Commodore 64 Original Hardware Laptop
Click photo to super-size it
This project somehow has the distinction of being both the longest and fastest portable electronics project I have ever done. I originally started making a C64 laptop in the fall of 2006, and kept pecking away at it every so often. Finally, a few weeks ago, I said “screw it” and started over.
I redid everything in a week and a half – the shortest project ever. (The previous record hold was the Wii portable at 2 weeks) The goal this time was to make something that looked exactly like a computer from the early 80′s, yet in a new form. Including the color beige and texture.
Luckily the blue in the logo matches the blue SD card. Not to sound like a TLC host or anything, but that sort of stuff is important in design.
Anyway, about the project itself. This is a fully functional Commodore 64 laptop using actual hardware, specifically the C64C motherboard which was one of the last and smallest revisions. It uses a Gamecube power supply in place of the original power brick.
For storage there’s a device called the 1541-III DTV to “emulate” a floppy drive using an SD card. (Click here for more info) The SD card is formatted FAT-32 so you can dump disk images on it using a PC, and read it with the C64 – pretty cool!
For more information, the making-of, pictures and video read the rest of the story below.
I am taking a break for a while because I am pretty tired and burned out from all the portable making this winter and spring. If you are interested in projects, hit me up in a month or so.
As mentioned before this started with a C64C motherboard. It’s smaller than most, but I needed it to be even smaller. I chopped off the power input/joystick end and also shaved off the cassette port tabs. I ditched everything about the original case design except the size – I wanted to keep the whole thing at 15″ x 10.5″, which is about the smallest it can get with the 15″ LCD screen involved.
The keyboard needed some hacking to make this size, specifically the function keys. I lobbed them off, bypassed the traces and then rewired the keyboard plug so the whole thing was thinner.
I recycled the original connectors so there was one less thing to buy!
The keyboard… with the function part sawed off. I opted to use the original keyboard because 80′s computers had such great keyboards, why ditch ‘em?
A close up of the keyboard and joystick area on the motherboard. Some kind engineer put via’s in for all the joystick connections, so even with the joystick ports cut off, it was easy to rewire. The new function keys are wired directly to the keyboard pins on the motherboard as well.
Time to start the design! Once again I did everything in Adobe Illustrator because that’s how I roll. I started the layout around noon on a Wednesday, with a goal of routing it Friday morning.
Side view of the design. I used a lot of V-bits to give everything sharp angles and a very 80′s feel. This includes the screen, which is “recessed” in the lid to allow room for the raised keys when closed. This top deep bevel matches up to the bevels around the lower portion when closed.
The case is in 4 parts, 2 for the lid, 2 for the base. Like the recent Xbox 360 laptops everything is curved, beveled, and slow to rout.
Color revision of the laptop design (This was probably on a Thursday night just before The Office came on) This shows me how the unit will look and simulates the shading on all of the surfaces. I ended up going a darker beige when I painted it because light beige didn’t look quite right.
This consumes more cans of the not-that-cheap Krylon paint at Ace, but it’s worth it to be right!
Want to check out the design file? Click here to download, AI 10 version.
If you want to see how the case was made, check out this story. This case was done the exact same way.
Keyboard frame with parts inside. This includes the SD disk drive thing, the sound amp, 2 speakers (it’s not stereo but I wanted a “full” sound), volume slider, LED indicators, function keys and the Nokia LCD screen you can attach to the 1541-III-DTV for whatever reason. As usual black plastic screen door material was used to cover the holes.
All of this connects via 1 cable header to the main motherboard so it’s easy to take the unit apart when testing. This is in contrast to say my Xbox 360 laptop where there are… let’s see… 4 different things you have to connect when placing the lid.
Inside view of the base with components. It’s actually fairly simple overall, the complexity is in all the small parts and connections.
Like the newer Xbox 360′s I lay parts side-by-side instead of on top of each other, it gives me a lot more breathing room with wires and is less of a headache.
As mentioned earlier I used a Gamecube power supply for this project. It plugs into the back, then goes to a big meaty PC power supply switch. When switched this sends 12 volts to the LCD, 12 volts to the SID and a switching regulator creates 5 volts for the C64 logic, audio amp and 1541-III-DTV.
(Note: The 1541-III-DTV is cool but it really needs a new name. Or just a shorter one)
Testing the SID chip. I had a few laying around, needed to know they worked. They all did, in fact! The function keys weren’t wired up at this point so I had to stick the circuit board back on and use a screwdriver. This is my life.
Now the unit is in what I like to call “open working” condition. This is where I test that everything runs, more or less fits together, and that I haven’t once again used too small of a choke in my switching power supply and that it isn’t smoking.
Testing out the 1541-III-DTV for the first time (or at least the first time I got it on video)
Finally I install the hinges. These are some nice friction hinges from McMaster-Carr that I had left over. I’m glad I put them to use since they’re expensive. Above we can see some spacers being glued to the keyboard frame, and held in place at a 90 degree angle while they dry by my laptop. Very useful.
Finally the unit is screwed together and away we go! As with the Xbox 360, I countersunk all screw holes. Since this unit is only 2.35″ thick I could use shorter (ahem cheaper) screws to lash together each half of the case. There are also 2 completely useless “decoration screws” but I’m not telling where!
Google Earth view of laptop. The little LCD screen below the keyboard works with the SD card and displays some info. It’s not really necessary but was fun to add. Also, along with the function keys, it fills in some empty space on the inside panel and helps with the symmetry.
Red LED’s were used for the indicators because I am now officially sick of blue ones. I thought about red and yellow just to shake things up, but I went for the all one color “bank of indicators” look.
This is a cool view of the unit, showing how thick it… isn’t. Each half is made from .75″ and .5″ material sandwiched together. The keyboard is raised from the main surface, which itself has different levels all beveled with a V-bit into each other. You can also see how the LCD screen is sunk in to allow the keyboard to fit when closed.
Bottom of the unit. It says “Made in USA” twice so nobody forgets. Yeah! Oh and yes there’s a cartridge slot still. (Is it just me or does the C64 has the stickiest, highest-friction cartridge slot of all time?)
Front view. Growing up I was an Atari kid, so I was quite impressed to see the stuff the C64 could pull off. Arcade ports that were more ambitious than their Genesis counterparts in some ways.
During coats I dabbed the painted surfaces with a sponge to give it more texture. The vent holes are basically pointless, but it gives me a good place to put the speakers. I actually did put heatsinks on all the IC’s inside the unit, not just the SID, for good measure. Why not? Again, there was room, and any weight I could add to the bottom of the unit to balance out the top is a good thing (because you know aluminum DIP 40 heatsinks are SO heavy)
Unit closed. I redid a C64 logo from scratch. Back when I was a graphic artist we always had people bringing in business cards or other crap artwork and wanting it “blown up to a buildboard”. So vectorization of crap is one of my many talents – I even supplied my rebuilt “Colecovision” logo to the current IP holders.
The C64 loading a game. Unlike the MyIDE interface on the Atari, the SD card thing suffers from the limitations of the C64′s IEC interface… oh well!!!
And YES, I know an expansion port disk system exists but for whatever reason we decided years ago that wouldn’t work for us, and I’m not going back now!
Closer view of the keyboard. I really struggled with what color to paint the volume slider, then figured some other parts were gray so why not. But I only had silver metallic paint!
So, since the economy is “in the dumpster” (thus explaining why there was a line of cars at Sonic yesterday and nowhere to park at the mall) I didn’t buy a whole new can of paint, just used silver and said “close enough!”
Unit closed, showing the precious friction hinges, video cable to screen and the power plug.
Finally here’s a video of the main unit being used.
Looking back now, I think this is probably one of, if not my favorite project I have done. It just looks so beautifully ugly it’s great, like it came out of a time machine from an alternate reality 80′s where this existed.
Before you email, I am aware there was a portable C64 in the 80′s but I think we can agree it wasn’t quite like this.
Now I am taking a break. Building 5 Xbox 360 laptops, this, and some other stuff I’ve yet to show in a span 4 months has worn me out.
However, next week as a special bonus, I will run a story on the C64 laptop that WASN’T – a kind of cautionary tale of modding gone wrong. Stay tuned!
LINK – A great clip with a C64 cameo.
For your own laptop, “wireless internet broadband” could be helpful when traveling.
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April 5th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Good Job on it Ben! Looks like what a C64 portable should look like.
I’m a bit amazed though this thing hold both the longest time taken to make a portable and the shortest time to make a portable record.
April 5th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
[...] was browsing around tonight rather bored, and surfed to modder Ben Heckendorn’s site to see if he had posted anything new. Boy did he! His latest creation is a Commodore 64 laptop [...]
April 5th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
Great job Ben. That really brings back memories. I still remember the day I bought my first commodore floppy drive to use with my C-64. I dreamed of having a portable version.
I eventually purchased a SX-64 but thats not really that portable, more luggable actually.
I’ve thought about building something like this myself but I was going to cheat and use the all-in-one chip from the C-64 joystick.
–Chris
April 5th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
At the end of the article Ben left us with a teaser for the follow-on story for “the C64 laptop that WASN’T” – which was equally cool looking (yes, I’ve seen it: think Michael Jackson’s jacket from Thriller) – but when I saw the first picture in the above post (he hid the NEW design from me) my heart stopped. The design is just soooo RIGHT for the time period, and amazingly clean!
H.G Wells has nothing on Ben Heckendorn in the time travel department!!!
