--- title: Applied Technologies Microbee 128 categories: - Computers types: - Home Computer origins: - Australia years: - '1984' cpus: - Z80A params: name: Microbee 128 image: /media/museum/photos/microbee_premium_system_s1.jpg company: /companies/applied-technologies company_name: Applied Technologies specs: - label: NAME value: Microbee 128 - label: MANUFACTURER value: Applied Technologies - label: TYPE value: Home Computer - label: ORIGIN value: Australia - label: YEAR value: '1984' - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE value: None - label: KEYBOARD value: QWERTY 64-key full-stroke keyboard with arrow keys - label: CPU value: Z80A - label: SPEED value: 3.375 MHz - label: RAM value: 128 KB - label: VRAM value: 16 KB - label: ROM value: 4 KB BIOS + 4 KB FDD controller - label: TEXT MODES value: 64 x 16 (Microbee BASIC) - 80 x 24 (CP/M - label: GRAPHIC MODES value: 512 x 256 (2 colours), 128 x 48 (16 colours) - label: COLORS value: '16' - label: SOUND value: Built-in 1 canal loudspeaker - label: SIZE / WEIGHT value: 35.5 (W) x 23 (D) x 5.5 (H) cm - label: I/O PORTS value: Power/Video/tape, Expansion/drive Interface, Serial ,Parallel, RGB, Optional user ports - label: BUILT IN MEDIA value: Dual 5.25''Single Sided Drives (386 KB) or 3.5'' DS/SD (776 KB) - label: OS value: CP/M 2.2 - label: POWER SUPPLY value: Switching PSU built-in the FDD unit - label: PERIPHERALS value: EPROM programmer - label: PRICE value: Unknown tabs: - photos - adverts - hardware - connectors - software - emulators - links photos: - title: FRONT VIEW subtitle: '' text: The Premium machines often had key switch problems. Several keys of this machine had to be repaired. image: /media/museum/photos/microbee_premium_frontview_s1.jpg - title: TOP VIEW subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/microbee_premium_topview_s1.jpg - title: LEFT & RIGHT SIDES subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/microbee_premium_bothsides_s1.jpg - title: 'WITH FDD UNIT #1' subtitle: '' text: This FDD unit version holds two 776 KB 3.5" double sized single density floppy-disk drives. image: /media/museum/photos/microbee_premium_withfdunit_s1.jpg - title: 'WITH FDD UNIT #2' subtitle: '' text: This version uses two 386 KB 5.25" 360 KB double sided single density drives. image: /media/museum/photos/microbee_premium_fdunit5_s1.jpg - title: RUNNING SYSTEM subtitle: '' text: The Microbee is running the Microbee demonstration disk. image: /media/museum/photos/microbee_premium_demoscreenshot_s1.jpg - title: REAR SIDE subtitle: '' text: |- **(1)** Multi-function DIN socket used to supply power from the FD unit, also for composite B/W video and tape recorder outputs. The second DIN hole isn't used\ **(2)** Expansion connector used to connect de floppy-disk drives\ **(3)** Serial DB25 connector\ **(4)** I/O DB15 connector\ **(5)** RGB video output connector, compatible with colour CGA monitors. image: /media/museum/photos/microbee_premium_rearside_s1.jpg - title: MAINBOARD subtitle: '' text: |- The mainboard is normally covered by the piggyback RAM card. Keyboard's keys are soldered upon the mainboard.\ **(1)** 6545 video chipset. First IBM PC video cards used the same chipset\ **(2)** Z80A PIO used for various I/O. Here a Sharp LH0081A version\ **(3)** Nec D780C, one of the numerous Z80 clones of the Z80 CPU\ **(4)** 4 KB BIOS ROM\ **(5)** 16 KB Video RAM (2x3264 chips) image: /media/museum/photos/microbee_premium_inside_s1.jpg - title: RAM CARD subtitle: '' text: |- **(1)** RAM management ROM\ **(2)** 128 KB RAM chips (16x4164)\ **(3)** Western Digital floppy drives controller\ **(4)** Provision is made for two user ports chips. image: /media/museum/photos/microbee_premium_inside_s2.jpg - title: MANUALS subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/microbee_premium_manuals_s1.jpg - title: BOXES subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/microbee_premium_boxes_s1.jpg adverts: - title: AUSTRALIAN ADVERT (1987) subtitle: '' text: Thanks to John Kahler for this picture image: /media/museum/pubs/microbee_pub_aus_1.jpg hardware: - title: FDD UNIT & MODEM subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/applied_microbee_fddmodem_1.jpg - title: BEEMODEM subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/microbee_premium_beemodem_s1.jpg connectors: - title: PARALLEL PRINTER CONNECTION subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/connectors/microbee32_parallel-port.jpg - title: SERIAL PRINTER CONNECTION subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/connectors/microbee32_serial-printer-port.jpg screenshots: - title: THE SHELL subtitle: '' text: A shell was