The main improvement over the other PET / CBM computers is the 80-column display. The screen is 12'' large and the ROM version is 4.0.
The CBM-80xx was often sold as a "bundle". It was made up of the computer (most often the CBM 8032, though other models were made), the 5.25" double disk drive CBM 8050 (500 KB, 77 tracks) and the bi-directional 132-columns, 160 CPS printer. The 8050 has a 6502 CPU, 4 KB of RAM and 12 KB of ROM (which contains the DOS). It was sold with Ozz, a Database, and a version of the spreadsheet "Visicalc".
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Dave Ridley reports to us:
CBM & PET 4000/8000 series - Brings back the memories! I used to fix these things, and boy did they have some classics. Regular problems were caused by the chip sockets going intermittant together with the molex power connectors burning out! Fix - remove chip squirt with RS Solvent Cleaner and stick them back. The external Disk units were connected by IEEE connectors. These disk drive units would fail, many a time I would open a unit up onsite(rather like opening the bonnet of a car) to find a pair of rectifier diodes that had got so hot they had actually melted themselves out of the board and fallen into the base.
Ben Pony adds:
I experimented with the compatibility of this computer and the C-64. Any software stored on cassette by the CBM could be loaded into the C-64, but C-64 tapes wouldn't work on the CBM.
About the 8296 FDD unit, by Michael Huth:
The 8296DS double disk drive unit uses 2x 6502. They work as multi-processor system. One cpu manages the data transfer and the other the drives hardware. So in fact the floppy has the double computing power than the computer itself.
These were an absolute nightmare to work on, when spares started to dry up, you could only tackle on with an ociliscope, an avo meter and soldering iron along with your box of bits! Good memories though, but it might frighten todays techies a bit
Wednesday 1st September 2010
Dave Lea (UK)
In contrast to Ben''s experience, I think to remember that it actually was possible to read C64 tapes on a Pet. Our school had a room full of Pets, and a friend and me used to write BASIC programs at home with a C64 and then load them into the Pet the next day. You needed a series of Pokes for the tape to load properly though.
Monday 27th April 2009
Wulf
I used Commodore PET's at college in the early eighties. I remeber how fast they seemed compared to my ZX81 at home and the robustness, no more gentle typing in case the rampack wobbled!
I was always impressed at the design and the way the case opened like a car bonnet to gain access to the motherboard.
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