website/content/museum/applied-technologies-microbee-128.md

---
title: Applied Technologies Microbee 128
categories:
- Computers
types:
- Home Computer
origins:
- Australia
years:
- '1984'
cpus:
- Z80A
params:
  name: Microbee 128
  company: /companies/applied-technologies
  company_name: Applied Technologies
  specs:
  - label: NAME
    value: Microbee 128
  - label: MANUFACTURER
    value: Applied Technologies
  - label: TYPE
    value: Home Computer
  - label: ORIGIN
    value: Australia
  - label: YEAR
    value: '1984'
  - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE
    value: None
  - label: KEYBOARD
    value: QWERTY 64-key full-stroke keyboard with arrow keys
  - label: CPU
    value: Z80A
  - label: SPEED
    value: 3.375 MHz
  - label: RAM
    value: 128 KB
  - label: VRAM
    value: 16 KB
  - label: ROM
    value: 4 KB BIOS + 4 KB FDD controller
  - label: TEXT MODES
    value: 64 x 16 (Microbee BASIC) - 80 x 24 (CP/M
  - label: GRAPHIC MODES
    value: 512 x 256 (2 colours), 128 x 48 (16 colours)
  - label: COLORS
    value: '16'
  - label: SOUND
    value: Built-in 1 canal loudspeaker
  - label: SIZE / WEIGHT
    value: 35.5 (W) x 23 (D) x 5.5 (H) cm
  - label: I/O PORTS
    value: Power/Video/tape, Expansion/drive Interface, Serial ,Parallel, RGB, Optional user ports
  - label: BUILT IN MEDIA
    value: Dual 5.25''Single Sided Drives (386 KB) or 3.5'' DS/SD (776 KB)
  - label: OS
    value: CP/M 2.2
  - label: POWER SUPPLY
    value: Switching PSU built-in the FDD unit
  - label: PERIPHERALS
    value: EPROM programmer
  - label: PRICE
    value: Unknown
  tabs:
  - photos
  - adverts
  - hardware
  - connectors
  - software
  - emulators
  - links
  photos:
  - title: FRONT VIEW
    subtitle: ''
    text: The Premium machines often had key switch problems. Several keys of this machine had to be repaired.
    image: null
  - title: TOP VIEW
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  - title: LEFT & RIGHT SIDES
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  - title: 'WITH FDD UNIT #1'
    subtitle: ''
    text: This FDD unit version holds two 776 KB 3.5" double sized single density floppy-disk drives.
    image: null
  - title: 'WITH FDD UNIT #2'
    subtitle: ''
    text: This version uses two 386 KB 5.25" 360 KB double sided single density drives.
    image: null
  - title: RUNNING SYSTEM
    subtitle: ''
    text: The Microbee is running the Microbee demonstration disk.
    image: null
  - title: REAR SIDE
    subtitle: ''
    text: |-
      **(1)** Multi-function DIN socket used to supply power from the FD unit, also for composite B/W video and tape recorder outputs. The second DIN hole isn't used\
      **(2)** Expansion connector used to connect de floppy-disk drives\
      **(3)** Serial DB25 connector\
      **(4)** I/O DB15 connector\
      **(5)** RGB video output connector, compatible with colour CGA monitors.
    image: null
  - title: MAINBOARD
    subtitle: ''
    text: |-
      The mainboard is normally covered by the piggyback RAM card. Keyboard's keys are soldered upon the mainboard.\
      **(1)** 6545 video chipset. First IBM PC video cards used the same chipset\
      **(2)** Z80A PIO used for various I/O. Here a Sharp LH0081A version\
      **(3)** Nec D780C, one of the numerous Z80 clones of the Z80 CPU\
      **(4)** 4 KB BIOS ROM\
      **(5)** 16 KB Video RAM (2x3264 chips)
    image: null
  - title: RAM CARD
    subtitle: ''
    text: |-
      **(1)** RAM management ROM\
      **(2)** 128 KB RAM chips (16x4164)\
      **(3)** Western Digital floppy drives controller\
      **(4)** Provision is made for two user ports chips.
    image: null
  - title: MANUALS
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  - title: BOXES
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  adverts:
  - title: AUSTRALIAN ADVERT (1987)
    subtitle: ''
    text: Thanks to John Kahler for this picture
    image: null
  hardware:
  - title: FDD UNIT & MODEM
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  - title: BEEMODEM
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  connectors:
  - title: PARALLEL PRINTER CONNECTION
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  - title: SERIAL PRINTER CONNECTION
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  screenshots:
  - title: THE SHELL
    subtitle: ''
    text: A shell was available to perform easy file management under CP/M.
    image: null
  - title: SWORD QUEST
    subtitle: An adventure game
    text: ''
    image: null
  - title: VIPER
    subtitle: Action game
