are all the rumors on how bad the hardware issues on the Plus4 line over exaggerated or legit

[+hloberg]

I was thinking of getting a Plus 4 but I was talking to some people in the local C64 club and they were telling me that it was almost impossible to find a working Plus 4 because they all tended to burn out the CPU and the TED chip. Plus finding a replacement for the CPU and TED was equally impossible. Is that true or are the guys at the C64 exaggerating? 

[brain]

I don't think that is true, and I have said units.

 

But, both the CPU and the TED are either close to being replicated, or have been, so there's that.

 

I think the issue stems from the fact that:

 

1) compared to the 64, the 264 series sales were anemic.  If one assumed at least the same percentage of machines in both lines made it to now, that's far fewer machines in the 264 line in the potential market.

2) All CBM 8 bit machines were designed to "barely work", if you know what I mean.  Commodore designed computers for the masses, and treated them as a nearly disposable item.  They had to be safe and pass RF regs, but that's about it ?

 

And, on #1, I think far fewer machines (as a percentage) survived from the day, since people tended to protect machines they liked more, and the 264 line was not a particularly loved machine, at least in the US.

 

Jim

 

[+hloberg]

i just saw a blog on how to 'jury rig' a standard 65xx CPU to use in the +4. also, as you said, a blog of someone working on a FPG TED chip. so I might wait on getting the real iron till these things get sorted. I been playing with the YAPE +4 emulator and found it a rather nice machine. if it been priced right it probably been successful. the BASIC is featureful. the lack of sprites is not and issue if you know how to program (ever see what they could do with the Apple II). sound is OK, but not terrible, about average for the era. and having 60k available is nice. at $50 it would been a good bargain. 

[carlsson]

AFAIK the general consensus is that the 7501/8501 are more fault prone than e.g. the 8502 which is of the same generation. However there are a few revisions and it seems over time Commodore managed to get their CPUs stable, though a bit too late for the Plus/4 generation. The same goes for the TED chip, which however with heat sinks can be made to work for longer.