--- title: Sega SC 3000 / SC 3000H categories: - Computers types: - Home Computer origins: - Japan years: - '1983' cpus: - NEC D780C-1 params: name: SC 3000 / SC 3000H image: /media/museum/photos/sega_sc3000_system_s1.jpg company: /companies/sega company_name: Sega specs: - label: NAME value: SC 3000 / SC 3000H - label: MANUFACTURER value: Sega - label: TYPE value: Home Computer - label: ORIGIN value: Japan - label: YEAR value: '1983' - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE value: Sega Basic - label: KEYBOARD value: QWERTY full-stroke keyboard (SC-3000h) or rubber keys (SC-3000) - label: CPU value: NEC D780C-1 (Z80A clone) - label: SPEED value: 3.58 MHz - label: CO-PROCESSOR value: Texas Instruments TMS9929A (VDP) - label: RAM value: Depending on Basic cartridge used. - label: VRAM value: 16 kb - label: ROM value: 32 kb - label: TEXT MODES value: 40 x 25 - label: GRAPHIC MODES value: 256 x 192, 256 x 220 - label: COLORS value: 16-color palette with 16 intensities each (64 colors from a 256-color palette) - label: SOUND value: Texas Instruments SN-76596 PCM audio processor (6 channel sound) - label: I/O PORTS value: TV RF output, Composite video out, Cartridge slot, Expansion slot, Tape interface, Joystick (2), External Audio, Serial - label: BUILT IN MEDIA value: None - label: POWER SUPPLY value: External AC transformer - label: PERIPHERALS value: Printer-plotter, floppy disk drive - label: PRICE value: Unknown tabs: - photos - adverts - hardware - software - emulators - links - docs forum_thread: 216 photos: - title: SEGA SC-3000 subtitle: '' text: In Japan, Sega SC-3000 and 3000H had white cases. image: /media/museum/photos/scb1.jpg - title: SEGA SC-3000H subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/scb2.jpg - title: YENO SC-3000 subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/sega_sc3000_system_s2.jpg - title: YENO SC-3000H subtitle: '' text: Apart from the more convenient keyboard, the SC-3000H has same technical features as the SC-3000 image: /media/museum/photos/sega_sc3000h_system_s1.jpg - title: TOP VIEW subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/sega_sc3000_topview_s1.jpg - title: BOTH SIDES subtitle: '' text: |- On the left side, two joystick connectors,\ on the right side, the ROM cartridge slot. image: /media/museum/photos/sega_sc3000_sides_s1.jpg - title: SUPER CONTROL STATION subtitle: '' text: The SF-7000 Super Control Station is an expansion box featuring a 3" floppy disk drive, serial and parallel interfaces. The computer is connected to the sf-7000 through an I/O cartridge. image: /media/museum/photos/sega_sc3000_withfdunit_s1.jpg - title: SC-3000 KEYBOARD subtitle: '' text: The spongy rubber keyboard was really hard to use. Each key could perform up to five functions. image: /media/museum/photos/sega_sc3000_keyboard_s1.jpg - title: DISMANTLED subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/sega_sc3000_keybparts_s1.jpg - title: SC-3000H KEYBOARD subtitle: '' text: This keyboard was a great improvement on the previous one. A sheet of labels, delivered with the machine, allowed to stick symbols and BASIC commands allotted to each key. image: /media/museum/photos/sega_sc3000h_keyboard_s1.jpg - title: DISMANTLED subtitle: '' text: If you turn the keyboard upside down, you will have to put back 63 rubber caps on their keys -) image: /media/museum/photos/sega_sc3000h_keybparts_s1.jpg - title: SYMBOLS SHEET subtitle: '' text: Sheet of symbols that had to be sticked onto each SC-3000H keys. image: /media/museum/photos/sega_sc3000h_symbolssheet_s1.jpg - title: REAR PANEL subtitle: '' text: |- From left to right:\ • Power switch\ • External AC adapter jack (9V= + in the center of the jack)\ • Cassette drive In/Out jacks\ • Parallel printer DIN socket\ • RGB video output DIN socket\ • TV channel selector and TV aerial output jack (not installed in this French version) image: /media/museum/photos/sega_sc3000_rearconn_s1.jpg - title: INSIDE subtitle: '' text: |- The Yeno motherboard was built cheaply. The single sided printed circuit was of poor quality, with a lot of straps (junction between two holes of the circuit using a wire) which avoided the use of a more expensive double side circuit, no flat cables but many free and unprotected leads. These are the same manufacturing methods used by Yeno for cheap and large-scale produced video games. However, that does not seem to have any influence on the computer’s reliability.