What fun! Thanks for the trip down memory lane. My first computer was a C64. Never saw the lap top version, except maybe in a flyer. I believe they were in the $6000 range from radio shack back then. ?? Or you could buy bits and brew your own. Thanks!
when i was a lad back in the halcyon days in yorkshire we had one word which describes stuff like this and that word was "SKILL"!! it seems to have been replaced by "awesome" over the years but you get the picture... to say you were an Atari man,that thing sure is a labour of love! what can i say...pure skill man
Actually, we didn't use those very Atari2600-like joysticks back then either, at least we didn't after the great Epyx 500XJ came out. Nothing beat it. It fit great in your hand and had 8 microswitches that let you know positively which way you were pointing the stick and you could do it with a very light touch. The Epyx was very durable due to those great switches, again, unlike most all other joysticks which would die after 3-4 months.
Holy shit! I remember building my own little Sinclair computer and writing the simplest code in it and being proud with my 14 year old self as the program ran.
That 9-pin joystick was compatible with several game systems of the time such as the Sega Master System and the Genesis. Yes, you could use a Sega controller in the Commodore 64 and the Atari 2600.
Very, very nice! Makes me flashback to my high school days! Bonus points for using a classic Atari 2600 joystick. Which one of your books is this "laptop commodore" from? Or is this just an internet exclusive thing? Anyway nice work, bets the hell out of the old SX-64 portable commodore computer they tried back in the day
@AssemblerGuy You got that right, I think the new Commodore is a sad PC clone. opposite of what TRUE users from the 80's would have wanted. This unit is exactly what I was hoping the new Commodore was!
Whatever he said, I think it stood for the fact that these things are much easier to handle if you're six years old. I guess that's when he started with the C64...
Another good fact who showing us how much fun are stored in 64kbytes, great maschine & time! i never seen this laptop, im only now the SX64 "portable" version of the C64, but this looks nice! Now GEOS can get serious on cafe, wow :)
@OmegaWolf747 I believe there was a third party expansion card designed that could take SD cards. There was also one that you could use to connect an IDE CD-ROM drive to it. I'd imagine this card was modded and used in this build.
Haha! Slightly more compact than my SX... and the SD card on the front is great. In fact the casing is amazing... cheers for keeping with the style. How well does the disk interface emulate the 1541?
That is beautiful Ben... I'm a Commodore guy and an Atari joystick plugged into a C64 is blasphemy. Just saying. ;) This is a true work of art and ingenuity though, I pine for some C64 gaming on-the-go in such a sexy laptop form.
Atari sticks might not be the most comfortable, but they give much more precise control than a left-handed D-pad. As for the loading speed; Not sure what add-on you're using to access the SD card as a drive, but most C64 owners had some type of fastload cartridge to speed up disk loading. However I should mention that many crackers put their own "fast" loader on the game's levels, which would negate any cartridge you had plugged in. Looks like Thunderblade had such a loader.
You shouldn't use that Joystick , use the TAC-2 , by far superior for C64 gaming :) This computer is so impressive , coolest part is that you've managed to preserve the "Clicky" Keyboard :D
As much as I know that you built this yourself, what sort of software are you using on it that allows you to load or 'mount' d64 images directly? I've never seen that before, particularly on real hardware.
I assume with the load-time you had this is a modified C64 and not an emulator with a Commodore keyboard shlept on? Might I humbly suggest a classic Genesis controller?
I'm curious about the CGA to LCD implementaion. Trying to make a circuit for a PS1. PS1 does SVGA color depth but lower resolution what modern VGA apparently supports.
Hey, i am a Really Big Fan of your C64 Laptop (C64 p) and i want to ask how you made this Laptop because i want to make One too. Thanks for this Great Video Vipro
Hey, i am a Really Big Fan of your C64 Laptop (C64 p) and i want to ask how you made this Laptop because i want to make One too. Thanks for this Great Video Vipro
did this get auctioned in the end? I saw another vid where it sounds like it got put on ebay, but I dont know if it was a joke. I want to buy it. I want it so badly :(
you can already get DS games on a laptop, its called an emulator. The gameboy games and the PSP, most likely. I myslef have a playstation emulator on my laptop.
My hero Ben Heck! I would like to propose u a chalenge: COMMODORE AMIGA 500/1200/2000/3000/5000 ... as LAPTOP with floppy integrated if possible. Dare you, dare you, double dare you!
You never fail to impress me on how you know the insides of computers and cosoles so well. Great job
I don't want to see the games, I want to see the hardware :)
What fun! Thanks for the trip down memory lane. My first computer was a C64. Never saw the lap top version, except maybe in a flyer. I believe they were in the $6000 range from radio shack back then. ?? Or you could buy bits and brew your own. Thanks!
when i was a lad back in the halcyon days in yorkshire we had one word which describes stuff like this and that word was "SKILL"!! it seems to have been replaced by "awesome" over the years but you get the picture... to say you were an Atari man,that thing sure is a labour of love! what can i say...pure skill man
OMG, this came right out of an alternate '80 timeline! AMAZING in fact, and that's still an understatement...
