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C64 Mini

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SiriusHardware

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I'm surprised nobody seems to have mentioned this reboot of the C64 in mini form, see here:

https://thec64.com/

I never had a 64, here in the UK you were usually in either the Commodore or Sinclair camp, or possibly had an Amstrad CPC unless your parents had a bit of money and then you might have had a BBC model B or a relatively rare imported 8-bit Atari. But a friend of mine did have a 64 and the thing I loved most about it was the joyous Rob Hubbard soundtracks which a lot of the games had. Sometimes, I would put the games on just to listen to the music.

So when I saw the blurb about the C64 mini, they almost had me, and then I read this, written in suspiciously reduced-size text:-

Note: The keyboard keys are non-functional
Click to expand...

-WHY- would they do this? This is exactly why I did not even consider buying the Spectrum Vega, because it didn't have a functional keyboard.

OK, you can plug a USB keyboard into it. But if you are going to put keys on a retro copy of something, for God's sake make them work.
 
Its actually quite a nice bit of kit for casual retro 64 gaming.

I have bought one despite owning just about every 'real' machine that Commodore ever produced.

Reason being curiosity AND that it sits unobtrusively (its really small - see picture below) next to the main TV in my living room ready to play without much effort.

Not sure its going to appeal to many beyond a curious former 64 user who wants to reminisce without risking the same amount of money on Ebay for a real 64 that MIGHT work and having to add an SD based disk emulator to go with it.

The keyboard was never going to work at that size.

IMG_20180330_112435.jpg
 
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zippysticks said:
The keyboard was never going to work at that size.
Click to expand...

I don't see why not to be honest, there are plenty of micro PC / Multimedia box keyboards which are about that size and do work - they would have to be rubber mat / carbon pill contacts (as used in most remote controls, etc) rather than real switches.

I had a look through the built in games list - some genuine classics mixed with some fairly forgettable ones - is that game set fixed, or can you introduce more titles onto it using a memory card / USB stick?
 
I paid a fair amount of money ($USD) for 2 Commodore 64s (one came with a PSU that lost the 9VAC line, and the other had no PSU, but I had a new PSU ready to be used).

The one C64 lost the RF Modulator and I need to find a schematic to make a logic board in place of the RF Modulator without the RF itself, just to only use the A/V port, and the other I have is in an aftermarket case (looks like the C64 breadbin and C64C combined) and works great.
 
SiriusHardware said:
I don't see why not to be honest, there are plenty of micro PC / Multimedia box keyboards which are about that size and do work - they would have to be rubber mat / carbon pill contacts (as used in most remote controls, etc) rather than real switches.

I had a look through the built in games list - some genuine classics mixed with some fairly forgettable ones - is that game set fixed, or can you introduce more titles onto it using a memory card / USB stick?
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure at this size (see picture below) it would be unusable in both a productivity and gaming mode unless you have fingers with the diameter of a matchstick - I clearly don't.

IMG_20180406_194910.jpg
 
SiriusHardware said:
I don't see why not to be honest, there are plenty of micro PC / Multimedia box keyboards which are about that size and do work - they would have to be rubber mat / carbon pill contacts (as used in most remote controls, etc) rather than real switches.

I had a look through the built in games list - some genuine classics mixed with some fairly forgettable ones - is that game set fixed, or can you introduce more titles onto it using a memory card / USB stick?
Click to expand...

https://thec64.com/loading-other-programs/ shows that it is very inconvenient. One specially named disk image at a time. Seems the development team spent all their effort on getting the look correct while only working on the most minimal functionality.
 
I imported a couple of C64 Minis because they aren't available in North America yet. Despite the fact that you can have a better emulator with other hardware and software, you could 3D print a similar case and pretty much recreate it for a cheaper price, there's just something about having a product in package that makes it different. I like it so far and while it's not very intuitive yet to load you own D64 files, you don't have to "hack it" to make that work.
 
I can't stand this miniturisation stuff. I just don't understand the desire for tiny, weightless, flimsy, and cheap.

Give me a full size C64 clone with functional keyboard (so all the games actually work properly), with normal joystick connectors. Make it battery powered and connect to the TV by WiFi. Don't tell me this would be difficult in 2018.
 
I think this is aimed at kids and parents don't want full sized systems to store (and have to figure out how they work connected to new LCD TVs). Since you need a joystick to play all those old games running it on a phone is not a good idea so these minis were made.

I wouldn't mind a full sized system with a real keyboard and the new device plugins while still being able to use old joysticks and drives but I suspect they would not be cheap and I have original equipment anyway. So these cheap systems are made for people who play it a few times and put it in the closet as they move on to the next thing.
 
It's certainly well packaged. Looks like the pcb can be modded. Who knows someone might hack in a mini usb keyboard.

Sounds like a full sized system could be on the cards at some point.
 
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Neat. I watched it on 8bitguy's channel. I'm not really motivated to buy though -- I've kind of been taking a break from Commodore. Commodore lately for me has begun to feel like Hamlet - with all the (gazillions of) Youtube retro channels and documentaries and retro-Commodore products - everything you could say about or do with a Commodore product has been said/done. I guess I'm weird, considering I've had a 64 continuously since 1982 (maybe that's my problem -- take it for granted?). I think I would be more excited if whoever owned the Commodore trademark (for the moment) came up with a genuinely new machine.. not some ARM-powered emulator in a new shell but an in between of the 64/128 and Amiga, using period hardware. Or something that took the 64 and the technology available at the time and stretched it into something with new/enhanced capabilities.
 
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zippysticks said:
I'm pretty sure at this size (see picture below) it would be unusable in both a productivity and gaming mode unless you have fingers with the diameter of a matchstick - I clearly don't.
Click to expand...

I guess I remember the real 64 being bigger, so didn't realise how small the mini actually was. Miniaturisation like this is pointless if it renders parts of the device nonfunctional / decorative, forcing you to plug a full sized keyboard into it to make it operational. Better if it had been a self contained full sized or 2/3 or half sized replica with a fully functional integral keyboard.

Edit: Actually, having watched 8bitguy's video it does look roughly half scale to me. If you can type on the on-screen keyboard on a typical mobile phone surely you can type on a physical keyboard the size of the one on the mini? (But I repeat: It should have been bigger, with working keys).
 
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As a matter of interest, has anyone tried C64 emulation on something equally small and a little cheaper, namely the Raspberry Pi? How does that compare in terms of software compatibility with D64 files, key / control / and video and sound latency?
 
It works fine on the Pi, no different than on a desktop machine albeit not as obscenely fast.

There's an Android C64 emulator that works really good - almost. It doesn't work right with a hardware keyboard.
 
SiriusHardware said:
-WHY- would they do this? This is exactly why I did not even consider buying the Spectrum Vega, because it didn't have a functional keyboard.

OK, you can plug a USB keyboard into it. But if you are going to put keys on a retro copy of something, for God's sake make them work.
Click to expand...
Because originally they started an indiegogo to do a full size replacement of the 64. They did not meet the funding goal. They are still planning on doing the full size unit with keyboard so the mini was a way to quickly release a product that could be the funding vehicle for the full size unit.

So fret not, the full size model is next on the list, or so we hope.
 
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