--- title: SEMI-TECH (STM) Pied Piper categories: - Computers types: - Professional Computer origins: - U.S.A. years: - '1983' cpus: - Zilog Z80A params: name: Pied Piper image: /media/museum/photos/semitech_piedpiper_system_s2.jpg company: /companies/semi-tech-stm company_name: SEMI-TECH (STM) specs: - label: NAME value: Pied Piper - label: MANUFACTURER value: Semi-Tech (STM) - label: TYPE value: Professional Computer - label: ORIGIN value: U.S.A. - label: YEAR value: May 1983 - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE value: None - label: KEYBOARD value: Typewriter keyboard, QWERTY, 62 keys - label: CPU value: Zilog Z80A - label: SPEED value: 4 MHZ - label: RAM value: 64 kb - label: VRAM value: 2 KB - label: ROM value: 8 KB - label: TEXT MODES value: 40 or 80 columns x 24 lines - label: GRAPHIC MODES value: None - label: COLORS value: '16' - label: SOUND value: None - label: SIZE / WEIGHT value: 51 (W) x 27 (D) x 10 (H) cm / 6.25 Kg. - label: I/O PORTS value: serial / parallel port , RF Modulator - label: BUILT IN MEDIA value: 5.25'' disk-drive (720kb) - label: OS value: CP/M 2.2 - label: POWER SUPPLY value: Built in power supply unit - label: PERIPHERALS value: External 5.25 floppy drive, internal RAM card and modem card, Hard disk interface - label: PRICE value: $1299 (1983) tabs: - photos - adverts photos: - title: LARGE VIEW subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/semitech_piedpiper_system_s1.jpg - title: LEFT SIDE subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/semitech_piedpiper_leftside_s1.jpg - title: RIGHT SIDE subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/semitech_piedpiper_rightside_s1.jpg - title: SECOND FDD subtitle: '' text: With external 5.25" FDD unit image: /media/museum/photos/semitech_piedpiper_dualdrive_s1.jpg - title: BACK SIDE subtitle: '' text: |- **(1)** External fllopy drive unit connector\ **(2)** Z80 bus connector\ **(3)** Reset switch\ **(4)** Serial port DIN socket\ **(5)** Parallel printer connector\ **(6)** Optional Modem card location\ **(7)** Power switch and socket image: /media/museum/photos/semitech_piedpiper_backside_s1.jpg - title: 'INSIDE #1' subtitle: '' text: |- **(1)** Switching power supply unit\ **(2)** Video chip (unknown reference)\ **(3)** Nec 8279 Keyboard/Display interface chip\ **(4)** Keyboard connector\ **(5)** Z80 processor, here a SGS version\ **(6)** 2 KB Video RAM - 4 x 2114 chips\ **(7)** Internal expansion connectors for modem and RAM cards\ **(8)** 64 KB main RAM - 8 x 4164 chips\ **(9)** FDD controller chip and connector image: /media/museum/photos/semitech_piedpiper_inside_s1.jpg - title: 'INSIDE #2' subtitle: '' text: RAM, ROM and FD controller chips. image: /media/museum/photos/semitech_piedpiper_inside_s2.jpg - title: 'INSIDE #3' subtitle: '' text: Complete system with Mitsubishi 5.25" floppy disk drive installed. image: /media/museum/photos/semitech_piedpiper_inside_s3.jpg - title: MANUALS subtitle: '' text: User and 'Perfect' suite manuals image: /media/museum/photos/semitech_piedpiper_manuals_s1.jpg - title: ORIGINAL MODEL subtitle: '' text: To be franck, the Pied Piper model we own isn't as clean as the above pictures. We had to 'slightly' retouch them... image: /media/museum/photos/semitech_piedpiper_realsystem_s1.jpg - title: CLONE subtitle: '' text: In 1985, a company called STM took up the design of the Pied Piper to make a PC compatible system. The detachable keyboard covered a LCD display. The system also featured a built-in printer. It had a very short life. image: /media/museum/photos/semitech_piedpiper_clone_s1.jpg - title: SEMI-TECH BUILDING subtitle: '' text: |- Semi-Tech building (Markham Ontario Canada).