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ISEPIC, a very old Chip Gracey product on eBay. BUSTED!!! — Parallax Forums

ISEPIC, a very old Chip Gracey product on eBay. BUSTED!!!

RDL2004RDL2004 Posts: 2,554
edited 2012-04-27 09:21 in General Discussion
Check it out. A very old Chip Gracey product up for grabs on eBay.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/COMMODORE-64-ISEPIC-Capture-Cartridge-VINTAGE-COMPUTER-Equipment-VERY-RARE-NR-/270953641787

See picture 3, it's from 1985. I'm pretty sure this predates Parallax.

Erco, how did you miss this? :)

Comments

  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2012-04-24 16:29
    I've got one of those! (On loan to KenG) Can't believe how high the price is on those now..

    @Ken: You should pick that up for Chip! Bet he doesn't have a complete one...

    OBC
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,259
    edited 2012-04-24 17:54
    Dang it! And now you have me wanting to program BASIC Stamps using my Commodore 64!
  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,401
    edited 2012-04-24 21:03
    Nice find. Just missed this auction, else I'd have purchased it for Chip.

    I have an ISEPIC at Parallax, donated by OBC for our museum.

    The year ISEPIC was produced and sold was quite an event in the Gracey house. Indeed, it pre-dates Parallax and was sold under Innovative Software Engineering (ISE). Around these times some of Chip's vintage computer friends would come and visit. . . staying for days - Lance Walley, Tom Mornini, Alan Needham, Bruce from Starpoint. The success around ISEPIC was a difficult one to manage in our house - Chip worked all night, slept through a good portion of high school and wanted to buy a used Lotus Esprit Turbo but my dad got him to settle for a rebuilt Toyota Supra. The school system didn't inspire Chip at all, maybe even less at the urge of our parents. This product's success pretty much sealed Chip's future as a lifetime entrepreneur.
  • msrobotsmsrobots Posts: 3,709
    edited 2012-04-24 22:54
    well -this explains allmost everything. well written Ken.Thank you.
    enjoy!

    Mike
  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2012-04-25 06:40
    Anyone who has one of these should open it up... We should get pictures of the board posted..

    IIUC, the back story on this is that the circuit design was laid out on drafting table using strips of black tape to create the connections. This was later photographed and reduced to create the PCB mask. If you look at the board itself, you can see the square traces which actually look like miniature lines of black tape! Maybe one of these days I can convince Ken to have someone do a photograph of the one I've sent over and post it. It's truly an amazing part of Parallax/Gracey history.

    When I was 14, I was using an ISEPIC to build my C64 pirate library. When Chip was 14, he was creating his first million. :)

    OBC
  • Jen J.Jen J. Posts: 649
    edited 2012-04-25 10:26
    Here is another one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ISEPIC-Capture-Cartridge-Commodore-64-/170830626188?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27c64c7d8c#ht_500wt_1156
  • Roy ElthamRoy Eltham Posts: 3,000
    edited 2012-04-25 10:32
    I bought that one. Ken, I'll let you know when I have it and we can arrange getting it to Chip or Parallax. :)
  • Jesse MasseyJesse Massey Posts: 39
    edited 2012-04-25 18:46
    Here is an image of it

    ISEPIC_top.jpg

    Along with an article

    http://www.ar.c64.org/wiki/ISEPIC
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,259
    edited 2012-04-25 19:27
    Roy Eltham wrote: »
    I bought that one. Ken, I'll let you know when I have it and we can arrange getting it to Chip or Parallax. :)

    @$175, you don't mess around, Roy! :)
  • icepuckicepuck Posts: 466
    edited 2012-04-25 19:29
    Ken and Chip are brothers?
  • Roy ElthamRoy Eltham Posts: 3,000
    edited 2012-04-25 19:30
    erco,

    I didn't want anyone to come along and get it before we could. Plus, being single makes it easier to make impulse purchases.
  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,401
    edited 2012-04-25 19:30
    Great catch, Roy. Would make a fantastic present for Chip on October 3rd, 2012.

    Let's work out a trade! Robot parts, Propeller parts, you name it!

