website/content/museum/sord-m23-mark-iii.md

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

title	categories	types	origins	years	cpus	params
Sord M23 Mark III	Computers	Professional Computer	Japan	1982	Z80A	name image company company_name specs tabs forum_thread photos adverts oc_id source M23 Mark III /media/museum/photos/sord_m23-markiii_1.jpg /companies/sord Sord label value NAME M23 Mark III label value MANUFACTURER Sord label value TYPE Professional Computer label value ORIGIN Japan label value YEAR 1982 label value KEYBOARD Full-stroke keyboard with numeric keypad, function keys and arrow keys label value CPU Z80A label value SPEED 4 Mhz label value CO-PROCESSOR APU (Am9511) arithmetic processor label value RAM 128 KB label value ROM Unknown label value TEXT MODES 80 x 25 label value GRAPHIC MODES 640 x 256 label value COLORS 8 colors label value SOUND Unknown label value SIZE / WEIGHT 420 x 107 x 300 / 3.8 Kg label value I/O PORTS 2 x RS232c ports (75 - 19200 baud), Centronics/Parallel port, 3 x bus slots label value BUILT IN MEDIA Two optional 5.25'' disk-drives (330 KB) label value OS Sord DOS, CP/M, UCSD Pascal label value POWER SUPPLY 110, 230 V AC +/- 15% label value PRICE Unknown photos adverts 222 title subtitle text image COMPLETE SYSTEM /media/museum/photos/sord_m23-m3_complete.jpg title subtitle text image FRENCH DOCTOR Sord M23 complete configuration used in a french doctor office in 1982. The M23 was used to search and display the right medications related to the symptoms. Source: Micro Ordinateurs, N°3, June 1982 null title subtitle text image PROMOTIONAL LEAFLET /media/museum/pubs/sord_m23-m3_leaflet.jpg title subtitle text image FRENCH ADVERT (FEBRUARY 1982) /media/museum/pubs/sord_m23-markiii_pub_datronic.jpg 212 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230605043337/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=212 2023-06-05

The Sord M23 Mark III was available with 12" green monitor or a 14" color monitor.

Despite the M23 featured a cartridge port, all of its important software came on floppies, including the ground-breaking PIPS-III and several BASIC compiler variants developed by Sord and running on their own OS. A lot of good business software and games were written with these.

There were later Mark systems released, including a Mark I with the world's first 3.5 inch floppies deployed, and the Mark V with eight inch drives -- the Mark III had 5.25'' floppies. There was also the Mark X with a 10MB hard drive.

Around 1983 or so the "M23EX" was released - this was basically an M23 with the mk41 drives (5.25" DSHD) housed in an M68 case (more PC-style with separate keyboard and floppies in the main case). It was a low cost option contemporary with the more expensive and better spec'd M68.

Graphics required an upgrade - from memory it was a chip, and also an upgrade from "FDOS" to "GDOS" (the graphics DOS). Graphics on this and the M68 were operated in a weird way from CBASIC or BASIC-II (a structured BASIC) - you put it into graphics mode and then issued specially formatted PRINT commands to access graphics - for example:

10 PRINT CLEAR
20 GRAPH 1
30 PRINT "GINIT"
40 PRINT "COLOR 7"
... other code ....
50 GRAPH 0

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Contributors: Andrew Joll

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.