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t.3c faq
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Commodore Computer club FAQ
So what is the Commodore Computer Club
(UK) then?
It's a UK-based user group supporting
all classic 8-bit Commodore computers,
and the C64DTV, excluding the rare
Commodore machines which are more
collectible, such as the P500.
As a user group, our primary interest
is in keeping these aging machines
useful for as long as possible, by
supporting hardware and software
developments across all machines.
Does it cost to join?
Yes. subscription fees start from 3\
for six months membership, 5\ for a
year and 30\ for life membership.
What will I get for my money?
The club is run by its members. An
annual audit of club funds will take
place, as well as an AGM at which all
members will be able to have their say
about the running of the club, and
make suggestions for its direction, or
future projects that the club should
take an interest in. On the whole, it
is one member, one vote, except if
stipulated in the club rules.
What will my money be used for?
The club will use its funds to set up
shows and meets across the UK, and
commission hardware and software as
appropriate to its membership. For
instance, we are currently looking at
creating a good quality VGA adapter
that will adequately handle the
various video signals created by
Commodore 8-bit machines: composite,
Luma/Chroma and RGBI. Once found,
these units will be made up and sold
through our club shop. Whilst anyone
may purchase these, these is a
surcharge added to the price for
non-members.
So, non-members will get all the
benefits of membership by only paying
a small surcharge?
Not always. We're setting up a private
members area to the club website, and
certain items will not be available to
non-members, as agreed by the club:
the newsletter, for instance, will be
members only. All club-organised
events will be free to members, and
non-members will have to pay a signing
in fee of 2.50. In the instances in
which the club is bolting onto another
event organised by someone else, we
will work with the event manager so
that our members will get a discount
on the ticket price for the day or
weekend as appropiate.
What's the difference between a CCC
(UK) event, and me organising to meet
some Commodore users in my local pub?
If you think that you can arrange to
meet other enthusiasts locally to you
without the club, then that's great!
But generally speaking, it's difficult
to organise even the most informal
meetings and even with the lure of
beer. Our club events will have the
benefit from being organised with a
purpose. Not only will you get the
chance to meet other enthusiasts, but
also you can thrash out hardware
problems by bringing along your
misbehaving piece of kit, or learn new
skills through our workshops. Also, we
have many spares in our arsenal, so if
you have a flaky SID chip that needs
replacing, or you need your drive head
realligning, then bring it along and
we'll see if we can help you! And
whilst non-members will have to pay a
signing in fee, they'll also have to
pay for any fixes. As a member, you'll
usually receive any easy fixes for
free.
Do you support Amiga?
At the moment, we are only able to
support Commodore 8-bits because we
don't have members who have enough
knowledge about Amiga range to
adequately support that platform.
So, how long have you been going?
Not long. We started talking about a
user group at the end of June 2008,
held our first meeting on the 26th and
27th of July 2008, and started taking
formal membership on the 1st August
2008. There are still some things that
are under construction, but we're
getting there.
What sort of users are you attracting?
At the time of writing, we have a
rough 50/50 split between the
so-called "Power users" and the
average Commodore user. The word user
is an important one: whilst we can
offer help and advice for emulator
fans, that's not the principle aim of
the club.
What work have you been doing behind
the scenes then?
We have agreement in principle with
Cronosoft (www.cronosoft.co.uk) and
Psytronik Software
(www.binaryzone.org/psy.php) to resell
their Commodore games on disk (3.5"
and 5.25") as Cronosoft aren't very
good at advertising that you can buy
their games on disk, and Psytronik
software don't currently do disks.
We have also spoken to several
individuals about manufacturing a
SuperCPU-like accelerator for the
C64/128 (one is looking likely to take
on this challenge), and there is a
distant possibility of a game released
for the Commodore +4 and C64/GS on
cartridge.
Why aren't you just supporting the
existing projects out there that are
free?
Whilst the club will always support
any projects or publishers who largely
work for free, there are still some
gaps that need filling, and because of
real life or other commitments, these
projects have a tendancy to stall
every-so-often.
You said that you have a shop?
Yes. If you remember Commodore Scene's
importing service, this will work in
pretty much the same way. And whilst
CMD hardware might no longer be
available, there are other hardware
projects that are.
We have several benefits too: becuase
we'll have some resources to play
with, we could buy in several items at
a time, meaning that we could save on
shipping costs and pass that saving on
to our members.
There is also the issue of
documentation, certainly with hardware
projects out there. The manuals are
often extremely lacking, or the
English translation isn't clear
enough. As a club, we can provide
further documentation to hardware
items sold through our shop, and hold
workshops for people who are still
having trouble.
Are you trying to be another website
like Lemon64?
Absolutely not. There are lots of good
websites for gamers, but if you're a
GEOS user, for instance, where do you
go for advice? Whilst we will happily
report on and review any new software,
we're not necessarily all about
nostalgia, and have the added
dimension of good programming and
technical advice too. Plus, we're
happy to support all Commodore 8-bits,
rather than going to Sleeping Elephant
for the VIC, EmuCamp for C16/+4,
Lemon64 for the 64 and other sites for
the 128 and PET, we want everything in
one place if we can!
END