Nice PET and upgrades. My PET 4032 has the PET SD card upgrade and I purchased a PET diagnostics board that plugs into the CPU. I do PET repairs so it's very handy. You should have a look at a TH-cam channel called Bitfixer. He sells PET upgrades that you may like. Move PET videos, please :)
Your PET 2001 is coming along great! I did the exact same upgrades to my PET 2001-N-16. Mine is the later 2001 model with the full size keyboard which is lovely. I did the PET RAM ROM upgrade first back in February 2020 to keep my board stock with 16KB if I ever wanted to revert back (but why? LOL) and to get the upgraded BASIC. About a year later in 2021 I purchased the joystick adapter board from TFW8B. My final upgrade was the Stupid PET Tricks that I found out about from Chuck and purchased that 4-5 months ago (July 2022). I love that thing, especially for the CB2 sound and WiFi modem. The joystick ports are great too and now my TFW8B joystick adapter is a display piece, still a great piece of kit though for later PETs that already have sound with the piezo speaker or don't want WiFi.
Glad you're still liking your PET. We were talking in the shop the other day about that one. We miss her. We are considering doing a PET Extravangaza at this year's VCFMW. We seem to have accumulated a lot of them in the last year. Possibly, a SuperPET will be available (she's giving us fits on the daughter board, but we'll sort it out). You can have first dibs if you want it. Great video, as always!
If the SuperPET is available, definitely let me know. While I really enjoy this PET, one with a full keyboard would get more use for me and the channel. Opening and filming my latest purchase today. Arrived yesterday. Look forward to another great Bonus Life Computers acquisition.
At another University (Iowa State), they would have Surplus Equipment sales about one a month. This is sort of stuff they had at the sales, they where very popular and hundreds of people would show up for a bargain.
We had the same at Murray State University. You could grab some good stuff. Just wish I'd had the foresight to grab some of their computers back in the early 1990s.
Why thank you very much, Keven! I really enjoyed this one and I think I've learned a lot since my earlier videos. Hopefully I can continue to create quality content.
Nice video - like always! Thanks for covering my Stupid PET Tricks! The latest Stupid (fun) thing to do with it is IRC on your PET with no need for an intermediary computer. Bo updated the Zimodem firmware to support this. I will be adding instructions to the user manual in the next few days.
Yeah, I'd love more in-depth videos on any of those items or topics, as you have time! I'm lucky enough to have 3 PETs: 4016, 8032 and a slightly busted-up (repairable) 4032. I've tried a couple different upgrades with mixed success, but I think I'll give one or more of these a try. I love your chicklet PET! The grade school where I first used computers in the late '70s mostly had the 2001's, so there's a lot of nostalgia with those.
I think you will really like it. It has a learning curve, but once you get over that, everything just flows. Important to note that not all software supports sound and joysticks. They include a nice list though.
Thanks for the feedback. I might dig some more into one or more of the upgrades. We'll see how the video does in general. I have some time off this holiday season and have several videos I want to get recorded.
You can add switchable 40 or 80 column mode to your PET with a Mini PET 40/80D. That is a mainboard replacement for the PET which includes the upgraded 32K RAM, BASIC 4, and a built in SD2PET. It uses the original power supply, keyboard, monitor and datasette, just not the main board. The Mini PET 40/80D is also available from The Future Was 8 bit (while stocks last, we are running out of these, and I don't think we will be able to make any more due to the current chip shortages)
I am pleased to see you liked the PET ROM/RAM and SD2PET (and the notes I put on the back of the joystick board). For info, you can also load the DOS wedge from disk. Shift + run/stop in BASIC 4 loads the first file from the SD card, so put wedge.prg onto the SD first and you can load the wedge with shift+run/stop and then go straight into @$ style commands. Final point, if you do have a working set of ROM and RAM chips, congratulations. I normally advise people who are using a PET ROM/RAM board to carefully remove the original socketed 6540 ROM chips in the third row and keep them safe and preserve them in working condition. That also dramatically reduces power consumption. The same goes for the 6550 RAM chips in the first two rows if they are socketed, but it looks like you have the 2114 versions rather than the 6550, so they are fine to leave
Very interesting, just got a PET and planning a full restoration. The previous owner fitted the RAM/ROM upgrade and it's fully functional, all I need is to sort the keyboard and get the SD card reader.
