website/content/museum/hewlett-packard-hp-150.md

title, categories, types, origins, years, cpus, params

title	categories	types	origins	years	cpus	params
Hewlett Packard HP-150	Computers	Professional Computer	U.S.A.	1983	Intel 8088	name image company company_name specs tabs forum_thread photos adverts hardware screenshots links oc_id source HP-150 /media/museum/photos/hp_150_system_1.jpg /companies/hewlett-packard Hewlett Packard label value NAME HP-150 label value MANUFACTURER Hewlett Packard label value TYPE Professional Computer label value ORIGIN U.S.A. label value YEAR 1983 label value BUILT IN LANGUAGE PAM (Personal Application Manager) label value KEYBOARD Full-stroke 107 keys with function keys and numeric keypad label value CPU Intel 8088 label value SPEED 8 MHz label value RAM 256 KB (up to 640 KB) label value ROM Unknown label value TEXT MODES 80 x 27 (the 25th and 26th lines are used for function key display and the 27th for status indicators) label value GRAPHIC MODES 512 x 384 dots label value COLORS Monochrome (green & black) label value SOUND Beeper label value SIZE / WEIGHT 305 (W) x 305 (D) x 287 mm (H) / 9.82 Kg label value I/O PORTS HP-IB (IEEE-488), two RS232 serial ports, two expansion slots, Centronics (optional), keyboard port (HP-IL on the HP-150 II) label value BUILT IN MEDIA one or two 3.5'' disk-drives (270 KB each); optional hard disk (5 or 15 MB) label value OS MS DOS 2.01, 2.11 and 3.2 for later models label value POWER SUPPLY Built-in switching power supply unit, 130w label value PERIPHERALS Memory card, ink-jet, thermal or laser printer label value PRICE 6100 (France, march 84) - £2995 (U.K., 1984) photos adverts hardware software links 151 title subtitle text image HP-150 5 MB Hard disc version. /media/museum/photos/hp_hp150_1.jpg title subtitle text image HP-150 II This is a completely reworked version of the HP-150. Most obvious feature is the 12" display replacing the original 9" display. Also has 4 expansion slots rather than 2 and used an HP-HIL keyboard interface rather than the HP 150 specific one on earlier models. The touchscreen was an option. Marketed as the HP Touchscreen II in the USA and the HP 150 II elsewhere. Unofficially known as the HP 150C. /media/museum/photos/hp_150-ii_1.jpg title subtitle text image BACK OF THE HP-150 Dual floppy drive version. **(1)** 512 KB memory expansion board\ **(2)** 2 x Serial DB25 connectors\ **(3)** HP-IB connection between the main unit and the F.D. unit\ **(4)** Clock backup batteries housing /media/museum/photos/hp_150_back_1.jpg title subtitle text image THERMAL PRINTER The 2674A optional printer fitted in the top of the main unit and could be easily installed by the user. It used thermal paper rolls /media/museum/photos/hp_150_printer_1.jpg title subtitle text image TOUCH SCREEN Just point at what you want to do! /media/museum/photos/hp_150_touchscreen_4.jpg title subtitle text image TOUCH SCREEN #2 See explanations about the touch screen photodiodes technology in the 'Read more' section. /media/museum/photos/hp_150_touchleds_1.jpg title subtitle text image INSIDE Inside the main unit. **(1)** CRT video board\ **(2)** Main board (CPU board + 256 KB memory board + Serial board)\ **(3)** Logic video board\ **(4)** Power supply /media/museum/photos/hp_150_inside_1.jpg title subtitle text image DUAL F.D. UNIT 2 x 270 KB floppy drive unit. The disk drives are Sony single side, single density models. /media/museum/photos/hp_150_fdunit_1.jpg title subtitle text image FD/HD UNIT 15 MB Seagate hard disc drive, and 270 KB floppy drive.\ The logic board features a Motorola 6809 processor. /media/museum/photos/hp_150_hdunit_1.jpg title subtitle text image MONITOR BEING ASSEMBLED This monitor is being assembled in the HP factory of Grenoble (France). Grenoble was producing HP-150 for the european, african and oriental markets. In March 1984, it was making 5000 units a month, a quarter of the world production (20 000). /media/museum/photos/hp_150_montage.jpg title subtitle text image HP-150 II & LASERJET This picture shows a HP-150 II connected to the first Laserjet printer! /media/museum/photos/hp_150-ii_2.jpg title subtitle text image FRENCH ADVERT (1984) This is an official advert from Hewlett-Packard. It says "The easy touch". /media/museum/pubs/hp_150_pub_hp-1.jpg title subtitle text image FRENCH ADVERT (1984) /media/museum/pubs/hp_150_pub_lta.jpg title subtitle text image FRENCH ADVERT (1984) /media/museum/pubs/hp_150_pub_cf.jpg title subtitle text image THINKJET ADVERT August 1985 /media/museum/pubs/hp_150_pub_s1.jpg title subtitle text image MEM EXPANSION BOARDS Top: 256 KB RAM + 128 KB ROM expansion board\ Bottom: 512 KB RAM expansion /media/museum/hardware/hp_150_memboards_1.jpg title subtitle text image THINKJET PRINTER The ThinkJet was the first printer using the inkjet technology developped by H.P. It featured a 96 dpi printing quality for texts and graphics, and quieter operation than dot-matrix printers. /media/museum/hardware/hp_150_thinkjet_1.jpg title subtitle text image EXAMPLE 1 /media/museum/software/hp_150_touchscreen_1.jpg title subtitle text image EXAMPLE 2 /media/museum/software/hp_150_touchscreen_2.jpg title subtitle text image EXAMPLE 3 /media/museum/software/hp_150_touchscreen_3.jpg title url text Hewlett Packard Series 100 FAQ http://www.blinkenlights.com/classiccmp/hp150faq.txt Very informative Frequently Asked Questions file! title url text Web Wiz CAPTCHA http://www.webwizcaptcha.com Some stuff here 139 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230130211549/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=139 2023-01-30

The HP 150 was Hewlett Packard's attempt to produce a user friendly office computer. It is an MS-DOS based system, but is not IBM compatible. It made heavy use of function keys and the built in touch screen to attempt to produce easy to use software. The computer is built into the display unit with disk drives as external units.

It is the successor of the HP 120 (which runs under CP/M). It uses the same screen and the same case as the HP 120. The keyboard was made in Singapour and the cathodic tube was from Matsushita. But the whole system was assembled in the US Sunnyvale and Corvallis factories, and in Grenoble (France).

One of its main interesting characteristic is its "touch sensitive screen" (a 9" Sony screen). Actually, it's not a true touchscreen, there's a lot of infra red transmitters and receivers around the screen which detect the position of anything on the screen : a finger of course but a pencil too. The idea of the touch screen came from HP Grenoble, but the concept was developped in the USA.

The HP 150 uses a shell or interface program called the Personal Application Manager or PAM rather than the standard DOS command line shell. This allows the user to select installed applications from the screen. In addition there are utilities to install applications under PAM, format disks and configure peripheral devices.

Notice that the HP 150, as the HP 120, uses 3.5" floppy disks when all other computers used 5.25" floppy disks. The first models used 270 KB disks, they were replaced with 720 KB floppy disks.

It was possible to insert a small thermic printer into the screen. It was a user installed upgrade. It functioned via internal connections, and would work either as a DOS printer, or direct from the screen for logging, etc. It printed on 80 columns and used a continuous roll of special paper.

The packing of the 150 was very robust. More than one was rolled down a stairway, then powered up as a demo !