--- title: HEATHKIT / ZENITH H-89 categories: - Computers types: - Professional Computer origins: - U.S.A. years: - '1979' cpus: - Zilog Z80 params: name: H-89 image: /media/museum/photos/h89.jpg company: /companies/heathkit-zenith company_name: HEATHKIT / ZENITH specs: - label: NAME value: H-89 - label: MANUFACTURER value: Heathkit / Zenith - label: TYPE value: Professional Computer - label: ORIGIN value: U.S.A. - label: YEAR value: '1979' - label: END OF PRODUCTION value: '1983' - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE value: None - label: KEYBOARD value: Full stroke keyboard with numeric keypad - label: CPU value: Zilog Z80 - label: SPEED value: 2.048 MHz - label: RAM value: From 16 KB up to 64 KB - label: ROM value: Custom bootup & monitor - label: TEXT MODES value: 80 chars. x 24 lines ( + one independant line) - label: GRAPHIC MODES value: No graphics mode. 33 graphic characters - label: COLORS value: Monochrome green phosphore display - label: SOUND value: Beep - HUG magazine had a article on how to use one of the serial ports as a crude - label: I/O PORTS value: RS232 (two, up to six), Centronics, IEEE 488 - label: BUILT IN MEDIA value: 90 KB floppy drive - label: OS value: HDOS, CP/M, MP/M - label: POWER SUPPLY value: Built-in power supply unit - label: PRICE value: $1,800 as kit in 1979 w/ 1 floppy drive tabs: - photos - adverts - hardware - software forum_thread: 147 photos: - title: H89 AND H77 FD UNIT subtitle: '' text: |- Complete Heathkit H89 system with the H77 F.D. unit and the Heathkit H-14 serial printer. The H77 unit had a storage capacity of 150 KB x 2. This configuration allowed a system disk to be installed in the H89 integrated floppy and data disks in the external unit drives. image: /media/museum/photos/heathkit_h89_h89-h77_1.jpg - title: THE PERFORATED RUBBON READER subtitle: '' text: it can read 50 characters / second and write 10 characters / seconds image: /media/museum/photos/rub_h11.jpg - title: H/Z-67 HARD DISK UNIT subtitle: '' text: It contained one 10MB 8" winchester drive and one 8" floppy drive image: /media/museum/photos/p_z891.jpg - title: Z-47 (8'' FDD) subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/p_z892.jpg - title: THE H19 / Z19 TERMINAL subtitle: '' text: This terminal is simply a H89 system without the logic CPU board and disk storage. It was called Heathkit H19 in kit form and Zenith Z19 in assembled form. It could be connected to any system via a serial connection. image: /media/museum/photos/heathkit_h19_terminal_1.jpg - title: UNOPENED KIT subtitle: '' text: When a customer ordered a H89 in kit version, he received five boxes. The 5th. one holded the case, floppy disc drive and manuals image: /media/museum/photos/heathkit_h89_kitunopened_4.jpg - title: DUST COVER subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/heathkit_h89_dustcover_1.jpg adverts: - title: 1979 RANGE ADVERT subtitle: '' text: |- Advert shows: \- the **WH89** computer ($2295)\ \- the **WH11A** 16-bit computer, DEC PDP 11/03 compatible ($1895)\ \- the **WH19** video terminal ($995)\ \- the **WH26** dual floppy disc system ($2595)\ \- the **WH14** serial printer ($895) To note: in 1979, the company name was **Heath Schlumberger data systems.** image: /media/museum/pubs/heathkit_h89_pub_2.jpg - title: 1980 RANGE ADVERT subtitle: '' text: |- Advert said: Choose from three computer systems:\ The H-89 All-In-One Computer gives you everything in one compact, convenient unit.\ The flexible H8 gives you the freedom to combine memory and interfacing for exactly the system you require.\ And the powerful H11A gives you 16-bit power for your most complex programs.\ The Heathkit line includes video terminals, matrix and letter quality printers, and accessories. You'll even find award-winning self-instruction packages to teach yourself programming in Basic or Assembly. image: /media/museum/pubs/heathkit_h89_pub_1.jpg - title: 1982 HEATHKIT CENTERS subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/pubs/heathkit_h89_pub_3.jpg - title: 'HEATHKIT CENTERS #2' subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/pubs/heathkit_h89_pub_4.jpg - title: HEATH 19 TERMINAL (1982) subtitle: '' text: |- $595 was the price in kit form, F.O.B. Benton Harbor...