Great to see the Stupid PET Tricks module getting some love! I added joystick support to several of the games on the SPT disk. Will probably do more at some point. Regarding 80-column output, it's impossible using the 2001 motherboard. Only PETs using the later "Universal" board can be converted to 80 col. Although (as someone else mentioned), you could replace the board entirely. Seems a waste to do this when you already have a working board though.
When the PET first came out, Commodore didn't make a floppy disk drive, so the IEEE port had nothing to work with. The first Commodore floppy drive, the 2040, was released WITH the 2001-N AND the 2.0 ROMs in the summer of 1979.
@03:39 you got the model number incorrect. If you look at the serial number label, yours is a straight up 2001-8, not a -N. The 2001-8N has the full size keyboard and was released in 1979. The -N indicates a full size type N keyboard where a -B would indicate a type B or "Business" keyboard. They never made a 2001-8B but there are a few 2001-16B and 2001-32B in the wild. The -8 or 8K version was the base model and the only offering from '77 thru '78. Commodore initially offered a 2001-4 with 4K of RAM at pre-order but canceled that model before they started shipping. Few if any 4K units were shipped and there are only three known 2001-4 surviving. You can tell by the black bezel and C2N type tape drive on yours, that yours was made after Mid 1978. The green screen means it was probably built as late as early 1979. 0040424 is a very late serial number.
The Wikipedia entry listed: "Discrete TTL video circuit, 9" monochrome monitor (white phosphor on the original 2001, green on 2001-N PETs), 40×25 character display" But I later see they also reference this model with a full-size keyboard. Missed the keyboard reference earlier. Thanks! I'll make an errata statement on the blog.
@18:20 , Nope. The 2001 PET generates it's digital video signal with a complex arrangement of TTL logic chips and a fixed pixel clock frequency. The later PETs like the 4032 use a CRT controller chip which can be re-programmed to run 80 columns if you also add the additional video RAM needed. You can hook up a larger monitor with a couple of different adapters. See my channel for a video on using the RGB2HDMI with the PET.
I've seen the RGB2HDMI video. I'll have to look at it again. I didn't remember you could get 80 column out and thought you were just trying to get good clean HDMI to capture. Nice!
Keep it original, replace failed components as needed, adding additional peripherals is fine. In the future people will need to know the original creation of such things
Years ago at a thrift store. Before the internet and well me not knowing what they was. I saw 2 of them in the thrift store. One had that horrible keyboard and the other did not. They was dusty inside and I plugged one in. It booted up. But I thought they was horrible. Not knowing what they was. Pretty sad since I known what a Trash-80 and Apple was.
80 columns is only possible on the pets that had the CRT controller chip - 4032/8032 I think. And then it's just a case of changing the ROM and a jumper to switch between the modes
Not sure why I added the "e" to Apple II in the video (habit probably), but I listed it properly in the blog post and my script. Thanks for catching that one.
Hey, great video thank you! Is the list you mentioned only for the original pet with the calculator keyboard or for every model? I’m having a 3032 incoming in Germany and I’m very new to pets. Background and history would always be interesting!
I don't have experience beyond the 2001 model but my understanding is that all of these work, save for the ROM upgrade. Depending on the model, you may not need that one. With the 3032, I think you will want the ROM upgrade. Check the site to make sure. Thanks for watching and reaching out. Look forward to hearing about your new PET.
It's actually Chuck's and it's on the companion blog post. I'll try and find time to add it to the video description. Guess I missed it in my list of links. Thanks for the heads up.
The PET 2001 has the CRT controller in logic gates, so it is not any flexible. You cannot set it to 80 columns. I think, it is not possible to do that on any 9" monitor machine. Upgrading the PET? For sure! It has always been a thing since the beginning, so I think, everything that is reversible is absolutely ok.
Thanks for the command and verification that the 9" monitor can't produce anything beyond 40 columns. As everyone knows now, I am new to the PET but having a blast exploring the history and software!
