Commodore Computer Club – USA

It’s that time again Commodore computer hackers and enthusiasts from the PDX Vancouver,WA and Portland, OR metro area… Commodore Computer Club and Users Group meeting time!

We meet at Pied Piper Pizza, a totally rad local pizza place in Vancouver, Washington that’s approximately 20-30 minutes from PDX – Portland, Oregon:

Pied Piper Pizza
12300 NE Fourth Plain Rd.
Vancouver, WA 98682
Get directions

Members and guests from the Portland, OR metro area typically show up between 6:30 pm – 7:00 pm PST due to the bridge work happening on both the 205 and 5 freeways. With that in mind, please allow for a little extra drive time with traffic.

Confirmed hardware, software and game cartridges that will be at the September 3, 2010 Commodore Users Group and Computer Club meeting:

• Commodore Vic-20 computer
• 20+ Vic 20 game cartridges
• Commodore SX-64 (Executive 64) computer
• Commodore 64c (C64c) with 1541c disk drive
• 50+ C64 game and utility cartridges
• MSD SD-2 Super Disk Drive (22 second verified backups)
• Various Commodore programs on floppy disk
• Shredz64 software and the PSX64
• MSD SD-2 Super Disk Drive
• Vectrex (vector based video game console)

There is also a few scheduled demos and presentations for the upcoming meeting, but I’ll keep the specifics under wraps for now until we get a little closer to the meeting.

However if you’ve been to previous meetings, you know when I mention demos, presentations or special guests, you should “for sure” come to the meetings

Be prepared to rock out on the Commodore 64 with Shredz64 using the PSX64 designed by Toni Westbrook. Shredz64 is basically Guitar Hero and Rock Band for the C64 using SID music!

Usually at the meetings I’ll bring a “non Commodore computer” related retro piece of hardware to show off. Sometimes it’s an Atari 2600 heavy sixer or a Sears Video Arcade but at this upcoming meeting I’m bringing a 1982 Vectrex and a bunch of vector graphic based video games.

If you have any Commodore hardware or software, bring it along. There is always plenty of room, tables and electrical outlets. If you have something that needs repair or service, bring that too as we can perform most repairs and services on Commodore equipment at our meetings.

For additional details, directions, etc, please check out the Commodore Computer Club meetings page.

You can also add our Facebook Commodore Computer Club profile to your friends list, follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our RSS feed and keep up-to-date on everything with the C= club.

We look forward to seeing you at the next meeting on Friday September 3, 2010.

Our monthly Friday night Commodore Computer Club and Users Group meeting was a good time for all who attended.

Here are just a few of the highlights from the meeting:

• VIC20 Mega-Cart demo by John Hancock
• Our Commodore Computer Club will be at the 2010 Portland Retro Gaming Expo
• CGE 2010 Atari 2600 release Halo 2600 demo
• Played around with a KoalaPad Touch Tablet
• Jeri Ellsworth showed off some C64DTV Easter eggs
• We rocked out with Shredz64 using the PSX64 designed by Toni Westbrook
• Club member Jeremy showed off his 64NIC+ designed by Jim Brain
• Found the game Ghosts N’ Gobblins on a C64 “Mystery Floppy Disk”

Because so many things were going on at once during the meeting, it was hard to remember and snap some pictures since we were all playing games, talking and generally having a good time, however below are a few moments that did get captured on camera.

We did a quick demo of Halo 2600 which was a limited release game cartridge at the CGE Classic Gaming Expo 2010:

Jeri Ellsworth showing off some pretty rad C64DTV Easter eggs:

Hidden picture of Team C64 Direct-to-TV aka the C64DTV:

Who knew the C64DTV had a Virtual Keyboard? I sure didn’t until Jeri showed it to us:

John Hancock showing off the Vic-20 Mega-Cart and doing some game demos:

John holding the Mega-Cart box:

Commodore Vic-20 Mega-Cart Menu Screen:

Commodore Computer Club member Jeremy showed off his 64NIC+ designed by Jim Brain:

Artillery Duel being played on the Commodore Vic-20:

Greg playing a game on his Commodore SX-64. I love his facial expression in this picture:

The KoalaPad Touch Tablet software interface:

Greg shared his box of “Everlasting Gobstoppers” with all of us at the Commodore Computer Club and Users Group meeting:

Once again “Thank you” to everyone who came out to the Commodore Users Group meeting in Vancouver, WA. Your continued support of the Commodore Computer Club is much appreciated.

Our next scheduled meeting will be Friday September 3, 2010, so mark your calendar. We’ve got some special Commodore 64 friends and guests attending our next meeting.

We hope to see you at the next meeting! Come to learn, come to share.

Greetings program! Computer hackers and enthusiasts from the Vancouver, WA and Portland, OR metropolitan area, our upcoming Commodore Computer Club and Users Group meeting is this coming Friday August 6, 2010 at 6:00 pm PST.

