Grandparents Vic 20 NIB. What do I have here?

wingnut1269 · Post by **wingnut1269** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 5:06 pm

Hello all. I just found my grandparents Vic 20, BRAND NEW, in the box. My parents bought it for them in the 80s, but they never used it. It's serial number is 200046.

Is this thing a big deal? I remember doing homework and learning programming on a C64 as a kid, but I know NOTHING about Vic 20s.

Thanks for your help.

matsondawson · Post by **matsondawson** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 6:07 pm

Is it sealed in plastic?
If not, does the vic20 still have the plastic over the space bar and logo?

wingnut1269 · Post by **wingnut1269** » Sun Oct 16, 2011 6:38 pm

matsondawson wrote:Is it sealed in plastic?
If not, does the vic20 still have the plastic over the space bar and logo?

No.....no plastic, other than what's in the box with the power supply and all. It looks like it was taken out, but the cables don't have any kind of marks on the ends at all. It has a "Super Expander with 3k RAM" cartridge with it, too.

Bacon · Post by **Bacon** » Mon Oct 17, 2011 1:28 am

wingnut1269 wrote:Is this thing a big deal? I remember doing homework and learning programming on a C64 as a kid, but I know NOTHING about Vic 20s.

It probably depends on what you mean by a big deal. If you mean value to a collector I have no idea, but if you mean historical value and if it's a fun computer to use I would answer yes, it's a big deal!

The VIC 20 was the first affordable color computer and a contender to the title of first computer to sell a million units – the Sinclair ZX81 was the other contender and I don't think it has ever been resolved which one has the right to the title. It laid the foundation for Commodore's success in the home market and drove several competitors out of the computer business, most notably Texas Instruments, whose TI-99 4/A was arguably its closest rival. Of course it also laid the groundwork for the C64. It's probably safe to say that wiithout the success of the VIC 20 there would never have been a C64.

It's also a fun machine to use if you're into old computers and video games, as all the regulars around here obviously are. There are tons of fairly simple but fun games available, the built-in BASIC programming language is identical to the C64's, and it can use all the peripherals for the C64 (disk drives, printers, cassette recorder, joysticks, etc.). Games and other programs are abundant on the net, and there are affordable modern gadgets to let you transfer the programs to your real VIC 20 – just ask around here and you'll get all the help you need.

macc · Post by **macc** » Mon Oct 17, 2011 1:23 pm

Wouldnt mind seeing a picture or two

PhilRanger · Post by **PhilRanger** » Mon Oct 17, 2011 7:19 pm

macc wrote:Wouldnt mind seeing a picture or two

Of the grandparents?

Boray · Post by **Boray** » Tue Oct 18, 2011 9:04 am

PhilRanger wrote:
macc wrote:Wouldnt mind seeing a picture or two
Of the grandparents?

wingnut1269 · Post by **wingnut1269** » Tue Oct 18, 2011 11:20 am

See if you can see it here.....if not, I will post the pics in here. I am new to photobucket.

http://s219.photobucket.com/albums/cc14 ... /Vic%2020/

Kweepa · Post by **Kweepa** » Tue Oct 18, 2011 12:22 pm

That's a private album

wingnut1269 · Post by **wingnut1269** » Tue Oct 18, 2011 12:53 pm

Kweepa wrote:That's a private album

Now public. I'm sorry.

Boray · Post by **Boray** » Tue Oct 18, 2011 1:03 pm

Looks really nice!

PhilRanger · Post by **PhilRanger** » Tue Oct 18, 2011 1:06 pm

Brings back old memories. To me the unpacking of my VIC made that Christmas magic. Christmas has never been more exciting!

wingnut1269 · Post by **wingnut1269** » Tue Oct 18, 2011 1:33 pm

I am considering listing it on Ebay. Do you guys have an idea what we should expect to see for it? We also have a boxed C64, but I don't believe it is new, just in the box with the Power Supply.

16KVIC20 · Post by **16KVIC20** » Tue Oct 18, 2011 9:04 pm

This probably isn't much help, but:

I paid £20 for my VIC 20. Mine is a late model, it has no box, wrappers or anything else, the case is quite badly yellowed at the bottom (top is OK, maybe made from 2?). Apart from that it is all OK though, and was guaranteed to work. I would say that was probably on the cheap side, you can get cheaper, but often you have no idea if they work.

As yours has been opened, why not display a picture of it working? You have the box as proof of your story and the general condition of the machine too. It would increase customer confidence. You could emphasise that this is the ONLY time it has ever been powered on, and why you have done it.

Personally I wouldn't buy one like yours, I'm more interested in using them, and to use yours would be a bit of a shame. I'm sure somebody would buy it though.

As for value? It must be quite a bit more than £20, but I wouldn't go booking a cruise yet.

Thankyou for sharing with us though, it was very nice to see a VIC 20 like this. I wish you luck with it.

dabone · Post by **dabone** » Fri Oct 21, 2011 4:51 am

That one, I'd start it at $50 and hope for the best.

Later,
dabone

Denial

Grandparents Vic 20 NIB. What do I have here?

Grandparents Vic 20 NIB. What do I have here?

Re: Grandparents Vic 20 NIB. What do I have here?