

A collection of forums, community and ROM sites

All Commodores

  • Commodore - The Future We Were Promised™
    • Currently only C64 but this is the official homepage of commodore
    • Commodore has returned from a parallel timeline where tech stayed optimistic, inviting, and human. Where it served us, not enslaved us. We’re here to bring that feeling back - retro • futurism, transparent tech, digital minimalism, real innovation.
  • Commodore Info Page - Start page [en] - This is the Commodore Info Page. On this web page you will find information about Commodore computers, disk drives, datassettes, monitors, joysticks, printers, cartridges, cassette and diskette software, calculators and books. There are also articles about hacking the C64 dtv, transfering data from cassette and diskette to your PC and Emulators like VICE or CCS64. You can look at my Commodore collection, museum or the Extreme Commodore Logo. Stay a while stay for ever...
  • Commodore Software - New Files
    • Commodore 64 & 128 applications, utilities, tools and more!
    • Extensive collection covering C64, C128, VIC20, Plus4, C16, PET & Amiga
  • Commodore Computers: C64 VIC20 PET C128 Plus4 – 8 Bit PC's – Commodore: Inventor of the Personal Computer
    • This site provides history, manuals, ROM downloads, along with an active user forum for support of your 8 Bit Commodore computers.
    • Massive software and documentation library
    • A great historical library of all sorts of information.
    • Active forum and community
  • The Gremlin Graphics Archive
    • An archive of exclusive photos, film, media and memorabilia of Gremlin Graphics Limited, a Sheffield based computer and videogame developer responsible for games such as Wanted: Monty Mole, Jack The Nipper, Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge and the Actua Soccer series.
  • GitHub - mist64/cbmsrc: - This repository collects the original source code of various Commodore Business Machines (CBM) computers converted to a modern encoding (ASCII, LF, indentation).
  • Commodore Service Manuals (and more!) - Service Manuals (and more, like technical documentation and some magazine articles from the eighties) for 8-bit Commodore computers and peripherals.
  • Psytronik Software - itch.io
    • The software label devoted to releasing new games for classic computer systems! Established in 1990 we pride ourselves on publishing quality releases for retro computer systems presented in high quality packaging.
    • Plus4/C16 and C64 titles.

C16 / Plus4

C64 / C128

PET

VIC20

  • cbmvic.net - Home of the VIC 20 and VIC 1001 serial number registry

Programming

Music

BASIC Commands

Tape

LOAD "<filename>" [, <device number>]   - LOAD command format for tape
LOAD                                    - Load the first program from tape
LOAD""                                  - Load the first program from tape
LOAD"PROGRAM.PRG"                       - Load `PROGRAM.PRG` from tape
LOAD"",1                                - Load the first program from tape
LOAD"*",1                               - Load the first program from tape

Disk

LOAD "<filename>", <device number>[, <secondary address>] - LOAD command format for disk
LOAD"*",8,1        - Load the first program from the disk, load to the address specified within the file itself (most common).
LOAD"*",8,0        - Load the first program from the disk, Load to the start of BASIC memory (less common).
LOAD"*",8          - Load the first program from the disk, Load to the start of BASIC memory (less common).
LOAD"RUN-ME",8     - Load the `RUN-ME` program from the disk

DIRECTORY          - List the disk directory
LOAD "$",8         - List the disk directory
LOAD`!*MENU`,8,1   - Which will load the menu, I am not sure if this is valid.

Common

RUN   - Execute the program that has been loaded in to RAM

Links

Misc

General

  • There is no 16k only support - Forum (#18770) - Plus/4 World
    • WHY are there no C16k-friendly versions as PRG files of games? Only TAP-games work with that Yape setting directly, and -some- games, like Berks and Aardvark.
    • This thread gives a technical reason why you can't take a C16/16K only game on a tape and turn it into a PRG.

Alternative Hardware

Buttons

  • RUN/STOP - C64-Wiki - no description
    • By pressing the key RUN/STOP + RESTORE simultaneously a program can also be broken, with this the power-up mode is almost restored again. This e.g. helps, when the Keyboard has been switched off or the key RUN/STOP has been deactivated. After that, the locks are removed. This is almost the same as a hardware reset switch.

History

Other Software

Plus4 / C16 Emulators

Some useful notes for these emulators.