Sven this is exactly how I did my PET 2001 upgrades, that way everything is totally reversible if needed, however I don't plan on ever getting rid of my PET computer 🙂
@@retroCombs I got my PET 2001 from the original owner, so I know the history of it. My family loves history like me, so it will be loved and cared for once I've passed away... which hopefully will be a very long time from now LOL!
@@retroCombs I have told my son, that somebody might want it and that he could maybe make some money from it. My wife said, she will burn all the stuff together with me, so I guess, there will be many keyboard springs in my urn ⚱️
Nice PET and upgrades. My PET 4032 has the PET SD card upgrade and I purchased a PET diagnostics board that plugs into the CPU. I do PET repairs so it's very handy. You should have a look at a TH-cam channel called Bitfixer. He sells PET upgrades that you may like. Move PET videos, please :)
Comment Pinned! Thanks for the comments and the tip on the Bitfixer page. I'd like to do more PET content. Still much for me to learn.
Your PET 2001 is coming along great! I did the exact same upgrades to my PET 2001-N-16. Mine is the later 2001 model with the full size keyboard which is lovely. I did the PET RAM ROM upgrade first back in February 2020 to keep my board stock with 16KB if I ever wanted to revert back (but why? LOL) and to get the upgraded BASIC. About a year later in 2021 I purchased the joystick adapter board from TFW8B. My final upgrade was the Stupid PET Tricks that I found out about from Chuck and purchased that 4-5 months ago (July 2022). I love that thing, especially for the CB2 sound and WiFi modem. The joystick ports are great too and now my TFW8B joystick adapter is a display piece, still a great piece of kit though for later PETs that already have sound with the piezo speaker or don't want WiFi.
Thanks for confirming my suspicions that there are other PET users out there enjoying these upgrades!
@@retroCombs Well we have chatted on Twitter about it 🙂
Glad you're still liking your PET. We were talking in the shop the other day about that one. We miss her.
We are considering doing a PET Extravangaza at this year's VCFMW. We seem to have accumulated a lot of them in the last year. Possibly, a SuperPET will be available (she's giving us fits on the daughter board, but we'll sort it out). You can have first dibs if you want it.
Great video, as always!
If the SuperPET is available, definitely let me know. While I really enjoy this PET, one with a full keyboard would get more use for me and the channel. Opening and filming my latest purchase today. Arrived yesterday. Look forward to another great Bonus Life Computers acquisition.
At another University (Iowa State), they would have Surplus Equipment sales about one a month. This is sort of stuff they had at the sales, they where very popular and hundreds of people would show up for a bargain.
We had the same at Murray State University. You could grab some good stuff. Just wish I'd had the foresight to grab some of their computers back in the early 1990s.
My favorite video to date! Simply awesome!
Why thank you very much, Keven! I really enjoyed this one and I think I've learned a lot since my earlier videos. Hopefully I can continue to create quality content.
Nice video - like always! Thanks for covering my Stupid PET Tricks! The latest Stupid (fun) thing to do with it is IRC on your PET with no need for an intermediary computer. Bo updated the Zimodem firmware to support this. I will be adding instructions to the user manual in the next few days.
Oh, nice! That's a must try! Thanks for a great product!
Yeah, I'd love more in-depth videos on any of those items or topics, as you have time!
I'm lucky enough to have 3 PETs: 4016, 8032 and a slightly busted-up (repairable) 4032.
I've tried a couple different upgrades with mixed success, but I think I'll give one or more of these a try.
I love your chicklet PET! The grade school where I first used computers in the late '70s mostly had the 2001's, so there's a lot of nostalgia with those.
I just ordered the Stupid PET Tricks! Looks really useful!
I think you will really like it. It has a learning curve, but once you get over that, everything just flows. Important to note that not all software supports sound and joysticks. They include a nice list though.
Thanks for the feedback. I might dig some more into one or more of the upgrades. We'll see how the video does in general. I have some time off this holiday season and have several videos I want to get recorded.