Our Commodore users group meets at Pied Piper Pizza, a local pizza place here in Vancouver, Washington which is approximately 20-30 minutes from downtown Portland:

• Pied Piper Pizza 12300 NE Fourth Plain Rd. Vancouver, WA 98682
• View our meetings page for detailed map and driving directions

Club members and guests from the Portland metro area typically show up around 6:30 pm – 7:00 pm PST due to the work happening on both the 5 and 205 freeway and bridges. With that in mind, please allow for a little extra drive time with possible traffic.

Confirmed Commodore hardware, game cartridges and demo’s that will be at the meeting:

• Early version of the Commodore Vic-20 computer
• VIC20 Mega-Cart demo by John Hancock
• Commodore SX-64 (Executive 64) computer
• C64c (Commodore 64c) with matching 1541c disk drive
• 1581 disk drives (with JiffyDOS installed)
• KoalaPad Touch Tablet (complete in box)
• C64DTV designed by Jeri Ellsworth
• MSD SD-2 Super Disk Drive (22 second verified backups)
• 1702 Commodore monitors
• 50+ C64 cartridges and floppy disk software
• 20+ Vic 20 game cartridges
• Various RUN, Ahoy! and other Commodore magazines

For additional details, directions, etc, please check out the official Commodore Computer Club meetings page.

We look forward to seeing you at the next meeting on Friday August 6, 2010.

Back in December 2009 the Toronto PET User’s Group created a CD containing the entire TPUG Disk Library and earlier today I received my copy of the CD thanks to friend Ernie Chorny, the TPUG Secretary:

TPUG Disk Library CD is loaded with over 1,100 disk images (D64 and ADF) containing over ten thousand programs for the:

• Commodore 64 – C64
• VIC-20 – VIC20
• Amiga Computer
• Commodore 128 – C128
• Commodore Plus/4
• PET Computer

If that wasn’t enough, there is also Historical Photos, Emulators, Tools and the Library Catalogs in PDF format. This CD is a priceless piece of Commodore computer history.

The TPUG CD is awesome and will be a great resource for the Commodore Computer Club and Users Group. Anyone who doesn’t already own it, you should pick up a copy from TPUG.

As I sit here writing this C64 Club blog post, I’m thinking it’s really nice how Commodore user groups around the world can get along, be friends and share information with each other.

“Thank you” again TPUG for the Toronto PET User’s Group Users Group Disk Library CD. It will now become a permanent piece of my Commodore computer and software collection.

At our upcoming August 6, 2010 Commodore Computer Club meeting, special guest and good friend John Hancock from the Portland Retro Gaming Expo will be doing a Commodore Vic-20 Mega Cart presentation.

The Vic-20 Mega-Cart is a multi-purpose cartridge for both PAL and NTSC machines that allows you to play all known cartridge games released for the Commodore Vic-20 plus a selection of some of the best games released on tape or disk.

John Hancock is a long time video game collector, and a hell of a nice guy. His collection of games is only exceeded by his huge breadth of game knowledge, and his willingness to share the hobby he loves so much with others. He runs popular game tournaments in his spare time and is the founder of Cowlitz Gamers for Kids.

We’ve got a lot of other cool things planned for the upcoming PDX Commodore Computer Club meeting, so mark your calendar and be sure to attend. If you know anyone in the Vancouver, WA or Portland, OR metro area who’s into Commodore computers and programs, be sure to bring them along. We always welcome new people to the meetings.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us anytime. You can also follow us on Twitter and also add us as a friend on Facebook.

A lot of people ask me when I got into the Commodore 64 computer and I tell them it was around December 1983 because that’s when I received my first C64 from my grand parents.

Looking through some old photo albums this evening that I received from my grand mother a few years ago titled “This is your life Sean”, I came across this old Polaroid picture:

Ah, Christmas morning 1983 opening up my first Commodore 64 computer. Check out all that late 1970′s furniture and shag carpet. I’m even wearing checkered Vans Slip-On sneakers.

If you look in the background on the floor, you can see the box for the Commodore data set that I received at the same time. Man that thing was slow. I recall a few weeks later my grand parents purchased me the Vic-1541 disk drive because of the load times.

Also, the gentleman in the background is my grand father (RIP). If it wasn’t for my grand parents, I probably wouldn’t be into Commodore computers as much today.

Back in those days I was using Apple IIe’s in Elementary school and they cost way more then my family could afford. As Commodore founder Jack Tramiel use to say:

Commodore computers are for the masses, not the classes

So in closing, “thank you grandma and grandpa for my first Commodore 64 computer” and “thank you Jack Tramiel for making it affordable for them to buy me one”.

I’m going to be bringing my original C64 system and Vic-1541 to the next Commodore Computer Club and Users Group meeting, so if you’re in the area, come and check it out.