April 5th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Concerning:
“The C64 loading a game. Unlike the MyIDE interface on the Atari, the SD card thing suffers from the limitations of the C64’s IEC interface… oh well!!!”
Another SD interface exists (sd2iec is the firmware name, there are different flavors of the HW, one being my uIEC) that supports the fast JiffyDOS protocol. With a JiffyDOS KERNAL in the C64 and the uIEC/SD2IEC, IEC limitations should be greatly minimized.
Jim
April 5th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
This made me cry tears of happiness. It’s just so pretty!
April 5th, 2009 at 11:13 pm
Freaking incredible. ‘Nuff said. Gonna go change my pants now.
April 6th, 2009 at 12:27 am
Instant Win. And I can say that over thousands of times.
April 6th, 2009 at 1:37 am
[...] BestHouses.org added an interesting post on Commodore 64 Original Hardware LaptopHere’s a small excerpt“Colecovision†logo to the current IP … years ago that wouldn’t work for us, and I’m … So, since the economy is “in the dumpster  [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 1:51 am
That is bloody fucking awesome, heck it is NOT just a retro laptop. It is a C64 bragtop (brag and top ) which is probably the coolest thing I have ever seen. Thumps up :)
April 6th, 2009 at 2:01 am
hmmm you could have used the game Bubble Bobble as to show how Arcade like the C64 could go, in the way of the porting job went. Since the sound in that game is very arcade like, but perhaps I am wrong about that. But still it is a great bragtop you have made.
April 6th, 2009 at 2:23 am
Mate that’s a real professional finish, brings tears to your eyes. :)
If you eBay it, i think you would be surprised at the response.
enjoy Shane
http://www.c64web.com a real commodore 64 web-server
April 6th, 2009 at 2:32 am
[...] Commodore 64 Original Hardware Laptop [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 2:32 am
[...] Commodore 64 Original Hardware Laptop [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 2:38 am
[...] Reading? Ben Heck has been at it again, this time taking a Commodore 64 and transforming it into a laptop that “looked exactly like a computer from the early 80’s, yet in a new [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 2:48 am
[...] View original post here: The Official Site of Benjamin J Heckendorn [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 3:00 am
[...] Heck has been at it again, this time taking a Commodore 64 and transforming it into a laptop that “looked exactly like a computer from the early 80’s, yet in a new [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 3:04 am
wow… just… WOW :)
This really brings back a lot of memories… and good one, too :)
When is this little baby going into mass production? Just kidding ;)
Awesome job mate… best of luck on the next project!
– Nicolai, Denmark, Europe, World.
April 6th, 2009 at 3:06 am
Oh my God, I want one.
Ben, beautiful Ben, I’m sure flattery will get me nowhere, but how much?
April 6th, 2009 at 3:11 am
[...] Portable, einen Gameboy oder ein DS, wenn es die beste Gaming-Konsole aller Zeiten als Laptop gibt? Ben Heck hat es möglich gemacht: This project somehow has the distinction of being both the longest and [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 3:20 am
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April 6th, 2009 at 3:32 am
This is awsome, i have to admit, i am blown away!
It is that sweet, that if you ever wanna sell it, i’ll give you nearly any price :)
Please contact me if its the right time.
thanks
Gert
April 6th, 2009 at 3:35 am
[...] would highly recommend you take a look at his post on his site with more photos and videos and details about how he went about building his Commodore [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 3:47 am
Beautiful unit, but I really think you should have gone with the 1541Ultimate for storage. 1541-III (and uIEC/sd2iec) is only compatible with a small subset of the available games.
April 6th, 2009 at 3:52 am
[...] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Article Source:http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/06/ben-hecks-commodore-64-laptop-mod-like-1982-without-the-feathe/ No tags for this post. [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 3:55 am
[...] [via Ben Heck] [...]
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[...] appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 04:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Categories : apps, hardware, [...]
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April 6th, 2009 at 4:11 am
Damn, that is nice. You should find someone to produce it and sell it.
April 6th, 2009 at 4:12 am
[...] Ben Heck Share and Enjoy: [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 4:12 am
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April 6th, 2009 at 4:14 am
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April 6th, 2009 at 4:41 am
OMFG where the F stands for Frakin’ of course!
April 6th, 2009 at 4:50 am
[...] to the 80’s – Benjamin Heckendorn hat es wieder einmal geschafft und aus allerhand Einzelteilen einen voll funktionstüchtigen [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 4:51 am
[...] recently came across this amazing Commodore 64 Original Hardware Laptop project via Ben Heckendorn’s Twitter. I’ve seen other custom built C64 laptop but [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 4:56 am
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April 6th, 2009 at 5:00 am
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April 6th, 2009 at 5:06 am
Totally cool, now if you wouldn’t mind, a retro Amiga Laptop if you please!
April 6th, 2009 at 5:06 am
[...] Originally posted here: The Official Site of patriarch J Heckendorn [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 5:08 am
[...] Details zum Bau gibt es hier. [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 5:26 am
omg! how can i have this? how much? this is a dream come true!
April 6th, 2009 at 5:31 am
Wow, nice work.
April 6th, 2009 at 5:33 am
[...] mais aqui. Via BoingBoing. ( L 80 ) Matchbox Holden CommodoreMais info»R$ 20.00Xx 23 Miniatura [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 5:41 am
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April 6th, 2009 at 5:48 am
[...] ist ein echter Digital Native. Benjamin Heckendorf hat diesen mobile C64er gebaut, einen C64er-Laptop. Enjoy! Thx to [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 5:58 am
[...] Zeit undGeld haben müßte mir auch so etwas zu basteln Bookmark bei ähnliche [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 6:02 am
[...] J. Heckendorn. Unter seinesgleichen, sprich Geeks und anderen Computer-Nerds wird der er nur Benheck genannt. Die Rede ist vom Commodore 64 [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 6:07 am
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April 6th, 2009 at 6:09 am
[...] Scooopy.net Sponsor Ad Scooopy.net Sponsor AdScooopy.net Sponsor Ad Scooopy.net Sponsor AdMr. Benheck has done it again. He dumped a fully-working Commodore 64 inside a laptop case that looks like it [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 6:20 am
[...] [Za: Ben Heck] [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 6:22 am
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April 6th, 2009 at 6:26 am
Want. So. BAD.
April 6th, 2009 at 6:31 am
El portatil Commodore 64 [EN]…
Ben Heck ha acabado su nuevo proyecto, un increible portatil Commodore 64. En el post va explicando todos los pasos para crear el increíble portátil….
April 6th, 2009 at 6:40 am
[...] onder de “Because You Can” [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 6:54 am
Would an Epyx Fast Load Cart actually work with the 1541-III DTV, I wonder? It cuts a crap-load of time from disk loading. Every 64 user had one!
April 6th, 2009 at 7:10 am
Nifty! I still fire up the C64 emulator once in a blue moon to play Paradroid or Blue Max.
But, eh, did you say your six-year old thumbs were more “nubile” in that last video when talking about the joystick (which looks like Atari, not commodore to me)?!?!?
April 6th, 2009 at 7:14 am
Actually, the VIC=20 had the stickiest expansion port interface. It had the same number of pins as the 64′s, but it was 2x the width.
April 6th, 2009 at 7:24 am
Ohh man im so impressed and filled with envy.
the time i have spend on c64 emulators, and on the machine itself.
you should maybe consider making a amigaP :)
All of my respect.
Andreas.
April 6th, 2009 at 7:40 am
That’s really impressive. I mean, I’m sure you get that sort of response fairly often, but I still had to say it. Everything just looks right.
April 6th, 2009 at 7:45 am
Wonderful! How can I get one? ;)
April 6th, 2009 at 7:46 am
Ahhhhh……the memories.
I love this laptop.
Put it on eBay and you will make a shitload!
April 6th, 2009 at 8:04 am
[...] Commodore 64 Original Hardware Laptop [benheck] [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 8:08 am
Where’s the battery? All portable laptops should have a battery so you dont have to plugin somewhere… Plus if you added a battery to the bottom you could of kept an external power supply, but would of added complexity to the internal power design. It would of added more weight to the bottom if that is still an issue too.
April 6th, 2009 at 8:16 am
[...] But in case you are, here are more details on how to build one. [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 8:30 am
This is a beautiful project. I’ve been hoping to see someone create a modern C64 remake like you see new NES, SNES and Genesis 3rd party consoles on eBay. Hopefully we will get a C64 system that maintains that 80s look. :) Too bad there wasn’t a way to mass produce these laptops for the Commodore community to buy. I know I’d get one. :)
Oh, quick question. I didn’t see it mentioned. Does the laptop run on a battery also, or only AC power?
Thanks and great work
John
April 6th, 2009 at 8:30 am
I assume you routed the case out of plastic, but where did you get the plastic?
April 6th, 2009 at 8:50 am
Awesome. Just awesome.
April 6th, 2009 at 8:53 am
Wow — very nice.
April 6th, 2009 at 9:00 am
I got a warm fuzzy feeling seeing that. The nostalgia flowed. Great stuff!
April 6th, 2009 at 9:03 am
I want, I want, I want! Canya IMAGINE the geek cred, showing up at the latest Conference 2.0, with this running GeoWorks? :)
April 6th, 2009 at 9:41 am
[...] voir sur le site de Benjamin J Heckendorn. Suite [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 10:02 am
I said “Oh My God!” over and over again. Wow. Now all we need is Geos.
