-=> Ed Vance wrote to Bbsing Bbs <=-   
      
    EV> 08-23-16 15:41 Bbsing Bbs wrote to Ed Vance about Re: Announcing the   
    EV> Pacifi Howdy! Bbsing Bbs,   
      
    -=> Ed Vance wrote to Bbsing Bbs <=-   
      
    EV> 08-20-16 06:21 Bbsing Bbs wrote to rbernardo@iglou.com about Re:   
    EV> Announcing the Pacifi   
    EV> Howdy!   
      
    EV> -snip-   
      
    EV> I read that the C=64 could run at 2400 with a higher speed modem so I   
    EV> bought a Packard Bell 2400 External Modem and a RS-232 Adapter.   
    BB> I'll have to pick up that RS-232 adapter.   
      
    EV> IIRC the adapter I bought was made by Omnetronics(sp?) but other   
    EV> companies had them for sale.   
      
    EV> I tried several Terminal PRGs to try to make it work at 2400 but my   
    EV> set up couldn't make a Connect above 1200.   
      
    EV> The Super Snapshot v5.0 cartridge also had a 2400 Terminal PRG built in   
    EV> it, I tried using it also but didn't get a 2400 Connect with it either.   
      
    EV> -snip-   
      
    BB> I'm amazed C64 is still out there and some systems are still online. ..   
    BB> for how much longer I suspect in 40 more years it will be really rare.   
      
    EV> MOS Technology knew what they were doing when they created the 6510 and   
    EV> the other intergrated circuits they put inside the C=64.   
      
    EV> A friend of mine was hopeing I would buy a APPLE ][ so he could help me   
    EV> learn about home computers.   
    EV> He said he thought I made a good choice buying the C=64 instead of a   
    EV> VIC-20.   
      
    EV> I had also tried using a Texas Instruments 99/4 and Atari 400 and 800   
    EV> in the stores that had a demo PC set up for people to tinker with.   
      
    EV> Both the APPLE ][ and Atari 400/800 had a 6502 instead of a 6510 in   
    EV> them.   
      
    EV> When I typed a small BASIC program in the TI 99/4 I found out that to   
    EV> get something to print on the screen I had to hold the FN Key and press   
    EV> the Key with the "Print" label on it as I was typing the program in.   
      
    EV> I gave up on the Atari 400's and 800's because no matter what I tried   
    EV> to enter in a BASIC program and Run it, neither one of them did   
    EV> anything except blink the cursor.   
      
    EV> They acted as if I was using a "DUMB TERMINAL" instead of a "COMPUTER".   
      
    EV> A while after I had bought the C=64 I learned that the 400 and 800 had   
    EV> to have a BASIC Cartridge plugged in the hole in the front to be able   
    EV> to use BASIC with it.   
      
    EV> I had thought the cartridge hole was for Game Cartridges like the   
    EV> Atari "VCS 2600" used.   
      
    EV> When Atari brought out their 800XL (iirc) Model they had BASIC built-in   
    EV> just as the C=64 did.   
      
    EV> I bought my Commodore C=64, 1541 and VicModem 300 in March of 1984   
    EV> for about $500.00 USD, a APPLE ][ with a 80 Column Card sold for   
    EV> $800.00 USD then.   
    EV> I used a B&W TV Set with it at first, then later bought a Color TV Set.   
      
    EV> I can't remember what the Atari 400 and 800 computers sold for back   
    EV> then.   
      
    EV> Before I purchased my C= gear a friend at Church who used a TRS-80   
    EV> Model I, got a C=64.   
      
    EV> He was telling me that he liked the C=64 but he didn't have any way to   
    EV> SAVE the BASIC PRGs he typed in from the 64's Programmers Reference   
    EV> Manual or from listings in books and magazines.   
      
    EV> I told him that I had seen a circuit in Popular Electronics magazine   
    EV> (or maybe it was Radio-Electronics) that used a 7414 I.C. to connect   
    EV> between the C=64's Cassette Port and a Regular Audio Cassette Tape   
    EV> Recorder to SAVE PRGs on standard audio cassettes and LOAD PRGs from   
    EV> the cassette and RUN them on the 64.   
      
    EV> He built the circuit and it worked for him, he was a happy camper now   
    EV> that what he typed in didn't disappear when he typed NEW or the C=64   
    EV> was turned Off.   
      
    EV> I asked him to bring his 7414 circuit and Cassette Recorder to my house   
    EV> so I could Load the Terminal Program that was on a Cassette that came   
    EV> with the VICMODEM 300.   
      
    EV> After we Loaded the PRG from the cassette tape I typed   
    EV> SAVE"(the PRG name)",8 and pressed the RETURN Key and his jaw dropped   
    EV> when he saw how fast the PRG was Saved to Disk, so He bought a 1541 the   
    EV> next week or maybe it was two weeks later.   
      
    EV> I had seen how long it took his TRS-80 to Load a program off of the   
    EV> tape cassette recorder that came with it, and certainly didn't want to   
    EV> start out using my first computer with a tape recorder.   
      
    EV> I also had learned how fast a Floppy Drive worked from my use of BBS's   
    EV> on the Amateur Radio Two Meter Band that other Hams who had APPLE ]['s   
    EV> and ATARI PC's connected to their radio gear for other Hams to use the   
    EV> Radio BBS on their Home Computer.   
      
    EV> I used a Netronics ASCII/Video Terminal connected to my radio gear with   
    EV> a Audio Demodulator circuit I saw in an article in Popular Electronics,   
    EV> and a Home Brew 555 Audio Frequency Shift Keyer to work 60, 75 and 100   
    EV> WPM BAUDOT RTTY and 110 Baud ASCII before I got my C= computer.   
      
    EV> I'm certainly NOT mister know-it-all about computers or anything else.   
    EV> I just wanted to share some of my experiences with You and the Group.   
    EV> Any one who has been in this echo for a long time has already heard me   
    EV> spouting off about how I started out.   
      
    EV> When I got the C- set up I bought a pack of two 5-1/4" Floppy Disks.   
    EV> I tried and tried to Format a disk using the NEW Command in the 1541   
    EV> book, but didn't realize that I was suppose to use the OPEN Command   
    EV> shown as the first Command at the begining of the book before the NEW   
    EV> Command and afterwards use the CLOSE Command to get it started.   
      
    EV> I got the first disk Formatted by running a PRG that came with the 1541   
    EV> to TEST the 1541 Drive.   
      
    EV> When I RAN the PRG and it asked me to put a unused Floppy Disk in the   
    EV> slot and press the RETURN Key.   
      
    EV> When it finished testing the Drive I saw the disk was formatted for me   
    EV> so I could now SAVE things on it.   
      
    EV> Enuf said.   
      
   Thank you for sharing. I love hearing stories like these because back then this   
   stuff was so new and such an adventure.    
      
   Stories take me back to my start as well.   
       
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