City of Armadale - History House > Records

COMMODORE 1530 DATASSETTE UNIT

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c. 1985

Overview

Fawn, plastic, oblong case, rounded on three side with the transparent cassette door and mechanism slightly to the left and towards the back edge of the upper surface.
On the door is an arrow pointing to the right with [AUTO STOP] below it. Below the door are six brown function keys, which over hang the front edge of the case. Above the keys are the words [RECORD PLAY REWIND F.FWD STOP EJECT] and their matching symbols.
There is a resettable counter on the right and adjacent to the lower edge of the door, below which is a red LED with [SAVE] next to it.
On the base, there are four stickers with the text [FCC ID:BR99VMC2N-A / TM commodore / MADE IN TAIWAN], [TM commodore / C2N CASSETTE / SERIAL NO 3422996 / MADE IN TAIWAN], [CERTIFIED TO COMPLY WITH CLASS / B LIMITS PART 15 OF FCC RULES. / SEE INSTRUCTIONS IF INTERFERENCE / TO RADIO RECEPTION IS SUSPECTED.], and [MADE IN TAIWAN / REPUBLIC OF CHINA].

Historical information

The Commodore 64, also known as C64, was a home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International. The C64 name came from its 64 kilobytes of RAM. Retailing at US$595 (equivalent to $1545 USD in 2018) and selling 17 million units worldwide during its lifetime, it was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as being the highest-selling single computer model of all time. Between 1983 and 1986, the C64 outsold its competitors' products, IBM PC Compatibles, Apple Computers, and Atari 8-bit. This was achieved through selling at regular retail stores, rather than at electronics and computer specialist stores. Aproximately 10,000 software titles were made for the C64, including office productivity applications, development tools and video games. It was discontinued in April 1994, although it remains popular in society today with collectors and computer enthusiasts. In 2018, the C64 mini 'retro' console was announced, introducing a new generation to the wonders of the C64.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-33-COA2010.73A

Themes

People
Social History

Material

Plastic

Width

156 mm

Height or length

198 mm

Depth

48 mm

Inscriptions and markings

Commodore International

Keywords

Commodore Business Machines Pty Ltd

ARMADALE

Albany Highway

BROWN Ken Mr

TAIWAN Republic of China

Year

c. 1985

Statement of significance

This object is part of a collection that represents the types of technology that were used on a daily basis by people who lived in worked in the City of Armadale. The collection represents how technology has influenced how people lived, worked and played within the City of Armadale. The collection also is representative of how technology evolves and can become obsolete which in turn can make pastimes, jobs and skills evolve or become obsolete.

Comparative significance criteria

Interpretive capacity

Object’s condition or completeness

Rare or representative

Well provenanced

City of Armadale - History House

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