User avatar
3D-vice
Germany

Posted Thu Dec 12, 2019 5:33 am

Hey guys,

I was recently clearing out the attic of my parents' house, remembering that I might have stored some of my old toys and computer stuff up there back then.

Well, I was right, I found a lot of stuff from my childhood and youth, such as a yet fully functional model of a steam engine. But: The coolest thing I re-discovered was my good old Commodore Plus/4 incl. accessories. I completely had forgotten about this beauty. Have a look:
Plus4_Beauty.jpg
Such a beauty...

Plus4_Full.jpg
The Plus/4 with all peripherals.

I'm sorry the pictures got a bit blurry, I'll try to take some better ones later on. The machine works perfectly, so does the 1531 Tape Drive.

The only thing not working propperly is the 1551 Floppy Drive. I can be switched on and it recognizes the insertion of a dirk, but I won't read from the disk "Device Not Present". I'll try to repair it, since the 1551 drives seem to be pretty rare these days. Now I "just" have to figure out how to check all of the components. I think I'll start with exchanging the 6525 in the drive itself and the 6523 and the PLA within the paddle...

If one of you guys out there have a recommendation on how to approach my 1551 repair quest, I'd be happy to get some advice.
Last edited by 3D-vice on Wed Dec 18, 2019 5:39 am, edited 2 times in total.

User avatar
intric8
Seattle, WA, USA

Posted Thu Dec 12, 2019 2:13 pm

Wow! It's sorta the CDTV looking machine for the C= 8-bits. Only thing you're missing is a black monitor to seal the deal. =)

Like the sexy 1703.
Attachments
Screen Shot 2019-12-12 at 1.13.03 PM.png

User avatar
jost80
Sweden

Posted Mon Dec 16, 2019 2:21 pm

plus/4 is such a beautiful machine

User avatar
A1-X1000
Toronto, Canada

Posted Tue Dec 17, 2019 3:25 pm

awesome find!

User avatar
intric8
Seattle, WA, USA

Posted Tue Dec 17, 2019 5:14 pm

I just took a second look - is that a black modem, too?

User avatar
3D-vice
Germany

Posted Wed Dec 18, 2019 3:57 am

intric8 wrote:
Tue Dec 17, 2019 5:14 pm
I just took a second look - is that a black modem, too?
Hey there!

Nope, that's the adapter plug of the floppy drive. It has some inbuilt electronics and slots into the expansion board like a normal cartridge, providing faster access than the C64/1541 combination via serial cable.

Also, the adapter plug does not block the expansion port when plugged in. It loops through the complete port, allowing to plug a cartridge right into it.

Edit: I have updated the pictures from the initial post, now without blur, lol. :D

Here are some more pics incl. some details:
Attachments
Plus4_TopFront.jpg
Excuse the dust particles...

Plus4_Rear.jpg
The ports for joysticks and tape deck are similar to the ones of the C16, but differ from those of the C64.

Plus4_1551Plug_Close.jpg
Expansion port loop-trough.

Plus4_1551Plug_Side.jpg
The adapter plug of the 1551. Looks modem-ish indeed. ;)

Plus4_1551Floppy.jpg
This one is waaay faster than the 1541.

Plus4_TopDown.jpg
Those rare cartridges fit the overall design very well.

Last edited by 3D-vice on Wed Dec 18, 2019 5:43 am, edited 2 times in total.

User avatar
3D-vice
Germany

Posted Wed Dec 18, 2019 5:40 am

intric8 wrote:
Thu Dec 12, 2019 2:13 pm
Wow! It's sorta the CDTV looking machine for the C= 8-bits. Only thing you're missing is a black monitor to seal the deal. =)

Like the sexy 1703.
Indeed! This one would fit awesomely well to the overall design of the Plus/4. <3

User avatar
Crazyeights

Posted Thu Feb 13, 2020 8:17 pm

What an Awesome setup! Thank you for sharing the pictures and your history with it. Any chance of some screen shots of it in action?

User avatar
3D-vice
Germany

Posted Fri Feb 14, 2020 4:59 am

Crazyeights wrote:
Thu Feb 13, 2020 8:17 pm
What an Awesome setup! Thank you for sharing the pictures and your history with it. Any chance of some screen shots of it in action?
Sure! As soon as I get that floppy drive fixed. On the other hand, I can fire up one of those cartridges beforehand. :)

User avatar
walldog

Posted Fri Feb 14, 2020 5:39 pm

3D-vice wrote:
Fri Feb 14, 2020 4:59 am
Crazyeights wrote:
Thu Feb 13, 2020 8:17 pm
What an Awesome setup! Thank you for sharing the pictures and your history with it. Any chance of some screen shots of it in action?
Sure! As soon as I get that floppy drive fixed. On the other hand, I can fire up one of those cartridges beforehand. :)
Which Death Star was it taken from? I am thinking the first one that Luke blew up. Use the force Luke...

Nice machine... I don't know much about these... Very cool!





Return to “Commodore 8 Bits”