Behr-Bonz 2015

[dave64]

I received mine today and I'm crazy happy about it!!

eslapion, I did find one oddity: I initially plugged the cartridge into my primary, daily-use VIC-20 and it wasn't recognized. Instead, it just booted into BASIC. I reset a few times, re-seated the cartridge and then decided to try another machine. It works fine in the other VIC-20 I tried, so there's no need for me to pursue this any further other than curiosity.

I use my primary VIC-20 very regularly and confirmed again that it works with other carts. Is there anything odd about Behr-Bonz that you can think of that would make it not work on that machine?

At any rate, tremendous thanks to eslapion for making this excellent product available to the Commodore community. It truly is excellent!

[eslapion]

...
I use my primary VIC-20 very regularly and confirmed again that it works with other carts. Is there anything odd about Behr-Bonz that you can think of that would make it not work on that machine?

No, but I can think of many things that would make your VIC-20 not work with the Behr-Bonz.

You say it "works fine with other carts" but you don't provide any details about them. Are they 8k or 16k games? If they are 16k games, do they use BLK 5 and 1 or BLK 5 and 3 ? Can you also check with a Scott Adams game which require BLK 2 and BLK3 ?

Also, does this VIC-20 take a much longer time to provide the 3583 Bytes free prompt? The main capacitor of the startup system can cause this sort of problem when it is aging.

Because it is a multicart, the Behr-Bonz uses a few more lines on the cartridge port than a normal game cartridge would. I Suspect there may be a problem with these on your primary VIC-20. Problems with components of the reset system of your VIC-20 is also a possible cause.

At powerup, the Behr-Bonz requires all BLK 1,2,3 and 5 lines to operate properly as well as the IO3 line. If a single one fails, this is the result you will get - booting to BASIC. The Behr-Bonz also requires the powerup reset to be complete within a set period of time or else the menu software will become invisible to the CPU.

If the cartridge you use to check your VIC-20 is a 4k or 8k game then BLK 1,2 or 3 could all be faulty on your cartridge port and the game will still work - the Behr-Bonz will not. Only a few oddities require IO2 or IO3 so checking if these lines work ok on your VIC may be more difficult.

The Behr-Bonz doesn't require access to the 3k RAM expansion area so all 3 lines associated with it could be defective on your cartridge port and the Behr-Bonz would remain unaffected.

I reset a few times...

Also incomplete information. How exactly did you 'reset' ?

Was that using a reset button on your VIC-20 or using the SYS64802 command, both of which would be useless with the Behr-Bonz because it doesn't reset the delay system and octal latch built into the Behr-Bonz.

Did you use the 'reset to menu' button built into the Behr-Bonz which truly resets everything ? In this case this truly indicates a problem with the cartridge port because it bypasses any potential problem the 555 startup system of your VIC-20.

[dave64]

If my post came across like there was something wrong with the Behr-Bonz cartridge I received and I expected you to resolve the issue, I apologize for the misunderstanding. I thought it was clear that I assumed a problem with my one VIC-20 since Behr-Bonz is working fine in a different VIC-20. I really was generally asking, "What things does Behr-Bonz do differently than other generic cartridges?" and you answered that in your reply.

Again, thanks for the cartridge. I'm really happy with it. Sorry if I offended you.

[eslapion]

No offense. I'm just quite busy lately so I get... excessively technical.

Sorry about that.

[dave64]

We're on the same page. All is well. Your reply answered every question I had. Most important is that the Behr-Bonz has an absolutely amazing assortment of games!! Really happy to pick this up. Thanks!

[dave64]

eslapion, I copy/pasted your initial "how to order behr-bonz" post to a Facebook group because I posted a picture of me using the one I purchased and someone asked how to buy one. Hope that's okay.

[dave64]

eslapion, I got your PM and have attempted to reply several times. Each time, my reply ends up in my Outbox and eventually disappears. You can email me at commodore(aT)commodore.international if you'd like.

[eslapion]

I was away for a few days but I replied to your last received PM.

I'm glad you had lots of fun with the Behr-Bonz.

It's always good to know exactly why and how a VIC-20 won't work with the Behr-Bonz or the other way around. More knowledge always helps to fix issues.

[Rylos]

eslapion,

My Behr-Bonz cartridge arrived today. It works great.

Thanks for the great product.

[Tormentor]

Thank you so very much for the product. It arrived today. First time I've been able to experience many of these games on the Vic, and now no need to dig out my original cartridges for all the ones I do own.

Since I have a 16K cart, the 8k cart made the sacrifice to loan it's case to the Behr Bonz

[jjh76]

Where are you at for the rest of the pre-orders?

[eslapion]

Where are you at for the rest of the pre-orders?

There are only 4 more pre-orders remaining to ship and they will be at the post office next Monday.

[Rylos]

I might be interested in a backup. Is there a discount for ordering a 2nd?

[eslapion]

I might be interested in a backup. Is there a discount for ordering a 2nd?

If you order more than one cart simultaneously then you save on shipping.

I do discounts on orders of 5 carts or more.

[VanishingPoint76]

My Behr-Bonz arrived today and I could not be happier! Thank you once again for making this available to us forum members. I will now go and spend a few hours reliving my childhood