Commodore CBM 8032 Brand New

[Junior Ramos]

I just got a brand new Commodore 8032, in original box. But I need any software in order to test it. I have a Datassette unit but not any software. Any help with this.

Also I'm looking for dual drive 8050 with cable.
Thanks

 

[Raven]

You can download software on your PC, write it to a tape recorder via playing it as audio and recording on the tape recorder, and then move the tape to the datasette. There's special software for playing .TAP and .T64 files and such.

 

[barythrin]

There are certainly test programs out there. We had a few threads floating around with memory testing basic code in them but for whatever reason my google fu is weak today. Here's an example in basic on testing the ram on an 8k unit. You'd have to modify the code slightly to test a 32k unit like yours but it's a good starting point.

Once you have it typed in, you can test saving it to your cassette drive too (normal cassettes will work fine, just remember to ground the connection on the player/cable to the case or you'll sit there staring at a non-moving tape motor like I recently did lol). Then you can try loading it next time too. I'm sure there are some other tests you can do listed elsewhere also. I have a virtual dsk with several utilities like that on it which I played with in an emulator but then dumped the source out to type it in on the real pet. I'm sure there was a smarter way (audio dumping to tape) but at the time the program I wanted was relatively short and easy to type in.

 

[Bungo Pony]

The way I got a lot of software for unavailable machines was to type it all in. If you can find them, the books by Usborne were excellent with BASIC program listings that had adapted lines of code for specific Micro's.

You can also try stuff like this:

http://www.atariarchives.org/morebasicgames/

The basic code is just that, very basic. It will run on most computers. I always liked taking these programs and jazzing them up from being experienced in the version of BASIC I was working on.

When typing in, double check the difference between zeros and o's. After you're more familiar with BASIC, you'll be able to tell the difference easily.

Commands you'll need to know:

LIST: see what you've typed in
RUN: see if it works
SAVE"PROGRAM": Save it to tape

If you get something like "SYNTAX ERROR IN 130" then type LIST 130 to see where you messed up. There's other variations with the LIST command... "LIST 230-" will list from the line number 230 to the end. "LIST 130-150" will list line numbers 130-150.

I always found programming to be fun and interesting. After you've debugged it and got it working, play with it. Change variables and things to see how the program works differently. That's how I did most of my learning. Then you won't need to find software, you'll just end up writing whatever you need