At the suggestion of Ben Ryves, I started a thread for the purpose of asking Cemetech if anyone here is willing to sell me Commodore accessories (E-bay was simply too expensive for me). So. I am needing a disk drive or a Datassette, as the computer didn't come with one and I can store nothing, and I would also like some software if it were possible (floppy disk, cassette tape, or cartridge). I also would like a printer, joysticks, or monitor. Thanks!
I'm not selling my C= stuff, but here's some tips I've learned over the years (most of these work with the C64, C128, and C16):
  • The composite output often looks crappy on a color televisions (it looks fine in black and white). I suggest using s-video input instead. See the next tip.
  • The Commodore can output S-video! If you can connect wires together, you can easily build an S-video cable to connect the Commodore to a TV. I took an s-video cable, a female-to-female RCA adapter (this one: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102694), and a plain RCA cable to make an adapter so I wouldn't have to cut up my Commodore video cable. If you want more details just let me know.
  • If you have a Goodwill or other thrift store near you, you might be able to find old accessories there. I've found old Atari joysticks there, but they also work on the Commodore (find joysticks with a plastic female DE9 connector). I also found a little device called "The Connection": "A Universal Parallel Printer Interface For The VIC 20 & Commodore 64". I didn't buy it or the joysticks because I didn't really need them. I did, however, buy two 10-packs of 5.25" floppy disks from Goodwill. You can never have too much storage space!
  • If you got a printer, you would most likely have to buy a new ribbon or toner cartridge for it, and those alone would probably be expensive and/or hard to find. I have an old Okidata printer, and its ribbon cartridges are dried out. (Then again, if you had a Centronix parallel printer adapter for the Commodore, like "The Connection" that I mentioned above, you could use almost any newer printer with a parallel port).
  • The only thing you really "need" is a disk drive or a tape drive for storage. You might get a better deal getting a 1541 or 1571 drive bundled with lots of goodies, and then you could turn around sell the extra bits (or hoard them all like a true Commodore junkie Smile). Here's an auction for a C128 and lots of extras that ends in less than a day that looks like a good deal (currently US $22.50).
  • You can download a lot of software (floppy disk images and/or tape files) online and transfer them to your Commodore with a parallel cable and some free software on the PC. You would have to build or buy the cable to interface with the Commodore. See http://sta.c64.org/xcables.html for more information on the cable. (Note: I haven't built one for myself, but I'd like to). If you go the tape drive route, you can use some free software to convert tape files into audio so you can record it to a tape in a tape recorder connected to the audio output on your PC. Tapes are much slower than disk, and they don't hold as much data, though.
  • Lemon has a lot of resources for your Commodore needs.
Well, I am sorry to anounnce that I do not own a Commodore 64. I also do not own a C VIC 20. I own a C Plus/4, a computer that in the US, was greeted with raging unpopularity. In addition to it's unpopularity, it is incompatible with Atari joysticks. I only hope that most C64 stuff is compatible, because C+4 stuff is as scarce as hen's teeth.

Anybody else selling?
Sorry to hear that. Those machines (and peripherals) can be pretty hard to find. I also have a C16 which is similar to the Plus/4. The video output is the same as the C64, and the datasette drive for the C64 is compatible too. You can also buy or build an inexpensive adapter to let you use Atari/C64 joysticks since they are more abundant.

Good luck!
  
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