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Silver Vic-20 Mod

OK so I made a 23ct Gold C64.. Surely the VIC20 deserves the same treatment?

Silver VIC20... It's the future :D

 

Silver VIC-20

First things first.. Find a donor VIC20. Had to be a classic Square Key. Square keys are known to be the future! I had a few to choose from, picked one with a hi-ish serial number. 5xxx

Silver VIC-20

Apart from being firthy it's also got a small scuff in the case..  Wouldn't use a minter for this

Silver VIC-20

Nasty.. One of the 3 case screws had rusted off.. Plenty of signs of rust in here too. No idea if this thing works, but I'm sure it will once I've finished with it.

Silver VIC-20

One of many screws that snapped off!

 Silver VIC-20

Signs of some sort of liquid.. Probably should have worn gloves.

 Silver VIC-20

 More corrosion.. Around a third of the screws snapped off in the end.

Silver VIC-20

Manky

Silver VIC-20

This thing is like a vintage car.. If it's metal, it's rotting.

Silver VIC-20

More smeg

 Silver VIC-20

OMG this thing gets worse

Silver VIC-20

And worse

Silver VIC-20

And worse'r still

 Silver VIC-20

How do you turn a PET keyboard into a VIC20 keyboard. Simply cover the holes up with gaffer tape ;D

 Silver VIC-20

That's better.

Silver VIC-20

Top tip.. Clean rubber contacts with an eraser.. Don't go mad with it.. A quick wipe is enough

Silver VIC-20

You might not believe it's the same keyboard.. But trust me it is!

 Silver VIC-20

PCB Cleaned and re-capped.. Time to put it back together ready for testing

Silver VIC-20

Wow.. Apart from having to replace a bunch of corroded sockets, it took me a while to find out the 74LS133 was toast 

 Silver VIC-20

It'll probably end up as a daily drive.. Might as well add a bunch of copper

 Silver VIC-20

Time for the Silver :D

 Silver VIC-20

Bottoms up! This is my second attempt.. First time around the finish wasn't so good.. More than happy with it now

 Silver VIC-20

Needs a bit of a buff.. But apart from that, smiles all round :D

 Silver VIC-20

PCB refitted.. Copper in all it's glory

Silver VIC-20

And now.. Labels

 Silver VIC-20

Oh yes! :D

Silver VIC-20

White LED's are the future

Silver VIC-20

Needs a bit of a touch up here and there.. I think the square key VIC20 suits a bit of silver

 Silver VIC-20

 Might sick a resistor on that LED.. Little too bright

Silver VIC-20

 If you where a Cylon (BattleStar Galactica), you'd want a Silver VIC20 for Christmas.. Just imaging the hissy fit if they only got a ZX81 ;D

Silver VIC-20

Well.. I'm more than happy with the results.. If you've not seen it already. Check out my 23ct Golden C64