Definitely gonna blog this.
April 6th, 2009 at 10:27 am
this look very good. you can be proud of it. nice job there _o_
April 6th, 2009 at 10:43 am
[...] un flipante commodore 64 en un portátil. En este enlace podéis encontrar documentados los pasos: benheck.com/04-05-2009/commodore-64-original-hardware-laptopetiquetas: retro, frikadas, hardware, commodore 64 sin comentariosen: Tecnología, Hardware [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 11:37 am
I used to to write games/progams in BASIC to the point of costing me a relationship back in ’85 (She didn’t GET it!- now my wife of 10 yrs. is understanding and learning her computer and all that’s involved).
If I’d have had your lapper instead of my 64C, that relationship would’ve ended even sooner! Which would have been ok, too. LOL
I truly appreciate what you have done, it’s nothing short of awesome – your dedication to your projects is inspiring!
Wes
April 6th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Well done! I still have 8 to 10 C64 in my basement, all partially broken, but I’m pretty sure mixing the working parts together, I could get 3 to 4 working ones out of these :-)
April 6th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Amazing!
Very well done, mate! This reminds me of the good old times when me and my C64 spent long nights together :-)
Where to buy? *g*
In times like these this one is really a great achievement!
Greetz from Germany
April 6th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
you’ve truly outdone yourself ben. kudos!!
April 6th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
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April 6th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Fantastic job Ben, being a brit though – i’d love to see a Speccy laptop after this ;)
April 6th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
Amazing job! I love the C64. If only Commodore could have produced this instead of their massive boat anchor the SX64! (I had one of those as well).
Your writing style really makes your articles a pleasure to read.
April 6th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
Very beautiful mod. Seeing something like this always brings joy to another dull day. Great! I hope that you find a job where you can use your extraordinary good modding skills.
April 6th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Not bad – just a shame all americans are pricks!
April 6th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
[...] la web del autor hay una extensa guÃa donde se explica detalladamente de qué forma lo… Seguir leyendo: [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
[...] Read [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
[...] sich für den exakten Herstellungsprozess interessiert, wird hier fündig. Für alle anderen hier ein kurzer Abriss: Ben hat einen waschechten Commodore 64 zerlegt [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
[...] factoid: The laptop uses a Gamecube power supply. galleryPost(’c64laptop’, 4,”);[benheck via [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
[...] the “gory” details can be found at The Official Site of Benjamin J Heckendorn. Share [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
I´d pay my son´s University savings for an Amiga 1200 portable in the same fashion and good taste as this C64… Great work Ben. Contiune amazing us… you are really the ONE.
April 6th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
[...] Weitere Infos: http://benheck.com/04-05-2009/commodore-64-original-hardware-laptop [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
Wow! That’s amazing, you have some incredible skill! Thankyou for sharing!
I owned an SX-64, they were very heavy…
April 6th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
[...] http://benheck.com/04-05-2009/commodore-64-original-hardware-laptop – [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
You Sir are amazing. That’s what I think again and again while seeing your projects.
This one brings back so many memories and made me want to get my C128D from the vault.
April 6th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
[...] if clunky, with a 15″ LCD and original on/off rocker switch on the side. Take a look at BH’s site for a better glimpse of how the magic happens but personally my favourite touch is the use of beige [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
[...] Everyone’s favorite hardware hacker, Ben Heck, has done it again. While making today’s game consoles into laptops was pretty impressive, he’s decided to kick it old school by making a Commodore 64 laptop. [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
AMAZING!
April 6th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
[...] Taking the laptop that’s ever increasing in popularity and one of the most classic gaming systems of all time. It may not be fully true to the Commodore 64 specs, but it’s looking good. Check out a bigger photo below or visit Ben heck. [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
[...] buying sunglasses and hoodies by the truckload. It was 1982 when the C64 emerged, and Ben Heck’s latest laptop mod recaptures the magic of that time’s bulky electronics in a new bulky electronics device. Check out [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
[...] buying sunglasses and hoodies by the truckload. It was 1982 when the C64 emerged, and Ben Heck’s latest laptop mod recaptures the magic of that time’s bulky electronics in a new bulky electronics device. Check out [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
[...] buying sunglasses and hoodies by the truckload. It was 1982 when the C64 emerged, and Ben Heck’s latest laptop mod recaptures the magic of that time’s bulky electronics in a new bulky electronics device. Check out [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Commodore 64 Original Hardware Laptop…
This project somehow has the distinction of being both the longest and fastest portable electronics project I have ever done. I originally started making a C64 laptop in the fall of 2006, and kept pecking away at it every so often. Finally, a few weeks…
April 6th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
[...] buying sunglasses and hoodies by the truckload. It was 1982 when the C64 emerged, and Ben Heck’s latest laptop mod recaptures the magic of that time’s bulky electronics in a new bulky electronics device. Check out [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
[...] buying sunglasses and hoodies by the truckload. It was 1982 when the C64 emerged, and Ben Heck’s latest laptop mod recaptures the magic of that time’s bulky electronics in a new bulky electronics device. Check out [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
[...] sunglasses and hoodies by the truckload. It was 1982 when the C64 emerged, and Ben Heck’s latest laptop mod recaptures the magic of that time’s bulky electronics in a new bulky electronics device. [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
[...] designer. Why should you hire him? Because he’s the sort of person who can design and build a Commodore 64 laptop from parts in less than two [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Without wanting to be nerdy I have to make a few vital points here.
As I am sure that you are aware the CBM 64 had no screen but plugged into something that used to be called a ‘Television”.
The Commodore PET did have a screen – and your construction looks eirily like that.
As I remember it the screen had at least two colours (green and white), and they stuck with it for a while as they were trying to put themselves forward as the choice for business computing.
Commodore’s last attempt at a ‘business’ computer was the CBM 8032 released in 1982. Just as the IBM PC was anounced in the US.
It didn’t do well.
If anyone that wants to read the history of that try to find ‘The Microcomputer Handbook – A Buyers Guide’. Edited by Dick Olney. Copyright Computer Publications Ltd. Published 1982 by Century Publishing Co. Ltd. Just a collection of reviews of the computers available at that time, published in Personal Computer World, but kind of puts things into context.
April 6th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
[...] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
[...] Heck] has just completed one of his more unique laptop game consoles. This time around it’s a Commodore 64, which he’s been attempting since 2006. Recently he scrapped everything and started fresh on [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
[...] [via Gizmodo - BenHeck] [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
[...] caso de que estés interesado en saber cómo hizo esto paso a paso, puedes visitar la extensa guía que preparó, donde explica claramente los pasos que siguió y aporta imágenes [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
[...] benheck.com – because we can. { no comment } :| { Tags: hack, hardware, mod } [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
[...] The Official Site of Benjamin J Heckendorn [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
I want one like this !!! :D
Congrats !
April 6th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
amazing dude. the look is just right. (i still use my c64 moniter as a small video moniter, very fond memories!)
April 6th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
[...] Commodore 64 Original Hardware Laptop (tags: laptop hack diy) [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Totally cool!
But what’s up with the “laptop” and “computer” links in the first two paragraphs?
April 6th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
[...] sunglasses and hoodies by the truckload. It was 1982 when the C64 emerged, and Ben Heck’s latest laptop mod recaptures the magic of that time’s bulky electronics in a new bulky electronics device. [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Dude, that’s sick. I want one….
April 6th, 2009 at 10:55 pm
[...] [via Gizmodo - BenHeck] [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
[...] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
[...] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
[...] [via Gizmodo - BenHeck] [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 11:08 pm
It’s obvious to me now. I’m in the wrong spacetime continuum.
After seeing this, I’m sure it’s what it’s what we were supposed to be working on instead of DOS.
April 6th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
[...] want one http://benheck.com/04-05-2009/commodore-64-original-hardware-laptop [...]
April 7th, 2009 at 12:36 am
[...] Heck] has just completed one of his more unique laptop game consoles. This time around it’s a Commodore 64, which he’s been attempting since 2006. Recently he scrapped everything and started fresh on [...]
April 7th, 2009 at 1:06 am
[...] like it’s 1982.To be exact, this is his second attempt; he scrapped the first attempt and took only 1 1/2 weeks to complete the new C64 laptop.Yes, there was an Osborne-ish C64 portable before, the SX-64, but that was [...]
April 7th, 2009 at 1:09 am
[...] Source Post a Comment [...]
April 7th, 2009 at 1:20 am
How is it possible?! … I’m stunned…
AND I want one!
April 7th, 2009 at 1:36 am
[...] just love such things: http://benheck.com/04-05-2009/commodore-64-original-hardware-laptop [...]
April 7th, 2009 at 1:42 am
Retro: Der C64-Laptop…
Der gute, alte Commodore 64. Was waren das für Zeiten. Ben Heck hat nun aus den Original-Komponenten eines C64 einen voll funktionsfähigen Laptop gebaut.
Zwar hat er die Arbeit daran bereits vor drei Jahren gestartet, doch nun ist das Ding endlich f…..
April 7th, 2009 at 1:42 am
Retro: Der C64-Laptop…
Der gute, alte Commodore 64. Was waren das für Zeiten. Ben Heck hat nun aus den Original-Komponenten eines C64 einen voll funktionsfähigen Laptop gebaut.
Zwar hat er die Arbeit daran bereits vor drei Jahren gestartet, doch nun ist das Ding endlich f…..
