Commodore Free 27/Commodore_Free_Issue_27_2009_Commodore_Computer_Club.d64/badders

Text File | 2023-02-26 | 8KB | 248 lines

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       Commodore Computer Club
            2nd Meeting


My part in this meeting began on the
Thursday. Shaun had asked me to come
down a day earlier, as it looked like
Nigel was not going to be able to make
it. Happily, Nigel improved enough to
be able to make it, but I kept my
plans & set off 10 am on the Thursday.

Loaded up in my car was my C64C system
which was to be used to demonstrate
the 1541U+, a faulty Plus/4 which
needed keyboard cleaning or replacing
& a big box full of goodies to try &
sell. There was also my sleeping bag &
pillow. All the luxuries I could
possibly need.

The route I decided on was straight
down the A1/M1, then onto the M42 for
a short spell, then the M6 for 2
junctions. The run down was nice &
quiet, a few road works but no real
hold ups. As Shaun said, I left the M6
& junction 6, & was pulling up
outside Lisa's house 10 min. later.
Nice quiet run that took around 3.5
hours with a pit-stop.

Shaun was there to meet me on arrival,
coffee was made & I was introduced
to Lisa & Ruby. Coffee in hand, I was
shown into Shauns Lair where I
immediately felt at home. Commodore
gear everywhere I looked, & a great
128D system with SuperCPU, RAMLink &
various other bits of hardware
sticking out all over the place.
Heaven!

After a demo of Wheels, Shaun fired up
Metal Dust, a game he knew I was dying
to see first hand. After a few games,
I started getting used to it so Shaun
plugged in a 2nd joystick & we
embarked on a 2 player game or 5. We
were starting to make good progress
when it locked up! We switched the
system off to let it cool down, &
started on the VIC-20.

I had a look at the 127 game cartridge
& enjoyed Donkey Kong for a while. An
excellent version of an excellent
game. Cosmic Cruncher followed for a
while. I've always had a soft spot for
that game as it was the first ever
game I played on a CBM machine. We
then got a couple of Shauns Plus/4
machines out to test.

One was clearly faulty, garbage on the
screen. The other seemed ok, but had
keyboard problems.

I only had a stuck key on mine, so I
brought it in along with the 1541U+.
We downloaded some games onto SD &
hooked up the 1541U+. After messing
around with some commands, then
reading the fabled instructions, we
got it working. Shaun had heard about
Tom Thumb & how it was an amazing
game. We loaded it up, & it is indeed
a technically great game. However, I
won't be adding it to my list of games
to complete before I die ;-)

We took a break & took Ruby to the
shops, where we bought provisions for
the night & beer.

After dinner, we had a couple beers to
unwind. I turned in around 11, was
quite tired after the drive down.

Friday was a quiet day. No one was due
to arrive, so we just chilled & talked
Commodore & the Club. After dinner we
decided to head to a pub for a drink
or 3. We went to a local, but quickly
realised that we were probably the
oldest there. We paid 1 for a game of
pool (I wanted to play, not buy the
table!!) & were quickly surrounded by
a load of chavs. We finished our game,
drinks & decided to leave while we
still could.

We got on a bus & headed into town &
went to Scruffy Murphies. Loud rock
music & good beer. Oh, & NO CHAVS.

The Saturday of the meet soon came
round. We started getting things ready
to load up the car(s). After a short
while, there was a knock at the door.
Shaun greeted Nigel & showed him in.
It was nice to finally meet him, we
have been emailing for a few months
now & now I had a face to go with the
email address. He looked well
considering his back problems, & I
told him it was good that he could
make it.

A short while later, Chris Snowden
(www.commodore16.com) arrived. Intros
were made & we all hit it off from the
start. We took a walk to the shops to
get the refreshments for the meeting,
& also some batteries. Shaun had
looked at my broken DTV & after
putting my batteries in his unit &
discovering that his was now broken,
he came to the obvious conclusion.

When we got back we put new batteries
in my DTV & it worked straight away.
So, expensive Duracell batteries are
not always the best option. Sometimes
cheap & nasty is the way to go. We
also discovered that my unit was an
NTSC unit, so he showed me how to get
into the hidden features, including a
picture of the creators of the DTV.

Time was pressing on, so we started
loading up all 3 cars, & after some
jigging around, everything & everyone
was loaded up for the short drive to
the hall.

Chris took the lead using his SatNav,
so Nigel & I fell in behind. When we
arrived, Chris unloaded his car &
headed off to Birmingham to pick up
Patrick who had flown in from Holland
via Duesseldorf.

We got set up, Lisa & her helpers got
busy with the refreshments & we
started wandering around to see what
had been brought. There were two large
tables filled with goodies to sell,
should anyone be interested. A couple
items were sold, & the rest went back
with Nigel for the club shop.

Soon after, Chris returned with
Patrick. Its amazing that somebody had
taken the trouble to come such a great
distance for such a small gathering.
True Commodore dedication. Patrick had
brought with him his C116. It was the
first time I'd seen one of these, & it
was a very fine example. There were
also two 1541-III SD card readers in
use on the 116 & Plus/4 machines.

Soon after we got sorted Mike Dailly
arrived with some goodies to donate.
It was great meeting him, & hearing
his views on the machines & software.
Don't forget, Mike Dailly is certainly
qualified to talk about this, he is
responsible for Lemmings on the SNES,
& is currently working on a great
looking shooter for both the TED
machines & the C64. XEO3 looks amazing
& I'll certainly be buying a copy when
it is complete.

Shaun set up his 128D & showed us
Wheels & Metal Dust, before loading up
Sub Hunter for the fantastic music. I
had the Mathematica demo running on my
64 from the 1541U+ which attracted
some attention.

Mike said his goodbyes & left as he
had to get back to his family, his day
release over. Shortly after, Chris
gave a little talk on how he developed
Church of Death using cross develop-
ment. It was great to see another Mac
user. Macs & Commodore users both, we
started talking about using the Mac
instead of Windows & both concluded
that that is the way to be.

Before we knew what had happened, we
noticed that it was dark outside, & it
was already time to pack up. I felt
really sorry for Nigel & he had so
much gear to take back for the shop.
We loaded his car, leaving just enough
room for him, & headed back to Lisa's
house. After unloading what was
staying, Nigel said his goodbyes &
headed back. His back was starting to
act up again & he couldn't take his
pills as he would have been unable to
drive.

Chris, Shaun, Patrick & myself settled
into the lounge to chat & reflect on
the day. Lisa made us a fantastic
casserole & we had a few beers. It was
getting late by this time & we started
to get tired. We headed off to bed in
the early hours of the morning.

Sunday was the day for going back
home, but I had a nice surprise. Shaun
very kindly gave me a PET 2001 series
computer. It is not working, so that
will be a great project for me in the
coming months. I'll be doing a blog on
my progress & what I learn while doing
this. We are hoping to have this &
Shauns 2 other PETs working for the
next meeting, which I will be hosting
in the North East, probably Durham.
Watch the forum for further info.

All in all it was a fantastic weekend,
& well worth the long drives. I'd do
it again tomorrow.

Pete (Badders) Badrick
CCCUK