Editing Commodore 16 (section)

==Description==
Outwardly the C16 resembles the [[VIC-20]] and the [[Commodore 64]], but with a dark-gray or dark-brown case and light-gray keys. The keyboard layout differs slightly from the earlier models, adding an [[escape key]] and four [[cursor keys]] replacing the shifted-key arrangement the C64 and VIC-20 inherited from the PET series. The C16 is in some respects faster than the Commodore 64 and VIC-20; the processor runs at a speed roughly 75% faster, and the [[BASIC interpreter]] contains dedicated graphics commands, making drawing images considerably faster.

The system was designed around the [[MOS Technology TED|TED]] chip which included [[NTSC]] and [[PAL]] video, sound and [[DRAM refresh]] functionality. Though according to the designer it "was supposed to be as close to a single-chip computer as we could get in the 1980s,"<ref name="Herd21"/>{{rp|page=38}} the CPU, RAM, ROM and some [[glue logic]] were still on their own separate chips. (This was considerably less integrated than [[microcontroller]]s of the day, but those did not generally offer video and sound functionality.)

The C16 has 16 [[kilobyte|KB]] of [[Random-access memory|RAM]] with 12 KB available to its built-in BASIC interpreter. The TED chip offered a palette of 121 colors, which was considerably more than the 16 colors available on the Commodore 64's [[MOS Technology VIC-II|VIC-II]] video chip, but it lacked the VIC-II's [[sprite (computer graphics)|sprites]] and the sound capabilities were not as advanced as the [[MOS Technology 6581|SID]] also used in the Commodore 64.

From a practical user's point of view, three tangible features the C16 lacks are a [[modem]] port, a VIC-20/C64-compatible [[Commodore Datasette|Datasette]] and game ports. Commodore sold a C16-family-specific Datassette (the Commodore 1531) and [[joystick]]s, but the pins are identical to those used on the Commodore 64, so it can be used with a simple adapter, in fact Commodore themselves sold Commodore 16 models with C2N datasettes designed for the Commodore 64 with adapters after the initial production run.  The reason for changing the joystick ports was to reduce size.<ref>{{YouTube|id=xPD5N43VIsk|title=The Commodore C116 as shown by Bil Herd}}</ref>  The C16's serial port (Commodore's proprietary "serial [[Commodore bus|CBM-488]] bus", was a variation of the [[Commodore PET]] [[IEEE]] interface as used on the VIC-20 and Commodore 64, which meant that printers and disk drives were interchangeable with the older machines. As it was a serial interface, modems could be connected with a suitable interface. Partially for cost reasons, the user port, designed for modems and other devices, was omitted from the C16 (although the connections for it were still present on the system board). Despite costing less than the Plus/4, the C16's keyboard was higher quality and easier to type on.

[[Image:Commodore 16 Main PCB.jpg|thumb|Commodore 16 main [[Printed circuit board|PCB]], standard version]]

[[Image:C16pi.jpg|thumb|right|Early Commodore 16 single layer [[Printed circuit board|PCB]] (prototype), not used in regular series model]]

[[Image:C16OVPPS.jpg|thumb|<span style="font-size:85%>European box, Commodore 16 prototype (bottom left) and a regular series model with black case</span>]]

The Commodore 16 is one of three computers in its family. The even-less-successful Commodore 116 is functionally and technically similar but was shipped in a smaller case with a rubber [[chiclet keyboard]] and was only available in Europe. The family's flagship, the [[Commodore Plus/4]], was shipped in a similar case but has a 59-key full-travel keyboard (with a specifically advertised "cursor key diamond" of four keys, contrasted with the VIC-20's and C64's two + shift key scheme inherited from the [[Commodore PET|PET]]), 64 KB of RAM, a modem port, and built-in entry-level [[office suite]] software. Although shipped with 16K from the factory, it was possible to modify the C16 for 64K, making it able to run any Plus/4 software except applications that required the user port or built-in programs.{{cn|date=March 2020}}

{{citation needed span|date=March 2020|The C16 had a memory expansion port, labelled as a cartridge port on the machine, but referred to as a memory/cartridge port in the manual.  Commodore never sold a memory expansion for the C16, but they were available from third-party developers.  With 64&nbsp;KB, the C16 is identical to the [[Commodore Plus/4|Plus/4]], except for the built in software of the Plus/4.}}

Hardware designer [[Bil Herd]] notes that the C116 is the original member of this family of computers and is the original vision as imparted by Jack Tramiel to the engineering department. It was designed to sell for $49 to $79. The C16 and the Plus/4 came later and were mostly driven by the company trying to figure out what to do with the new computer family after Tramiel's departure from Commodore. 

In an early stage of development of the C16, Commodore was planning to have single-layer PCBs built in as an attempt of cost reducing, with the manufacturing cost of such a PCB being around $12.<ref>YouTube.com: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGBGLShWlco&t=2049 Life at Commodore (Act II) — Bil Herd]. {{Retrieved|access-date=15 February 2022}}</ref> But these plans were later discarded possibly due to technical problems.<ref name="Herd" /> It was the first and only attempt of Commodore using single-layer PCBs inside their computers, and only one such PCB is known to be preserved.