Commodore Retro Heaven

Welcome to Commodore Retro Heaven!

If you are remotely interested in computers and have passed your 30th birthday you have most probably heard about Commodore. Maybe you had one, or you had many arguments with your friends since your father brought home an Amstrad while all the others in the street had a C64. Basically, its the most sold microcomputer ever, with over 30 million C64s sold in its lifetime. But there is more than the C64 - many of you upgraded to an Amiga when that became available. If you were in it from the start you have also experienced the good old PET and the VIC20. If you were a true computer hobbyist back in the 70s you might also have tinkered with the KIM-1. For many, its still a surprise that Commodore also made a lot of other computers like the C16, Plus 4, even a C64GS Game Console. Many of these never really had any success, and some were never released like the elusive C65 that promised to be the real C64 successor, now a cherished collectors item.

My story starts when my father suddenly came home from work with a Commodore 64. We were at awe at all the things you could do with it. The first thing I did was to use the RVS ON and colors to draw a Norwegian flag on the screen. Half of my family taught themselves Basic and made all kinds of fun applications. Naturally being in my teens I was very interested in games, so eventually that became the main use. As time went, and working part time in a computer shop, I was then introduced to the Amiga 1000. I fell in love immediately at the beautiful graphics and sound it could reproduce and as soon as the Amiga 500 was introduced I got one. Time went again and the first VGA and Soundblaster cards were coming out for the PC, which made the Amiga look a bit old in many ways. As many others, the PC took over my desk - eventually resulting in the fall of Commodore.

Time went, the dust is settled, I never looked back. But one day I came across a brilliant book, "On The Edge - The Rise and Fall of Commodore" by Brian Bagnall (a revised version has now been published). Through this book the old computers got a whole new meaning, and I thought to myself: These computers formed my life in such a way that its something that should be preserved.

These pages will present a number of Commodores creations as I collect all the pieces. I have no intention of making it a complete collection as that is quite impossible. But rather a managable sample of what Commodore created in their existance, from Calculators, LED watches, Computers and Accessories. Naturally I will also collect some games, especially the classics. I hope you enjoy my pages and mail me if you have any questions.

Best regards, John Christian Lønningdal