April 7th, 2009 at 1:44 am
[...] wie nix: C64 Laptop Mod (via Heck’s World) Es gibt Leute, die haben beides: Zu viel Zeit und es unglaublich drauf. Ben Heck ist so einer: Der [...]
April 7th, 2009 at 1:51 am
[...] His Blog Benjamin J. Heckendorn [...]
April 7th, 2009 at 1:54 am
Astonishing work! Retro coolness beyond words!
April 7th, 2009 at 2:25 am
From now on i would say, God has a name: Benjamin J Heckdorn. Ben, this is absolutly awesome!!
April 7th, 2009 at 3:11 am
does it have two joystick ports?
i want one badly, will you build one for me? how much would be?
this thing is soo great and an awesome alternative to the old breadbox with tv
April 7th, 2009 at 3:15 am
beautiful, beautiful, beautiful,
April 7th, 2009 at 3:30 am
Howdy!
Kewler that most things I have seen before.
In general i would need both a cart port (for the Action Replay) and the user port (for the parallel cable) but I only see one port, with a bit inconveniently is accessed from the front.
Where do I order?
/Pontus berg (AKA Bacchus/FairLight)
April 7th, 2009 at 3:31 am
One thing stryck me; wny not trying to make one based on the D64 joystick. Should be compatible enough and with a totally much smaller form factor!
April 7th, 2009 at 3:44 am
Hello and greetings from René Kristensen Denmark.
Damn super work.
I have a request for you. I write articles for computerGeil.dk
I think your work shot be known here in Denmark. So it vil be very nice, if i can use your pic’s for an article.
Please let me know if it’s a go!
April 7th, 2009 at 3:54 am
[...] ist sowas von Retro: Benjamin J. Heckendorn hat ein funktionsfähiges C64 Notebook [...]
April 7th, 2009 at 4:06 am
Nie samowite wielki szacun i przedewsztki naklejka RockStars:p
April 7th, 2009 at 4:17 am
la classe !!!!!! souvenirs souvenirs…
April 7th, 2009 at 5:11 am
[...] Commodore 64 Original Hardware Laptop [Ben Heck] [...]
April 7th, 2009 at 5:51 am
[...] namens Benjamin J Heckendorn, der alle möglichen Computer in Laptops verwandelt. Nun hat er einen C64-Laptop gebaut, und zwar mit der originalen Platine, und offenbar hat er auch der originalen Tastatur. Warum er [...]
April 7th, 2009 at 7:25 am
That is the COOLEST THING EVAR!!! I want one! If I knew how to mod, I have a spare 64 in my bookcase waiting to be tinkered on. Good job on making this machine! Did I mention that this was really cool?!?!
April 7th, 2009 at 7:26 am
[...] Όταν το μεράκι συναντά τον θρυλικό Commodore 64 τότε το αποτέλεσμα είναι εντυπωσιακό. Ένας τεχνολογικά αναβαθμισμένος CBM 64 σε μορφή laptop για ατελείωτο retro gaming! Enjoy :-) [...]
April 7th, 2009 at 9:02 am
Despite using 1541-III-DTV, Ben is now my God!
April 7th, 2009 at 9:52 am
Hey Ben, you rule!!! this is the most innovative thing this year in computer world. PLease dont stop making these cool gadgets :)
April 7th, 2009 at 11:45 am
[...] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments [...]
April 7th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Ben–
I have only 1 thing to say: WOW. You utterly outdid yourself on this one!
I posted this over on the Monroeworld.com Forums and I gotta say, there are a bunch of Commodore heads DROOLING over this one.
I think a how-to-create-your-own C64 Portable article/PDF/whatever is coming. This is just too cool to NOT share with the multitudes of Commodore heads who might want to make their own exactly like you’ve done!
Maybe also try to showcase how to do it if you have an extra one of those Commodore 64 DTV joysticks laying around as well. See if you can get in touch with Jeri Ellsworth, the woman who created it, to see if you can do exactly that for this how-to-create-your-own C64 Portable. Or you could head over to c64dtv.co.uk to grab one of the few remaining ones.
BJ
April 7th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
This is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen!!
I vould trade it for my Dell.
April 7th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
[...] Commodore 64 Original Hardware Laptop [Ben Heck] [...]
April 7th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
I would buy one… very serious.
An additional 1541 disk drive interface would be optimal.
I still have disks that work and would like to dump my old programs without the fuss of a PC.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
OMG, with tears streaming down my cheek, this is amazing. love it.
Why is it that this era of computing conjours up such emotions?
That realy was the era when computers and computing had soul, love went into computers back then.
R.I.P the golden age of computing.
April 7th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Very good job! my compliments
I think a lot of C64 addicts would appreciate it if you’d make more of this prototype and sell it.
and it won’t do you any bad financially!
greetings
R. Lerrick
Netherlands
April 7th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
[...] "Commodore 64 Original Hardware Laptop" Wszyscy pami
April 7th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
the volume slider should be the same blue as the card and logo, or the same color and finish as the keyboard! but i say bluuuue
April 7th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Wow, it is incredible! It looks like an original first generation C64. My compliments!!!
April 7th, 2009 at 7:18 pm
I´m blind because of the pure awesomeness of that thing.
April 7th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
[...] 继续阅读全文 回归鸟窝头的1982年：Commodore 64可携版引用来源 | 此文章网址 | 转寄此文章 | 回应 04月 7th, 2009 in [...]
April 7th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
[...] Ben Heck via Geeky Gadgets [...]
April 7th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
[...] Benheck.com Category: Customs & Mods, Fan Work, Video GamesTags: Ben [...]
April 8th, 2009 at 12:02 am
[...] can check out Heckendorn’s site for more pics and vids of his latest [...]
April 8th, 2009 at 1:49 am
dude, please make me one. How much do you want to build me one also?
Kind REgards,
Paul
April 8th, 2009 at 3:19 am
[...] 分类: 膝上电脑 史上最强改机天王 – 阿Ben，又有新作品了，以Commodore 64为基础所打造而成的可携版8位元老古董电玩主机。Commodore 64可携版采用一样老扣扣的C64C主机板，以及Gamecube电源供应器改造，储存媒介则利用FAT-32格式的SD记忆卡，就像「班杰明」一样在「新而老、老而新」，传承了8位的古董精神。黑客阿Ben更采用Atari游戏杆，直接试玩「战斗直升机」、「战斧」给我们闻香一番，真的是超级死相的！跳转之后可看影片[原文连结] 继续阅读全文 回归鸟窝头的1982年：Commodore 64可携版引用来源 | 此文章网址 | 转寄此文章 | 回应 [...]
April 8th, 2009 at 5:51 am
Incredibly awesome work! I second MagerValp though; if you replace the 1541III with a 1541Ultimate, then you can do a magnitude of things more with this beauty…[dreaming away]
April 8th, 2009 at 6:58 am
[...] this one brings back a lot of memories and keeps true to its retro heritage. Take a look at the C64 and some of his other [...]
April 8th, 2009 at 8:04 am
NICE!
i was heartbroken when i clicked on the first image for the supersize and got 404. :(
April 8th, 2009 at 8:55 am
[...] selber bauen. Mit Anleitung. [...]
April 8th, 2009 at 9:13 am
Wow! Cool project dude! I loved the C-64, my programming career started on that bugger.
This is a really impressive project! Inspiring to see it come together like that and work. My hardware projects stop when they work technically and are left with wires hangin’ all over the place, I really should learn from this! :-D
Keep it up!
April 8th, 2009 at 10:36 am
[...] you have a spare C64 and screen kicking around: The Official Site of Benjamin J Heckendorn [...]
April 8th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Amazing piece of work. Never thought of anything even remotely similar to this project and has a genuine look and it actually play games. Excellent!!
April 8th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
[...] C64 laptop (måste begära en sån av min arbetsgivare) [...]
April 8th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Bastante comun lo tuyo. Hemos hecho cosas mejores.
Saludos.
Gente de sudamerica
April 8th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
[...] Uncategorized Got a cool link from a friend of mine that showed one dude that had remade his old C=64 into a laptop. I wish I would have had one of those 20 years ago when I went to computer parties carrying [...]
April 8th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Insane and beautiful.
April 8th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
[...] Geeks go here. [...]
April 8th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
That’s Beautiful and I want one!!
I’ve got units to convert.
How much do you want to make me one?
April 8th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
Incredible. Still it would be nice to see an actual game or some pretty graphics on it. Oh, and please explain the second LCD further, that would be great.
April 8th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
[...] Ben over at http://www.benheck.com has made one of the coolest modifications of old hardware I have seen to date. He took the original internals from a Commadore 64 home pc from way back in the 80’s mixed it around with some new technology and made a laptop out of it . One of the nice things about this is that Ben has added a SD card slot to the mix wich just adds to the geeky sweetness ,not to mention the period correct off white color. Ben I have got to hand it to you …you have an amazing surplus of time on your hands. Check out his build post here [...]
April 8th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
[...] Very original custom C64 Laptop! Check this one out: The Official Site of Benjamin J Heckendorn [...]
April 8th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
[...] Is there anyone else out there capable of pulling off the work Ben Heck does? Honestly, I’ve seen a few people do similar mods to portablize game consoles or vintage computers, but no one with the breadth of neat hacks that Ben has done. The latest bit from him is the rejiggering of “Classic” computer the Commodore 64. [...]
