VIC-20 white case, silver label

[aussiekraut]

Hi all

I only recently bought this one and it was supposedly refurbished by an ex-Commodore technician. It's a beautiful machine in pristine condition but a little odd in the details. It sports the old, first series PET style keyboard with the flatter keys and the wider, fatter font on them. The motherboard on the other hand is apparently from a later series as it has the 7 pin power connector and the "up/down" power switch". The case gets me though as I cannot recall this one from the time the VIC was current. It's a really white case with a silver label. It's similar to what they used in the Japanese VIC 1001 but it says VIC-20 on the label. Where does this case fit into the timeline? The beauty is that this is really very white, with no mark or even the slightest hint of yellowing. It looks amazing but a little odd at the same time.

Can anybody shed some light on that particular case? Was this used at any point in time? Was this an after market case?

Cheers

[Mayhem]

Some photos might help

[FriedOrange79]

One of my VIC-20s also has the PET-style keyboard, silver label and no yellowing on the case. It was made in Japan, has mid-1982 date codes on the chips and the serial number 533475. Where does your case say it was made? I think both time and location of manufacture lead to the various differences we see in labels, keyboards and plastic ageing.

Also, the perfectly ivory-coloured case isn't that unusual; of the 4 VIC-20s I own, only one of the cases is yellowed (which is a '2-pin' West German-made machine) and the other three are essentially pristine as well.

[aussiekraut]

One of my VIC-20s also has the PET-style keyboard, silver label and no yellowing on the case. It was made in Japan, has mid-1982 date codes on the chips and the serial number 533475. Where does your case say it was made? I think both time and location of manufacture lead to the various differences we see in labels, keyboards and plastic ageing.

It doesn't have a service tag at the bottom, so I can't tell where it was made or it's serial. It's a very mysterious machine. TO me, it looks like it was put together from spare parts. It's squeaky clean inside and out.

Also, the perfectly ivory-coloured case isn't that unusual; of the 4 VIC-20s I own, only one of the cases is yellowed (which is a '2-pin' West German-made machine) and the other three are essentially pristine as well.

Yes, I have an old VIC made in West Germany with the two pronged power plug and it is as yellow as they come. Much more so than my old VIC was back in the day but then again, that one practically lived in my basement room 30 odd years ago and was not subject to UV rays very often. Often enough to lightly yellow but. I don't recall that one being to bright white though. I remember it being more of an off white, slightly beige but that may just be my recollection.

[FriedOrange79]

Indeed, based on your description it sounds like your VIC has the case and keyboard of a made-in-Japan unit like mine and the motherboard of a later 'CR' model with the DIN power connector. So I agree with your assessment. I hope you enjoy using your new toy!

That similar-looking VIC-20 of mine is also quite a bright white, brighter than my other unyellowed VICs. The colour was officially supposed to be ivory (effectively off-white). I never really gave it much thought, but I suppose it varied from factory to factory.

[norm8332]

I bet there are a lot of mix and match VICs out there by now. I know I have a few. Heck some of them were that way from the factory it seems!

[aussiekraut]

Yeah apparently, Commodore used whatever they had available.