\ The whole 3 story building and land were belonged to Semi Tech until the company went bankrupt. **Steve Otsuka** who worked for Semi Tech during 1982-1987 says:\ We were cash rich (over $100M), and bought a mainframe computer from Control Data which occupied one floor, mini-computer from DEC VAX series, expensive paintings, old China collectibles. Inside Semi Tech there were people with creative brains including myself (sorry to say this but I was a key engineer) and some of the most advanced projects in North America that time which you would be surprised. Thanks to **Steve Otsuka** for information and picture. image: /media/museum/photos/semitech_building_s1.jpg adverts: - title: 'SEMI-TECH BROCHURE #1' subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/pubs/semitech_piedpiper_brochure_s1.jpg - title: 'SEMI-TECH BROCHURE #2' subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/pubs/semitech_piedpiper_brochure_s2.jpg - title: US ADVERT (MAY 1983) subtitle: '' text: No info in this advert about the display that could be used (TV, composite, colour, B/W?) image: /media/museum/pubs/smt_piedpiper_pub_1982%5B2%5D.jpg - title: NEW ZEALAND REVIEW subtitle: '' text: |- Review from a New Zealand magazine. Notice the prices in Australian$ at the bottom right of the page. Thanks to **Murray Moffatt** from New Zealand image: /media/museum/pubs/semitech_piedpiper_pub_s2.jpg - title: UK ADVERT, OCT. 1983 subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/pubs/semitech_piedpiper_pub_s1.jpg comments: - author: Satoshi Otsuka (Japan) date: Wednesday 1st May 2019 text: I used to work for the company as a design engineer after Pied Pier almost completed design phase. I enjoyed creating new designs especially graphics part using discrete components for next generation projects since no LSI solutions were available at the time. good old day. - author: Kenny Tam (Canada) date: Saturday 4th February 2012 text: |- Would you believe I was one of the original designer of the Pipe Piper? I was hired by James Ting, the former CEO of Semi-Tech. I graduated from U of Toronto and was the only employee of Semi-Tech until sales order came in then all other key owners of the business joined full time. We opened up a factory in Hong Kong in 1983 to begin making the Pipe Piper.\ If you look at the technology available today you can say this Pipe Piper would have been very inadequate. But at the time 64K of RAM and a 1MByte floppy was in the leading edge. A lot of excitement was created at the 1983 Los Vegas Comdex show. The original design philosophy was that the owner would take the Pipe Piper to and from the office and a monitor is available at home and one in the office. That was the niche we tried to home in on. The second generation of the Pipe Piper had a 2line LCD for those who may travel to some place other than home and the office so a small display is available.\ In order to pass FCC radiation testing the casing had to be coated with a copper layer on top of the plastic. Then paint is applied over the copper. Paint adhesion problem was a major concern. For the early Pipe Pipers tarnished copper showing through the paint was a major after sale headache.\ I am not trying to defend its design, but these are the thoughts that went behind the generations of design.\ On a personal level the Pipe Piper taught me a lot about engineering and designing a product for the consumer market. I was then involved with how to manufacture it, how to market it, and how to service it. I was exposed to all these different aspects of a business. It made me a better engineer as a result. I still benefit from this experience even today. - author: Espen Skog (Norway) date: Saturday 29th August 2020 text: |- I am a fan of the Pied Piper and have been since 1983 when I first used it. I am wondering if there is an Emulator out there for the Pied Piper so I can re-live the good old days ? Please visit and join our Pied Piper Facebook Group to share: https://www.facebook.com/groups/therealpiedpiper /Espen Skog - author: James Karafilis (Toronto area / Canada) date: Wednesday 22nd July 2020 text: |- Nice to see fellow Semi-Tech developers sharing history. It has been a long time since I worked with Kenny at Semi-Tech in firmware development. The Pied Piper was the first computer project that I touched. The portable PC came next\ and I was involved from the beginning. I also worked with Satoshi prototyping the graphics project with a Signetics chip set. I believe that was my summer job. d I was onboard since the start. I got to know the team at a summer job while at U of T. I believe the company was Andicom/Nabu. I hope I got these names right. Started with Pied Piper but the big project was its successor, a portable PC. - author: Gerry (Canada) date: Thursday 31st January 2019 