code · Getting Started
wAx the VIC-20
Exploring wAx, a native assembler for the VIC-20 that integrates with BASIC. Includes examples implementing 10PRINT and Fibonacci in assembly directly …
C64 · code
Quick Post: Printing binary numbers in Commodore BASIC 2.0
Commodore BASIC 2.0 A lot of fun with binary numbers can be had by printing them to the screen. This is a quick post to show how to do that with …
C64 · code
Building a software serial bridge
Modern and retro mix One of my favorite peices of retro clone hardware is Bob Corsham’s KIM-1 Clone. I’ve featured it many places like the …
C64 · code
Blinkenlights
Driving LEDs from the VIC-20 and KIM-1 USR ports. Binary counting in the real world with vintage hardware.
C64 · code
40 years on, this is still the best maze algorithm
Exploring the elegant maze generator from Compute! magazine (December 1981). A line-by-line breakdown of how this classic BASIC algorithm works.
C64 · code
Validating Pilish
Writing code to validate Pilish text—prose where word lengths match the digits of Pi. Implementations in Julia and Commodore BASIC.
C64 · code
My mostly retro writing platform contenders in National Novel Writing Month for 2022 NaNoWriMo
Evaluating vintage computers for NaNoWriMo 2022: VIC-20, Plus/4, Commodore 64, and PET. Word processing on 8-bit machines with SpeedScript and other …
Commodore · code
Adding very large integers in 8 Bit BASIC
Adding integers with hundreds of digits using string manipulation in Commodore BASIC. When your numbers are too big for Wolfram Alpha.
code · Commodore
VIC’s Revenge, the drop-in replacement for the VIC-20 VIC chip Part 1: Introduction, design goals, and FAQs
Starting a year-long project to reverse engineer and create a drop-in FPGA replacement for the VIC-20’s 6560/6561 video chip.
C64 · code
64 Bit Addition and Products on Commodore: The Wheat and Chessboard problem
Implementing 64-bit arithmetic in 6502 assembly to solve the wheat and chessboard problem. Handling numbers too large for standard calculators on …
Commodore · How-To
Vicky-20 S Video Mod Results
Before and after comparison of S-Video mod results on the Vicky-20 PAL replica board. Dramatic improvement over composite output.
C64 · code
Yet another version of the 100 door problem; this time, let's extend Commodore BASIC to add PRINT @, shall we?
Extending Commodore BASIC with a PRINT AT command using machine language, then using it to visualize the 100 door problem.
C64 · code
The terrible random number generation in the Commodore 64 (and 128)
Visualizing the poor randomness of RND() on the Commodore 64 and 128 compared to the PET and Plus/4. Clear patterns emerge when you plot the output.
C64 · code
Permutations of 1 to 9 in Python, BASIC, and 6502 Assembly
Generating all 362,880 permutations of 1-9 the hard way: understanding algorithms instead of relying on library functions. Implementations in Python, …
C64 · code
Can you do Advent of Code on 8-Bit Machines?
Attempting the annual Advent of Code challenge on vintage 8-bit computers. Completing about 60% of puzzles on Commodore hardware.
C64 · code
Calculating Pi via the Gregory-Leibniz series in BASIC on the Tandy Color Computer 2
Calculating Pi on a Tandy Color Computer 2 with basic (non-Extended) BASIC. Working around the missing exponent function.
C64 · code
Just for fun, the 100 door problem on several different systems
Solving the classic 100 door problem with visual output on multiple vintage systems: VIC-20, C64, PET, Atari, and Color Maximite.
C64 · code
Running Commodore 64 BASIC Programs on a PET
How to load and run Commodore 64 BASIC programs on a PET. Working around the PET’s lack of program relocation.
C64 · code
Making and breaking Ciphers on the Commodore 64, er VIC-20 - Lagged Fibonacci Sequence and a little Monte Carlo while embracing contraints
Generating pseudo-random numbers with the Lagged Fibonacci Sequence on the VIC-20. Building reusable BASIC subroutines for the cipher toolbox.
C64 · code
Running the 8 Bit Show and Tell VIC-20 Super Expander Programming Challenge on the Commodore 64
Porting Robin’s VIC-20 Super Expander programming challenge to the Commodore 64 using Super Expander 64 and Simon’s BASIC.
C64 · code
Quick Post: Modulus in BASIC 2 without a cartridge
How to perform modulo operations in Commodore BASIC 2 without a cartridge. A one-line solution for VIC-20 and C64.