--- title: Sony Hit-Bit 55 categories: - Computers params: name: Hit-Bit 55 company: /companies/sony company_name: Sony tabs: - photos - adverts - hardware - emulators - links photos: - title: SILVER MODEL subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: RED MODEL subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: LEFT & RIGHT SIDES subtitle: '' text: Two joystick connectors are located on the right side. image: null - title: KEYBOARD CLOSE-UP subtitle: '' text: In spite of its flat keys, the keyboard has a goof typing feeling. image: null - title: REAR CONNECTORS subtitle: '' text: |- **(1)** Expansion connector, protected by a plastic lid\ **(2)** RF/aerial video output\ **(3)** Parallel printer connector\ **(4)** Tape recorder DIN socket (In, Out and remote control).\ **(5)** Composite PAL video output, some models had a RGB output, depending on the country they were sold.\ Pal pinouts:\ 1 - +12v\ 2 - Composite video out\ 3 - Ground\ 5 - Not used\ 6 - Audio out image: null - title: MOTHERBOARD subtitle: '' text: |- **(1)** Z80 microporsessor, here a Sharp version\ **(2)** Yamaha sound generator chip, AY-8910 equivalent\ **(3)** 16 KB user RAM (8x4116)\ **(4)** 16K BASIC and 8K built-in applications ROMs\ **(5)** TMS 9929 video chip and its heat sink\ **(6)** 16 KB video RAM (8x4116)\ **(7)** Keyboard connectors\ **(8)** Power supply connector\ **(9)** 8255 I/O chip\ **(10)** Provision is made for a SCART interface and socket. image: null - title: INSIDE ELECTRONICS subtitle: '' text: One can spot the power transformer and a rather complicated add-on card which holds the power regulation and video output components. image: null - title: BOOT SCREEN subtitle: '' text: |- Boot screen allowing to select built-in firmware options or the Basic interpreter. Thanks to **Jorge A. Gutiérrez** image: null - title: BUILT-IN SOFTWARE subtitle: '' text: This is the HB-55 running the built-in schedule software... image: null adverts: - title: JAPANESE ADVERT (1984) subtitle: '' text: '' image: null hardware: - title: SONY EXPANSIONS subtitle: '' text: This is a most complete HB-55 system with a Sony monitor, disk-drive, printer, joystick and infra-red controller, game cartridges, memory cartridge, etc. image: null - title: NATIONAL CF-2131 subtitle: 16 KB RAM expansion text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/national_cf2131_16k-cart.jpg - title: CASIO OR-216 - 16 KB RAM EXPANSION subtitle: Box text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/casio_or216_16kbramexpansion_box.jpg - title: PHILIPS RAM EXPANSION subtitle: '' text: |- RAM expansion and LOGO language cartridges. Thanks to Daniele from Italy image: /media/museum/hardware/philips_vg8020_cartridges_s1.jpg - title: MEGA RAM DISK 256 subtitle: from DDX (Brazil) text: This is the famous Megaram cartridge made in Brzail, used to play all Konami cracked Megarom games.6401999243 image: /media/museum/hardware/msx_megaram256-ddx_1.jpg - title: PANASONIC FS-IFA1 & FW-RSU1W subtitle: Scanner/Printer interface text: The FS-IFA1 is the printer/scanner interface (left on the picture) and the FW-RSU1W is the handheld scanner (right on the picture). These expansions are for MSX2 systems. image: /media/museum/hardware/msx_fs-ifa1_fw-rsu1w.jpg - title: SONY HBI-232 subtitle: RS232c cartridge text: Used to connect serial printers. image: /media/museum/hardware/sony_msx_rs232c-cartridge.jpg - title: 'YAMAHA MOUSE #1' subtitle: '' text: |- This mouse was compatible with all MSX systems. It connects to the first Joystick port. Thanks to **www.zonadepruebas.com** image: /media/museum/hardware/yamaha_mouse_s2.jpg - title: 'YAMAHA MOUSE #2' subtitle: '' text: |- Brand new! Thanks to **www.zonadepruebas.com** image: /media/museum/hardware/yamaha_mouse_s1.jpg - title: PHILIPS VW0020 subtitle: 80-col dot-matrix printer text: |- This printer was a rebadged version of the Seikosha GP-500.