website/content/museum/national-radio-institute-832.md

---
title: NATIONAL RADIO INSTITUTE 832
categories:
- Computers
types:
- Home Computer
origins:
- U.S.A.
years:
- '1971'
cpus:
- No processor
params:
  name: '832'
  image: /media/museum/photos/nri_832_system_1.jpg
  company: /companies/national-radio-institute
  company_name: NATIONAL RADIO INSTITUTE
  specs:
  - label: NAME
    value: '832'
  - label: MANUFACTURER
    value: National Radio Institute
  - label: TYPE
    value: Home Computer
  - label: ORIGIN
    value: U.S.A.
  - label: YEAR
    value: '1971'
  - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE
    value: None
  - label: KEYBOARD
    value: 139 switches
  - label: CPU
    value: No processor
  - label: RAM
    value: 17 Storage locations for 8-bit words, expandable to 32 words with an optional semiconductor memory kit.
  - label: ROM
    value: No ROM
  - label: TEXT MODES
    value: Lightbulbs
  - label: SIZE / WEIGHT
    value: 22 lbs
  - label: I/O PORTS
    value: No connectors
  - label: POWER SUPPLY
    value: Built-in power supply unit
  - label: PRICE
    value: $503
  comments:
  - author: Mario Gasparovic
    date: Wednesday 12th November 2014
    text: |-
      I finished the correspondence course and put together the 832 long time ago. It worked O.K. when the clock was set on less than ONE Hertz speed! However, when the clock was set at the second available speed of about of 300 kHz the computer didn''t operate properly. Later, I got into ham radio and left the computer to slowly rust in the basement.\
      73, VE3HVY\
      .
  - author: Chris
    date: Friday 8th June 2012
    text: 'Re the manual link below: the comment receipt system seems to have turned spaces in the URL into dollar-20 instead of what''''s needed (just space, or percent-20).'
  - author: Chris
    date: Friday 8th June 2012
    text: |-
      If people still want the manual, there seems to be one here:

      http://www.hartetechnologies.com/manuals/Digital$20Electronics/Model$20832$20computer$20RefMan10KX.pdf
  - author: phillyskyline (USA)
    date: Friday 27th January 2012
    text: I have obained an NRI 832 and need the costruction manual. Can someone please share that with me. Thank you
  - author: gonewithglory (USA)
    date: Tuesday 13rd December 2011
    text: I have one of these and badly need the manuals. Can someone please help make me a copy or point me to online sites that might have them. Thank you
  - author: Guy Smith (Ft. Myers, Florida)
    date: Monday 24th October 2011
    text: I have dragged my NRI 832 back out to perform a restoration. I do have a full set of manuals and schematics. I will attempt to get at least the assembly manual and schematics into PDF. What a great learning tool it was.
  - author: Paul (Canada)
    date: Monday 3rd January 2011
    text: |-
      I too took the NRI course building and using this computer. I learned a lot, and being I was a Flight Simulator Techniican and digital systems were coming into vogue in the early 70''s, I managed to design and build 8 printed circuit boards for the Tutor Simulator. I later became the Computer Resourse manager for a company in Ottawa in the early 80''s ..all through what I had learned with this course..and more of course.\
      Good memories there!
  - author: Hap (USA)
    date: Thursday 25th September 2008
    text: Back in the early 70''''s I too had one of these, took the course through NRI
  - author: armando (bronx,n.y)
    date: Wednesday 30th January 2008
    text: I am looking for tech manual or information so with some I can bring back a ghost from my past
  - author: Hap (Frederick, Md, USA)
    date: Monday 21st August 2006
    text: |-
      I too had one of those NRI 832 puters, I also know who has it now, or should have it with all the info, this was back in 1975 when I started to take some course there. Computer Lang, learning on the old 6800/8800 chip program. They loved the little puter, you could see how things worked. Ya do know it had a Step speed mode, and a full adder circuit\
      Anne Arundel Community College\
      101 College Parkway\
      Arnold Maryland 21012
  - author: Magnus Brobeck (Sweden)
    date: Saturday 30th April 2005
    text: |-
      I found one of these lying around and salvaged it. Seems to need some tender love and care before it performs properly again. Anyone sitting on some manuals or assembly instructions?

      Regards,\
      Magnus
  oc_id: 884
  source:
    url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230205052956/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=884
    date: '2023-02-05'
---

The National Radio Institute 832 was probably the first commercially available computer kit. It was sold as part of a correspondence computer course.

We don't know much about this machine, but **Jason Anderson**, the proud owner of the pictured machine sent us a letter from **Lou Frenzel**, the designer of the NRI-832:

I did design the 832 back in 1970-71 time period.\
It was part of a home study course on computers offered by National Radio Institute, a school owned by publisher McGraw Hill. It was delivered as a series of kits, 5 if I remember correctly.

The memory was a diode switch matrix with 16 bytes programmable with slide switches. It also had an additional 16 bytes of TTL SRAM which was very expensive at the time. It was made with TTL digital logic which was very expensive, but I couldn't bring myself to use any of the older but cheaper RTL or DTL chips.

All processing was done serially with a total of 8 instructions. Amazingly, you could program almost anything if you could get it into the limited memory. This turned out to be a very popular course and kit surprising all of us at the time. We packaged the kits ourselves.

NRI went out of business in 1999 but McGraw Hill is still around, but I imagine all that 832 stuff is long gone.

I had been hauling around a fully wired 832 for years and even offered it to the Boston Computer Museum as an example of early computer kits but it was rejected. I eventually threw it away after it suffered damage during hurricane Andrew in Florida in 1994. I think I still have one of the memory boards and a set of manuals somewhere in my storage unit. Haven't seen them for years.

<table> <tr> <td></td> <td>We need more info about this computer ! If you designed, used, or have more info about this system, please send us pictures or anything you might find useful.</td> <td></td> </tr> </table>