You can add switchable 40 or 80 column mode to your PET with a Mini PET 40/80D. That is a mainboard replacement for the PET which includes the upgraded 32K RAM, BASIC 4, and a built in SD2PET. It uses the original power supply, keyboard, monitor and datasette, just not the main board. The Mini PET 40/80D is also available from The Future Was 8 bit (while stocks last, we are running out of these, and I don't think we will be able to make any more due to the current chip shortages)
Thanks for the tip! Rod just reached out on Twitter with the same info.
I am pleased to see you liked the PET ROM/RAM and SD2PET (and the notes I put on the back of the joystick board). For info, you can also load the DOS wedge from disk. Shift + run/stop in BASIC 4 loads the first file from the SD card, so put wedge.prg onto the SD first and you can load the wedge with shift+run/stop and then go straight into @$ style commands. Final point, if you do have a working set of ROM and RAM chips, congratulations. I normally advise people who are using a PET ROM/RAM board to carefully remove the original socketed 6540 ROM chips in the third row and keep them safe and preserve them in working condition. That also dramatically reduces power consumption. The same goes for the 6550 RAM chips in the first two rows if they are socketed, but it looks like you have the 2114 versions rather than the 6550, so they are fine to leave
Awesome tips, Dave! So much more fun to be had.
Watching right now. Always interesting stuf!!
Thanks. Hope you enjoy.
Very interesting, just got a PET and planning a full restoration. The previous owner fitted the RAM/ROM upgrade and it's fully functional, all I need is to sort the keyboard and get the SD card reader.
Enjoy. It's a fun project. Which PET do you have?
@@retroCombs It's a 2001 with the chiclet keyboard, I wanted the original (despite the keyboard and enormous weight!)
@@kins749 Ah, similiar to mine. You'll have a blast with it!
Great to see the Stupid PET Tricks module getting some love! I added joystick support to several of the games on the SPT disk. Will probably do more at some point. Regarding 80-column output, it's impossible using the 2001 motherboard. Only PETs using the later "Universal" board can be converted to 80 col. Although (as someone else mentioned), you could replace the board entirely. Seems a waste to do this when you already have a working board though.
Agreed. Not interested in replacing the original board. This should stay as is. Thanks for the comment and great to hear from a PET developer!
Very beautiful PET unit! Great video :)
Thanks! I'm really digging my new PET.
When the PET first came out, Commodore didn't make a floppy disk drive, so the IEEE port had nothing to work with.
The first Commodore floppy drive, the 2040, was released WITH the 2001-N AND the 2.0 ROMs in the summer of 1979.
How would original 2001-4 or 8 owners upgrade their ROMs to use the 2040? Am I correct Commodore could upgrade them for the owner?
Fantastic video, I have a 2001 32n please make more videos about the pet and especially the addons.
Thanks for the kind comment. I do plan additional PET content but have a few NABU and MEGA65 videos to get out first.
The Darth Vader monitor is another 1970s movie feature that is probably gone forever🙂
Yep, probably won't see an LCD in helmet design! 😆
@03:39 you got the model number incorrect. If you look at the serial number label, yours is a straight up 2001-8, not a -N.
The 2001-8N has the full size keyboard and was released in 1979.
The -N indicates a full size type N keyboard where a -B would indicate a type B or "Business" keyboard.
They never made a 2001-8B but there are a few 2001-16B and 2001-32B in the wild.
The -8 or 8K version was the base model and the only offering from '77 thru '78.
Commodore initially offered a 2001-4 with 4K of RAM at pre-order but canceled that model before they started shipping. Few if any 4K units were shipped and there are only three known 2001-4 surviving.
You can tell by the black bezel and C2N type tape drive on yours, that yours was made after Mid 1978. The green screen means it was probably built as late as early 1979.
0040424 is a very late serial number.
The Wikipedia entry listed:
"Discrete TTL video circuit, 9" monochrome monitor (white phosphor on the original 2001, green on 2001-N PETs), 40×25 character display"
But I later see they also reference this model with a full-size keyboard. Missed the keyboard reference earlier. Thanks! I'll make an errata statement on the blog.
@@retroCombssome late 2001-8 shipped with green screens but ALL 2001-N had green screens from the start.