I've seen people make mods for consoles before, but making them as portable as *you* have?! That's something else!
This is unbelievable work! Are you an alien from another galaxy? Seriously. You must find us mere mortal humans quite amusing. Incredible, Ben.
What makes you think they look superimposed...? Honestly, LCD screens DO look pretty magical!
Actually, we didn't use those very Atari2600-like joysticks back then either, at least we didn't after the great Epyx 500XJ came out. Nothing beat it.
It fit great in your hand and had 8 microswitches that let you know positively which way you were pointing the stick and you could do it with a very light touch. The Epyx was very durable due to those great switches, again, unlike most all other joysticks which would die after 3-4 months.
Thanks for getting that music up. Golden Axe had amazing music! Also the Supremacy title theme... and Cybernoid 2. Yeah, I'm a Jeroen Tel fanboy...
Holy shit! I remember building my own little Sinclair computer and writing the simplest code in it and being proud with my 14 year old self as the program ran.
Wow, I didn't even know they had laptops back then; muchless that there was a commodore 64 laptop ever.
dude that is so sweet i have a desktop version of the comodor 64 it is tight man i never new that had a lap top version
That 9-pin joystick was compatible with several game systems of the time such as the Sega Master System and the Genesis. Yes, you could use a Sega controller in the Commodore 64 and the Atari 2600.
This C64 laptop looks awesome! Nice if you wanted to take it on a trip with you and loading off an SD card is genious. Nice vid.
Very, very nice! Makes me flashback to my high school days! Bonus points for using a classic Atari 2600 joystick. Which one of your books is this "laptop commodore" from? Or is this just an internet exclusive thing?
Anyway nice work, bets the hell out of the old SX-64 portable commodore computer they tried back in the day
@AssemblerGuy You got that right, I think the new Commodore is a sad PC clone. opposite of what TRUE users from the 80's would have wanted. This unit is exactly what I was hoping the new Commodore was!
When you thanked the audio, Fartbook had just returned my sound from a long silence it made for a notification it didn't ring and didn't ask for.
Whatever he said, I think it stood for the fact that these things are much easier to handle if you're six years old. I guess that's when he started with the C64...
your mods are amazing!
Another good fact who showing us how much fun are stored in 64kbytes, great maschine & time!
i never seen this laptop, im only now the SX64 "portable" version of the C64, but this looks nice!
Now GEOS can get serious on cafe, wow :)
I want to buy one of these!
I love 80's technology :D
wow ... if you worked for commodore in the 80's they'd still be in business!
@OmegaWolf747 I believe there was a third party expansion card designed that could take SD cards. There was also one that you could use to connect an IDE CD-ROM drive to it. I'd imagine this card was modded and used in this build.
You need one of those FastLoader Cartridges, that had a Disk Operating System on a cartridge.
JT was and is the best c64 and mod music composer of all time in my opinion :-)
@aaronm222
this is a mod he made. this guy makes lots of consoles into laptops (i guess flat screens are new if you consider 15 years a short time)
Haha! Slightly more compact than my SX... and the SD card on the front is great. In fact the casing is amazing... cheers for keeping with the style. How well does the disk interface emulate the 1541?
The point is that's NOT an emulator, is a major rebuild of a real C64.
did you built that laptop yourself? or have you bought it somewhere? its soooo cool *_*
wow, had no idea that the Commodore made a laptop. I wrote my first video game on a C64
That is beautiful Ben... I'm a Commodore guy and an Atari joystick plugged into a C64 is blasphemy. Just saying. ;)
This is a true work of art and ingenuity though, I pine for some C64 gaming on-the-go in such a sexy laptop form.
Atari sticks might not be the most comfortable, but they give much more precise control than a left-handed D-pad.
As for the loading speed; Not sure what add-on you're using to access the SD card as a drive, but most C64 owners had some type of fastload cartridge to speed up disk loading. However I should mention that many crackers put their own "fast" loader on the game's levels, which would negate any cartridge you had plugged in. Looks like Thunderblade had such a loader.
If the people who made the Commodore 64 would blow their mind if they seen their product as a laptop
Been 10 years and im still waiting for a build video
Sell me a commodore 64 laptop
If you decided to sell these, you would have *a lot* of C64 enthusiasts buying it.
both sega pads and atari joysticks works with the C64 and VIC20.
"No safe ejecting here" We got a baddass here guys!
You shouldn't use that Joystick , use the TAC-2 , by far superior for C64 gaming :)
This computer is so impressive , coolest part is that you've managed to preserve the "Clicky" Keyboard :D
@Yobachi2007
The closest thing to a laptop was the SX-64, a luggable.
This is a homebuilt laptop. Would love to know how it was done.
No this guy does things like this, he's made an X-box 360 laptop. Overall he's a genious when it comes to this stuff.
WTF?! WTF?!! it's like pure sexy in laptop form!
If only we had todays LCD and battery technology in the 80's.
