website/content/museum/sharp-mz-40k.md

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

title	categories	types	origins	years	cpus	params
Sharp MZ 40K	Computers	Home Computer	Japan	1978	4 bits Fujitsu MB-8843	name image company company_name specs tabs forum_thread photos screenshots links related oc_id source MZ 40K /media/museum/photos/sharp_mz40k_system_2.jpg /companies/sharp Sharp label value NAME MZ 40K label value MANUFACTURER Sharp label value TYPE Home Computer label value ORIGIN Japan label value YEAR 1978 label value KEYBOARD Mechanical hexadecimal keyboard, 22 keys label value CPU 4 bits Fujitsu MB-8843 label value RAM 512 words x 4 bits label value ROM 1 Kb (inside CPU) label value SOUND built-in loudspeaker label value SIZE / WEIGHT 275 mm x 280 mm x 50 mm . Weight: 730 g. label value POWER SUPPLY External 10.5V. AC Adaptor label value PRICE 24000 Yens photos software links 548 title subtitle text image MOTHERBOARD Thanks to Karl Heinz for this picture and info. Here is the Motherboard of my MZ-40K\ The MZ-40K contains a 4bit CPU MB8843 which has a ROM included. In this ROM is the software of the MZ-40K, it has no other ROM :-( To note: On eack key of the keyboard one find a note of the musical chromatic scale, in French notation (do, ré, mi, fa, sol, la, si) /media/museum/photos/sharp_mz40k_motherboard.jpg title subtitle text image SYSTEM & DOCS /media/museum/photos/sharp_mz40_2.jpg title subtitle text image SHARP LOGO The logo design is close to the final logo of the MZ computers serie, but without the Algo constellation ship that will first appear with the MZ-80K model /media/museum/photos/sharp_mz40k_logo.jpg title subtitle text image POWER PLUG Power is supplied by an external tranformer through a mini-plug located at the back side of the card. Power is 11 volts alternating current as MZ-40K use trigger and then AC cycles to provide clock function. Power regulation process in made on the board. The button located next to the power plug has two functions (as old cheap radio receivers), power On/Off and sound volume control. /media/museum/photos/sharp_mz40k_powerinput.jpg title subtitle text image KEYBOARD Keyboard's keys are similar to those of the MZ 80K computer. Beside their original functions, they can be used as a musical keyboard. /media/museum/photos/sharp_mz40k_keyboard.jpg title subtitle text image MICROPROCESSOR Despite the Sharp brand name and reference number, the microprocessor is a 4 bits Fujitsu MB-8843 one-chip microcomputer including 1 Kb. ROM, 64 words*4 bits RAM and 37 I/O ports in a 42-pin DIP package\ At the picture's bottom, there is a jumpers area named "denwa" used by one of the built-in programs for telephone charge account, setting for charge per time. /media/museum/photos/sharp_mz40k_microproc.jpg title subtitle text image RAM CHIPS Two Fujitsu chips MB-8101 holding 512words * 4bits of RAM memory. /media/museum/photos/sharp_mz40k_ramchips.jpg title subtitle text image THE JAPANESE BOX On the box, was written: "Welcome to the amazing world of the micro computer" (front) and "An Introduction to the study of Micro-computers" (side) /media/museum/photos/sharp_mz40_box.jpg title subtitle text image THE GERMAN BOX Thanks to Karl Heinz /media/museum/photos/sharp_mz40k_germanbox_1.jpg title subtitle text image MANUALS User manual (left) is very thin, with poor hardware, software and internal monitor explanations, and no informations about microprocessor instructions table and CPU integrated software. The "how-to-use card" gives some additional explanations on how to use the integrated monitor commands. /media/museum/photos/sharp_mz40k_manuals.jpg title subtitle text image HUNTING DEER German card of the Hunting deer game Thanks to Karl Heinz /media/museum/software/sharp_mz40k_gamecard_1.jpg title subtitle text image CAR RACE German card of the game Car race. Thanks to Karl Heinz /media/museum/software/sharp_mz40k_gamecard_2.jpg title url text Web Wiz CAPTCHA http://www.webwizcaptcha.com /museum/sharp-sm-b-80tc /museum/sharp-sm-b-80te 556 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230608225402/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=556 2023-06-08

MZ-40K was an ancestor of the Sharp MZ computers series. It was a single-board microcomputer in a plastic covered box. Sharp called it "Dr. Microcomputer (MAIKON HAKASE)". It was designed as a consumer electrical appliance and sold as a toy or a training tool for the first microcomputers fans.

The MZ-40K had a built-in speaker and could play music automatically or become an organ, using the monitor keys. Software was included into the 4-bit CPU ROM and users could run several basic applications without any programming skill.

MZ-40K wasn't a marketing success, mainly because it was designed only for beginners without expansions capabilities, while the major competitor, NEC TK-80, offered a full range of software and hardware expansions.

Karl Heinz Mau (sharpmz.org) reports us: it uses an AC Adaptor 10.5 Volt (AC !!). Not DC, because the clock functions uses the 50 Hz of the power to generate the clocking (seconds by a blinking LED-point, minutes, hours).

The complete computer was sold as a kit! The operating manual contains about 25 pages (of 68) to build the MZ-40K.

There are two options for the MZ-40K which could be bought seperately.
Option 1 is named Sensor. It is a REED or microswitch used to play self-programmed melodies continuosly or one to 15times. It can be used too for counting events when the switch is pressed. The number of events will be displayed with the LEDs.
Option 2 is an organ keyboard kit to play your melodies. It is connected by a 12 wires cable.

There are 7 global and choosable functions of the MZ-40K:
1 Clock
2 Timer ( plays a melody/tone at a specified time )
3 Organ by its keyboard
4 Playing melodies (3 octaves, 127 notes)
5 Telephone costs. To this you have to set the MZ-40K into this mode by using some keyboard functions. You press RUN at the beginning of your call and STOP at the end. MZ-40K will show the costs... from 1 german penny up to 15 stepped by 1 penny. May be, this can be used for other purposes too?
6 Games (like cube or cube games, roulette, car race, hunting deer, etc.)
7 the 6 sensors make several applications possible...

Key functions:
ADR to set the address in RAM to be read/write
READ to read and display at the LEDs the hexadecimal contents of a RAM address
WRITE to write the hexadecimal data typed in by the keyboard into the RAM
CLEAR to delete/correct wrong data typed in
RUN execute a program (1 to 7, see above)
STOP to stop the execution
0 - F hex keyboard or to play the musical note shown on the key (e.g. Mi, Fa, Fa# etc.)

Thanks to Ohishi Nuboaki and his Sharp MZ dedicated website and Karl Heinz Mau for informations and pictures.