RobertB

Happy New Year, C= and Ami aficionados! The Fresno Commodore User Group has its next meeting from 11 a.m. to 2+ p.m., Sunday, January 22 at -- Bobby Salazar's Mexican Restaurant 2839 North Blackstone Ave. (corner of Blackstone and Michigan) Fresno, California (559) 227-1686 For discussion, we'll talk about June Pacific Commodore Expo NW and the July Commodore Vegas Expo. Also we will peek at the .PDF of "Commodore: the Amiga Years" which is the follow-up to the book, "Commodore: a Company on the Edge". This .PDF not only talks about Amiga but also the fabled Commodore 65, the Commodore 900, and the Commodore LCD. It seems that a couple of C=/Ami movies are being released at the moment. For your viewing enjoyment, we look at part one of "Viva Amiga: The Story of a Beautiful Machine". We aren't forgetting hardware; in addition to the usual club C128 set-up, the VIC-20 returns with more games as does the AmigaOne XE G4. Also for club member Louis, we'll try out an Amiga 2000 with OS 3.1, 2 gig SCSI hard drive, and 4 megs of Fast RAM. Back from the Caribbean, Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

With a little more than 24 hours to go, the Kickstarter campaign for Unknown Realm is now at 168% of its goal. Various stretch goals have been reached, the last one being that all pledgers who have put in over $19 will receive the R.J. Mical parody game that was demonstrated last year. The next stretch goal is $4,692 away, that being an Underwater City Level. For a complete list of the stretch goals, see https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stirringdragongames/unknown-realm-an-8bit-rpg-for-pc-and-commodore-64 Back in California, Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

The Kickstarter is now 100% funded! Happy New Year! Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

At the rate the Kickstarter is going, it looks as if Unknown Realm will be fully funded by New Year's Eve! Truly, Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

The website for the Commodore Vegas Expo v13 2017 is now on-line. Check back regularly for updates. Go to http://www.portcommodore.com/commvex My thanks to Larry Anderson of PortCommodore.com for hosting the site. Merry Christmas, Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

Ray Carlsen now has pricing on some of his very custom power supplies. See http://personalpages.tds.net/~rcarlsen/custom%20ps.html Merry Christmas, Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

I was tempted so much that I made a pledge on the second day of the campaign. Merry Christmas, Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

Merry Christmas, C= and Ami aficionados! The Fresno Commodore User Group has its next meeting from 11 a.m. to 2+ p.m., Sunday, Dec. 18 at -- Bobby Salazar's Mexican Restaurant 2839 North Blackstone Ave. (corner of Blackstone and Michigan) Fresno, California (559) 227-1686 For discussion, we'll talk about the 35 year history of our club and show early FCUG newsletters. Because it's Christmas, naturally we'll look at holiday demos and games for the Commodore 64 and Plus/4. For the VIC-20, we'll try drawing Christmas pictures with Minisketch, 8K ram expander, and a Flexidraw lightpen. And because one of the VIC-20's has a R65C02 processor, we can finally try out the cartridge, MOSES: The Assembler of the Ages (which requires a 65C02). In Amiga matters, I'll bring in the AmigaOne XE G4 with OS 4.1 Final Edition and Radeon HD 4650 video card. (Hmm, what Christmasy item can I run on the A1? ) As usual, we'll try to get to the items that we did not cover in the November meeting. Truly, Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm P.S. If I can get 5V out of the C128, there will be a demonstration of Jason "Pyrofer's" new RGB digital-to-VGA adapter that goes directly to a multi-scan VGA monitor without the need of a scandoubler/flicker-fixer.

In 2012, game programmer Bruce Gottlieb showed the then top-secret game, Unknown Realm, to the attendees at the Commodore Vegas Expo. It was so secret that no one from outside his team was allowed to photograph or videotape his session. The CommVEx attendees saw a potential game full of fun, and they were excited that it was to be released. Fast forward to now... That early version of Unknown Realm is now graduating to the release version, "Unknown Realm: The Siege Perilous", and Bruce is putting it up on Kickstarter. Go to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stirringdragongames/unknown-realm-an-8bit-rpg-for-pc-and-commodore-64 Available for the Commodore 64 (NTSC and PAL), Windows, and Mac, Unknown Realm is a new, 8-bit, role-playing game in the style of Ultima RPG's. At the above Kickstarter page, you'll be able to see all the details of the game release, including video shots, screenshots, and screen animation. Also at the page, you'll be able to see the many and various pledge amounts to get this game released. As one who saw the early game version at CommVEx, I am excited that Unknown Realm is finally going public. Merry Christmas, Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

I tried to sign up with Q-Link at the very end, but the system was so broken at that time that it was not accepting any more subscriptions. I even called the company to ask what could be done, but they didn't know how to fix it. However, I was a Delphi and GENie user for several years until they folded, too. Never signed up for Compuserve, Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

Thanks for the info! I have registered my interest for a Vampire 500. Truly, Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

I see Trevor Dickinson once a year at the Amiwest Show. If you want to order a Carlsen power supply to fit your needs, then it could be shipped to me, and I would give it to Trevor to bring it back to NZ with him. Then you can get the p.s. from Trevor. Just some ideas, Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