VICE

  • Key Mappings (General)
    • 2.8 The keyboard emulation | VICE Manual - There are two ways of emulating the keyboard in VICE and they are described here
    • Change keyboard mappings
      • VICE --> Preferences --> Input Devices --> Keyboard
      • the files are located at:
        • /VICE Folder/Your Commodore Device/gtk3_sym.vkm
        • /VICE Folder/Your Commodore Device/gtk3_pos.vkm
    • Soft reset: Alt + F9
      • When you soft reset VICE it does NOT resets the Tape counter
    • Hard reset: Alt + F12
      • When you hard reset VICE it resets the Tape counter
    • You can add a key for 'Press PLAY on datasette' which is NOT assigned by default
      • Help --> Hotkeys
  • Key Mappings (+4)
    • Joystick Fire: Numpad 0
    • Run/Stop: End
    • Shift Lock: Caps Lock
    • Take a Screenshot = Pause
      • Files end up in the VICE /bin/ folder
    • Esc:
    • Commodore Key: Left Ctrl
  • Key Mappings (C64)
    • C64 VICE Front-End – Waiting for Friday
      • This has a image of the key mappings for the C64 used in VICE.
      • The aim of this project was to create a front-end for Commodore 64 emulation using VICE. One of the primary problems with emulators (especially for machines from the ’80s) is that there was no standard keyboard arrangement. In this project I took a broken Commodore 64 computer and replaced the motherboard with a PIC microcontroller based board which interfaces the keyboard and both joystick ports (including ADC for the paddles) to a modern full-speed USB 2.0 interface.
    • RUN/STOP: Esc
    • RESTORE: PgUp
    • CONTROL: Tab
    • Commodore Key: Left Ctrl
    • With the default english keymap file, RUN/STOP is mapped to the CAPS LOCK key, and RESTORE is mapped to the PAGE UP key.
  • Monitor
    • VICE Manual - 12 Monitor
    • The VICE emulator has a complete built-in monitor, which can be used to examine, disassemble and assemble machine language programs, as well as debug them through breakpoints.
    • It can be activated by using "Activate monitor" from the menu.
    • The monitor will either run in a separate window, or in a terminal emulation program (such as rxvt or xterm) when "native monitor" has been enabled in the settings.
  • No sound
  • When you reset the emulator, the tape counter is reset, so to disable it:
    • If using the older Win32 interface, it's in Settings -> Datasette settings -> uncheck 'Reset Datasette with CPU'
    • If using the GTK interface, it's in Settings drop menu -> Settings -> I/O Extensions -> Tape port devices -> uncheck 'Reset datasette with CPU'
  • SDL vs GTX

YAPE

  • Key Mappings
    • Quick Debugger: Shift + F9
      • This will allow you to see tape counter.
      • Once the game has loaded, the tape counter will read: A simple tape counter (simply the offset in the TAP or WAV file) TAPE
      • 000000000 the underlined ones are equivalent to commodore tape counter (Tape Counter + one and lots of extra preciseness).
    • Full Throttle =
    • Tape
      • Play: F5
      • Stop: Shift + F5
    • Resets
      • Run/Stop + reset: TAB + F11
        • Equivalent to the one on the real machine
        • Jumps to the machine language monitor without losing memory contents and BASIC programs and variables.
      • Soft reset: F11
        • Equivalent to pushing the white RESET button of a 264 computer. You will not lose the memory contents only BASIC programs and variables.
        • If a program masks the RST vector, you may not be able to restart the emulated machine this way.
      • Hard reset: SHIFT + F11
        • Equivalent to turning the power on and off in a real machine in that it clears all the RAM contents
      • Forced reset: CTRL + F11
        • Will always jump to the ROM reset vector, even when it's disabled.
        • Great for debugging.
      • Drive reset: no shortcut key
        • Eventually drives may crash, too, so they can be reset here, all at once or individually.
        • This is the equivalent of turning the drive off and then on.
    • Escape: ` (tilde)
    • Commodore Key: Left Ctrl
    • Control: Right Ctrl or Insert (for laptops)
    • Shift Lock: Caps Lock
    • Run/Stop: Tab
    • Home: Home
    • Pound (£): Delete
    • Pound Sign / Hash (#): Shift + 3
    • Inst/Del: BackSpace
    • Cursors Arrows: Cursor keys
  • Joystick Mappings
    • These are the key mappings when the josytick is emulated through the PC keyboard.
    • Joystick Move: Cursor keys or Numpad 2, 4, 6, 8 (selectable via the Input dialog window)
    • Joystick Fire: Numpad 0
    • Issues with Joystick then try one of these settings:
      1. Settings --> Input setup --> Configure keyboard & Joystick --> Windows input Method = Message Queue - positional keymap
      2. Settings --> Input setup --> Configure keyboard & Joystick --> Emulation via keyboard --> port 1/2 = Cursor keys

ICPUG

Official Sites and Information

Software Downloads

Newsletters (places to download)

check all pages are present, icpug_v03_i05_sep_1981.pdf , starts at page 94, and only has 44 pages, this is from 6502.org not bombjack

Other Commodore Groups

 

Read 1285 times Last modified on Monday, 04 May 2026 15:47
Published in Emulators
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