\ It was a 80-column, 50 CPS model with a 7x5 dot matrix head.\ Commodore and Atari used same hardware basis for their MPS-801 and 1029 printers. image: /media/museum/hardware/philips_vg8020_printervw0020_s1.jpg - title: SANYO PHC-DR II subtitle: Side text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/sanyo_phc-drii_side_1.jpg - title: SANYO PHC-DR II subtitle: Front text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/sanyo_phc-drii_front_1.jpg - title: SANYO DR-202 subtitle: '' text: The ADSS system allowed to quickly search a specific program in a cassette tape and load it. Seach time for a C60 cassette was less than 1 minute. image: /media/museum/hardware/sanyo_phc28_dr202tapedrive_s1.jpg - title: NATIONAL RQ-8030 subtitle: tape-recorder text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/national_tape_rq8030.jpg - title: BIT-CORDER subtitle: '' text: Cassete recorder dedicated to Hit-Bit MSX systems, though it could be used with any home computers. image: /media/museum/hardware/sony_hb201_bitcorder_1.jpg emulators: - title: fMSX for MS DOS Homepage url: http://www.komkon.org/~dekogel/fmsx.html platform: MS DOS text: '' - title: BlueMSX url: http://www.bluemsx.com/ platform: Windows text: Excellent free MSX emulator - title: BrMSX url: http://www.lsi.usp.br/~ricardo/brmsx.htm platform: Windows text: A Bresilian MSX Emulator written in 100% assembler - title: CompuJunk's MSX Emulator url: http://ftp.castel.nl/msx/ platform: Windows text: A MSX1 and MSX2 Emulator - title: RuMSX url: http://members.eunet.at/lexlechz/msx.html platform: Windows text: A MSX Emulator for Win95 and Win NT + Direct X - title: fMSX for MAC OS Homepage url: http://www.emulation.net/msx/index.html platform: Apple text: '' - title: fMSX official Homepage url: http://www.komkon.org/fms/fMSX platform: Multiplatform text: 'fMSX is a portable MSX emulator ported on : Amiga OS, Mac OS, MS DOS, OS/2, Sony Playstation, Risc OS, Towns OS, Unix / X, Win95 / NT, X68K.' - title: openMSX - The MSX emulator that aims for perfection. url: http://openmsx.sourceforge.net/ platform: Multiplatform text: This new MSX emulator can reproduce, among many other MSX, MSX2and MSX2+ machines, both Panasonic Turbo-R models. Be sure to get the catapult frontend and the system roms from FUNET. links: - title: Baboo! url: http://www.baboo.net/baboo.shtml text: MSX dedicated Yahoo clone. Essential ! - title: FILE-HUNTER.COM url: http://www.file-hunter.com/ text: Excellent! All MSX emulators, sources and utilities! - title: FTP da MSXBr-L/MSX.Org.Br url: http://www.caetano.eng.br/msxsoft/ text: Excellent brasilian software archive - title: MOAI TECH url: http://www.moai-tech.com/ text: Spanish/English website with interesting content - title: MSX Hardware List url: http://www.faq.msxnet.org/hardware.html text: An impressive list of MSX hardware. The Bible !!! - title: MSX Ressource Center url: http://www.msx.org/ text: Essential site ! - title: Possi's Konami MSX Page url: http://dynamo.geol.msu.ru/MSX/ text: Nice page dedicated to all Konami MSX games (roms, scans, mids, etc.) - title: The MSX Games Box url: http://www.msxgamesbox.com text: All about MSX gaming (games, covers.etc.). More Fun, Less Mhz! - title: The MSX Museum BOX url: http://www.msxmuseumbox.com text: More than 190 different