available to perform easy file management under CP/M. image: /media/museum/software/microbee_premium_cpmshell_ss_s1.jpg - title: SWORD QUEST subtitle: An adventure game text: '' image: /media/museum/software/microbee_128_ss_swordquest.jpg - title: VIPER subtitle: Action game text: '' image: /media/museum/software/microbee_128_ss_viper.jpg emulators: - title: Picomozzi url: http://www2.ee.mu.oz.au/pgrad/apsh/microbee/ platform: Windows text: Picomozzy is a Microbee 32 KB emulator for DOS or Windows. - title: MESS Emulator url: http://www.mess.org/ platform: Multiplatform text: Emulates some Microbee computers ! - title: NanoWasp url: http://NANOWASP.SOURCEFORGE.NET/ platform: Multiplatform text: A MicroBee 128k Disk System emulator for Windows & Unix - title: uBee512 url: http://freshmeat.net/projects/ubee512 platform: Multiplatform text: An emulator for the Microbee Z80 Premium/Standard FDD and ROM based microcomputers. links: - title: Microbee Archive url: http://members.ozemail.com.au/~mikeleys/microbee.html text: Essential site to understand it all - title: MicroBee Homepage url: http://www.mdstud.chalmers.se/~md6cbm/bee/ text: Short page with few software to download - title: Microbee Microcomputer Micro-FAQ url: http://www.microbee-faq.in-tl.net/ text: very informative FAQ - title: Microbee official homepage url: http://www.microbeetechnology.com.au/ text: Since march 2012, Microbee is relaunching a new model ! - title: The Bee Board url: http://microbee.no-ip.com/beeboard/ text: Forum and documentation repository for Microbee comments: - author: Michael Otway (Australia) date: Sunday 29th November 2015 text: Being equipped with a Z80 CPU, these "128K" units could only access 64KB for programs and data. The other 64KB was set aside as a RAM drive. The RAM drive wasn''t all that useful though, because (unlike their 32 and 64K models) they used DRAM not SRAM, so the RAM drive data was gone once the computer was switched off. - author: Charles Thomas date: Friday 29th May 2015 text: Heh, Kung Fury gets hacked back in time on one of these. :D - author: Peter Larsen (Sydney, Australia) date: Sunday 8th August 2004 text: The Network you describe was very popular in schools here in Australia also. It was called StarNet, and in it's most common configuration could support up to 30 or so client machines. It was a 19,200 baud serial network, the client machines having "StarNet Adapters" while the server was generally a 56k disk system model with a "StarNetwork Multiplexer". Software would be loaded on the server, then "pushed" through the serial link to the client computers and run from their RAM. Some units would have a "battery" switch so you could plug in, load software, then unplug and keep it in memory while you moved the machine elsewhere. - author: Martin Hultén Ashauer (Sweden) date: Sunday 22nd September 2002 text: |- I've had a MicroBee all my life and it still works alltho some buttons dont work propperly like the '0' button, so I have to write '11' instead of '10' when i'm basic programming. Its a nice computer and i have some software but not much. If there is anyone that owns ant software to the MicroBee and is willing to give/sell it to me mail me @: Martin_ha@yahoo.com\ //Martin H.A.\ Proud MicroBee Owner - author: Christian Johansson (Sweden) date: Saturday 2nd March 2002 text: |- When I went to school in Eslöv in Sweden in 7th-9th grade between 1986-1989, we had a computer room filled with Microbee computers. There was one server that the teacher handled. The rest of the computers that the pupils used were clients. Computer science was a special subject at the time. We did not use computers in ordinary subjects like mathematics and Swedish. /Christian related: - /museum/applied-technologies-microbee-32 oc_id: 462 source: url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230529195009/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=462 date: '2023-05-29' --- The Microbee computers were popular in Australia where they equipped many schools. But these computers also sold well in Scandinavia or Sweden for example. The Microbee 128 and its extended version, the Premium series, were housed in the same case as the Microbee 32 but had four additional cursor keys. they shipped with a 5.25" or 3.5" single or double disk drives unit. Both 128 and Premium versions boasted improved graphics over the earlier machines, colour as standard and many other detailed improvements. They ran CP/M operating system. The Premium had an IBM CGA compatible video interface and dual density floppy drives, offering 776 KB capacity instead of 386 KB for the 128. a 10 MB hard disk was also available.