website/content/museum/panasonic-hhc.md

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

title	categories	types	origins	years	cpus	params
Panasonic HHC	Computers	Pocket	Japan	1981	6502 Low power NMOS version	name image company company_name specs tabs forum_thread photos adverts hardware oc_id source HHC /media/museum/photos/panasonic_hhc_system_1.jpg /companies/panasonic Panasonic label value NAME HHC label value MANUFACTURER Panasonic label value TYPE Pocket label value ORIGIN Japan label value YEAR 1981 label value BUILT IN LANGUAGE SNAP interpreter label value KEYBOARD 65 keys, calculator type. All the keys are redefinable. label value CPU 6502 Low power NMOS version label value SPEED 1 Mhz label value RAM 2, 4 or 8 KB. Up to 96 KB with 4, 8 or 16 KB memory modules. label value ROM 16 KB internal - 3 x optional 16 KB modules label value TEXT MODES LCD display - 1 line x 26 chars. label value GRAPHIC MODES 8 x 159 dots label value COLORS Monochrome label value SIZE / WEIGHT 227 x 95 x 30,5 mm / weight: 570 gr. label value I/O PORTS 44-pin expansion port, 3 sockets for program ROM's label value BUILT IN MEDIA Tape recorder interface built into the printer expansion label value POWER SUPPLY 5 x built-in Ni-Cad batterie 'AA' type (80 hours autonomy) or external 9 v. P.S.U. label value PERIPHERALS Printers, I/O expansion interface, RS-232 interface, IEEE 488 interface, TV display interface, acoustic modem, RAM expansions, disk drive, EPROM burner, etc. label value PRICE $500 photos adverts hardware 630 title subtitle text image LARGE VIEW /media/museum/photos/panasonic_hhc_system_s2.jpg title subtitle text image WITH PRINTER The printer holds the In/Out tape recorder jacks on the upper left corner. /media/museum/photos/panasonic_hhc_withprinter_s1.jpg title subtitle text image RIGHT SIDE Notice the expansion connector which allows to connect in chain any of the Panasonic peripherals. /media/museum/photos/panasonic_hhc_leftside_s1.jpg title subtitle text image RIGHT SIDE The round connector is used for the external AC adaptor. /media/museum/photos/panasonic_hhc_rightside_s1.jpg title subtitle text image BOTTOM SIDE **(1)** This switch allows the system components, including the RAM backup, to be disconnected from the internal battery pack\ **(2)** 3 x 16 KB Custom software ROM chips\ **(3)** One of the two 2 KB 6116 RAM chips /media/museum/photos/panasonic_hhc_bottom_s1.jpg title subtitle text image COMPLETE CASE /media/museum/photos/panasonic_hhc_complete-case.jpg title subtitle text image QUASAR VERSION The quasar version was technically identical as the Panasonic version. Only the external design was different. Note the '8' number at the bottom right, saying it was a 8 KB version /media/museum/photos/panasonic_quasar_system_1.jpg title subtitle text image QUASAR CASE /media/museum/photos/panasonic_hhc_complete-case-quasar.jpg title subtitle text image INSIDE The internal HHC hardware is made of two stacked cards. The upper one is the logic card, the bottom one is dedicated to the keyboard and LCD display management.\ Ecxept for the I/O chip the logic card only uses standard I.C. **(1)** These three removable ROM chips hold a custom program or programming language\ **(2)** 2K x 8-bit 6116 static RAM chips\ **(3)** 6502 microprocessor\ **(4)** Custom I/O chip\ **(5)** The LCD display and its associated chips came from Epson\ **(6)** 2 x 8K ROM chips which hold the system routines and the SNAP interpreter /media/museum/photos/panasonic_hhc_inside_s1.jpg title subtitle text image U.S. AD #1 (1982) The HHC advertising campain was not really attractive: black & white, lots of small characters texts, small pictures... /media/museum/pubs/panasonic_hhc_pub2.jpg title subtitle text image U.S. AD #2 (1982) /media/museum/pubs/panasonic_hhc_pub_1.jpg title subtitle text image QUASAR AD (1983) The 8 KB quasar system with the 4 color plotter/printer interface. The small picture shows a complete system with memory expansion, modem and video interfaces. /media/museum/pubs/panasonic_quasar_pub_1.jpg title subtitle text image PICTURES FROM POPULAR SCIENCE MAGAZINE dated november 1980 /media/museum/pubs/panasonic-hhc-quazar_popscience_nov-1980.jpg title subtitle text image PANASONIC PRINTER Panasonic RL-P1004A 40 character per line thermal printer and tape recorder interface. /media/museum/hardware/panasonic_hhc_printer_s1.jpg 644 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20221209195935/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=644 2022-12-09

After buying the Franco-American CIE Friends Amis (Amis means Friends in French) and their hand held computer project, Matsushita manufactured the computer and sold it under Panasonic (RL-Hxx series) and Quasar (HK-2600TE) brand names. About 70.000 Panasonic systems were sold.

The system was mainly conceived to run custom software developed by third companies. For this reason, it didn't included powerful built-in software or languages but featured an universal expansion port able to manage several peripherals simultaneously, and three ROM chip compartments. Examples of available software are: Portawriter, Telecomputing 1-2-3, File Exchange, Portacalc, Portaflex (store management), Portabudget, Portabroker, Porta Bid, Portastock, Portalog, Portasales, Portaservice, Portaaudit, etc.

The system featured SNAP, an interpreted programming language, close to Forth and not really easy to learn. Hopefully, a light version of the Microsoft BASIC interpreter ROM could be added.

The HHC (for "Hand Held Computer") had great success in USA, mainly in insurance companies thanks to a built-in custom insurance calculation application dedicated to claim adjusters and travelling salesmen who could make any insurance quotation and print it, anywhere, anytime. Few systems were sold in other countries.

The picture shows a system with a Printer/Cassette interface attached. User had to buy it to save programs files on tape! The printer used a small roll of thermal paper of 75 mm wide. It printed 16 chars. per line at a speed of 24 chars./second.

Graphic possibilities were available as an option, as well as a TV video interafce which enabled the HHC to be connected to a TV through a scart connector. The HHC could then display 32 x 16 characters in text mode (character matrix 5 x 7), or 128 x 64 with 8 colors in semi-graphic mode or 128 x 128 with 4 colors in graphic mode.

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EPROM expansion board, by Tom Klein
When working for FIPSCO - a life insurance marketing software producer - we designed a EPROM expansion board. It was housed in a one-inch thicker tray and interfaced between the printer and compueter, adding about 1 inch to the length. The main unit would only hold 4-8K EEPROMs but the address space for each "slot" was for 16K. So we put 8-64K EEPROMS in crimp molds into sockets in the expansion box. Each chip looked like 4 to the OS.

By doing this we could hold more rates and product illustration software, reducing the requirement the agent "change chips" in front of the customer. Turns out Motorola had a lock on the 8K chips and the 64K were less expensive.
We could illustrate and print one insurance illustration faster than a 286 at the time. And it fit in the briefcase. The expander box kept the unit in the field for an extra 3 to 5 years until laptops became reliable, powerful and affordable.

Curt Benjamin adds:
Many two-way radio shops still use the Panasonic HHC (part of the GE TQ-2310 "suitcase" programmer) to program GE two-way radios. Our shop still has a working one although it has since been replaced by a DOS program and radio interface box. More info here.