Hi Everyone. This time Retro Relix reviews and tests the 1981 VIC-1010 expansion module from Commodore. Afterwards, we play a recently created 35K game using multiple RAM cartridges. Enjoy...
Neat! I distinctly remember back in '82 talking about these kinds of expansions and having them referred to as "Motherboards"... Later in the 80's and 90's I was thinking I misremembered that name for them... But I guess my memory was correct!
If you have the right hardware it is actually possible to get a full 32K available to BASIC. I have a Protecto 80 column video card, and using that, which has its video memory in the cartridge ROM space up at $B800, with a couple of pokes you can turn off the normal video RAM and start BASIC at the bottom of the 3K RAM expansion space. Of course you can only use it for a very limited amount of software but it can be useful if you want to run PET BASIC program.
I had to chuckle at "Massive 19967".. Specifically "massive". The Vic-20 was my first "PC" machine, but the only thing I considered "massive" about it was the font size. I wasn't a fan of the Vic, but I love all things Commodore. I wasn't aware of this 1010, but glad it was around regardless.
My neighbour had something like this, but inside a metal case the Vic-20 fitted into and the monitor could go ontop. It also gave the Vic 40 or 80 column text too? It this a possibility with this device?
Hmm, kind of ridiculous to have to have the cartridge port EU be so big. You can't even have the monitor straight behind the computer without a huge riser shelf, and then that riser needs to be fairly tall just to accommodate the cartridges under itself and the monitor. With the EU so big without a cable between it and the computer, this is quite a wonky setup.
@@antoniopala8135: Not necessarily. Most often not, actually. I've never heard of anyone doing that, and most TVs back then weren't very big, so it would be ridiculous to do. Most often a TV used for a computer then would be used in the same way as a plain monitor also was back then or is now: on the desk. (And some people even use a smaller modern TV as a monitor on their desks now, just as I am.)
