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From: miller@uiucdcs.UUCP (miller )
Newsgroups: net.micro.cbm
Subject: Re: Old vs New C64 - (nf)
Message-ID: <4843@uiucdcs.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 10-Jan-84 22:26:31 EST
Article-I.D.: uiucdcs.4843
Posted: Tue Jan 10 22:26:31 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 15-Jan-84 01:01:16 EST
Lines: 20

#R:zinfandel:19800001:uiucdcs:36100024:000:1149
uiucdcs!miller    Jan 10 16:17:00 1984

I am aware of several changes between "old" c64's and "new" ones.  First in
hardware, the newer ones have a lot of the chips in sockets rather than
connected straight to the pc board.  Also, it draws less power so some of the
resistors, etc., have been changed.  There is a metal shield added on the
bottom of the new ones, I guess to cut down on RF interference.  In software, I
know of three versions, all having to do with color memory.  In version 1 and 3
you can POKE a char. straight into screen memory and see the char (although the
default colors will be different between v1 and v3).  In v2, the default char.
color on a POKE is the background screen color.  Thus, the char is there but is
invisible since it is the same color as the background (pretty stupid, eh?).
Thus, you either have to PRINT the char, or POKE in the char color separately
into color mem in order to see it.
How can you tell which version you have?  Well, v1 has the "64" over near the
power led on the right.  V2 moved that over onto the left near the colored
stripes.  V3 made the four function keys a darker color than they were before.

A. Ray Miller (a v2 owner)