\ The RGB piggy-back card has been removed. **(1)** 16 KB video RAM chips (8x4118). The user RAM is contained in the BASIC cartridge\ **(2)** Texas Instruments TMS9929 video chipset, was also used in the MSX machines. Manages video display in text and graphic modes. The success of the SC 3000 is mainly due with the performances of this circuit.\ **(3)** 8255 programmable interface chipset. Manages several internal I/O: Tape In/Out, keyboard, parallel printer, joysticks\ **(4)** Joystick connectors\ **(5)** Keyboard connectors (Be very careful when you reconnect the fragile flat cable of the rubber keyboard version)\ **(6)** Location of the TV modulator, not installed in this French version\ **(7)** Heat sink of the power regulator located underneath the card\ **(8)** ROM cartridge connector\ **(9)** Z80A microprocessor. Here a Nec D780C version\ **(10)** Sega ROM chip holding system basic routines\ **(11)** 2 KB RAM chip used to store internal data image: /media/museum/photos/sega_sc3000_inside_s1.jpg - title: RGB CARD subtitle: '' text: Either a TV modulator or a RGB piggy-back card was installed, depending on the country the computer was sold. image: /media/museum/photos/sega_sc3000_rgbcard_s1.jpg - title: THE SC-3000 SYSTEM subtitle: '' text: 'To play and program, three peripherals were essential : the joystick, the tape recorder (which could be replaced with any standard model) and the 4-colour plotter/printer fitted with a Sharp brand mechanism.' image: /media/museum/photos/sega_sc3000_system_1.jpg - title: 'BOX #1' subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/sega_sc3000h_box_1.jpg - title: 'BOXES #2 & 3' subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/sega_sc3000_boxes_s1.jpg adverts: - title: 'NEW ZEALAND AD #1' subtitle: '' text: |- This was probably the very first advert of the SC3000 as the pictured machine still was a Japanese version.\ Notice that the price is in Australian$, probably without the Basic cartridge which is not mentioned in the advert. The SC-3000 was very popular in New Zealand in the early to mid 80's. Thanks to **Murray Moffatt** from New Zealand image: /media/museum/pubs/sega_sc3000_pub_s2.jpg - title: 'NEW ZEALAND AD #2' subtitle: '' text: |- Advert says:\ SEGA'S new hard keyboard and new hard disk drive, make Sega even harder to beat.\ The very latest industry standard 3" diskettes store a massive 328K of information each desk, and operate at speeds far in excess of their older 5 1/4 inch counterparts. Sega's super control station will also enable you to connect to many other attachments such as business printers electronic typewriters even telephone moderns, through it's two additional I/0 ports, for RS232C and parallel interfaces. Sega now boasts not only the most sophisticated and easy to learn basic language, the most incredible graphic capabilities, a sensational range of cartridge and cassette games, superb education and applications software written by and for New Zealanders, but also a very sophisticated, fast, small business system, with the state of the art Sega control station. Feel the difference, see the difference, compare the difference, and you too can enjoy the difference of Sega superiority. Notice that between numerous superlatives, the advertising agency mistook floppy disk for hard disk drive. Thanks to **Murray Moffatt** from New Zealand image: /media/museum/pubs/sega_sc3000_pub_s1.jpg hardware: - title: COMPLETE SYSTEM subtitle: '' text: Disk-drive extension (SF-7000), 4-colors plotter and tape-recorder. image: /media/museum/hardware/yeno_sc3000h_complete.jpg - title: TAPE RECORDER subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/sega_sc3000_taperecorder_s1.jpg - title: SF-7000 subtitle: Super Control Station text: This expansion box gathers a 3" 312 KB (156 KB per side) single sided floppy disk drive, 64 KB of extra system RAM, 16 KB of extra video RAM, standard Serial and Parallel interfaces. image: /media/museum/hardware/sega_sc3000_fdunit_s1.jpg - title: SJ-300 JOYSTICK subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/sega_sj300joystick_1.jpg - title: TWO SEGA JOYSTICKS subtitle: '' text: A joystick for the occasional player, another for the inveterate one. Both use an eight positions mechanism and have an Atari standard compatible connector. image: /media/museum/hardware/sega_sc3000_joysticks_1.jpg - title: STEERING WHEEL CONTROLLER