Okay, I've updated the blog post and think I have it all sorted out. I think!!! 😂
Some Commodore PET's continued to be used in test and measurement labs long after they became obsolete because they had a IEEE-488 interface built-in.
That's an interface that deserves more exploration.
@18:20 , Nope. The 2001 PET generates it's digital video signal with a complex arrangement of TTL logic chips and a fixed pixel clock frequency.
The later PETs like the 4032 use a CRT controller chip which can be re-programmed to run 80 columns if you also add the additional video RAM needed.
You can hook up a larger monitor with a couple of different adapters. See my channel for a video on using the RGB2HDMI with the PET.
I've seen the RGB2HDMI video. I'll have to look at it again. I didn't remember you could get 80 column out and thought you were just trying to get good clean HDMI to capture. Nice!
@@retroCombs Just a larger screen, not 80 columns
Got it.
Keep it original, replace failed components as needed, adding additional peripherals is fine. In the future people will need to know the original creation of such things
I agree. These upgrades don't modify the original at all. They can be replaced and maintain the integrity of the original. Thanks for the comment!
Years ago at a thrift store. Before the internet and well me not knowing what they was. I saw 2 of them in the thrift store. One had that horrible keyboard and the other did not. They was dusty inside and I plugged one in. It booted up. But I thought they was horrible. Not knowing what they was. Pretty sad since I known what a Trash-80 and Apple was.
Hindsight leave a bad feeling! 🤦🏻😂
What about a SuperPET core on the MEGA65 🤔
Now that would be awesome!
80 columns is only possible on the pets that had the CRT controller chip - 4032/8032 I think. And then it's just a case of changing the ROM and a jumper to switch between the modes
Thanks! I've learned that since posting this video.
The "trinity" included the Apple II. The Apple IIe wasn't released until 1983.
Not sure why I added the "e" to Apple II in the video (habit probably), but I listed it properly in the blog post and my script. Thanks for catching that one.
Hey, great video thank you!
Is the list you mentioned only for the original pet with the calculator keyboard or for every model?
I’m having a 3032 incoming in Germany and I’m very new to pets.
Background and history would always be interesting!
I don't have experience beyond the 2001 model but my understanding is that all of these work, save for the ROM upgrade. Depending on the model, you may not need that one. With the 3032, I think you will want the ROM upgrade. Check the site to make sure. Thanks for watching and reaching out. Look forward to hearing about your new PET.
Adrian Black has a video that changes the pet to 80 columns.
Thanks. I'll take a look.
A bit of Errata
I'm Chuck Hutchins, not Chris Hutchinson. 😁
I didn't see any way to leave a comment on the blog post.
I recently made some changes to the blog. I need to go see if I broke the comment system. It is quite possible. It's been a week!
Fixed on the blog. 🤦♂️
Not seeing a link to "Chris's" PET database.. Where is it???
It's actually Chuck's and it's on the companion blog post. I'll try and find time to add it to the video description. Guess I missed it in my list of links. Thanks for the heads up.
The PET 2001 has the CRT controller in logic gates, so it is not any flexible. You cannot set it to 80 columns. I think, it is not possible to do that on any 9" monitor machine.
Upgrading the PET? For sure! It has always been a thing since the beginning, so I think, everything that is reversible is absolutely ok.
Thanks for the command and verification that the 9" monitor can't produce anything beyond 40 columns. As everyone knows now, I am new to the PET but having a blast exploring the history and software!
Sven this is exactly how I did my PET 2001 upgrades, that way everything is totally reversible if needed, however I don't plan on ever getting rid of my PET computer 🙂
Same! So here's the question. What's everyone's legacy plan for their PET? Not sure my lineage would want nor know what to do with it.
@@retroCombs I got my PET 2001 from the original owner, so I know the history of it. My family loves history like me, so it will be loved and cared for once I've passed away... which hopefully will be a very long time from now LOL!
@@retroCombs I have told my son, that somebody might want it and that he could maybe make some money from it. My wife said, she will burn all the stuff together with me, so I guess, there will be many keyboard springs in my urn ⚱️
HAL. Go one letter up in the alfabet for each letter then you know. Who build HAL
I should have shared that trivia. Thanks for posting.