VIC20 Penultimate Cartridge

Name: VIC20 Penultimate Cartridge
SKU: 41163
Price: 100.00 USD
Availability: InStock

10th Anniversary Limited Edition Reissue of the original VIC20 Penultimate Cartridge. 35K RAM.

Designed by Tynemouth Software in United Kingdom

2026-01-29T00:10:04.417Z-Penultimate Cartridge V4.3D Angled.jpg

2026-01-29T00:10:04.417Z-Penultimate Cartridge V4.3D.jpg

2026-01-29T00:10:04.417Z-Penultimate Cartridge V4.3D in Case Angled.jpg

2026-01-29T00:10:04.417Z-Penultimate Cartridge V4.3D in Case.jpg

2026-01-29T00:13:00.744Z-Cartridge Installed.jpg

2026-01-29T00:11:23.778Z-V4.3 In cartridge shell.jpg

2026-01-29T00:11:23.778Z-V4.3 in Pirate Cove Case.jpg

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10th Anniversary Limited Edition Reissue of the original VIC20 Penultimate Cartridge. 35K RAM.

What is it? This is the 10th anniversary limited edition reissue of the original VIC20 Penultimate Cartridge. This is the version before The Future Was 8 bit designed a custom injection moulded case …

What is it?

This is the 10th anniversary limited edition reissue of the original VIC20 Penultimate Cartridge.

This is the version before The Future Was 8 bit designed a custom injection moulded case for the cartridge. It is designed to fit into a standard Commodore cartridge case (or one of the TFW8b ones). The menu button sticks out of the slot at the back of the cartridge.

It is optionally available with a clear TFW8b cartridge shell to show it off, or you can use one of your own.

Why did you make it?

It is now 10 years since I first sold the Penultimate Cartridge. In that time I think it has firmly established itself as a must have accessory for the VIC20.

The current latest version is the Penultimate +3. This has 280K of paged RAM, 230 ROMs, a built in file browser, turbo loader, DOS wedge and SD2IEC drive.

This is not that cartridge.

This is the very first menu driven Penultimate Cartridge (the previous version used DIP switches).

It has the following specifications:

Replica version 4.3 PCB
Original firmware with no updates or bug fixes or extra features
Menu button to select ROM or RAM options
RAM expansion offering up to 35K RAM (selectable as 0K, 3K, 8K, 11K, 24K, 27K, 32K, 35K)
39 ROM titles (see photos for menu listing)
Autostart of text adventure ROMs
Boot to "*" or "FB20" from disk (not included)
Sockets for all ICs
Hand built and numbered

What options are there?

The cartridge comes built and tested and ready to install in a standard cartridge case (not included)

Optionally, it can be supplied in a clear TFW8b cartridge case if you don't want to hide away your valuable limited edition cartridge which will surely be worth at least $1M in no time.

Caveats

The $1M is not guaranteed
Not all ROMs will work in all regions
Some games may require use of joystick to centre the game on the screen
The cartridge contains the PAL and NTSC versions of the VIC20 diagnostics cartridge, this will test ROM and RAM, but will need a test harness (not included) to complete testing
The last 4 pictures show an original cartridge, installed in a Pirate Cove cartridge (not included) in a VIC20 (also not included)
The video linked below shows a review from 10 years ago of this hardware revision, although it has a slightly later firmware version V5.0B, which added a couple of more titles, I have kept with the original release V4.3D firmware for these cartridges.

What it isn't

Just a reminder that this is the a reissue of the version sold 10 years ago, for those who want to experience that, or add to their collection of other Penultimate Cartridges.

It is not the latest all-singing, all-dancing version, that is available from

https://www.tfw8b.com/product/penultimate/

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Tynemouth Software Shipping Policy:

Tracked shipping is recommended on international orders. Parcel will include full value declaration and may be liable to additional delays, tariffs or customs fees upon arrival. Please be aware of this before ordering, there is nothing I can do about it.