Available to download is the new version of Commodore Free, issue 95. ************************************* Commodore Free Magazine http://www.commodorefree.com/ ************************************* Issue 95 Free-to-download magazine dedicated to Commodore computers. Available as PDF, ePUB, MOBI, HTML, TXT, SEQ and D64 disk image. ===================================== * Editorial * General News * Amiga News * Commodore 16/ plus4 News * Commodore 64 News * Vic 20 News Articles - Commodore S.I.D chip - Interview with Andreas Beermann - Creator of FPGASID - Growing Pains Part Siv - Where I Learned To Code In Style By Lenard R Roach - DUBCRT Commodore 64 - Limited Cartridge (PAL only) HARDWARE REVIEW - DUBCART - Interview with Tim Koch - Growing Pains Part Sex - "The Program That Never Was" by Lenard R. Roach - Space Chase on the PET - The 35 year old review

I've posted a hand-drawn floor plan of the first floor of the Living Computer Museum, our venue for the Pacific Commodore Expo NW. We'll have a line of tables, and we also have the classroom/break-out room. See http://blog.retro-link.com/2016/11/floor-plan-of-pacommex-exhibit-area.html Happy Thanksgiving! Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

More PaCommEx updates are in at http://www.commodore.ca/forum/viewforum.php?f=14 and photos in and around the area of our venue are at http://blog.retro-link.com/2016/11/in-and-around-living-computer-museum.html Truly, Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

Happy Thanksgiving, C= and Ami aficionados! The Fresno Commodore User Group has its next meeting from 11 a.m. to 2+ p.m., Sunday, Nov. 20 at -- Bobby Salazar's Mexican Restaurant 2839 North Blackstone Ave. (corner of Blackstone and Michigan) Fresno, California (559) 227-1686 For discussion, I will have an update on the progress of next June's Pacific Commodore Expo NW. In hardware we'll examine a Ray Carlsen newly-repaired Blue Chip 128 disk drive. In software we'll look at various new or rediscovered VIC-20 games -- It Game from the Grave, Final Quest, VICrossroads, Hat Trick, and Track&Field. (Roger, bring your various RAM expanders!) For the Plus/4, it's Bombrunner. For the C64, we'll play around with the various games picked up from last Saturday's SC3 Arcade Party. For the classic Amiga, we'll try out various games and applications picked up from the October Amiwest Show. Plus we'll try to get to the items that we did not cover in the September meeting. Truly, Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

Over the years, C= repair technician Ray Carlsen has built "very custom", special-order power supplies for Commodores and Amigas (in addition to his regular, universal p.s.'s). Check out the photos of his very custom p.s.'s at http://blog.retro-link.com/2016/11/custom-power-supplies-from-ray-carlsen.html Truly, Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

Happy November, C= and Ami comrades! The next meeting of the Southern California Commodore & Amiga Network is Sunday, Nov. 13, from 2 to 4+ p.m. at Panera Bread Restaurant 19662 Nordhoff Street Northridge, California (818) 407-9400 Note that the meeting is on Sunday, not the usual Saturday. For this meeting, the AmigaOne XE G4 returns with OS 4.1 Final Edition and a newer video card. Also we'll look into the A4000 Power Tower, a machine from the late Dave "Lord Ronin" Mohr who was the chancellor of the Astoria Commodore User Group. For the Commodore 64/128, member Bogdan will bring in a WiModem with 3D-printed, transparent case. Member Charles G. will visit (his last visit being roughly 8 years ago!). Plus we'll have a VIC-20, Plus/4, and SX-64 for members' use. Bring anything else you wish to share! Back from the Pacific Northwest, Robert Bernardo Southern California Commodore & Amiga Network http://www.portcommodore.com/sccan

Back in the day, I bought the spiral-bound book, "The Internet for Commodore Users" by Gaelyne Gasson. It was the third, and little did I know at the time, it was the final edition. Every once in awhile, C= users ask about getting their machines on-line, and I refer them to TIFCU if it answers their questions. (TIFCU was written before C= wi-fi modems and other newer means of connecting.) All these years I had thought that the book would never be seen again. I was wrong! In September I met with Gaelyne in Adelaide, South Australia, and she informed me that C= users can still access the book by downloading the .PDF. I was gladly surprised. If you want your own copy of TIFCU, read the description at http://market.vcsweb.net/about-tifcu-the-internet-for-commodore-users/ and click on the button at the bottom for purchasing information. If you just want to directly purchase TIFCU, go to http://market.vcsweb.net/product/tifcu-the-internet-for-commodore-c64-128-users/ Writing from Roseburg, Oregon, Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

Ray Carlsen can convert your 5-pin C64 to 8-pin. He replaces the DIN socket and adds a component or two. However, in the conversion, you lose your RF. Then with S-video out, then you can use a common eBay converter to go from S-video to HDMI. Writing from Roseburg, Oregon, Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

Whoa! What part of Fresno? And where are you now? Still in the Los Angeles area for another day, Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

Games with Elvira, Mistress of the Dark! In Los Angeles to see Elvira's Halloween stage show, Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

The contract is signed. The deposit has been made. The Commodore Vegas Expo v13 is coming July 29-30, 2017… and we have a new hotel venue – The California Hotel & Casino 12 E. Ogden Ave. downtown Las Vegas, Nevada CommVEx will be held in the second floor Maile Room of the hotel. To read the full announcement, go to http://www.commodore.ca/forum/viewforum.php?f=6 and click on the appropriate topic. Truly, Robert Bernardo organizer - Commodore Vegas Expo v13 2017

I agree with making it look as good as possible. Truly, Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

As usual, I was there. Truly, Robert Bernardo Fresno Commodore User Group http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm