---
title: COMART Communicator
categories:
- Computers
types:
- Professional Computer
origins:
- United Kingdom
years:
- '1979'
cpus:
- Z80-A
params:
  name: Communicator
  image: /media/museum/photos/comart_communicator_system_1.jpg
  company: /companies/comart
  company_name: COMART
  specs:
  - label: NAME
    value: Communicator
  - label: MANUFACTURER
    value: Comart
  - label: TYPE
    value: Professional Computer
  - label: ORIGIN
    value: United Kingdom
  - label: YEAR
    value: '1979'
  - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE
    value: None
  - label: KEYBOARD
    value: Serial video terminal
  - label: CPU
    value: Z80-A
  - label: SPEED
    value: Unknown
  - label: RAM
    value: 64 KB
  - label: TEXT MODES
    value: Depends on the video terminal used
  - label: I/O PORTS
    value: 2 x Serial RS-232
  - label: BUILT IN MEDIA
    value: 2 x 5.25'' floppy disc drives - 190 KB, 390 KB or 790 KB each
  - label: OS
    value: CP/M
  - label: POWER SUPPLY
    value: Built-in power supply unit
  - label: PERIPHERALS
    value: S-100 boards
  - label: PRICE
    value: $3500
  forum_thread: 742
  oc_id: 759
  source:
    url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230608143122/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=759
    date: '2023-06-08'
---

Comart was the computer system group that took over the Byte Shop/Computerland chain when it had financial difficulties in the late 70s. They were a large company distributing [North Star](/museum/northstar-horizon/) systems, and similar equipments. The Communicator was their first effort in distributing a British-made system.

The Communicator is a S-100 bus system based around a main chassis with a 10-slot-mother-board. The system had 64 KB of RAM and came with three variations of dual floppy disk drives.

Several S-100 boards were available. They offered Viewdata/Prestel capabilities, or 18.7 MB hard disk, with 13.4 MB cartridge backup.

The system ran CP/M operating system. A smaller system called **the Educator**, with networking facilities, was also available.

**Chris Coggins** adds:\
The Communicator was upgraded over several years until the Communicator was given multi-user capability by running MP/M80 but finished off running Intel 386 processors with 512 KB RAM running CCP/M86. Hard disk had grown to 40MB Rodime drive.

David Broad sold Comart to Kode International and 2 years later it lefts it's Cambridgeshire factory and moved to Swindon. The Company went downhill, dropped the S-100 bus to use standard PC architecture but eventually closed.