\ The assembled version, called Zenith Z-19, costed $895. An expensive price, not compatible with a home computer budget. image: /media/museum/pubs/heathkit_h19_pub_1.jpg - title: FRENCH ADVERT (JAN. 1982) subtitle: '' text: '"Adopt a little gifted"' image: /media/museum/pubs/zenith-heathkit_h89_french-pub_1.jpg hardware: - title: EXTERNAL DRIVES subtitle: '' text: Here is a H89 with Hard and Soft Sectors floppy-drives, along with hard-disk drive at the bottom.... image: /media/museum/hardware/heathkit_h89_complete_1.jpg - title: FLOPPY AND HARD-DRIVES subtitle: '' text: Hard and Soft Sectors floppy-drives, along with hard-disk drive. image: /media/museum/hardware/heathkit_h89_drives_1.jpg - title: H77 FD UNIT subtitle: '' text: 2 x 150 KB 5.25" drives unit with its dust cover. image: /media/museum/hardware/heathkit_h89_h77fdunit_1.jpg screenshots: - title: HDOS MANUAL subtitle: '' text: Floppy discs operating system manual image: /media/museum/software/heathkit_h89_hdosmanual_1.jpg oc_id: 135 source: url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230331021329/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=135 date: '2023-03-31' --- The H-89 was sold under the two names: **Heathkit H-89** and **Zenith Data Systems Z-89**. The H-89 was sold in kit form, the Z-89 came assembled. It originally came with 16 KB of memory, later versions provided up to 48KB on the main CPU board (in groups of 1 KB chips). Zenith and Heathkit offered a 16 KB expansion card ($120) for a total of 64 KB when using CP/M. The system was identical to the **H-19** video terminal but had an additional CPU board between the CRT and the terminal board. (Really identical because Heath offered upgrade kits to convert an H-19 to an H-88/H-89 computer). It used hard sectored disks with a built-in card controller. Under either H-DOS or CP/M, disk capacity was of 90 KB. Another model the **H-88** was identical to the H-89, but did not include the floppy drive or controller. It had a cassette port. A couple of years later, the **H/Z-37** soft sectored controller and ROMS came out, then was replaced with a double 5.25" floppy disk drive called **H/Z-87** (102 KB, 250 ms). A double 8" floppy disk drive called **H/Z-47** (1 Mb each) and a hard disk called **H/Z-67**, it contained one 10MB 8" winchester drive and one 8" floppy drive (like the one in the H/Z-47). It ran under **HDOS** or **CP/M** (the operating system used 16 KB of RAM).\ HDOS was originally written for the [H-8](/museum/heathkit-h8/), it ran without modification on the '89. This was a single-user OS written by J. Gordon Letwin for Heath. It included a Basic interpreter and assembler.\ For CP/M, H/Z wrote a custom BIOS in assembler that the new user could further customize for his specific hardware and assemble right on the machine.\ A version of **MP/M** was also available for the system. A lot of extension boards were available for this computer including 64 KB memory boards, hard-disk controller cards, 3-port serial I/O board, H19 terminal board, etc.\ A third party small upgrade card was also offered which doubled the processor speed to 4 Mhz. An assembler/debugger was given with the DOS. A paper tape reader was available as well. Microsoft has adapted its various programming languages (Basic, Fortran, Cobol) for this computer. Borland also offered a version of Turbo Pascal that worked great with the CP/M. **Dennis** reports:\ The base H-89 had no graphic modes, just 33 graphic characters. At least two different add-on boards were created that gave the H-89 bitmapped graphics capabilities, but I'm pretty sure they both required hardware modifications to tie them in to the terminal board - this was not a simple plug-in expansion card