That is too cool!!! Sega Genesis controllers also work great on the 64.
I eventually ended up just using a Sega Genesis controller with the 64. Works perfect.
I am, without sarcasm, amazed with wonderment. How did you do that?
@girlstorm09
Yes as a matter of fact it can. C64's have ethernet cards as well as modems. Theres even a twitter client for it called breadbox64.
Nice trip down memory lane. :)
As much as I know that you built this yourself, what sort of software are you using on it that allows you to load or 'mount' d64 images directly? I've never seen that before, particularly on real hardware.
hihi, really cool ! I just thought how cool it would actually be to use this in a train and make chiptunes.
Love your work, keep it up.
I don't forget this game !
An Atari joystick plugged into the C64 laptop? Nice.
It reminds me of an old Zenith 8088 laptop we have. Mmm, aged plastic putty color...
i've got an old Librex from 1990, anad even that newer device hasn't got a color screen!
The commentary is epic
I assume with the load-time you had this is a modified C64 and not an emulator with a Commodore keyboard shlept on?
Might I humbly suggest a classic Genesis controller?
Thats crazy! I never heard of a C64P!
So is this something you built with a regular C64 and a screen? Ether way it's pretty cool.
LOLed to your comment about the joysticks. So true.
I'm curious about the CGA to LCD implementaion. Trying to make a circuit for a PS1. PS1 does SVGA color depth but lower resolution what modern VGA apparently supports.
IIIIIIIIIIIIII wanna back ol' good times
I do miss the tactile click keyboards
Great laptop. Perhaps you might try inventing the Amiga 500 or the latest Amiga laptop.
@xadam2dudex he is accessing a flash drive to store the program rom's on
Is that a LCD screen?
OMG>...it had a SD card reader???
when this commodore laptop was released?!!
I wish you would mass produce them. How about a kickstart campaign?
Is it me, or do the images on the screen look like they were superimposed?
Were did you buy that wonderful Thing. I've alreday have an Commodore "Breadbox" 64
I'd imagine the atari controller did work on the c64 alright, but not the sega mega drive. Not 100% sure though.
I was amazed with wonderment, great job! :D
Hey, i am a Really Big Fan of your C64 Laptop (C64 p) and i want to ask how you made this Laptop because i want to make One too.
Thanks for this Great Video
Vipro
Hey, i am a Really Big Fan of your C64 Laptop (C64 p) and i want to ask how you made this Laptop because i want to make One too.
Thanks for this Great Video
Vipro
looking good, any plans to sell these?
is there a laptop !!!
@rochemedia It's not fake. He built this device last year.
thats so cool. a commy laptop...cannt say i seen one before
@OmegaWolf747 because this guy made it? Its a mod using the userport if i remember well...
would totally buy one of these :)
C64 LAPTOP !?!?!?!? Oh myyyy !
We never had here in Italy. :-D
More infos ????
music Rob Hubbard STYLE !
Great work,
I read on your blog that you used a gamecube PSU. How did you feed the C64 TOD clock with the AC signal?
You can use various techniques to generate an AC signal out of DC, google up on DC to AC, uses switch mode techniques
I don't know, they just looked a little weird to me. Especially the loading screen with the funny lines on it.
Sounds like Wes from Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie.
I
Nice, Amiga laptop next followed by Atari ST!? ;)
thx Joystiq!
You rule.
All i wanted to say, PERIOD.
Hail to 8bit.
I have a stepfather who would love this...
This is so freakin' awesome. Congrats on a job well done, Ben!! ......But I think I'll stick with my PSP & its C64 emulator. ;)
Is it possible to do a production line on the 64p if Commdore allowed the rights for you to produce the 64p?
Ahhh, so that's where the loading screen of GTA Vice City came from!
a commodore 64 laptop ?
i had the ordinary commodore that you conect to the TV
but you insurted a SD card ??
how did you do that
You post that on Instructables . com!
This is friggin great!
Nubile 6-year-old hands, eh? You sure about that? :D
Very cool project. I had the Sharp MZ-700 before I got the Commodore Amiga. Never had a C64 :(
er yeah... young marriageable hands? Maybe he meant supple.
I program my home computer. Beam myself into - the future.
The latest Amiga is the Amiga 1200.
@cjeggers are you kidding me the commentary is the best part lol XD
i wanna take one of these bad boys to starbucks
don´t complaint the c64 had a lot of varaity over the years.we love c 64....
How the hell did you get drivers for an SD card slot to work with an ancient kernel?
did this get auctioned in the end? I saw another vid where it sounds like it got put on ebay, but I dont know if it was a joke.
I want to buy it. I want it so badly :(
you can already get DS games on a laptop, its called an emulator. The gameboy games and the PSP, most likely. I myslef have a playstation emulator on my laptop.
My hero Ben Heck! I would like to propose u a chalenge: COMMODORE AMIGA 500/1200/2000/3000/5000 ... as LAPTOP with floppy integrated if possible. Dare you, dare you, double dare you!