April 8th, 2009 at 11:17 pm
[...] Who needs Windows 7 when you can have a Commodore 64 laptop? [benheck.com] [...]
April 8th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
[...] by sudoer [link] [16 [...]
April 9th, 2009 at 12:59 am
[...] vous souhaitez vous aussi vous y mettre, allez voir son tuto. Tags: benheck, commodore, [...]
April 9th, 2009 at 3:52 am
Yesss! That’s beautiful!
When I was a child, I was playing and writing with a C64. Or at least my parents assure this, because I somehow >hehe< broke it in the end.
The next one was an Atari ST. But don’t worry, it’s still alive.
Seriously, your design work is very great to being made just for fun. This could be really an eBay treasure.
And the SD acting as a floppy or a cassette was a great idea.
My best congratulations, mr. Benjamin. Now get a nice rest. You deserve it.
Hasta luego. (*)
April 9th, 2009 at 4:04 am
[...] can check out Heckendorn’s site for more pics and vids of his latest [...]
April 9th, 2009 at 4:55 am
[...] Wanna see? Here are some images (taken from Ben’s post): [...]
April 9th, 2009 at 5:22 am
[...] 2005 (2)January 2005 (4)December 2004 (1)November 2004 (3) Way too much time on his hands but still immensely cool.And in [...]
April 9th, 2009 at 6:42 am
Hm… If put in production, it’ll kill the DS :P
April 9th, 2009 at 7:32 am
Wow !!!
What a wonderful think you create :-)
I had also C64 in late 80′s, i will like to purchase a C64 Laptop…
I think Commodore Company need to raise again, and give us all Commodore fans a possibility to buy new C64 or other Commodore computers (like Amiga 500/1200 etc…).
Thanks for let us now about what you did with C64 :-)
Regards
Moshe
April 9th, 2009 at 8:28 am
Man, that’s simply beautiful. Even down to the original power switch design, it brings strong emotions and memories from the good old 80′s just seeing those pictures.
Kudos from Amsterdam
April 9th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
…beyod my wildest dream…far beyond…
April 9th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Holy cr*p, very nice piece of work! Looks fantastic!! Wish I had one. Where can I order? :P
I still have a Commodore SX64, since 1984, which is a portable with a built in colour screen. Only little bit different in design than your laptop ;)
Greetings
Rob (The Hague, Netherlands)
April 9th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
you sir are a ninja!
April 9th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Ben, I see you want a laser cutter!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Commodore-64-Laptop/
April 9th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
[...] http://benheck.com/04-05-2009/commodore-64-original-hardware-laptop [...]
April 10th, 2009 at 2:14 am
[...] schlägt mein C64 Herz doch höher: Benjamin Heckendorn hat aus dem legendären Commodore 64 “Brotkasten” ein wunderschönes Laptop gebastelt. [...]
April 10th, 2009 at 5:28 am
Please tell me you are going to use this as a prototype!!! Would love to find it on the shelves of my local electronics shop. I am in love with it. Kudos, my friend :-)
April 10th, 2009 at 6:36 am
[...] ausmachen, der als Ersatz für das 1541 Floppy-Laufwerk verbaut wurde. Das Gerät ist laut Useraussagen nicht das [...]
April 10th, 2009 at 7:05 am
[...] Benjamin J. Heckendorn seems unusually enthused by his latest hack’n mod, calling the Commodore 64 laptop “probably one of, if not my favorite project I have done.” That’s saying something from the man whose brought the “Benheck” finesse hammer down upon just about every modern and classic PC / game console and accessory you can think of. The C64 lappie features a C64C motherboard, a Gamecube power supply, and special 1541-III DTV device that emulates a floppy drive using a FAT-32 formatted SD card — all while keeping true to the beige 8-bit spirit of the original. And if we’re not mistaken, he’s controlling it with an Atari joystick seen in the video posted after the break. Then again, there could be an Xbox 360 controller hiding in that joystick knowing Ben. [Via Nowhereelse]Source [...]
April 10th, 2009 at 11:33 am
[...] more at benheck.com [...]
April 10th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
[...] portátil o la PS One portátil. Pues ahora le a tocado el turno al Commodore 64, y ha preparado un manual para convertirlo en un ordenador portátil. Dan ganas de bajarse al trastero y buscar el [...]
April 10th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
[...] Click here for the full, in-depth post. PERMALINK :: :: :: :: :: :: Email This Post :: Info: Posted April 10th, 2009 in Computing, Culture, Laptops, Science and Technology Tags: Ben Hack, Commodore 64, Computers, laptop [...]
April 10th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
[...] ja schon, ich hab es jetzt erst zum ersten mal gesehen und wollte es euch nicht vorenthalten… The Official Site of Benjamin J Heckendorn Echt krass was manche Leute so alles basteln __________________ Der Dicke is back [...]
April 11th, 2009 at 2:23 am
So fantastic!!! Such a nice idea and perfect engineering mind. I remembered the C64 and Amiga computers. How they were wonderful, sound playing, games and programming. Those experience are gone. Thank you anyway.
April 11th, 2009 at 8:14 am
[...] geht ist wohl eher fraglich. Mehr Bilder und eine Schritt für Schritt Anleitung findet man auf der Seite von Ben Heckendorn. Filed under : Commodore | Trackback URI | Comments [...]
April 11th, 2009 at 10:01 am
[...] C64 als Laptop [...]
April 11th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
Can you sell me one?
,-)
April 11th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Great Job Ben! I’ve been waiting for literal years for you to come out with this, and I’ve been working on a (much less involved, non-original hardware) version of the same thing for about a year. I like yours, and if you plan on doing one again you should check out MMC2IEC (http://pontoppidan.info/lars/index.php?proj=mmc2iec) as it has a much smaller board and some pretty cool features! My project: http://c64dtv.us
April 12th, 2009 at 12:28 am
[...] @mattuk: A Commodore 64 Laptop? – http://benheck.com/04-05-2009/commodore-64-original-hardware-laptop [...]
April 12th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
[...] Read all about his worthy endeavor. [...]
April 13th, 2009 at 4:56 am
[...] here. Also, on a pretty awesome retro note we’ve got famous modder Ben Heck who has created a Commodore 64 Laptop. It looks awesome and what’s even more impressive is that it was done in under 2 weeks!. [...]
April 13th, 2009 at 6:04 am
[...] Commodore 64 Original Hardware Laptop In the latest in a series of Gamasutra-exclusive bonus material originally to be included in Bill Loguidice and Matt Barton's new book Vintage Games: An Insider Look at the History of Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario, and the Most Influential Games of All Time, the authors look at one of the most influential games of the '80s — one that hasn't perhaps had as much press as it deserves, in recent years, as Americans, and consoles, have been ascendant. (tags: computer commodore c64 hardware hack benheck laptop) [...]
April 13th, 2009 at 8:54 am
It almost made me cry.
My dad introduced me to C64 back in 1983 when I was 11 y-o. I lost my dad 2 yrs ago and I just started to repair my old C64 hardware.
thanks Ben
April 13th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
[...] Quelle Bookmark bei: [...]
April 13th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
OMG! I WANT THIS, as previous posters say: I’ll give you almost anything for this baby… i think i would even sell almost all of my fuck’n synthesizers to have it… and those are a _few_…
2000 eur? 4000? name your price man!
Johan, sweden
April 14th, 2009 at 8:03 am
was kostet der Commodore 64 Original Hardware Laptop in Euro € genau ???
LG Roger aus Duisburg
April 14th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Nice, gorgeous work. I appreciate so much the design. Is FURTHER than C64.
April 14th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Awesome that you got this completed. Looks great. I talked with you about it at MAGfest… glad to hear you got it done. I still think someone should do a DTV (the little C64 joystick things) laptop mod.
Now that you have this out of the way, you’ll have lots of time to work on the beer can crusher, right?
April 15th, 2009 at 1:17 am
[...] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Posted by info in Gadgets, Sci-Tech [...]
April 15th, 2009 at 1:48 am
[...] Ben Heck via Geeky Gadgets [...]
April 15th, 2009 at 5:21 am
[...] hätte nicht gerne einen C64-Laptop mit [...]
April 15th, 2009 at 7:02 am
[...] Lisää infoa projektista luomuksen tekijän blogissa. [...]
April 15th, 2009 at 7:40 am
That is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen ! Well done chap!
April 15th, 2009 at 9:08 am
Man, this is so cool, what a great laptop!
April 15th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
[...] Read the rest here: The Official Site of Benjamin J Heckendorn [...]
April 15th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
[...] Heckendorn heeft z’n oude Commodore 64 uit elkaar gehaald en omgebouwd tot een laptop. Schitterend! Compleet met videootje om te bewijzen dat het echt [...]
April 16th, 2009 at 2:57 am
[...] Infos und Bilder zum Projekt gibt es hier. Nico . 15.04.2009 Tags: c64, [...]
April 16th, 2009 at 4:57 am
Pulling the technical bit off is cool enough, but doing it with such attention to detail and finish… Simply amazing.
April 17th, 2009 at 9:35 am
very nice designe !!! i hope it coul’d be found in my shoping today !
April 17th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
[...] a comment » Ben Heck is at it [...]
April 18th, 2009 at 3:35 am
[...] factoid: The laptop uses a Gamecube power supply. galleryPost(’c64laptop’, 4,”);[benheck via [...]
