--- title: OHIO Scientific Superboard II categories: - Computers types: - Home Computer origins: - U.S.A. years: - '1978' cpus: - '6502' params: name: Superboard II company: /companies/ohio-scientific company_name: OHIO Scientific specs: - label: NAME value: Superboard II - label: MANUFACTURER value: OHIO Scientific - label: TYPE value: Home Computer - label: ORIGIN value: U.S.A. - label: YEAR value: '1978' - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE value: OSI BASIC interpreter - label: KEYBOARD value: Full stroke 50 keys - label: CPU value: '6502' - label: SPEED value: 1 MHz (could be overclocked to 2 MHz) - label: CO-PROCESSOR value: None - label: RAM value: 4 KB expandable to 8 KB on board - label: VRAM value: 1 KB - label: ROM value: 8 KB (OSI BASIC + Monitor) - label: TEXT MODES value: 16 to 48 chars. x 16 lines - label: GRAPHIC MODES value: None, but 128 graphic characters - label: COLORS value: Monochrome - label: SIZE / WEIGHT value: unknown - label: I/O PORTS value: Tape recorder and printer ports - label: BUILT IN MEDIA value: None - label: POWER SUPPLY value: External 5V power supply unit - label: PRICE value: $200 assembled tabs: - photos - adverts - links - docs photos: - title: SYSTEM subtitle: '' text: |- **(1)** 4 KB RAM expansion area. All of the board RAM chips are 2114 (1K \* 4 bits static RAM)\ **(2)** 4 KB main memory area\ **(3)** 6502 processor\ **(4)** Expansion connector (40 pin socket)\ **(5)** ACIA 6850 chip (Asynchronous Communication Interface Adapter)\ **(6)** Monitor ROM chip\ **(7)** BASIC ROM chips\ **(8)** Video RAM chips (2x2114 not installed)\ **(9)** Characters generator ROM chip\ **(10)** Cassette interface connector and circuitry image: null - title: CLOSE UP subtitle: '' text: '' image: null adverts: - title: FRENCH AD (JAN. 1980) subtitle: '' text: '"Right now, your computer for today"' image: null - title: US ADVERT (SEPT. 1979) subtitle: '' text: '' image: null links: - title: Web Wiz CAPTCHA url: http://www.webwizcaptcha.com text: '' docs: - title: SUPERBOARD II / CHALLENGER 1P - USERS MANUAL url: null cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/challenger_user-manual.jpg text: |- **SUPERBOARD II / CHALLENGER 1P - USERS MANUAL**\ written by Ohio Scientific  compiled/archived by David Wilson\  type of document : PDF\  size : 2,7 MB\  source : www.old-computers.com - title: THE 8K BASIC-IN-ROM - REFERENCE MANUAL url: null cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/doc_ohio-scientific_osi-basic.jpg text: |- **THE 8K BASIC-IN-ROM - REFERENCE MANUAL**\ written by Ohio Scientific  compiled/archived by David Wilson\  type of document : PDF\  size : 576 KB\  source : www.old-computers.com - title: CHALLENGER 1P - TECHNICAL REPORT url: null cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/challenger-1p_technical-report.jpg text: |- **CHALLENGER 1P - TECHNICAL REPORT**\ written by Ohio Scientific  compiled/archived by David Wilson\  type of document : PDF\  size : 1,4 MB\  source : www.old-computers.com - title: THE CHALLENGER CHARACTER GRAPHICS REFERENCE MANUAL url: null cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/challenger_characters-graphics-reference-manual.jpg text: |- **THE CHALLENGER CHARACTER GRAPHICS REFERENCE MANUAL**\ written by Ohio Scientific  compiled/archived by David Wilson\  type of document : PDF\  size : 1,3 MB\  source : www.old-computers.com comments: - author: Terry Shingara (Harrisburg, PA, USA) date: Thursday 26th March 2020 text: Does anyone know where I can get the pin headers to plug into the superboard II - author: Myk Dormer (United Kingdom) date: Monday 25th June 2018 text: |- Also a Superboard II owner, a machine I fondly remember.\ After a couple of years the masked roms developed a thermal fault (only worked when cold) but the documentation was so good that (even as a teenager) I was able to clone the whole machine onto a home made card-frame of veroboards (with the errant ROMs copied onto an eprom).\ That machine probably taught me more than the engineering degree I later took :) - author: Russ date: Sunday 20th May 2018 text: I still have mine, I got it when I was in college but I don''t remember what year, maybe 77 or 1978? - author: jeff (Australia) date: Wednesday 17th May 2017 text: I have my original Superboard II on the wall in the shed. It no longer works due to Mr Rat releaving him self on the pcb. I had the hand soldered 64x40 character, 512x320 pixel graphics option. i have the work notes to go the mod somewhere. i will have a mint condition C1P and Orange ''green screen'' CRT $-) - author: Andy B (Australia) date: Wednesday 12th April 2017 text: My first computer. Learned to code in BASIC and 6502 machine code. Wrote a ''snake'' type game and high-speed machine-code line drawing routines so that I could animate a rotating cube in real time. I expanded the memory to 12K by piggy-backing 2114 chips on top of the ones on the board and wiring up the chip $ pin to the address decoder chip. Good Times. Best story though is the night I brought it home from the store. It had been wrapped in tin foil - protection from static shock - so I though I''d just leave it sitting on the foil when I switched it on. Not a great idea. Fortunately, just blew the on-board fuse so I was back up and running in a few minutes. - author: Ben Grimer date: Thursday 9th March 2017 text: I used to play games on this with my brother and write rudimentary basic programs. I played hectic and new York taxi (and became one of the elite !). - author: Peter Ledger (Oldham England) date: Wednesday 23rd January 2013 text: I have just dragged my superboard II out of storage and intend getting it up and running again. I spent many happy hours programming ms basic with this dinosaur and hope to do so again - author: Richard Scales (England) date: Tuesday 6th November 2012 text: I got one of these in 1979 and spent many many hours doing all kinds of things with it, programming basic and 6502 assembler as well as building memory boards and a disk controller. It has not been switched on for decades but it is still kept safe for a really rainy day! - author: Paul (Canada) date: Monday 3rd January 2011 text: I bought a Supper Board II in 1979 and built a power supply and TV interface for it. I programmed it in Basic and Assembly Language for several years..learned a lot from that Computer. I also used a Compac 386 for a few years traveling with it. - author: Andy Pagin (London UK) date: Monday 22nd March 2010 text: |- I wrote my first ever program on one of these in about 1982. print "Hello World" Been a pro-developer ever since. - author: Andy (England) date: Wednesday 6th December 2006 text: I worked on these in the early 80s. I threw mine out about 10 years ago and now regret it. Does anyone have one they'd like to give me? I'm suffering from severe nostalgia. related: - /museum/ohio-scientific-challenger-1p - /museum/ohio-scientific-challenger-4p - /museum/ohio-scientific-challenger-ii - /museum/ohio-scientific-challenger-iii oc_id: 860 source: url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230331055939/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=860 date: '2023-03-31' --- The Superboard II, also called **Model 600**, was quite the same board as the british clone [Compukit UK-101](/museum/compukit-uk-101/). It came in only ready built version and did not featured neither power regulation on board - User had to build or buy a 5V external power supply - nor RF modulator to display on a standard TV, but only a composite video output. A 40 pin IC socket allowed an expansion board and OSI bus to be connected, giving access to memory expansion (up to 64 KB) and floppy drive controller. See in the 'Read more' section a very interesting information about Mike Cheiky, the founder of OSI.