exxos's Atari, Amiga & retro forum

I received a small box in the post a few days ago:
Its a VICII Kawari device that brings all sorts of goodies to the C64 video output. Ive been after one for quite a while actually.

It will probably have to wait its turn, but I do plan to have a good old tinker with it at some point. :D

I'll be interested to see the fit and results :)

Well, I do have my office in a semi reasonable order, with a C64 wired in and ready...

So it wont be the usual 'few years down the road' that I end up doing. :lol:

Its the large version, but Im hoping it will fit my only fully working C64, a C64C.

Heres hoping. :)

Where did you get it from and how much was it? @mrbombermillzy .
Wondering if they do a C128 version.

PhilC wrote: 06 Jun 2025 14:26 Where did you get it from and how much was it?

https://videogameperfection.com/products/vic-ii-kawari/

PhilC wrote: 06 Jun 2025 14:26 Wondering if they do a C128 version.

Im pretty sure thats a no, unfortunately.

I bought the large version for the analogue RGB output.

Ok, so Ive had time to fit the Kawari.

I have the C64C board revision 250469, which is not recommended by Randy Rossi (the Kawari inventor).

However, this is due to mainly height restrictions more than anything else, so I will have a little look at the situation. (If all else fails, I can re-house the board in a breadbin case. :lol:

So here we are; lid off the C64C and the Kawari slotted into the (vacated) VICII slot:


Relocating the shielding, it doesnt seem like a particularly bad problem, but it is tight:

It definitely helps to re-route the keyboard wiring around the area of contention. The keyboard screws on normally and there is no 'tightness' around the board location, so looking promising! :)


And here we are; you wouldnt even know from the outside: :)


Now...

This is where the fun ends (for now).

Frustratingly, the comp output is renowned for being fussy on some monitors.

I guess thats mine, as I dont get a video signal, despite the Kawari Red LED being on with the power up.

I unfortunately dont have the necessary micro HDMI to HDMI adapter to use that output, so will have to hang on a couple of days whilst the one Ive just ordered from Ebay arrives. :(

More news later. :waiting:

I had better post an update for those who are wondering what is going on...

After receiving the HDMI cable in the post a few days ago and eagerly plugging it in to see the same 'blank' screen, I looked into what could be the problem.

This didnt appear to be a known issue.

However, after pulling out my less than fully functional C64C, I managed to get a picture on that with the Kawari.

Going back to the working C64C, I have managed to get an output on the Kawari, but it is sporadic and I cannot reliably get it to boot again with the video output working (i.e. not being a blank screen).

Im going to say that the culprit is the VICII socket, which works perfectly with the original VIC installed, but doesnt like the round pins of the Kawari board...theres just some loss of contact somewhere. :(

Anyway, at least I know what the problem is now. I guess a new socket is the order of the day. I will have to see if anyone locally is competent enough to solder a decent socket in. :)