    text: ''
    image: null
  emulators:
  - title: Picomozzi
    url: http://www2.ee.mu.oz.au/pgrad/apsh/microbee/
    platform: Windows
    text: Picomozzy is a Microbee 32 KB emulator for DOS or Windows.
  - title: MESS Emulator
    url: http://www.mess.org/
    platform: Multiplatform
    text: Emulates some Microbee computers !
  - title: NanoWasp
    url: http://NANOWASP.SOURCEFORGE.NET/
    platform: Multiplatform
    text: A MicroBee 128k Disk System emulator for Windows & Unix
  - title: uBee512
    url: http://freshmeat.net/projects/ubee512
    platform: Multiplatform
    text: An emulator for the Microbee Z80 Premium/Standard FDD and ROM based microcomputers.
  links:
  - title: Microbee Archive
    url: http://members.ozemail.com.au/~mikeleys/microbee.html
    text: Essential site to understand it all
  - title: MicroBee Homepage
    url: http://www.mdstud.chalmers.se/~md6cbm/bee/
    text: Short page with few software to download
  - title: Microbee Microcomputer Micro-FAQ
    url: http://www.microbee-faq.in-tl.net/
    text: very informative FAQ
  - title: Microbee official homepage
    url: http://www.microbeetechnology.com.au/
    text: Since march 2012, Microbee is relaunching a new model !
  - title: The Bee Board
    url: http://microbee.no-ip.com/beeboard/
    text: Forum and documentation repository for Microbee
  comments:
  - author: Michael Otway (Australia)
    date: Sunday 29th November 2015
    text: Being equipped with a Z80 CPU, these "128K" units could only access 64KB for programs and data. The other 64KB was set aside as a RAM drive. The RAM drive wasn''t all that useful though, because (unlike their 32 and 64K models) they used DRAM not SRAM, so the RAM drive data was gone once the computer was switched off.
  - author: Charles Thomas
    date: Friday 29th May 2015
    text: Heh, Kung Fury gets hacked back in time on one of these. :D
  - author: Peter Larsen (Sydney, Australia)
    date: Sunday 8th August 2004
    text: The Network you describe was very popular in schools here in Australia also. It was called StarNet, and in it's most common configuration could support up to 30 or so client machines. It was a 19,200 baud serial network, the client machines having "StarNet Adapters" while the server was generally a 56k disk system model with a "StarNetwork Multiplexer". Software would be loaded on the server, then "pushed" through the serial link to the client computers and run from their RAM. Some units would have a "battery" switch so you could plug in, load software, then unplug and keep it in memory while you moved the machine elsewhere.
  - author: Martin Hultén Ashauer (Sweden)
    date: Sunday 22nd September 2002
    text: |-
      I've had a MicroBee all my life and it still works alltho some buttons dont work propperly like the '0' button, so I have to write '11' instead of '10' when i'm basic programming. Its a nice computer and i have some software but not much. If there is anyone that owns ant software to the MicroBee and is willing to give/sell it to me mail me @: Martin_ha@yahoo.com\
      //Martin H.A.\
      Proud MicroBee Owner
  - author: Christian Johansson (Sweden)
    date: Saturday 2nd March 2002
    text: |-
      When I went to school in Eslöv in Sweden in 7th-9th grade between 1986-1989, we had a computer room filled with Microbee computers. There was one server that the teacher handled. The rest of the computers that the pupils used were clients. Computer science was a special subject at the time. We did not use computers in ordinary subjects like mathematics and Swedish.

      /Christian
  related:
  - /museum/applied-technologies-microbee-32
  oc_id: 462
  source:
    url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230529195009/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=462
    date: '2023-05-29'
---

The Microbee computers were popular in Australia where they equipped many schools. But these computers also sold well in Scandinavia or Sweden for example.

The Microbee 128 and its extended version, the Premium series, were housed in the same case as the Microbee 32 but had four additional cursor keys. they shipped with a 5.25" or 3.5" single or double disk drives unit.

Both 128 and Premium versions boasted improved graphics over the earlier machines, colour as standard and many other detailed improvements. They ran CP/M operating system. The Premium had an IBM CGA compatible video interface and dual density floppy drives, offering 776 KB capacity instead of 386 KB for the 128. a 10 MB hard disk was also available.