April 19th, 2009 at 7:52 am
[...] like a computer from the early 80
April 19th, 2009 at 10:24 am
WOW! stunning job! The awesome geek factor is off the scale! I could only wish I was that cool.
April 19th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
[...] wurde der mobile C64 von Benjamin J. Heckendorn. In seinem Blog findet sich auch ein Beitrag mit einer genauen [...]
April 19th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
[...] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Share New Gadgets [...]
April 19th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Awesome falls short to describe that piece of art!
April 19th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
[...] Above: A-W-E-S-O-M-E. Found via an article in Der Spiegel (’Von diesem Notebook träumten die Achtziger‘), the work of Benjamin Heckendorn. [...]
April 20th, 2009 at 1:09 am
[...] Commodore 64 Original Hardware Laptop, Ben Heck has done it again, this time he built a laptop out of a Commodore 64. Me wants! [...]
April 20th, 2009 at 2:33 am
[...] http://benheck.com/04-05-2009/commodore-64-original-hardware-laptop [...]
April 20th, 2009 at 3:28 am
[...] Ben Heck via Geeky Gadgets [...]
April 20th, 2009 at 4:25 am
hey guy, great job! today I model myself on you as the greatest C64-hacker of all times.
April 20th, 2009 at 8:27 am
[...] Verfügung gestellt. Mehr Informationen und Screenshots dazu findet man im Blog des Modders auf der entsprechenden Seite. Zudem hat der Modder auch ein Buch geschrieben in dem Bastler die sich selbst an so ein Projekt [...]
April 20th, 2009 at 10:32 am
[...] The Official Site of Benjamin J Heckendorn [...]
April 20th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
[...] Benjamin J Heckendorn (BenHeck) has built a Portable version of the Commodore 64 but kept the great themes of those days – beige [...]
April 20th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
Very, very cool. Excellent design and workmanship. The only thing that would have made it cooler is if you had put in a touchpad and made it emulate a KoalaPad (every die-hard C64 owner had one).
April 20th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Ben,
I understand it’d cost a lot of money to make one of these because it’s time… But how much would it be for just the case itself? I’d not mind modding it but the case is something I just can’t begin to make. The best I have ever modded is the NES to DVD. It’s pretty, but your cases are supreme.
Chris
April 20th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
Awesome. Just… awesome. Can it play Monty on the Run?
April 21st, 2009 at 12:13 am
[...] http://benheck.com/04-05-2009/commodore-64-original-hardware-laptop [...]
April 21st, 2009 at 3:51 am
OH DEAR, I read about this C64 laptop computer on german news portal “Spiegel Online” (http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/spielzeug/0,1518,618372,00.html) – that´s great!
I still sometimes use my own old C64 (manufactured in 1984) but I think I´ve to ebay one (you used the C-model because of smaller motherboard to try this at home ;-)
Go on like this – really really good work!
All the best,
Stefan
April 21st, 2009 at 4:10 am
[...] The Official Blog of Benjamin J Heckendorn. Permalink – Comments RSS Feed – Post a comment – Trackback URL [...]
April 21st, 2009 at 8:00 am
bboooaaaahhh…. now you have to produce thousands of this. the things you have started, you have also to finish. great job!
April 24th, 2009 at 1:35 am
What a great unit !!!!! Absolutely awesome ;o)
loads of respect from germany !!!
cheers Thomas
April 24th, 2009 at 11:53 am
[...] modern tools and utilities are very cute home made things possible. Have a look what Benjamin Heckendorn has produced: C64 Laptop by Benjamin [...]
April 24th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
[...] Qué persona en sus cabales querría tener un pseudo-portatil minúsculo cuando puede poseer este Commodore 64 portátil??? Menos mal que aún queda gente qué sabe apreciar lo bueno [...]
April 25th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
[...] immer noch nicht, ob das nur ein Fake oder Wirklichkeit ist. Ben hat tatäschlich einen C64-Laptop gebaut. Unglaublich gut sieht er aus und lässt sich auch in vollem (C64-) Funktionsumfang [...]
April 26th, 2009 at 5:47 am
Teeme ise: Commodore 64 laptop…
…
April 26th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Great Job Ben!
I love it. This is really amazing stuff ;-)
Cheers from Germany!
April 27th, 2009 at 11:48 am
[...] factoid: The laptop uses a Gamecube power supply. galleryPost(’c64laptop’, 4,”);[benheck via [...]
April 27th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
[...] Commodore 64 Original Hardware Laptop [...]
April 28th, 2009 at 10:14 am
I want one!!!
Nice work
April 29th, 2009 at 1:14 am
[...] Ben Heck is at it again: [...]
April 29th, 2009 at 1:34 am
Hmmmm that’s cool.
April 29th, 2009 at 9:49 am
[...] factoid: The laptop uses a Gamecube power supply. galleryPost(’c64laptop’, 4,”);[benheck via [...]
May 1st, 2009 at 11:31 am
Muy buen trabajo! Felicitaciones! (congratulations)
May 2nd, 2009 at 12:38 am
I don’t know if any of you remember this, but Commodore actually made a “portable” C64. It was called the SX-64 (single disk drive built in) or DX-64 (two disk drives built in). It had a 5″ screen. I don’t remember how much it weighed, but it was, I think, lighter than a Compaq or Kaypro CP-M machine from the same period. I almost bought one. I ended up getting a regular C64 and a Sharp PC 1500 (similar to the Radio Shack Pocket Computer PC-2). BTW, the Commodore 64 is the only computer I’ve ever owned than I don’t still have. :)
May 2nd, 2009 at 9:06 am
Yes I’ve seen that! I think it even had a color screen, right?
May 2nd, 2009 at 11:47 am
[...] computing I found this tid bit, while late night surfing. The Official Blog of Benjamin J Heckendorn __________________ _____________ Q u a k e On [...]
May 2nd, 2009 at 10:45 pm
Ben, I’m no boffin but I totally love what you have done with your Commodore 64 laptop! The look is so very ’80s.
To Ed B. above, I do remember the SX-64.
May 3rd, 2009 at 6:55 am
[...] Vía: The Official Site of Benjamin Heckendorn [...]
May 5th, 2009 at 2:00 am
[...] Artikel auf benheck.com: Commodore 64 Original Hardware Laptop [...]
May 5th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
[...] factoid: The laptop uses a Gamecube power supply. galleryPost(’c64laptop’, 4,”);[benheck via [...]
May 6th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
[...] Ich will sofort ein CNC-Fräsmaschine. Es handelt sich um einen totalumbau eines original C64. Weitere Infos hier Link [...]
May 6th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
[...] other news, Mike Troxel and I are building another C64 laptop, this time using the 1541-Ultimate via the cartridge slot. The idea is to auction it off for [...]
May 7th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Um, just when/ where is the auction to be held?
Some of us would love to bid on it….(did i miss this info? can’t ctrl-F it anywhere)
I would also sell my left adrenal gland for one, and you could even use my (failed) c64C project/PSone screen
parts to build it!
peace,
drphil
May 8th, 2009 at 11:15 am
Te quedo de mil maravillas, felicitaciones… Yo quiero una !!!!!!!!
May 11th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
[...] a working system, not just pretty. There’s a whole heap on information on benheck.com. Awesome [...]
May 11th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
Ben thank you for the best mod I’ve ever seen in my life. My first computer was a Commodore Vic-20 and then later a C64 so this brings back tons of memories for me when life was a lot simpler, and better too. Thank you for not using the datasette lol!
If you ever think of parting with it I want first dibs!
Great job bro!!!
May 15th, 2009 at 9:06 am
[...] progetto invidiabile. Un C64 tutto nuovo chiuso in un laptop. In una settimana e mezza di lavoro, Benjamin J Heckendon riesce a costruire questa meraviglia. Anyway, about the project itself. This is a fully functional [...]
May 18th, 2009 at 2:38 am
[...] Mer nördläsning: Commodore 64 Original Hardware Laptop [...]
May 20th, 2009 at 5:08 am
[...] order to recreate the beauty and nostalgia of this almost antique computer, Ben Heck has modded the C64 Laptop. He used a genuine C64C motherboard and a gamecube power supply in order [...]
May 20th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
I would like to suggest that you mod up an original NES controller for use on the old systems that require a 9-pin DSUB connector. It is a lot easier to use and eliminates the carpal tunnel nightmare on the joystick controllers. There are only a couple of games (like flight simulators or games that require superfast action with the joystick like Track & Field) that require a joystick. The Genesis controller used the DSUB but it is not as responsive as the NES controller.
Also if you want to check out a couple of great games for the C64 that far surpassed the experience on other platforms, try Broderbund’s Spelunker and Raid on Bungeling Bay titles.
May 22nd, 2009 at 2:08 pm
[...] noch was kurioses am Rande: Ein C64 Laptop! The Official Blog of Benjamin J Heckendorn Irgendwie [...]
May 25th, 2009 at 9:41 am
a lot of music producers r looking for c64 because of retro sounds….i bet they pay anything for this c64 laptop for live acts…great job!
May 28th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
I have to say this is fantastic. really brought a smile to my face. I’d buy one, at least for novelties sake and run some old games on it. Yeah, one can use an emulator but this is very cool.
June 5th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
COOOOOOL! I want one of those already…
June 6th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
Quite a work of technological art. Well done!
