5 ms·

Exploring the abandoned birthplace of the 6502 and Commodore 64 [video]

53 points by rsecora 6y ago

boltefnovor 6y ago
There’s just old commodore pet machines sitting in there waiting to be picked up.
- Zenst 6y ago
  and that's a recent visit, imagine the gems that have been `salvaged` over the decades of disuse. Kinda makes you cry seeing such legacy abandoned like that.
  - tinus_hn 6y ago
    If most people hadn’t thrown theirs in the garbage, they wouldn’t be rare and valuable.
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
uniqueid 6y ago
This seems relevant... Commodore "Deathbed Vigil": https://youtu.be/BaTjwo1ywcI https://youtu.be/BaTjwo1ywcI
dkresge 6y ago
When I was 13 or 14, I had befriended the Sysop of a regional BBS who was gracious enough to offer me (and my Father) a tour of his workplace “where they made the C64”. Feeling like Charlie in Willy Wonka’s world, I was awed by the magic within this building. Computers and gear everywhere. Soldering and test stations and seemingly alien technology that my young mind had never imagined. But one thing that really stood out were the massive palleted piles of new C64 “bread loaves” arrayed around the floor; each with a numbered page on top with the count. Asked about this, our guide explained “All defective and awaiting test.” Thousands. Maybe tens of thousands.
afandian 6y ago
Did I hear correctly that the EPA instructed them to disperse chemicals into the air rather than into the ground? Anyone got details on this?
- rzzzt 6y ago
  It was a water spray (Bil said "aerators" around 0:44; he probably did not mean the spiky lawn care thing, but rather a sprinkle system), to keep the existing chemicals on the ground from turning into dust and flying further away. (At least that is my understanding.)
- ncmncm 6y ago
  There are a lot of Superfund sites with toxic, volatile chemicals in the ground. They soak water into the ground, which dissolves the chemicals, then they pump water up from a well and spray it in the air to evaporate and dissipate the chemicals. Exposure to oxygen and ultraviolet light from daylight breaks up the molecules, over time. It is not healthy to be around that spray. That has not stopped people from building housing complexes around exhausts from similar operations in SV.
fortyseven 6y ago
Please tell me they rescued the hardware and backup reels they found.
- scruffyherder 6y ago
  The video feels like some Blair witch setup. I guess we’ll know come the 31st
hoytech 6y ago
There is a fascinating series of books by Brian Bagnall on the history of Commodore: https://www.goodreads.com/series/270019-the-commodore-series https://www.goodreads.com/series/270019-the-commodore-series
pdfernhout 6y ago
Sad to see this as someone who started programming on a KIM-1 and then a PET. Well, ignoring soldering and breadboarding. And of course also poking around on a TRS-80 in Radio Shack stores, and writing BASIC code on paper, and using an eraseable marker on a CARDIAC. Sites like these should become national monuments... After they are cleaned up...
alblue 6y ago
Unfortunately the YouTube video has had artificial shake and graphics added to it which makes it unwatchable. Does anyone know where the undoctored footage is?

53 points by rsecora 6y ago

boltefnovor 6y ago

There’s just old commodore pet machines sitting in there waiting to be picked up.

Zenst 6y ago
and that's a recent visit, imagine the gems that have been `salvaged` over the decades of disuse. Kinda makes you cry seeing such legacy abandoned like that.
- tinus_hn 6y ago
  If most people hadn’t thrown theirs in the garbage, they wouldn’t be rare and valuable.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]

uniqueid 6y ago

This seems relevant... Commodore "Deathbed Vigil": https://youtu.be/BaTjwo1ywcI https://youtu.be/BaTjwo1ywcI

dkresge 6y ago

When I was 13 or 14, I had befriended the Sysop of a regional BBS who was gracious enough to offer me (and my Father) a tour of his workplace “where they made the C64”. Feeling like Charlie in Willy Wonka’s world, I was awed by the magic within this building. Computers and gear everywhere. Soldering and test stations and seemingly alien technology that my young mind had never imagined. But one thing that really stood out were the massive palleted piles of new C64 “bread loaves” arrayed around the floor; each with a numbered page on top with the count. Asked about this, our guide explained “All defective and awaiting test.” Thousands. Maybe tens of thousands.

afandian 6y ago

Did I hear correctly that the EPA instructed them to disperse chemicals into the air rather than into the ground? Anyone got details on this?

rzzzt 6y ago
It was a water spray (Bil said "aerators" around 0:44; he probably did not mean the spiky lawn care thing, but rather a sprinkle system), to keep the existing chemicals on the ground from turning into dust and flying further away. (At least that is my understanding.)
ncmncm 6y ago
There are a lot of Superfund sites with toxic, volatile chemicals in the ground. They soak water into the ground, which dissolves the chemicals, then they pump water up from a well and spray it in the air to evaporate and dissipate the chemicals. Exposure to oxygen and ultraviolet light from daylight breaks up the molecules, over time. It is not healthy to be around that spray. That has not stopped people from building housing complexes around exhausts from similar operations in SV.

fortyseven 6y ago

Please tell me they rescued the hardware and backup reels they found.

scruffyherder 6y ago
The video feels like some Blair witch setup. I guess we’ll know come the 31st

hoytech 6y ago

There is a fascinating series of books by Brian Bagnall on the history of Commodore: https://www.goodreads.com/series/270019-the-commodore-series https://www.goodreads.com/series/270019-the-commodore-series

pdfernhout 6y ago

Sad to see this as someone who started programming on a KIM-1 and then a PET. Well, ignoring soldering and breadboarding. And of course also poking around on a TRS-80 in Radio Shack stores, and writing BASIC code on paper, and using an eraseable marker on a CARDIAC. Sites like these should become national monuments... After they are cleaned up...

alblue 6y ago

Unfortunately the YouTube video has had artificial shake and graphics added to it which makes it unwatchable. Does anyone know where the undoctored footage is?