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Lord Crucifier
Registered: Feb 2004
Posts: 47 |
Estimated lifetime of a C64
I'm starting to see a pattern emerging in my life: C64 in the attic for a while, C64 build up & used for a while, C64 back in the attic, etc...
Does anybody have any idea how long we can keep this up before our C64's die? Is corrosion etc. of the inner parts something to be considered, or can we pull our C64's out of the attic when we're 80, set it up and it'll start right away?
Just wondering... |
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Steppe
Registered: Jan 2002
Posts: 1510 |
It probably all depends on the conditions you store it in. Find a cool and dry place and you should be able to have fun with your Commie until you die. If you live around the equator better get used to buy a new C64 off ebay annually. ;-)
Another factor are the power supplies: These are prone to decay sooner than the actual hardware. And once they start delivering unstable voltages you might either get unstable behaviour or even risk frying something inside the C64. |
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Graham
Account closed
Registered: Dec 2002
Posts: 990 |
changing temperaturs can corrode the material, and heat itself causes some chemical reactions. keep your c64 at room temperature and avoid too much heat on the ICs.
other hints which might keep your c64 alive: always have a joystick connected to port #2 so you don't accidently touch the pins with statically loaded fingers and kill the CIA. (big problem on c64 since the power switch is next to the port)
avoid old c64 power supplies.
turn on the monitor first since some voltage might leak into the audio out and damage the SID etc etc. this might apply to only a few monitors though. |
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TDJ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 1879 |
Wow. I've treated my c64 like shit for 20 years now and it still works 100% .. guess I've been lucky so far. |
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Nafcom
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 588 |
I have got quite a few. my first (A C64C from 1990) did work until 1999.
But no reason to waste it away. I could use the SID still because I have got one of an ex-classmate which had a damaged one. and also could keep the keyboard to get a C64-I working again :)
So well estiminated live time, I would say 9 years in my case :)
But imagine, it was dry and I was treating it very carefully and it was a clean place, but it was on sometimes for 12 h or longer and 7 days a week!
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Shake
Posts: 133 |
My last Commodore got killed by my girlfriend. She unplugged the powercord at once with the commie on. FLASH on the monitor and U10 got burned! logo lost, Damn ;)
don't have the skills to replace it... spare part won't be the problem. So perhaps one day it's brought back to life. (for another 15 years)
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Nafcom
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 588 |
Quote: My last Commodore got killed by my girlfriend. She unplugged the powercord at once with the commie on. FLASH on the monitor and U10 got burned! logo lost, Damn ;)
don't have the skills to replace it... spare part won't be the problem. So perhaps one day it's brought back to life. (for another 15 years)
Some C64 sceners may argue wether they would have prefered the other way round ;)
(Bad'n nasty, sorry O:-) ).
Well, I had yours once on the phone, she was friendly to me, so she wouldn't deserve a baked U10.... |
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Master Jam
Account closed
Registered: Oct 2004
Posts: 7 |
I used to have my C64 turned on 24/7 for alot of years (87-91), constant uploading, downloading or demon dialing. I Bought he computer 1985.. or 1986.
To my knowledge it still works, havn't used it for about 10-12 years though. |
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Graham
Account closed
Registered: Dec 2002
Posts: 990 |
most of you guys propably have "new" C64s like C64C or C64E. those are usually more robust than the earlier versions since commodore also fixed some problems during the years. using an old C64 24/7 would propably kill it or atleast the 1541 drive (a friend of mine got his disk melted when he left the drive turned on during night, no joke). |
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Lord Crucifier
Registered: Feb 2004
Posts: 47 |
As far as spare-parts or even spare-C64's goes, here in Holland you can pick C64's up for a couple of cents at fleamarktets, garage-sales or even online. Next time I come across a C64 in perfect shape, including box and manuals, I should just buy it... |
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Stryyker
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 465 |
It seems electrolytic capacitors last longer when used. When left for a while they can slowly die. |
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Derision
Registered: Feb 2002
Posts: 69 |
I've only had one system actually "die". Power supplies come and go, but the hardware... eesh. It seems that the lifetime of a C64 sounds more like the estimated lifetime of a car (15-20 years) than a computer. The system that actually died on me was a C128, and that died because it got swept down a river in a flood. One would imagine that sort of thing isn't too gentle with electronics. The rest of them... a 1986 64C, another brown 64, a 128D and one of the very early C64s (with the orange function keys)... they've been jostled around, taken apart, stored in the lead-melting heat of my attic and just generally abused... and they all still work (at least last time I checked, which was maybe three years ago). CBM built these things to last... I doubt they'd be tougher if they were made out of concrete.
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Nafcom
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 588 |
well, infact I have often heard of computers haveing a lifetime of about 10 years, so it's no wonder it could also handle 15 or so ;) |
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drake
Account closed
Registered: Dec 2002
Posts: 207 |
maybe your commodore will survive you ;-)
-2 start press any key..where is the any key?-
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Nafcom
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 588 |
Quote: maybe your commodore will survive you ;-)
-2 start press any key..where is the any key?-
I plan to live forever :P |
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SIDWAVE
Account closed
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 2238 |
I don't know about this..
All I know right now is this:
When I add a number to itself, x times.
(accumulation add)
lda number
add 8
sta number
repeat
it give me always +2 more than it should be.
this never happened before now.
My C64 is from feb 1985.
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SIDWAVE
Account closed
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 2238 |
I forgot to say: some experts in TV (if you belive TV experts), they said electronics from the 80's is likely to work 45 years +-5, and from the 70's it should be 25 +-5 years.
I don't really know.
If you just turn on your C64 and leave it on, the chips will go to near 70 degrees withín 15 minutes.
IF you don't put a heat-sink on them or air vent them, they're gonna operate near 70 degrees the whole time.
That isn't healthy.
I am quite sure, the optimal is to have a C64 turned on for about 40 minutes, then off.
It operates the time it takes to get near 70, and then operates at max for the same time as it took to get to max.
This i learned in electronics.
Then it is neither too cold or warm, when turned on again.
Always wait 20 mins to turn it on again. if operated at max heat (40 mins).
The same goes for disks.
Use them regularly, and they will work.
No use = they start to fail.
The magnets in the disk need stimulation.
enuff... |
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Booze
Account closed
Registered: Sep 2004
Posts: 28 |
Quote: maybe your commodore will survive you ;-)
-2 start press any key..where is the any key?-
Indeed, those C64's are pretty tough, I'd say many could easily outlast us ;-)
Makes me think of Scotty talking to a mouse "Hello Computer?" in some Star Trek movie or other...
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MaD ][
Registered: Sep 2004
Posts: 23 |
Hi all,
I collected five C64, some of them were dead so I decided to start repairing myself... now i've five C64 working fine.
Most of them had U17(PLA) blown... some other had VIC-II(6569) blown... a couple of them had 74LS258 not working (really hard to find here in Italy, at least where I live).
Sadly 4 of them got 6581(SID) with 1 voice KO so i began looking here and there to find a replacement, finally I found an old C64 repairing centre with lots of never used 6581... Bought six 6581... ALL OF THEM had 1 voice KO!!! I felt really frustrated... but this is also really strange!... Maybe the analog part inside 6581 is subjet to degrading with time? Anyone knows (or heard) something about it?
Another strange thing I noticed was the music tone, listening to some sid music it seems to be a little out of tone compared to what I remember... |
