C64DTV

Before

After

After

WTF?

The C64 Direct-to-TV, called C64DTV for short, is a single-chip implementation of the Commodore 64 computer, contained in a joystick with 30 built-in games (C64_Direct-to-TV). The games are stored on a built-in 2MB flash memory.

The joystick can be bought at Conrad (but I've also seen it at Zielpunkt) for ~25 Euros.

This is an amazing piece of hardware, but comes with a few weaknesses:

• Only one joystick, no support for two-player games
• A limited selection of games
• The quality of the joystick itself is far from the gold standard (Competition Pro)

..so let's remedy this:

Project Overview

The goal is to remedy the stated weaknesses by doing the following:

• Add ports for two external joysticks => support multi-player gaming and we can use better joysticks
• Add connectors for a PS/2 keyboard and a 1541 compatible disk drive => load games from 5.25" floppy disks

Part List

Parts, Conrad part numbers and total price in Euros:

• 2x SUB D-Stiftleiste 9 polig 742066 1.14
• 1x Mini-DIN Steckdose 738422 1.73
• 1x DIN Einbaubuchse 6-polig 738166 1.20
• 2x Buchsenleiste 32-polig 740438 2.30
• 1x 5V 7805 Spannungsregler 179205 0.65
• 1x 100 uF Elko (we've got more of these in the lab)
• 2x 100 nF Kondensator (we've got more of these in the lab)

Connectors

I have fitted the connectors onto the casing of the joystick, using a dremel and a glue gun (NB! no gaffa was used in this project :).

Connectors, seen from the front:

Joystick 1 Up 2 Down 3 Left 4 Right 6 Fire 6 +5V 8 GND

Keyboard 1 DTA 3 +5V 4 GND 5 CLK

Disk drive 2 GND 3 ATN 4 CLK 5 DTA

Connecting to the PCB

All soldering should be done on the backside of the PCB. Note that some soldering points are located under the rubber buttons. For flexibility, I built internal connectors to easier be able to disconnect and debug the connectors.

soldering points on PCB	Keyboard && disk connectors
Joystick connectors	PCB with connectors

Power Supply

When connecting peripherals to the joystick, it will not be able to run from batteries anymore, so I'm running it from a DC power supply. Since the joystick assumes a 5V power supply, I've build a 5V voltage regulator circuit. The regulator is connected to the output of the battery pack (see picture). NB! Remove batteries before connecting external power.

Result

Modded joystick in action

TODO/ideas

• Reprogram the built-in flash memory with an updated game collection
• Add a memory card reader which supports reading disk images stored on a CF/SD/XD/USB-stick/whatever memory card.