Commodore C-16

Owner: Bob Bacus
Location: Iowa City, IA

The Commodore C-16 was basically a Plus/4-lite. Or you could look at is as a pumped up VIC-20. Either way, it's tough to find one today.

Owner Bob Bacus adds:

This computer is physically the same size as the Vic-20 and C-64, but the circuit board on the inside takes up much less space. I recall reading in an '84 issue of COMPUTE about the debut of this machine and the Plus/4, and then never really hearing anything else. It has a 40 column display like the C-64, but if the display overscans your TV screen, you can change it to 38 columns. The casette plug and two joystick plugs are the same, and totally incompatible with all pre-existing Commodore equipment. I have read that the circuitry is compatible, so rigging up an adaptor is possible (I have yet to try this, however). Like the Plus/4, it has Basic 3.5, and supposedly most programs written for the C-16 will also run on a Plus/4 (yet another COMPUTE rumor). I had doubts that this computer was ever really produced, since I heard virtually nothing about it, but I found this one in a consignment store for $10. It seems to be a good improvement to the Vic-20, but it's too bad I can't use my Vic casette drive...

• Grayscale picture
• Interior view

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