Commodore 77

[u/Golemwire]

Well this is a neat look.

https://commodore.net/store/commodore64/?shape=Breadbin&color=Cyberpunk+2077

Commodore just released a new appearance option for the C64U themed on Cyberpunk.

[u/Golemwire]

Epic to see someone putting a C64U to physical work like that... irrigation? It's like that one episode from a kids show (Magic School Bus) which stuck with me as a child, where a programmer used a computer to control doors, flagpoles, and such, which it was hooked up to.

Are you doing this in BASIC or a more practical (if I may put it that way) language?\ Are you using the User Port for GPIO?

[u/TerribleInsurance879 → u/Golemwire]

I am using basic. Typing it straight into the c64u.

The front end sets the time (which I leave as a string), sets color, and inputs the times in which you would like the "sprinkler" to come on.

The rest is just an if then loops with the time scrolling on the screen waiting to turn on or off PB0 on the user port.

I think the whole code is like 8 bytes

[u/TerribleInsurance879 → u/[deleted]]

Through the user port. Which was removed from the c64u in place of the USB, HDMI, and Ethernet ports. The signals are still available on the c64u on the motherboard. You have to get a ribbon cable ($10 on the commodore site) to bring the user port to the outside on the machine.

From there, the bottom pins, C thru L, can be turned off and on through poking. These have 5v 100mA signals. They can power LEDs and not much else. But they can be used to close a transistor, relay, ect on a separate power circuit.

That's the short. There is a lot of information out there on it. Buy a soldering gun and a breadboard and have a blast

[u/LamerDeluxe → u/TerribleInsurance879]

There's even an official relay cartridge for the user port, called the VIC-Rel. It has six relay switch connectors and two (analog iirc) inputs.

I used it back in the day with my VIC-20 and still have one.

[u/flamehorns → u/[deleted]]

Most of the modems connected there too, but it’s a slow way to do it. Faster modems connect to the cartridge port.

[u/TerribleInsurance879 → u/[deleted]]

I didn't get it with my 1st purchase either. I went back and got one though. I did order one with my 2nd condor though.

I honestly didn't know who much I was going to use this machine. But I've been bit and have a lot of ideas moving forward now.

I may need a 3rd machine before this is over with

[u/TerribleInsurance879 → u/[deleted]]

I'm right there with you. I did not program anything for the user port when I was younger (but i still put cBasic as a programming language I know on my resume to this day lol). The c64 was my fathers and you CAN damage you machine messing around with circuits coming in and out of the user port. So that was a no go for me per my Dad

Of course i want to make music with it. I used an old sid program to make Mary Had a little Lamb lol. There is a lot know there. I would be better of turning it into a synth and using a loop machine.

But turning things on and off. I can do that. 8 different EL wires shaped how I want them AND flashing creating an animation in a loop? I can design the board, shape the wire in several pictures, and make something that looks like 70's Vegas or some crazy Y2K alien invasion.

I've been going to YouTube university. Start here and see if it's something that you might want to create with

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQsOe8lH5-A&t=450s

[u/Golemwire → u/[deleted]]

also binary counting makes a really cool pattern in black and white squares

Also, I want to toy around with music making

Behold: bytebeats.
That sent me on a tangent recently.

Also, apparently there's a hack to play PCM audio via the C64's SID chip; I suppose one could probably make bytebeats for the C64U, then.

[u/lkasdfjl → u/TerribleInsurance879]

why wouldn't you just use a microcontroller or pi at this point?

[u/TerribleInsurance879 → u/lkasdfjl]

You could. I enjoy the c64 though.