MSX models in pictures. - title: The ultimate MSX Faq url: http://www.faq.msxnet.org text: Here, you can find near all hardware pieces related to MSX. - title: Web Wiz CAPTCHA url: http://www.webwizcaptcha.com text: The MSX home computer system comments: - author: Roger Jowett (Ulster Londonderry) date: Saturday 6th April 2013 text: |- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v$zsjTpFR0oYQ please help we have zx spectrum 48k and one 128k program running at 6mhz using external ram and snapper discs from velesoft site - author: ESLES (DSS) date: Tuesday 17th January 2012 text: My first computer... I love It! - author: ESLES (DSS) date: Tuesday 17th January 2012 text: My first computer... I love It! - author: Alberto (Madrid (Spain)) date: Friday 3rd January 2003 text: :) ooh I really love the Sony MSX machines... thankyou very much for this info. Best regards. related: - /museum/canon-v-10 - /museum/canon-v-20 - /museum/canon-v-8 - /museum/casio-mx-10-mx-101 - /museum/casio-pv-16 - /museum/casio-pv-7 - /museum/epcom-sharp-hotbit-hb-8000 - /museum/fujitsu-fm-x - /museum/general-paxon-pct-50 - /museum/goldstar-fc-80-fc-200 - /museum/gradiente-expert-plus - /museum/gradiente-expert-xp-800 - /museum/hitachi-ah-200 - /museum/hitachi-h1-h1e - /museum/hitachi-h2 - /museum/mitsubishi-ml-f110-ml-f120 - /museum/mitsubishi-ml-f48-ml-f80 - /museum/mitsubishi-ml-fx1-fx2 - /museum/mitsubishi-ml-g10 - /museum/msx-1 - /museum/national-cf-2000 - /museum/national-cf-2700 - /museum/national-cf-3000 - /museum/national-fs-4000 - /museum/national-fs-4500 - /museum/olympia-phc-2 - /museum/panasonic-cf-2700 - /museum/philips-nms-801 - /museum/philips-vg-8000-8010 - /museum/philips-vg-8020 - /museum/philips-vg-8235 - /museum/pioneer-palcom-px-7 - /museum/sanyo-mpc-100 - /museum/sanyo-phc-28 - /museum/sanyo-phc-30 - /museum/sanyo-phc-33 - /museum/sanyo-wavy-10-mpc-10 - /museum/sanyo-wavy-23 - /museum/sanyo-wavy-3 - /museum/schneider-philips-mc-810 - /museum/sony-hit-bit-10 - /museum/sony-hit-bit-101 - /museum/sony-hit-bit-20 - /museum/sony-hit-bit-201 - /museum/sony-hit-bit-501 - /museum/sony-hit-bit-75 - /museum/spectravideo-svi-728 - /museum/toshiba-hx-10-pasopia-iq - /museum/toshiba-hx-20-hx-21-pasopia-iq - /museum/toshiba-hx-52 - /museum/victor-hc-6 - /museum/yamaha-cx5 - /museum/yamaha-cx5m-music-computer - /museum/yamaha-sx-100 - /museum/yamaha-yis-303 - /museum/yamaha-yis-503-diabolik - /museum/yashica-yc-64 - /museum/yeno-dpc-64 - /museum/yeno-mx-64 oc_id: 784 source: url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230328221645/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=784 date: '2023-03-28' --- The Hit-Bit 55 was a classic [MSX1](/museum/msx-1/) computer. It was very similar to the [Hit-Bit 75](/museum/sony-hit-bit-75/). Its most distinctive sign was its flat but good quality keyboard. It was one of the few MSX with the [Philips VG-8000](/museum/philips-vg-8000-8010/) to have a low-cost keyboard. Unlike the HB-75, it had only 16 KB RAM. There was a built-in software (scheduler and memo) which was a kind of cut-down version of the one built-in the HB-75, program size was only 8 KB against 16 KB on the HB-75, it seems that some version had the 16 KB version though. To save files made with this apps, a 4K S-RAM non-volatile cartridge was used (called HBI-55). The Hit-Bit 55 was clearly marketed as the low-range MSX model of the Hit-Bit serie. It was also available in a red and black cases.
We need more info about this console ! If you designed, used, or have more info about this system, please send us pictures or anything you might find useful.