While wondering where you got a baseband video capable laptop display (or how you hacked the VICII to put out *VGA?) it occured to me that tens of millions of portable televisions will enter landfills within the next couple of years, thanks to the FCC’s digital TV ‘plan’ (which was conceived in the 1200Baud pre-internet BBS era). Could we resurrect a fraction of these TVs from forced obsolescence by refitting them into a portable C64 device? Such a project could keep millions of pocket TVs out of landfills and give Nintendo and OLPC a run for their money ($250, $100? hah! I’ll bet you could hack a classroom/gaming portable computer for $50. I’ve run a VIC-20 on 4 AA nicads, this was back in the 1980s when NiCads only put out 500maH on a good day with a tailwind.
June 9th, 2009 at 2:21 am
OMG! this is so cool.
I found a pic on google images of this laptop, and i was immediately in awe and wondering “did i miss something – is there a laptop version ?”
This project is greatly done, it really looks line it could’ve been made by CBM itself. I’m pretty sure, if this were commercially available, some old skool C64 nerds like me would be tempted to purchase one.
June 16th, 2009 at 7:34 am
[...] Infos: benheck.com Bookmarken [...]
June 23rd, 2009 at 8:22 am
[...] kreativ og muligvis nostalgisk hacker har formået at presse en Commodore 64 ned i en hjemmelavet Laptop kasse. Der er ikke tale om en simpel emulator, men om vaske ægte C-64 [...]
July 4th, 2009 at 6:39 am
[...] Verfügung gestellt. Mehr Informationen und Screenshots dazu findet man im Blog des Modders auf der entsprechenden Seite. Zudem hat der Modder auch ein Buch geschrieben in dem Bastler die sich selbst an so ein Projekt [...]
July 5th, 2009 at 6:41 am
sweet!
That’s an amazing piece of work.
July 5th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Rates right up there with building little crappy things out of matchsticks and glue. Your time could be spent more productive picking up trash off the sides of the road.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:53 pm
Wow! Would you ever consider making one of these for someone? If so, how much would you ask for it?
July 7th, 2009 at 4:32 am
Ben, truly astounding work. If I had half your talent, my wife would have left me several years ago. Or maybe never have had the chance to even meet me, because I would still be in my garage. It would be unrealistic for you to produce these, but maybe if you put a “how to” together in a pdf…I am sure you could sell that and, speaking for myself, I would pay a handsome price for that. But then again, it is obvious that you do this for the love of the challenge rather than money. In any case, leave it to someone deserving in your will!
July 16th, 2009 at 9:26 am
Commodore 64 Laptop wird versteigert…
Ben Hack hat sich bereits durch diverse kuriose Umbauten, wie beispielsweise ein Xbox 360 Laptop einen Namen in der Modding-Szene gemacht. Eines seiner besten Stücke, einen Commodore 64 Laptop, will er jetzt meistbietend versteigern. Wer mit dem B…
July 17th, 2009 at 5:45 am
Truly amazing! I think this is probably the best piece of computer hardware I have EVER seen. An utterly fantastic bit of work. WOW, WOW, WOW and WOW!
July 17th, 2009 at 6:31 am
[...] diversen, extravaganten Retro-Mods auf sich aufmerksam. Ein besonderes Highlight dürfte das C64-Notebook sein, für das ich in einem Moment der blinden Euphorie vermutlich Haus und Hof hergeben [...]
July 23rd, 2009 at 11:23 pm
Felicidades por tu proyecto, espero hagas uno igual pero con Amiga…. siempre me gusto todo lo de commodore.
Desde Oaxaca, México.
Saludos
Sergio Delgado
July 24th, 2009 at 11:34 am
[...] More Video and Pics of the Commodore 64 laptop [at] benheck.com Share this on del.icio.usDigg this!Share this on RedditStumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUponShare this on TechnoratiPost this to MySpaceShare this on FacebookTweet This!Email this to a friend?Subscribe to the comments for this post? Tags: Commodore 64, Computers, Laptop, Mod You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed. [...]
July 27th, 2009 at 12:44 am
yeah i realy want the same !!! ;)
July 28th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
…………very good idea. Its fine maschine, old C=64 in the notebook design. Greets from Poland. 6510 be live :) ps.Sorry – my english language is very bad, i lern this
July 30th, 2009 at 7:40 am
I was a comodore 64 user. You really did it justice! KUDOS!
July 30th, 2009 at 8:49 am
This commodore 64 looks like a money briefcase. I am glad I was not in the era of commodore computer user. I gotta throw my hat down for the King of Modders himself Ben Heck.
August 19th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
[...] projects, including a new Atari 800 laptop that I hope to make look even more retro than the recent C64 project. There’s other stuff too but I can’t talk about it [...]
August 25th, 2009 at 10:41 am
Wow Ben. This is truly incredible. I first heard about your projects in an old Popular Science, then in a newer PopSci, and visited your site for the first time in *ages*.
You’ve actually inspired me to make a Commodore 64 DTV laptop with a similar design. Tell me: what would be a good, cheap, LCD panel display with analog cababilities? Of course, my case would be made out of wood or something, and a lot less complex (maybe build it into an old portable dvd player?).
August 26th, 2009 at 11:17 am
He’s beautyfoul. This design plus original keyboard, cmd screen and maintenance. Super idea. How mouch ?
August 28th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
haha nice XD when i see this i remember the comodore 64 which my father used in former times. awesome =)
August 29th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Does anyone know how to make one. I would love it.
August 30th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
[...] find this too too hilarious to destroy. Also, I want Mr. Heckerdorn to build one of these for [...]
August 31st, 2009 at 12:13 pm
[...] 2009: By chance I stumbled across Ben Heckendorn’s blog where he describes how he created his Commodore 64 original hardware laptop. I really admired his work and I really wanted such a portable for myself! Ben integrated a [...]
September 20th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
About this Commodore 64 laptop fantastic I was wondering if you can make and what I would cost?? You had a great idea to me should be to chase for the children!!! Greetings from Italy
September 22nd, 2009 at 5:34 am
[...] c64 laptop casemod [...]
October 2nd, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Very, very nice. Missing a few things to be perfect, but better than anything before and probably after, too. What’s it missing? No 9VAC in the PS, so the clock won’t work. No user port, so no serial support (modems for BBS’s). The cassette port we can do without, so that’s not a big deal. Someone already mentioned the JiffyDOS compatible SD card interface. There’s also the possibility of a WiFi adapter from Digi that can be used as a wireless telnet modem. And of course, if it could all be battery powered…
Ok, all that sounds negative, and it shouldn’t be taken that way. This is an incredible project, so don’t let any of the above be taken the wrong way. Absolutely amazing.
October 4th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Wow does this bring back old memories. I had a few of these and the 128. Man I miss those days. Things were so simple then, lol
October 18th, 2009 at 5:40 am
Hey very cool. How do we get our hands on one of those? I would so buy one of those if it were retail available
October 31st, 2009 at 1:58 am
Q: “How did we ever use these joysticks”
A: We didn’t hold them in our hands while playing. JoySTICKS were designed to be used with the base down on a flat surface (some even came with suction pads on the bottom to hold it in place). JoyPADS are to be held in hands while playing. The only time you saw people holding joysticks in hands while playing games were in advertisements – where they also had no cables plugged into the machine, no power LED on, etc :)
November 6th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
wo kann man die anleitung downloaden?
November 9th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Awesome, just awesome. Thanks for bringing back all those great early 80′s memories. C=64 was pivotal in my formative years as a software engineer! You would have really turned heads back then if you had this laptop …
November 14th, 2009 at 2:13 am
if you went into mass production, you would NOT lose money.
November 28th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
This is awesome! It looks so great that I would consider selling my grandma just to have one. LOL
Congrats!
December 1st, 2009 at 2:20 am
Ben thank you for the best sharing .My first computer was a Commodore Vic-20 and then later a C64 so this brings back tons of memories for me when life was a lot simpler, and better too.
Thank you for not using the database.
Good job cheer!!!
January 9th, 2010 at 10:16 am
[...] knew, and avoiding the future (and the present) in computing. A dedicated fellow has built an actual C64 laptop. I suppose that they would have been happier with that. __________________ "People do not [...]
January 18th, 2010 at 4:20 am
Will you be making any more c64 laptops to sell, and if so what would you charge? I’m very interested, as I’m sure many, many other Commodore fans out there would be.
January 21st, 2010 at 7:52 am
I would willingly part with my hard earned cash to buy one of these and I don’t even care about the performance or useability, the look and retro feel is enough for me and as an original C64 owner, I just wish I had kept mine now!
January 23rd, 2010 at 12:22 am
Before laptop/notebook computers were technically feasible, similar ideas had been proposed, most notably Alan Kay’s Dynabook concept, developed at Xerox PARC in the early 1970s. What was probably the first portable computer was the Xerox NoteTaker, again developed at Xerox PARC, in 1976. However, only ten prototypes were built.
January 28th, 2010 at 5:07 pm
Hola eres un genio…tengo un libro de las consolas portatiles que lo pulicastes tu soy un fan tuyo un saludo……………………………………………………………………………………………….yo tanbien hago cosas sabes……………………….tengo un poblema como se hace commodore sea mas rapido y como hago un lector de tarjetas que no sea muy compio de hacer un saludo……………………………………………………….
January 30th, 2010 at 8:08 am
As an old brand manager of Commodore, I am surprised to see this new product, looks great!
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:51 pm
EPIC AWESOME HACK! I have a question though. How did you get the LCD screen from the laptop computer to recognize the the video input from the commodore mother board? I thought those screens are designed to accept input JUST from the oringinal mother board in said computer.
