ComputerEyes is one of those extremely rare C= devices that we all sought after in the 80's. This little device captures light using a little black box that connects to your C=64's RS232 port by attaching to a video cam or still photo camera. It continuously scans the light source and adjusts using the Sync and Brightness knobs on the black box. The device was premier for it's time, and was an intro into the 8-Bit digitized photo world. The ComputerEyes device photographed in the top left corner of this post is my actual ComputerEyes I acquired for next to nothing from a fellow Commodore collector. There are several additional software add-ons that you can use with the device to make the pictures compatible with Doodle!, Koala, and Geos. Having these programs can be handy when you want to print or save the photos. Here is a link to download that contains the user manual and all the original .d64 software to download if you have the device and are looking for the program to use with it. Of course you will need some sort of transfer from PC device such as Jim Brain's SD/uIEC device, or by using Star Commander with an old 386/486 PC computer and an X1541 cable. To the left is a scanned page copy of an original ComputerEyes ad from Run Feb. '86 Magazine. Notice the price is $129.95. That would equate to about $259.40 in today's market! There are some new programs out there that take a PC picture and create a .d64 image to load on your C=64. In my opinion, this is a cool breakthrough. Now you can see your actual color image taken on your PC camera digitized for view on your C=64. Here is the link for the website on that. If anyone has any pictures taken with ComputerEyes please post them here for all to see and enjoy.
Really cool piece of hardware there!
ReplyDeleteThanks Rob! I like finding those hard to find Commodore accessories and giving them new life.
ReplyDeleteI used to have one of these years ago, but someone stole it and I haven't found a replacement yet. You don't happen to have the schematic (or a pic of the insides) do you? I always wanted to find someone who could build one or use VICE (emulator) with a webcam and the original software. Not very useful, but would be nice to have.
ReplyDeleteHi Kevin, I have not seen a schematic for this device. I will keep my eyes open for one. Sorry your device was stolen. I hope you can find another one to replace it. It would be neat to see one of these reverse engineered. I have a link above that has all the files I could find for it. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteDave