Denial

I have an idea.

I came across a program in an old issue of Home Computing Weekly that told you what strength suntan lotion you needed depending on your skin type. This got me thinking that a similar program could be developed to help identify and resolve general maintenance problems with the VIC-20.

My parents had a VIC-20 when I was a child, but it packed up before I was old enough to appreciate it. My Dad often complained that the datasette was erratic; it would play for a while and then go back to the Ready screen. I recently asked him if he ever cleaned the datasette and he replied 'No'.

I think this program would be useful to rookies like me who are new to the VIC and could also be developed for more complex issues.

I would be grateful if all you learned sages out there would outline the myriad problems you've had and how you resolved them. This would help me categorise them into different variables.

Thank you for your time,

Simon Henstock

I've just come up with a brief categorisation of the various technical problems that can occur on the VIC-20. So far, my information is based on my own limited experience and what I've cribbed off the hardware forum. I figured the best way to learn how to maintain my VIC properly was to write a program about the different things that can go wrong. I would be grateful if someone could tell me if this categorisation is accurate or not.

1) Audio/video problems
2) Program loading from disk/datasette
3) Dementia
4) No sign of life

This sounds like a good idea, but frankly I think it would be better if you compiled this information into a single document to be distributed online. If you do it as a VIC-20 program, that assumes that the person's VIC is working well enough to transfer/type in the program, etc. Plus, if it's for new users, well... reading is easier than using a new computer.

Where's the fun in that? People can run it on VICE if they are unable to run it on their VIC-20s. Anyway, I've just started learning VIC BASIC and this gives me a chance to flex my muscles, so to speak.