February 12th, 2010 at 6:14 am
awesome hack!! keep good work meen :D
February 16th, 2010 at 11:39 am
Best place to get hard house mix from, i am looking for a good site that i can dowload some free sets to give me an idea on how to mix As i have just got my self some cdj 400,s thanks
March 18th, 2010 at 5:02 pm
[...] [...]
March 19th, 2010 at 4:10 am
[...] http://benheck.com/04-05-2009/commodore-64-original-hardware-laptop commodore 64 (5), laptop (4), sarcmark (2), simpatia nerd Commenta 2 Figata! [...]
April 4th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
[...] suo blog potete leggere tutta la storia (in lingua inglese). Le immagini di questo articolo sono state estratte dal blog di Benjamin. Il [...]
May 21st, 2010 at 4:56 am
FFS sell the patent to one of the biggies! This would sell heaps!
June 7th, 2010 at 5:51 pm
Hi there
really nice one !!
do you have one for sale ?!
let me know asap ..regards from switzerland
alex
June 19th, 2010 at 11:33 am
Great job i impressed so much, you ar a god o something.
June 21st, 2010 at 7:37 am
yeah i realy want the same !!! ;)
July 4th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
YOU MUST SELL IT BRO’
CONGRATS!!!!!
And thank you for the really good time seeing this :)
July 8th, 2010 at 4:54 am
What about a Vic-20 modding now ;-)
July 16th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
WANT!! You are my new hero.. Conquering “Forbidden Forest” is on my bucket list.
August 22nd, 2010 at 8:40 am
How is this possible? Whilst I accept it looks good (really good actually) does it really work or are have the pictures been photoshopped?
August 26th, 2010 at 8:35 am
[...] Verfügung gestellt. Mehr Informationen und Screenshots dazu findet man im Blog des Modders auf der entsprechenden Seite. Zudem hat der Modder auch ein Buch geschrieben in dem Bastler die sich selbst an so ein Projekt [...]
September 12th, 2010 at 8:34 am
I love this!! But c’mon, it doesn’t really exist does it? You must have used a bit of photo editing software to achieve this but even so, well done because it looks so good.
September 15th, 2010 at 12:15 pm
Hay Dude , i with u write. Do u write this site by your self ? Best regards Admin of http://www.siouxsiesioux.com n http://dusanko.net
September 20th, 2010 at 5:50 am
Hay adminstrator , i like w/ ur idea.
September 27th, 2010 at 10:25 am
Very nice project! Excellently done.
October 3rd, 2010 at 1:01 am
[...] Kaynak:http:benheck.com [...]
October 4th, 2010 at 2:15 pm
Absolutely brilliant! Bring back the C64 to the mainstream
October 19th, 2010 at 2:12 pm
[...] Eine tolle Idee und vor allem eine tolle Arbeit, die er dort abgeliefert hat, wie ich finde und der Laptop sieht dabei noch richtig gut aus. Farblich abgestimmt, wirkt er sogar fast so, als käme er damals von Commodore selbst. Bilder, Videos sowie Bauanleitungen, findet ihr auf seiner Homepage benheck.com. [...]
November 7th, 2010 at 1:03 am
how i can buy?
November 12th, 2010 at 5:48 pm
I love it.. no… I want that thing more than I ever wanted anythin. It’s such a great job. When I see this, I’m getting sad Commodore died and there will never be an industrial production of that thing. It would be so cool. Damn, I realise how damn old I am….
Sorry if my english is not perfect, I am from Germany..
November 14th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
Are you selling these? If so, I would definately buy one, maybe even two!
December 7th, 2010 at 1:32 pm
Great Job. I still have my original laptop from the 80′s as a memory of what use to be. Definately not as compact but got the job done back then
December 31st, 2010 at 5:31 am
[...] drive, the old-but-done-right 933MHz C64, and some absolutely bitchin’ cool C64 laptops like this one and this one.Now we have The New Commodore 64:Yes, this is a true-blue real "official" [...]
January 21st, 2011 at 10:36 am
As a huge Commodore 64 fan I have to say you did a superb job and made a wonderful tribute project to this awesome computer. Some things missing from this page are descriptions of how you interfaced the video to the LCD screen, where the screen came from, how you manufactured the labels and extra buttons, and how you got the 9VAC power input (which as far as I know is required by the motherboard for system timing). Also, is there any way to attach a battery to make it truly portable?
As many other people have said, if you were selling these I’d gladly buy one!
Skyfox (yes, my name originates from my C64 game Skyfox II :)
February 10th, 2011 at 5:45 am
Wow! I’d give you a great price for this one! What a great project with superb result.
March 4th, 2011 at 3:01 am
Wow… this post really brought back memories! Thanks for the in-depth work you did on the Commodore 64. Great post!
March 5th, 2011 at 8:48 am
At first, I really thought it was just an ordinary typewriter.. Can’t imagine how slow that was when it was first introduced.. :p
March 21st, 2011 at 12:07 am
[...] Verfügung gestellt. Mehr Informationen und Screenshots dazu findet man im Blog des Modders auf der entsprechenden Seite. Zudem hat der Modder auch ein Buch geschrieben in dem Bastler die sich selbst an so ein Projekt [...] travel
health
March 31st, 2011 at 11:10 am
really usefull post!
May 28th, 2011 at 9:44 am
Funny. One of my relatives had the C-64, I recall it being much bulkier, hehe.
June 15th, 2011 at 3:43 pm
When I first saw it from a side video still picture in youtube I thought it was some how a real C64 laptop. I was wondering how the hell did I ever not hear about that….could the commodore developers been so ahead of their time…did they come back into business…. Obviously you created something special here. Hats off. How/where did you get the basic laptop plastic covering? Did you order something from a company where you can send in shape/size specs? Do you have your own plastic shop in the back yard?
July 18th, 2011 at 3:20 pm
What are the virtues of putting they keyboard near the LCD (like in a typical laptop)? I was wondering how it would go with the keyboard toward the front, more like the C64.
August 2nd, 2011 at 5:39 am
maintenance…
The Official Blog of Benjamin J Heckendorn…
August 15th, 2011 at 2:45 pm
[...] here’s those gaming related links to take up some space: Ben Heckendorn creates a Commodore 64 laptop, Mortal Kombat Team looking to leave Midway and PAX East in Boston, MA has been announced for March [...]
October 12th, 2011 at 7:08 pm
How much did this project cost to make including your labor? I want one.
October 12th, 2011 at 7:11 pm
Sorry for the second post, I meant to mention that I hope once you’re rested up you tackle a Commodore Amiga next. I’d love to see your portable laptop vision of the machine that truly ushered in the era of modern multimedia computing. 8^D
October 28th, 2011 at 3:44 am
It must cost a lot but how much around?
October 31st, 2011 at 3:21 am
[...] Commodore 64 Original Hardware Laptop – The Official Blog of … [...]
November 1st, 2011 at 11:01 pm
How can I buy a laptop like this?
November 1st, 2011 at 11:11 pm
Guy, you have done a great job! Congratulations for a job well done! You have given a new life to an old friend like C64. Can you do the same thing to other computers such as Atari, Amiga, or Timex/Sinclair 2068? Please contact me at
francis_niceguy@yahoo.com
Thanks,
Francis
November 3rd, 2011 at 4:10 am
Hello,
Sorry for my poor English but i’m French ;-)
How much did this project cost to make including your labor?
I really would like to get one, it’s Fantastic !!!!
Thank you for your response.
By, Thiery
November 8th, 2011 at 2:29 pm
Are you planning to port Linux in that ?
December 2nd, 2011 at 3:38 am
Agree with Nyle – please tackles the Amiga next – can’t wait to see it :)
January 4th, 2012 at 9:10 pm
Hello, GREAT JOB! The C-64 was the second CBM machine I had after the VIC-20. I have TONS of Commodore software (most copied) with some still “protected” and LOTS not protected and ‘Cracked’, or ‘Broken” (protection removed). Some of my faves were “Raid Over Moscow” and “Ultimate Wizard”, and “DINO EGGS”! Still have my SX-64 in the closet, but seeing YOURS…WOW!!! You might try getting hold of an old cartridge called, “FAST LOAD”…cuts the loading time of 99.9% of all software…worked GREAT with 1541/1571…maybe it might work with your new ‘laptop 64p’ and eliminate the ‘load’screen and ‘pop’ right on. Another help…install the SID chip in a socket cause the sound registers on the chip do NOT hold up and might have to replace every great once in awhile. The original SID chip (C-64) was NOT used in the newer C64-C and lacked the complete sound registers that the original C-64 chip had. You can test this out using the game ‘BEACH HEAD’. With the original chip you had a REALLY full deep sound from the speakers of the bombs exploding and shells and bombs sounded SO FREAKIN’ REAL! With the new ‘SID’ chip in the C64-C the sound regiswters were changed and lacked ALL of the frequencies…hence lost sounds in lots of games and in music, and sound effects. ALL IN ALL…you did one HELUVA job creating something very unique and nice for yourself and your family to enjoy. Thanks for the visit to your site… BIG PAW
February 2nd, 2012 at 11:06 am
Hi Ben,
Have followed your work for awhile.u are awesome. If you were to build another one(c64p) How much would you charge? Also i could probably supply most of the internals. Thanks and keep up the great work.
Steve