text: |- Hi\ I have a Pied Piper. Bought it as i was always travelling but only used it a few times. Still have the manuals and floppy disks. If anyone is interested in buying it, let me know. - author: Frank Price (United States) date: Friday 17th November 2017 text: I still have one with allthe manuals. It has the high density floppy drives, the canvas carrying case and the video option for connection to standard televisions. I used it for work when traveling to write my reports in the motel at night. The TV option was wondeful. I did the reports in Word Star. Those were the days? - author: alancsalt (Australia) date: Sunday 21st June 2015 text: Mine had 800k floppy drive. There was the option of a second one. At the time, more storage than anything else I could find. - author: Simon Ransome (UK) date: Friday 28th November 2014 text: 'The Pied Piper was also (at least briefly) available in the UK, although so far I''''ve only seen a single advert for it. That advert appeared in October 1983''''s Personal Computer World: http://nosher.net/archives/computers/pcw_1983-10_010_piedpiper' - author: Stein Monty (New Zealand) date: Tuesday 9th April 2013 text: I have a working Pied Piper with double disk drives in great condition and all the software and manuals to go with it (I backed up the floppies just in case), jealous much ? - author: Stein Monty (New Zealand) date: Tuesday 9th April 2013 text: I have a working Pied Piper with double disk drives in great condition and all the software and manuals to go with it (I backed up the floppies just in case), jealous much ? - author: Dale Launer (United States) date: Monday 8th April 2013 text: |- I bought one of these back in the day (1983 I think) from The Federated Group - a hifi store in Los Angeles. It was kind of a bargain - and a whole megabyte on a disc was very impressive (other computers, like the IBM was a mere 360k). I bought it for one purpose and one purpose only - writing. I loved the macro set up of PerfectWriter - and have my current screenwriting program configured to emulate it. I wrote my first movie - Ruthless People - on my Pied Piper. Loved writing on a computer! I do remember the metallic finish underneath the paint (as the designer points out). And some of the metallic flaked off too. I ended up buying a few them because if it had problems (and it did!) I needed a backup. I couldn''t be without a computer as sometime you''re have to do rewrites for a movie in production (like write it that night). Was happy to move on (because of the reliability issue). I remember a screenplay had to be broken up into 4 files to accommodate the size. And they were .mss files if remember correctly. Ah...my first computer! - author: George Good (usa) date: Friday 26th October 2012 text: Very interested in getting my Pied Piper running and being able to read some precious old files How do you contact other posters on this site? - author: Robbie Fields (Thailand) date: Sunday 20th May 2012 text: |- At the initial clearance price of $300, these machines were a terrific bargain in 1985. The Floppy could be formatted to 1.2mB and once you added the second external drive disk operations were a breeze. There just wasn''t the need to spend a fortune on a machine like the Osborne with a 10mB hard drive. The internal modem was a big step up, too, at 1200 baud. The WP software was great. I did things with the database program that astounded the CP/M users group I belonged to but the database was terribly fragile. I had used mine in a wholesale travel agency and returning a year later was shocked to see every desk installed with one. There was a CP/M air traffic control simulation game called "Airport" that I would leave running on the amber tinted monochrome monitor. Using only ASCII, it was highly convincing! Eventually I migrated to the so called "brain dead" 286 platform which served me well for many years. - author: James Tamer (Greater Pasadena) date: Thursday 2nd March 2006 text: |- Back in the early 1980s, there was a chain of stereo stores known as The Federated Group. They were known for a few things:\ 1\. Shadoe Stevens as spokesman. He'd hit a VCR with a sledgehammer on the commercials.