#pc-8201a

[taperwolf]

I just realized I hadn't ever taken pictures of my oldest operational computer — from 1983, my NEC PC-8201A.

This hardware platform was designed and built by Kyocera, and variations were also sold as the Radio-Shack TRS-80 Model 100, the Olivetti M10, and the Kyocera Keytronic. It's based on the Intel 80C85, and came with 16k ram and 32k rom that includes the OS, BASIC interpreter, text editor, and terminal program. The screen displays either 40x8 characters or graphics with a 240x64 resolution.

When I got it, it had no power supply and a dead NiCad battery pack. I managed to find a brick-on-a-string power supply with the right voltage, and modded it to fit, and had a local battery shop rebuild the battery pack with fresh cells. I've been meaning to track down one of the battery packs for it that takes AA cells, but haven't ever gotten to it. Likewise, it's supposed to be pretty straightforward to connect to a more modern system via the serial port, or expand the RAM to 64k, but these are projects that I haven't gotten around to.

#vintage technology #vintage computing #nec pc 8201a #portable computer

[yodaprod]

NEC PC-8201a (1983)

#nec #kyocera #pc-8201 #pc-8201a #computer #technology #8bit #1980s #80s #80's #1983

[krjpalmer]

inCider August 1984

While his name wasn’t on the cover any more, Wayne Green did get a front-of-this-issue column still billed as “publisher” where he expressed great skepticism about “home computers” (complete with just a bit of condescension towards blue-collar workers and a drift in focus to his NEC 8201A portable, which he would soon start a new magazine to promote comparable computers, trying to call them “picos”). An editor of this magazine coauthored an article with an editor of a PCjr-focused magazine from the same publishing company, pitting IBM’s home computer against the Apple IIc. They started off comparing specs and wound up arguing “your computer’s preconfigured for the timid/your computer needs to be tinkered with to do anything.”

#computer magazine cover #incider

[legacyboot]

Image: http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/16680/NEC-PC-8201A/

NEC PC-8201A

Got two in matching brown and beige.

The NEC PC-8201A was based on the Tandy TRS-80 Model 100, itself a rebranded Kyocera Kyotronic 85. The Olivetti M-10 also shared the same platform. Together these four were among the first ever “laptop” computers.

Kyocera Kyotronic 85

Tandy TRS-80 Model 100

Olivetti M-10

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEC_PC-8201A 

http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=334

http://www.web8201.net (also the source of the Kyocera, Tandy and Olivetti photos)

#laptop #NEC