--- title: NEC PC 6001 categories: - Computers types: - Home Computer origins: - Japan years: - '1981' cpus: - PD 780c-1 params: name: PC 6001 image: /media/museum/photos/nec_pc6001.jpg company: /companies/nec company_name: NEC specs: - label: NAME value: PC 6001 - label: MANUFACTURER value: NEC - label: TYPE value: Home Computer - label: ORIGIN value: Japan - label: YEAR value: November 1981 - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE value: Microsoft N60 Basic - label: KEYBOARD value: Chicklet keyboard, 71 keys, JIS standard layout - label: CPU value: PD 780c-1 (compatible with Z80) - label: SPEED value: 3.8 MHz - label: CO-PROCESSOR value: M5C6847P-1 video generator (MC6847 compatible) - label: RAM value: 16 KB (up to 32 KB) - label: VRAM value: Unknown - label: ROM value: 16 KB (Basic) + 4 KB (character ROM) - label: TEXT MODES value: 32 x 16 - label: GRAPHIC MODES value: 256 x 192 / 256 x 128 / 128 x 192 / 128 x 128 / 64 x 48 - label: COLORS value: monochrome (256 x 192) / 2 (128 x 192) / 9 (64 x 48) - label: SOUND value: three channels, 8 octaves (General Instruments AY-3-8910) - label: SIZE / WEIGHT value: Unknown - label: I/O PORTS value: Tape (600 / 1200 baud), RGB, Centronics, Joystick (2), ROM/RAM cartridges, Audio - label: PERIPHERALS value: Unknown - label: PRICE value: Unknown tabs: - photos - adverts - hardware - software - emulators forum_thread: 187 photos: - title: PC-6001 subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/nec_pc6001_extension.jpg - title: 'PC-6001 #2' subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/nec_pc6001_3.jpg - title: PC-6001A "NEC-TREK" subtitle: '' text: |- This improved version of the 6001 was marketed in the USA as the "NEC Trek" computer.\ Some versions were bundled with joysticks, thermal printer, cassette recorder, monitor, disk drive, "expander," and some other goodies for $350. image: /media/museum/photos/nec_pc6001a_system_s1.jpg - title: REAR subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/nec_pc6001_rear.jpg - title: KEYBOARD subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/nec_pc6001_keyboard_1.jpg - title: LEATHER COVER subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/nec_pc6001_leather-cover_1.jpg - title: BASIC CART & RAM EXPANSION subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/nec_pc6001_docs-et-carts.jpg - title: THE BOX subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/nec_pc6001_2.jpg adverts: - title: NICE AD (1983) subtitle: '' text: |- As computing was a serious and professional subject, the humorus adverts was rare in 1983.\ This one said: When I told my Dad about NEC TREK, NEC's new personal computer, he wanted one right away. I told him it has 10 programmable function keys; high powered graphic capabilities, powerful Microsoft BASIC included, and a 8-octave programmable musical tone generator. He said it has lot of 'fun games'. I told him how its memory storage can interface with cassette diskette or cartridge, and how it has a wide variety of of sophisticated software available - important things like financial management package... He just challenged me to a game of Protector. That's my Dad. I love him, but sometimes I wish he could understand how a kid feels. image: /media/museum/pubs/nec_pc6001_pub_1.jpg hardware: - title: PC-6006 subtitle: RAM expansion text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/nec_pc6001_ram-rom_cart.jpg - title: PC-6006 subtitle: inside text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/nec_pc6001_6006-inside.jpg - title: SERIAL RS232 EXPANSION subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/nec_pc6001_rs232_600.jpg - title: SPEECH SYNTESIZER subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/nec_pc6001_synthe_vocal_600.jpg - title: JOYSTICK subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/joystick_600.jpg - title: DUAL 5.25'' FLOPPY DRIVES UNIT subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/nec_pc6001_disk_600.jpg - title: VIDEO RECORDER INTERFACE subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/nec_pc6001_scope_600.jpg - title: GRAPHIC PAD subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/nec_pc6001_tablette_600.jpg - title: DOT-MATRIX PRINTER subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/printer_600.jpg - title: 4-COLOUR PRINTER-PLOTTER subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/nec_pc6001_tracante2_600.jpg - title: THERMAL PRINTER subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/nec_pc6001_tracante_600.jpg screenshots: - title: BOOT SCREEN subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/nec_pc6001_boot.jpg emulators: - title: PC6001v url: http://yumitaro.pobox.ne.jp/P6/index.html platform: MS DOS text: Japanese emulator - title: IP6WIN url: http://www02.so-net.ne.jp/~m-moriya/ platform: Windows text: Japanese emulator - title: Virtual NEC Trek url: http://www.geocities.com/emucompboy/ platform: Windows text: An emulator for the NEC Trek (aka NEC PC-6001A) by James the Animal Tamer! oc_id: 177 source: url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230605044139/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=177 date: '2023-06-05' --- The NEC PC 6001 is the first member of the great NEC PC family. During the 80's and the beginning of the 90's, the big Japanese electronics companies launched several series of computers, they were very powerful and had great features (some of them were costly options or totally non-existent on European or American computers at the time), the [FM series from Fujitsu](/museum/fujitsu-fm-7/), the [JR series from Matsushita](/museum/matsushita-national-jr-100/) (Panasonic), the [Pasopia from Toshiba](/museum/toshiba-pasopia/), the [Basic Master from Hitachi](/museum/hitachi-mb-6885-basic-master-jr/), the [X1](/museum/sharp-x1-cz-800c/) and [X680x0 series](/museum/sharp-x68000/) from Sharp and all the [MSX computers](/museum/msx-1/) are good examples of this. The NEC PC series was among them, they had a really great success and the later models of this family are still use today. The NEC PC-6001 also had an American version, called the **NEC TREK**, or the **NEC PC-6001A**. Its ROMs are different from its Japanese progenitor.