NightSprinter

Absolutely nothing, AR. Just plugged in every cartridge I had, and hit every button possible. No dice. If you wouldn't mind extra money to do so I'd have you fix the Wico Command Control bat-handle stick I have (provided I can find a new leaf switch for the fire button on the base, I broke an end contact from the other one). Just let me know how much it costs to get the work done on the XEGS and the stick and I'll try and have everything ready to send next week.

Ok, now for mine. How can one restore it after I smoked that metal piece behind the power socket with the copper wiring around it? Despite I have another one that's working I want to try and get this restored before possibly trading it off to a friend. So is there any way to replace the torroidal transformer (found out after speaking to someone I know who has some electronics know-how online) and see about getting some chips replaced in order to restore this thing back to working order?

It's up to four players. Whether with one or two controllers I can't be sure. I can't find the manual to the game.

Any advice on how to do so for the non-socketed one, Remo? I know that the metal RF shield on my socketed C64 also doubles as a heatsink (I've found thermal grease on the chips).

TTA, I just managed to find a diagnostic chart of the 1541 and any symptoms you might have with it: Commodore 1541 Tips Use it in good health.

Would depend, Slim. Are you a fan of turn-based strategy games? If so and you know someone who'd also be interested in playing I'd say grab it (I'm also a bit biased as a friend of mine and I are currently playing a copy of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms VIII" on PS2 which is very similar in gameplay despite pretty sound and graphics). If not, feel free to pass on it as I'm sure there's someone who could appreciate the game fully.

Well, this is what I found so far when I did a search for what caused a black screen in a c64: C64 Troubleshooting Sheet Not sure about a 1541. I just hope the Datasoft disk version of Pac-Man isn't screwed up from trying it in my 1541 since there's an A800 version on the opposite side. [update 1] The screen now has color from swaopping out the CPU. Inserting the FastLoad Cartridge causes a garbled screen unfortunately. The Datasoft version of DigDug managed to get to the copyright screen, but the program hung there. I just tried Pac-Man, and it WORKED!! (need to try Jumpman Junior and Dig Dug again). So it would seem that at the VERY least I need to replace the PLA chip (might have to swap the CIA chips since they're showing some grey when it's supposed to be black color on the chips). I'll further update after class.

The wiring on the actual controllers themselves are freaky as all hell when you look at the circuitboard. Here's the following colors as shown on a 3-button controller I cracked open? Pin - Color 1 - Brown 2 - Red 3 - Orange 4 - Yellow 5 - Green 6 - Blue 7 - Gray 8 - Black 9 - White Is this the color coding to use when making converters or adapters for it, or is this still the wrong pinout?

Well, since I've a couple of these and they seem to be rather fixable I just want to post some progress on repairing a couple of "dead" C64 units I have. The first one will in fact boot to the BASIC screen. Unfortunately the screen has no color and thick vertical black stripes. Second, any cartridge that's inserted (like my Epyx FastLoad) will cause nothing but garbled characters on the screen upon booting. The last problem is that no disk or cassette games will load completely or even run. I've verified this with Datasoft Pac-Man on disk (gives an error at linke 65535?), Konami Pooyan on tape, and Eypx Jumpman Junior on disk (screen just hangs). My guess is that the CIA chips have gone completely bad, even with the discoloration on the physical chip itself. I may have to replace the CPU and/or the PLA chips as well. The second one just gives me that dreaded "black screen" when booting. So this one I'm guessing it's just the PLA completely as having swapped the 6510 processor from the semi-working one to the non-working one didn't do a thing. I'll keep posting until I can successfully fix them. Thankfully the fully-dead board is socketed, so that makes replacing the chips easier. (Yes, I honestly suck with a soldering iron..)

That is granted, ProDos, but one also might have to look into how much harder it is to find leafswitch stuff outside of eBay. I know this because I still have an old Wico (which is STILL broken, so that whoever offered to fix it for me for a small fee will need to know) bat-handle and need a new leaf switch for it (broke an end connector on a switch attempting to repair it myself).

Sheesh, I didn't ask for such hostile replies ok? For the record, Chris, I did get into this for fun as I still play a lot of the stuff I have (if not ALL of it). Hell, I got unopened copies of "Deluxe Invaders" and "Demon Attack" and opened the games to play them. I only meant some of the harder to find games. I'll re-state myself on the first sentence: I do not want hostile replies or for this to erupt in a flame-war. Keep these posts civil.

I have to agree. Once I got over the initial frustration of the whole "falling-into-wells" part, I found it to be a true gem. Y'know, maybe this game isn't as much of a flop as history wants us to think. Yes, I do have to admit the sound for the Ship is one of the coolest sound effects the TIA could create.

I had to do this. Being how I have still sealed copies of "Super Huey" for the 7800, and "Crossbow", "Ms. Pac-Man", two copies of "Ikari Warriors", and a copy of "Motorodeo" all sealed. The Ms. Pac-man cart I'm probably leaving sealed due to the fact I own two loose copies. I've got one group of people saying leave the games sealed for their value, while others are saying to open them and play them. I get a headache trying to figure it out.

Well, mine is a more serious problem. I turned it on when hooked up to a C64 power supply. The piece behind the power socket witht he copper wiring coiled around it burnt and smoked. The smell's gone though, but the system's pretty much shot it seems.

Bah, mine powers on with just a black screen.

I also found a way to BEAT the massive energy-loss associated with falling into a well: When you see E.T. falling after the screen changes, IMMEDIATELY press the fire button. Sure he'll start burning energy for his levitation out, but I found in essence you save far more energy doing this and getting out than you do when you fall and hit the well's bottom (saves me a good 200-300 points every time). If you use this technique, the game is a LOT easier.

Don't sweat it, Randall. I'v edone things like that before as well. It happens to all of us.

I'd still say check Kirby's Adventure to see how it looks and sounds compared to the real thing.

I thought it was worth it, since that's what I paid at Goodwill for my copy (long BEFORE I knew students got 10% off with ID). I will agree the warp system is a big complicated, but with a map from GameFAQs it does become a lot easier. The only other major problem is the fact you lose ALL your keys/bombs/molotovs after continuing.

I really do appreciate EVERYONE'S help on this. But how can one find harddrives up to 9GB or so for a Falcon that are still external?

I had used her e-mail address (which I think was provided on her auctions).

I agree!!!!

Also forgot to ask, are there any software incompatibilities I should worry about with the Falcon? I'd like to know in case I do need to get like a 1040STe or similar.

Thanks, DarkLord. I see why you suggest a CD-R or CD-RW (ifI ever wanted to do Jag. development). THing is, how big of a harddrive can I go up to, what connector does the CD-RW need, and in terms of eBay how often does a Falcon pop up? Just trying to minimize my confusion here.

I know, makes me GLAD that I bought the PC version. I wanna just smack the guy upside the head for putting that "feature" into the console versions..