subtitle: SH-400 text: For us with SC-3000 and SG-1000 systems image: /media/museum/hardware/sega_sc3000_steering-wheel.jpg emulators: - title: BRSMS url: http://www.lsi.usp.br/~ricardo/brsms.htm platform: MS DOS text: BrSMS is Sega Master System / Game Gear / SG1000 / SC3000 / Colecovision emulator - title: MEKA url: http://www.smspower.org/meka/ platform: MS DOS text: Emulates SC-3000, SG-1000, Sega Mark III, SMS, GG, Colecovision and Othello Multivision - title: SC3K url: http://www.vskl.de/segacomputer3000.htm platform: MS DOS text: DOS based SC-3000 dedicated emulator links: - title: Official SC-3000 pages from Sega! url: http://www.sega.co.jp/archive/segahard/sc3000/ text: Excellent. Lot of info here (specs, pix, soft lists, ads,etc.) - title: SC-3000 survivors url: http://www.sc-3000.com text: This site collect all information and support material for the SEGA SC-3000 and all the accessories that have been made for it. - title: SMS Force url: http://www.smsforce.com/sc3000/legal.xhtml text: The complete ROM set is here docs: - title: JOHN SANDS SEGA SC-3000H BROCHURE url: null cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/sega_sc3000h_john-sands-brochure.jpg text: |- **JOHN SANDS SEGA SC-3000H BROCHURE**\ written by John Sands / Sega  compiled/archived by Kees Enkelaar\  type of document : Online reader **... READ THE ONLINE VERSION BY CLICKING BELOW :** software: - /software/007-james-bond - /software/bank-panic - /software/basic-level-ii - /software/basic-level-iii-a - /software/basic-level-iii-b - /software/bomb-jack - /software/borderline - /software/chack-n-pop - /software/champion-base-ball - /software/champion-billiards - /software/champion-boxing - /software/champion-golf - /software/champion-ice-hockey - /software/champion-kendou - /software/champion-pro-wrestling - /software/champion-soccer - /software/champion-tennis - /software/championship-loderunner - /software/choplifter - /software/congo-bongo - /software/doki-doki-penguin-land - /software/dragon-wang - /software/drol - /software/elevator-action - /software/exerion - /software/flicky - /software/flipper - /software/girl-s-garden - /software/golgo-13 - /software/gp-world - /software/gulkave - /software/guzzler - /software/h-e-r-o - /software/hang-on-ii - /software/home-mahjong - /software/hustle-chumy - /software/hyper-sports - /software/kagaku-gensokigou-master - /software/lode-runner - /software/monaco-gp - /software/n-sub - /software/ninja-princess - /software/orguss - /software/othello - /software/pacar - /software/pachinko - /software/pachinko-ii - /software/pitfall-ii-the-lost-caverns - /software/pop-flamer - /software/q-bert - /software/rock-n-bolt - /software/safari-hunting - /software/safari-race - /software/sega-galaga - /software/sega-sc-3000-music-editor - /software/shinnyushain-tooru-kun - /software/sindbad-mystery - /software/soukoban - /software/space-invaders-131 - /software/space-mountain - /software/space-slalom - /software/star-force - /software/star-jacker - /software/super-tank - /software/tanoshii-sansuu - /software/the-black-onyx - /software/the-castle - /software/wonder-boy - /software/yamato - /software/zaxxon - /software/zippy-race - /software/zoom-909 oc_id: 206 source: url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230609051741/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=206 date: '2023-06-09' --- The SC-3000 is a computer based on the hardware of the first videogame systems released by Sega in Japan : the SG-1000 series. It can use the same game cartridges marketed for these consoles. The SC3000 can't be used without a ROM cartridge, which can be either a game or language. There were three different BASIC cartridges. One came with only 1Kb of RAM (and you had only 512 bytes free !), the second with 16Kb and the last with 32Kb. In official adverts, they show a total RAM of 48Kb. This was counting the VRAM and the 32Kb BASIC cartridge... Several great games were adapted by Sega for this computer. Several graphic characteristics of the SC-3000 are fairly close to MSX ones. For example, it was one of the first computers to offer 32 sprites. Some months later, Sega released the **SC-3000 H** which was the same system but with a mechanical keyboard. This computer was also marketed by Yeno under the same name ([Yeno SC 3000 & SC 3000H](/museum/yeno-sc-3000-sc-3000h/)). It was exactly the same computer except for the Yeno brand...