Help My C64 Caught on Fire
Key topics
A Commodore 64 catching on fire has sparked a lively discussion, with the real showstopper being the author's website showcasing the incident with dithered thumbnails that burst into full color when clicked. Commenters were quick to point out the nostalgic aesthetic, with some attributing the dithering to bandwidth-saving techniques of the past, while others saw it as a stylistic choice inspired by retro tech nostalgia. The author [c0de517e] revealed that the dithering was indeed an aesthetic decision, drawing inspiration from lowtechmagazine's similar style. As the conversation unfolded, it became clear that the dithering effect was evoking a strong sense of nostalgia, even among younger commenters who associated it with retro comic books.
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- 01Story posted
Dec 23, 2025 at 2:09 PM EST
10 days ago
Step 01 - 02First comment
Dec 23, 2025 at 3:39 PM EST
1h after posting
Step 02 - 03Peak activity
24 comments in 0-6h
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Step 03 - 04Latest activity
Dec 26, 2025 at 3:15 AM EST
8 days ago
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In today's context, more for the aesthetic, presumably.
Oh and I have an original Quickshot II, which still works despite "Daley Thomson's Decathalon".
I'm going to give it to my son in law this Chrimbo - "Attack of the mutant camels" and "Matrix" etc needs new players.
That should have been a real CRT monitor to give this picture a true feeling of the 80s!
*set to channel 36, natch
Was that specific to C64? I recall old consoles and VCRs using either channel 3 or 4.
I'm surprised that people find this to be an example of clickbait. If I cared about views, I'd imagine an honest title like - "I turned my c64 into a digital fireplace" - would have probably been more appealing, no?
It’s an interesting article, but the title is a textbook example of clickbait and I’m surprised that you’re surprised.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clickbait
I tested every cap I removed, all of them nichicons from the mid 80s. They all measured to spec.
So it was kinda pointless at the end. Sure, it is going to be good for a few more decades, alongside the 1571 Ultimate II-L.
(yes, I replaced the original PSU. I bought separate modern, safe 9vac and 5vdc PSUs and an adapter to join them into the C64 power connector)
https://youtu.be/KH_0uybs93I
Which was a result of:
https://youtu.be/1EBfxjSFAxQ
Brought back happy memories of the much simpler, much less impressive falling snowflakes animation, complete with Silent Night soundtrack, that I laboriously wrote in Basic on my Vic-20 one Christmas back in the 80s.
There was apparently a demo party a while back where a Tiki 100 actually caught fire.
I remember this effect because there was a competition[1] where every entry was a fire effect in 256 bytes, and I was amazed at the simplicity of the core algorithm.
[1] https://www.pouet.net/party.php?which=1791&when=1996