    Ken Gracey
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,259
    edited 2012-04-25 19:31
    @icepuck: Yes, and too bad icepuck didn't get the ISEPIC ! :)
  • icepuckicepuck Posts: 466
    edited 2012-04-25 19:38
    erco wrote: »
    @icepuck: Yes, and too bad icepuck didn't get the ISEPIC ! :)
    wow, two brothers that get along with each other, and they are still in business. Too bad my brothers didn't act that way.
    -dan
  • cgraceycgracey Posts: 14,256
    edited 2012-04-25 21:53
    Ken and Roy,

    There's a cardboard box in our parents' attic that our dad saved a whole bunch of ISEPICs in. Someone on the forums handed me an ISEPIC at a Propeller Expo a little while back, too.

    That was a fun period, back in 1984, working on the Apple ][ and C64. There was so much learning going on and anything seemed possible. I remember going to bed one night thinking that I had found a way to perpetually compress 24 bits into 23. Nobody could convince me otherwise. I thought I would ulimately make a single small file that embodied every C64 game ever made. I realized later that this wasn't going to be possible.

    Today, ISEPIC would be illegal to sell, thanks to the DMCA.

    Chip
  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2012-04-26 06:54
    Busted... ;)

    Chip doesn't stick his head up for weeks on the forums, and we thought we'd never be spotted.. (He must have been lurking on us... ;) )

    OBC
  • Matt GillilandMatt Gilliland Posts: 1,406
    edited 2012-04-26 07:26
    THIS WHOLE THREAD IS COMPLETELY BUSTED!

    So, I see RDL's first post. I think, "That would be great for October" - BAM! I bought it. (it arrives tomorrow)...I keep verrrrrrrry quiet about it.

    I'm thinking "now this thread will die, and this will be a great surprise! (thanks to RDL)".

    Then JJ says: "hey, here's another one!" Way to go JJ...not! :tongue:

    Then before I can respond, Roy buys THAT one.

    Now Chip's here - WE'RE ALL BUSTED... Gosh darn it!!!
    :tongue:

    -MattG
  • mindrobotsmindrobots Posts: 6,506
    edited 2012-04-26 07:31
    Now the funny part would be if Chip (or mom or dad) were secretly selling the ISEPICs in the attic on Ebay one at a time to raise fun money for some special project.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,259
    edited 2012-04-26 08:52
    Matt: Hate to see you left holding the bag like that. You're a nice guy. I'm gonna help you out.

    I'lll take that old ISEPIC off your hands. I'll trade you a shiny new BoE and an S2 ornament. You know, exactly what you gave me up there at Expo! And I'll throw in some plywood & relays to sweeten the deal.
  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2012-04-26 08:54
    @Matt

    LOL... To say that Chip is a hard guy to get a present for is an understatement. ;)

    Let's not do his Christmas shopping on the forums.. You never know when he'll be about. heh.

    Now that we've driven the price of ISEPIC's up.. What to do? :)

    OBC
  • Roy ElthamRoy Eltham Posts: 3,000
    edited 2012-04-26 08:58
    Hey MattG,
    At least we know great minds think alike? Right? Maybe?

    Roy

    p.s. I can add the one I got to my "Commodore stuff" collection unless Ken still wants it.
  • RDL2004RDL2004 Posts: 2,554
    edited 2012-04-26 11:21
    LOL, this turned out to be one of the funniest threads in a long time :)
  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2012-04-26 20:23
    Shall we have all the new owners of ISEPIC's have Chip autograph them and then put them back on Ebay with a printed copy of the backstory? :)

    OBC
  • lardomlardom Posts: 1,659
    edited 2012-04-27 08:10
    Somebody, please consider doing a bio on Chip. I remember a long time ago reading a book about Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. "Woz" built the hardware and wrote the software. In my mind he had to be one of the greatest geniuses of our time. I didn't appreciate Jobs at the time as the one with the vision.

    So now I hear about a 14 year old kid who does it all... I picture a guy that has to have cooling fins on his headgear.
  • GordonMcCombGordonMcComb Posts: 3,366
    edited 2012-04-27 09:21
    lardom wrote: »
    Somebody, please consider doing a bio on Chip.

    I haven't watched all in the series yet, but this set of interviews is pretty good, I think. It's from a few years ago. Should hold us over until that tell-all book comes out.

    Quote of the Day: "It should be fun and easy to use." Who among us hasn't worked with some MCU or other than was so unfriendly it made us rethink our line of work.

    -- Gordon
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