---
title: MITS Altair 680
categories:
- Computers
types:
- Professional Computer
origins:
- U.S.A.
years:
- '1975'
cpus:
- Motorola 6800
params:
  name: Altair 680
  company: /companies/mits
  company_name: MITS
  specs:
  - label: NAME
    value: Altair 680
  - label: MANUFACTURER
    value: MITS
  - label: TYPE
    value: Professional Computer
  - label: ORIGIN
    value: U.S.A.
  - label: YEAR
    value: October 1975
  - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE
    value: None
  - label: KEYBOARD
    value: 27 address, data and control switches
  - label: CPU
    value: Motorola 6800
  - label: SPEED
    value: 500 KHz.
  - label: CO-PROCESSOR
    value: None
  - label: RAM
    value: 1 KB
  - label: ROM
    value: 1 KB
  - label: TEXT MODES
    value: Depends on the video terminal used
  - label: SIZE / WEIGHT
    value: 28 (W) x 28 (D) x 12 (H) cm.
  - label: I/O PORTS
    value: Serial port
  - label: BUILT IN MEDIA
    value: None in basic version
  - label: POWER SUPPLY
    value: Built_in power supply unit
  - label: PERIPHERALS
    value: Memory board, I/O board
  - label: PRICE
    value: 'Kit form: about $300, assembled: $420'
  tabs:
  - photos
  - adverts
  - hardware
  - links
  photos:
  - title: SYSTEM
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  - title: BACK SIDE
    subtitle: ''
    text: Basic version only featured one serial connector.
    image: null
  - title: INSIDE
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  - title: FRONT
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  - title: POPULAR ELECTRONICS
    subtitle: ''
    text: The November 1975 issue of Popular Electronics showed a first version of the Altair 680 and explained in an article how to build it.
    image: null
  adverts:
  - title: US ADVERT (JAN. 1976)
    subtitle: ''
    text: from Creative Computing magazine dated january 1976
    image: null
  - title: US ADVERT (SEPT. 1976)
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  - title: US ADVERT (JAN. 1977)
    subtitle: ''
    text: for the 680B and 8800B models
    image: null
  hardware:
  - title: 'ALTAIR MINIDISK #1'
    subtitle: ''
    text: The Altair Minidisk was released in June 1977, one month after MITS was sold to Pertec. It was probably the first 5.25" floppy drive unit intended for a home computer.
    image: null
  - title: 'ALTAIR MINIDISK #2'
    subtitle: ''
    text: The floppy disk drive was a Shugard SA400, single side, single density, 110 KB of maximum capacity. The first 5.25" drive ever manufactured.
    image: null
  links:
  - title: VirtualAltair
    url: http://www.virtualaltair.com/
    text: The Virtual Altair Museum is collecting information and components to help preserve Altair history.
  comments:
  - author: Cristina Saunier (San Francosco, CA)
    date: Monday 1st June 2015
    text: Did you work in Albuquerque? My dad worked for MITS. He is Don Saunier.
  - author: Ron Scales (Tucson AZ)
    date: Wednesday 20th September 2006
    text: Some peripherals were not mentioned in the description. The 680b had a 16Kx8 bit static RAM, 16Kx8 bit dynamic RAM, Audio Cassette interface, Process Control interface, Universal I/O interface, A/D-D/A interface, and 5.25" Mini Disk Interface w/Basic. I used to work at MITS in the 70's.
  oc_id: 892
  source:
    url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230131010751/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=892
    date: '2023-01-31'
---

The Altair 680 appeared about one year after the successful [Altair 8800](/museum/mits-altair-8800/) was launched. With this model, MITS attempted to offer a new system based on the well known Motorola 6800 processor and then cover a large market share in small computer business.

The computer was available in kit or assembled form, It was smaller than the 8800 but kept the same design of front panel and switches. It featured 1 KB of RAM (4 times the 8800 RAM) and 1 KB of ROM with support for a serial terminal and punch tape reader.

For $420, customer got an assembled system with no display and no mass storage devices. program had to be entered each time the system was switched on using binary address and data switches. At power off, all of the RAM content was definitly lost. In fact, in order to get a really usable system with terminal or Teletype and tape or floppy disc storage, user had to invest about $2000, a fortune at the time.

First available programming language was the BASIC 2.0 the young Micro-Soft company ported from the Intel 8080 to the 6800.

As the Altair 680 wasn't the first and cheaper 6800 based system, it didn't meet a great success. It was followed by the **680B** and the **680B Turnkey** where all front panel switches were replaced with an unique power key.