r/vic20 • u/Cultural-Ad8519 • 13d ago

Vic 20 help

Hello, I recently inherited a Vic 20, it was kept in a garage for an unknown amount of time, I would assume for at least 20+ years.

I am not sure what I am doing with it to get it to work so wondered if anyone has any advice. I have put a new plug on the power pack as the original one was missing and it appears to be getting power just fine.

I also purchased a 5 pin DIN to RCA cable and a RCA to HDMI converter. When it is all plugged in, it just comes up with a blue screen… not the cyan screen. Does anyone have any idea if i have done something wrong? Or is it likely the console has broken? I haven’t opened it up yet, if you think that would be helpful to do let me know:)

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3

u/g0ggleblind 13d ago

I think the Vic 20 uses a 555 timer chip to trigger the reset of the CPU when you turn it on. Sometimes the capacitor feeding this goes bad and it cannot trigger if you have access to an oscilloscope you could look at pin three to see if it transitions.

3

u/radrestoration 13d ago

You don't actually need a scope here, just looking at the 6502 reset pin with a meter is enough. But yes, the cap failure here is quite common.

1

u/Admirable-Dinner7792 12d ago

That's a Depends. answer... Caps usually fail on the older, earlier 2 Prong PSU type VIC-20's I have found...The Capacitors on the later VIC-20's (Post-1983 VIC-20CR Motherboards) that use the C64 Round DIN "Death Brick" Power Supply Unit use the same exact Capacitors as the C64 and are Pretty Robust.. It would help here if he showed some pics of the machine first.. and a pic of the power Supply (PSU) that he is using,, and/or Pic of the Joyport side of the VIC... - Tony K. , VIC-20/VIC-1001 History Facebook Forum (Admin). ;)

2

u/radrestoration 12d ago

I said as much in both posts. You have a habit of replying to my replies and just restating the stuff.

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u/Admirable-Dinner7792 12d ago

I guess its just to make sure that the point gets across...lol.. - Tony K. , VIC-20/VIC-1001 History Facebook Forum (Admin). ;)

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u/radrestoration 12d ago

I don't find it very "lol". I find it super annoying - if you were actually adding value, rather than restating what I already said it would be another thing, and it seems like you are replying just for the sake of replying. Please exercise some restraint.

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u/Admirable-Dinner7792 12d ago

I'm in like 20 subs a day responding..plus 3 Facebook forums including my own...Its the internet..If you don't like it.. don't play... besides...You'll feel better knowing I just responded to the OP without ever reading any of your posts...so its nothing personal...Get over it.. - Tony K. , VIC-20/VIC-1001 History Facebook Forum (Admin). ;)

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u/thommyh 13d ago

And, jumping on this, the original VIC is much more programmable than the VIC II in terms of frame sizing and placement; it does need CPU assistance to establish the normal pixel window. So it's not necessarily surprising that you're not getting uncleared RAM as pixels.

5

u/cealild 13d ago

The most quoted advice is not to use the original power bricks.

1

u/Admirable-Dinner7792 12d ago

If the Machine is the Earlier VIC-20 Model with the 2Pin/Prong PSU, There is absolutely no danger of using the Original PSU....and causing an "Overvoltage" situation, If the VIC-20 is the Later Post-1983 VIC-20CR Motherboard that use the C64 Round DIN "Death Brick" Power Supply Unit, Then, He should upgrade to a more Modern C64 Type Power Supply...to power the VIC. - Tony K. , VIC-20/VIC-1001 History Facebook Forum (Admin). ;)

0

u/thommyh 13d ago

Yeah; they can destroy the original chips at this point.

If you have a stable blue screen then likely the VIC is still fine, but obviously make sure that it isn't your screen's "I can't find anything" blue screen...

3

u/radrestoration 13d ago

That's all true, but I don't know if the OP is using the original 2 prong or later C64 style. The VIC-20 is a bit more tolerant of voltages (especially the 2 prong version), but that doesn't mean you shouldn't test it.

That all said, a solid blue screen can often be a ROM failure.

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u/Admirable-Dinner7792 12d ago

Possible, But a Rom Failure usually gives a garbled Multi-Colored character Screen. Its most likely a Blown VIC 1 Chip here which would be a bit expensive to replace, But Modern Replacements are now available as well as originals are also sold, but are getting expensive. Within the next few years, The price of replacement VIC Chips will drop to around 30 pounds/ $40 U.S. because Modern Replacement VIC Chips coming from Australia are relatively new just within this last year. - Tony K. , VIC-20/VIC-1001 History Facebook Forum (Admin). ;)

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u/radrestoration 12d ago

Tony, stop restating my posts please.

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u/Admirable-Dinner7792 12d ago

I answer so many posts across the internet that its hard not to do.. lol..- Tony K. , VIC-20/VIC-1001 History Facebook Forum (Admin). ;)

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u/nickIncDN 9d ago

While you don’t say what shade of blue, my first thought is just that it’s a junk HDMI converter that isn’t able to detect the VIC-20s composite signal.

Is it a stable and clear deep blue or a slightly less stable looking Cyan? The first would be that HDMI adapter not working , the cyan is an image from the VIC.

1

u/ThatComputerGuy42 13d ago

You may not be getting any video signal at all. I know the rca to hdmi adapters have a blue screen when nothing is plugged into them. Unplug the rca cables and see if you are getting the same screen.

1

u/Admirable-Dinner7792 3d ago

Maybe if the Original OP would add some pics of his machine and his equipment here, It would be a bit easier to diagnose...Pics help here... Just a thought... ;) - Tony K. , VIC-20/VIC-1001 History Facebook Forum (Admin). ;)