Just a quick note, I didn't want to make it seem like the Shuriken outputs really bad jailbars and stock RF modulators do not. All C64s output jailbars to varying degrees, and the Shuriken doesn't change that. I just wanted to see if the Lumafix would help clear it up which it does, thus making it a great combination. I will say that on my particular setup, the Shuriken without the Lumafix displayed jailbars only a tiny bit worse than a normal 250425 board would. The difference is almost negligible though... Also I messed up the export so the video is still only 30fps on UA-cam. Sorry about that... aphexteknol
I have restricted my channel to mostly Commodore content, but I would love to branch out to other topics or possibly make a second channel. Thanks for the support!
LOL, I have had the same thought before. I wish I could explain why I am so drawn to obsolete vintage/antique technology, but it would likely take me hours...
Thanks for the new video! I understand about having lots of hobbies. I have many backburner'd for years :-( But I hope you get more boards to repair and it is an enjoyment to see them working again :-)
Agreed, the days of picking up cheap broken machines on eBay seems to be over. It was great for the people who can't afford the crazy pricing on good known working units, and would rather fix a broken unit to get a machine at a nice discount. :( But it's very cool to live in a new golden age of brand new hardware and software for our favorite retro machines. Thanks for this review!
I am a broke cheapskate, so Most of my collection was built on repairing cheap broken machines 5 or 6 years ago. The new retro addons are amazing though, I agree!
Nice to see new hardware for C64 still beeing made & tested. :) Didn't find it at eBay first, but google showed it's priced at $23.99 + $21.15 (Shipping to germany) - and seller is currently till 23.Nov away. commodore4ever DOT net lists it for $18.99 - unknown but probably equal shipping costs.
Im in the USA so shipping was a couple dollars for me. I understand there are some other RF modulator replacements being made in Europe but I am not familiar with them...
@@Okurka. Wow, harsh words without any proof? On github i found /mbarszcz-pcb/c64-rf-modulator-replacement and even ppl on eBay selling the pcb. (I post no links, else YT will likely hide my posting ..)
@@aphexteknol I'd like to see your collection. Pens are very collectable. Draftsman pens, compasses and reloading pencils are also good to collect. Yes, the prices of retro computers have become too expensive. It is good to see your reviews on modern day replacements for hard to find/non existent parts. Good to see you're doing videos again.
Nice. I think, I should get zeta wing. And maybe get deeper into the rf modulator thing. I found, that the lumafix is slightly blurring the image, due to the 47p coupling capacitors. I have tried other values, already. Finally, the 47p caps are the best. I thought of a different way to coupling, but never made a project out of it.
Zeta Wing is fantastic, I cant recommend it enough. As for the lumafix, It is an improvement somewhat but overall I am not sure its enough to warrant leaving one in my main machine. I thought I detected some slight blurriness as you mentioned. To me the jailbars are just a part of the machines retro charm.
How does this Shuriken RF modulator do you any good if you aren't even using RF Video out. Looks like you are using C64 to S-video. Does the Shuriken improve the S-Video signal as well?
The composite and s-video signals are still handled by the RF modulator. The Shuriken and most of the other replacements available actually remove the RF output completely and only focus on improving the composite and s-video outputs.(Edit- I mean to say, the signals for S-video and composite still pass through the RF modulator and it does affect video quality. So these "replacements" are intended to improve your video signal while removing the actual RF signal output completely. And yes, I'm using s-video/luma-chroma output throughout this video via the standard 8-pin video port) Hope that makes sense.... -aphexteknol
You mean: Finding a source of broken c64's that haven't had all their chips scavenged and they're still asking a stupid price for! I've been doing the same thing, looking for dead 64's and 128's that are reasonably priced. All the ones I've found that are broken they're still asking top dollar for. Most have been gutted for their VIC and SID chips too. Then there's the ones they're asking top dollar for that are untested but have the original PSU's included. I was bidding on a 128D a few weeks back that was listed as broken but powers on. It was in a really sorry state and was going to need extensive restoration work. It sold for almost $300! Ummm...no, I'm not paying that kinda cash for a broken system.
You got that right! Ive been burned plenty of times on “untested” machines. Part of the problem is the phenomenon where the parts of a C64 end up worth more individually than an entire working machine. And that leads to harvesting perfectly good machines for parts. I realize parts have to come from somewhere, but I also save absolutely any machine that I possibly can. 128Ds are cool machines but they too have the issue where there are way more 128D computers out there than matching keyboards, making the keyboards themselves stupidly expensive... But I agree, its really tough dropping hundreds on a basket-case restoration project that likely needs expensive Hard to get parts... It wasnt this difficult 5-6 years ago, but the demands gotten higher and the supply is slowly drying up...
Hi Francois! Hope you’ve been well sir. Yes, its absolutely a PLAnkton underneath. One of the last batch I purchased from you awhile back. I still recommend them to everyone. :)
Welcome back, great to hear you again :)
Just a quick note, I didn't want to make it seem like the Shuriken outputs really bad jailbars and stock RF modulators do not. All C64s output jailbars to varying degrees, and the Shuriken doesn't change that. I just wanted to see if the Lumafix would help clear it up which it does, thus making it a great combination. I will say that on my particular setup, the Shuriken without the Lumafix displayed jailbars only a tiny bit worse than a normal 250425 board would. The difference is almost negligible though... Also I messed up the export so the video is still only 30fps on UA-cam. Sorry about that... aphexteknol
Vintage games , consoles, and typewriters deserves a sub from me, and I just found you yesterday lol
I have restricted my channel to mostly Commodore content, but I would love to branch out to other topics or possibly make a second channel. Thanks for the support!
Nice to see you back again!
Greetings, Doc64!