\ 2\. The chain was bought by Atari, and after that devoted a lot of floor space to the Atari 65XE and the Mega ST computers.\ 3\. The chain sold lots of weird and wonderful computers, including the Coleco Adam, the Tomy Tutor, the NEC Trek... and the Pied Piper. When the Pied Piper was introduced, Federated was selling them for more than $1000. Ouch. Last time I saw one, which was, I think, summer '85, Federated was trying to get rid of them for $100, bundled with the mentioned software. I wanted one, but I was totally broke at the time (having recently purchased a TV, Tomy Tutor, and Commodore 64 + 1541). - author: Charles Steadman (New Zealand) date: Thursday 27th October 2005 text: I remember seriously considering these when we were searching for computers in the print industry. The half-height floppy was rare at that time, and the Pied Piper probably had the nicest touch-typing keyboard of any computer until the PC arrived. Unfortunately at the same show the Lisa was released, so this chap was rather overshadowed. A very nice straight CP/M machine though... - author: Charles Martin (San Diego, CA ) date: Friday 20th September 2002 text: |- I still have three of the old Pied Piper computers (two of them with add-on floppy) and they all still work. Two of them are in like new condition, so if anyone has a great need for there collection, I'll consider all serious offers. They were/are great computers and I think that the software was way ahead of its time for what they were capable of doing. I cut my teeth on Perfect Calc and designed my first mortgatge analysis program with Perfect Calc. Just wish I'd patented the software for MSDOS, but that was another platform at the time and you know....hindsite and all. - author: Zachary Z Scott (Wa) date: Saturday 20th July 2002 text: |- I had on the first real cool toy i pick up when i was five at a swap meet for $15 for the machine and all the software i sadly no longer have it as the machine's power supply toasted i wish i still had it\ had to replace about have of the capactors on the main board whaen i first got i - author: Paul Bauman (Earth) date: Sunday 14th April 2002 text: I have a Pied Piper and couldn't agree more about it's 'portability'. Apart from having a folding carrying handle, it is about as easy to set up as a Commodre 64. Mine does have a built-in modem--I don't know if this was standard or optional equipment, like the external second floppy drive. It all came in one shipping box with the software. - author: kevin (Belgium) date: Wednesday 27th March 2002 text: Good verry good oc_id: 193 source: url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230608213119/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=193 date: '2023-06-08' --- Not much is known about this small computer, designed in Canada and presented at the 1983 NCC show (Anaheim, California), in May. It was marketed then as a portable computer! Quite strange as when you have look at the picture, it looks more like a desktop computer, no built-in screen... In fact it had a handle on the back and a plastic cover for the keyboard. One could carry it like a briefcase. You still needed a monitor (TV) at the other location, however... Anyway, the Pied Piper apparently didn't last long. All we know is that it was intended to be marketed in the US, at $1300. It was based upon a Z80 CPU, had a 5''1/4 disk-drive built-in (720 KB) and used CP/M. It was sold with a complete "Perfect Software" package.\ The modem card was optional, manufacturered in Hong Kong at Semi Tech Hong Kong Ltd. According to **Terry Danyleyko** who worked for Semi Tech, 1000 pieces were sold to China. A Chinese CP/M was even written specially for the Pied Piper. --- **Tim Gieseler** reports :\ I sold ONE pied-piper at my short-lived computer store around 1983-4. There was nothing portable about it, but it was a smallish CP/M machine distinguished by it's use of a standard video monitor (none was supplied) and an unusually large single floppy drive compared to the Eagle/Kaypro/TRS-80s of the day. It was able to read/write many of the numerous floppy formats, as well. The "Perfect" software, same as supplied by Kaypro, was universally horrible, buggy, barely functional - but heavily promoted by the manufacture and bundled by many computer makers.