Good to see you too Doc64! :)
Vintage Typewriters : When vintage computers are just too digital.
LOL, I have had the same thought before. I wish I could explain why I am so drawn to obsolete vintage/antique technology, but it would likely take me hours...
There's a ton of cool stuff for the C64 this year! Merry Christmas, dude-2021 is coming. Hopefully with a return to sanity.
Thanks for the new video! I understand about having lots of hobbies. I have many backburner'd for years :-( But I hope you get more boards to repair and it is an enjoyment to see them working again :-)
Thanks for the kind words. New repairs may be coming soon, stay tuned... :)
Agreed, the days of picking up cheap broken machines on eBay seems to be over. It was great for the people who can't afford the crazy pricing on good known working units, and would rather fix a broken unit to get a machine at a nice discount. :( But it's very cool to live in a new golden age of brand new hardware and software for our favorite retro machines. Thanks for this review!
I am a broke cheapskate, so Most of my collection was built on repairing cheap broken machines 5 or 6 years ago. The new retro addons are amazing though, I agree!
We miss you.
Fantastic video. Thanks for sharing
Thanks for stopping by Kazz!
Great video!
Yup I just bought a Shuriken for my 128DCR :-)
When are you going to release your source changes as is required by the license from the open source project you take your design from?
Nice to see new hardware for C64 still beeing made & tested. :) Didn't find it at eBay first, but google showed it's priced at $23.99 + $21.15 (Shipping to germany) - and seller is currently till 23.Nov away. commodore4ever DOT net lists it for $18.99 - unknown but probably equal shipping costs.
That's a steep price for a stolen open source design on a $2 PCB.
Im in the USA so shipping was a couple dollars for me. I understand there are some other RF modulator replacements being made in Europe but I am not familiar with them...
@@Okurka. Wow, harsh words without any proof? On github i found /mbarszcz-pcb/c64-rf-modulator-replacement and even ppl on eBay selling the pcb. (I post no links, else YT will likely hide my posting ..)
@@Lynxxde Look at the other products he sells; no proof needed although you provided it.
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing this information....Gold nibs on the pens work the best...😁
My entire collection of pens are all gold nibbed. Honestly thinking of starting a second channel just for pens at this point... :)
@@aphexteknol I'd like to see your collection. Pens are very collectable. Draftsman pens, compasses and reloading pencils are also good to collect.
Yes, the prices of retro computers have become too expensive. It is good to see your reviews on modern day replacements for hard to find/non existent parts. Good to see you're doing videos again.
Welcome back! Looking forward to more videos on your retro collection.
Thanks for the support!
Nice. I think, I should get zeta wing. And maybe get deeper into the rf modulator thing. I found, that the lumafix is slightly blurring the image, due to the 47p coupling capacitors. I have tried other values, already. Finally, the 47p caps are the best. I thought of a different way to coupling, but never made a project out of it.
Zeta Wing is fantastic, I cant recommend it enough. As for the lumafix, It is an improvement somewhat but overall I am not sure its enough to warrant leaving one in my main machine. I thought I detected some slight blurriness as you mentioned. To me the jailbars are just a part of the machines retro charm.
How does this Shuriken RF modulator do you any good if you aren't even using RF Video out. Looks like you are using C64 to S-video. Does the Shuriken improve the S-Video signal as well?
The composite and s-video signals are still handled by the RF modulator. The Shuriken and most of the other replacements available actually remove the RF output completely and only focus on improving the composite and s-video outputs.(Edit- I mean to say, the signals for S-video and composite still pass through the RF modulator and it does affect video quality. So these "replacements" are intended to improve your video signal while removing the actual RF signal output completely. And yes, I'm using s-video/luma-chroma output throughout this video via the standard 8-pin video port) Hope that makes sense.... -aphexteknol
How does the Shuriken output composite for RF? There's no RF out or channel switch. Sorry if this is naive.
You mean: Finding a source of broken c64's that haven't had all their chips scavenged and they're still asking a stupid price for! I've been doing the same thing, looking for dead 64's and 128's that are reasonably priced. All the ones I've found that are broken they're still asking top dollar for. Most have been gutted for their VIC and SID chips too.
Then there's the ones they're asking top dollar for that are untested but have the original PSU's included. I was bidding on a 128D a few weeks back that was listed as broken but powers on. It was in a really sorry state and was going to need extensive restoration work. It sold for almost $300! Ummm...no, I'm not paying that kinda cash for a broken system.
You got that right! Ive been burned plenty of times on “untested” machines. Part of the problem is the phenomenon where the parts of a C64 end up worth more individually than an entire working machine. And that leads to harvesting perfectly good machines for parts. I realize parts have to come from somewhere, but I also save absolutely any machine that I possibly can. 128Ds are cool machines but they too have the issue where there are way more 128D computers out there than matching keyboards, making the keyboards themselves stupidly expensive... But I agree, its really tough dropping hundreds on a basket-case restoration project that likely needs expensive Hard to get parts... It wasnt this difficult 5-6 years ago, but the demands gotten higher and the supply is slowly drying up...
Chip test ?? Is it a PLAnkton under there ?
Hi Francois! Hope you’ve been well sir. Yes, its absolutely a PLAnkton underneath. One of the last batch I purchased from you awhile back. I still recommend them to everyone. :)
(I wrote chip test on the PLAnkton to remind myself that chip belongs to my chip testing board, as I tend to swap parts around often)
@@aphexteknol Then send me an e-mail. I have something for you.
@@francoisleveille409 I sure will! :)
i still have about 20 that needs rapaired and possibly a 128D if i can find it.
Hey man, good to hear from you! Hope we can hang out again whenever all this craziness is over.
What?
Who?