website/content/museum/nec-pc-8801.md

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

title	categories	types	origins	years	cpus	params
NEC PC 8801	Computers	Home Computer	Japan	1981	uPD780C-1	name company company_name specs tabs photos adverts hardware connectors emulators links comments related software oc_id source PC 8801 /companies/nec NEC label value NAME PC 8801 label value MANUFACTURER NEC label value TYPE Home Computer label value ORIGIN Japan label value YEAR December 1981 label value BUILT IN LANGUAGE N88-BASIC, N-BASIC (PC8001 MODE) label value KEYBOARD Full-stroke keyboard 67 key + 20 key numeric pad + 5 function keys label value CPU uPD780C-1(Z80A compatible) label value SPEED 4 MHz label value RAM 64 KB (up to 576 KB) label value VRAM 48 KB label value ROM 72 KB label value TEXT MODES 36/40/72/80 characters x 20/25 lines label value GRAPHIC MODES 640 x 200 (8 colours), 640 x 400 (Monochrome) label value COLORS 8 label value SOUND 3 FM channels + 3 SSG + 6 rhythms + 1 ADPCM label value SIZE / WEIGHT main case: 496W x 342D x 107H / 7.1 Kg\ keyboard: 464W x 214D x 73H / 2 Kg label value I/O PORTS 4 expansion slots\ Tape recorder (600/1200 baud)\ RS232C\ CRT(MONO/DIGITAL), Centronics label value POWER SUPPLY PSU built-in, AC100V±10%, 40w-70w label value PERIPHERALS Dual 5'' (2x320 KB) or 8'' (2x1 MB) floppy drive unit label value PRICE 228 000 yen (Japan, 1981) photos adverts hardware connectors software emulators links title subtitle text image PC 8801 null title subtitle text image CLOSE-UP null title subtitle text image REAR null title subtitle text image U.S. ADVERT APR. 1983 null title subtitle text image U.S. ADVERT JUNE 1983 Advert said: With NEC's PC-8800 personal computer, you don't have to ask yourself which comes first, the hardware or the software.\ It's designed to be uncompromising in both areas. So you come first. In the office or at home.\ The hardware gives you your choice of 8-bit or 16-bit processors, 5 1/4" or 8" disk drives and standard green or high resolution color monitor.\ The software includes advanced, user friendly programs for all types of banking, accounting and business management. Plus free WordStar word processing, and MailMerge, Multiplan spread sheet, BASIC (two versions), and CP/M... null title subtitle text image UK ADVERT SEPT. 1983 null title subtitle text image DUAL 5.25'' FLOPPY DISCS UNIT Dual 5.25" Double-side, double-density 320 KB floppy drive unit.\ The unit uses the 8255 parallel interface. It can be also used with PC-8001/mkII, PC-8801 Series, PC-9801/E/F/M etc. null title subtitle text image COMPOSITE VIDEO DIN PLUG **(1)** VDD 12V\ **(2)** GND\ **(3)** Video Out\ **(4)** NC\ **(5)** Light pen null title subtitle text image RGB VIDEO DIN PLUG **(1)** VDD 12V\ **(2)** GND\ **(3)** Color clock\ **(4)** H-SYNC\ **(5)** V-SYNC\ **(6)** R\ **(7)** G\ **(8)** B null title url platform text M88 emulator http://retropc.net/cisc/m88/ Windows Japanese emulator title url platform text PC88 Emulator http://home.highway.ne.jp/soltin/pc88win.html Windows Japanese emulator title url platform text PC-8801mk2SR Emulator's Page http://webclub.kcom.ne.jp/mb/ume-3/pc88emu.html Multiplatform Emultors list title url platform text QUASI88 http://www.117.ne.jp/~show/pc8801/pc88emu2.html Multiplatform Multiplatform emulator title url text Kubota's museum http://my.reset.jp/~toragiku/kopa/88.htm Interesting page (japanese) author date text James (Ireland) Tuesday 26th May 2020 Personally I''m surprised that this system was not released outside of Asia because it was very powerful in its later years with FM sound and full colour graphics and if it was released it would have probably buried the IBM PC author date text Richard E Sgrignoli (Pennsylvania/USA) Tuesday 20th August 2019 I was in the Air Force stationed in Japan (Misawa Air Base), and I bought the PC-8801n in Aomori, Japan with my reenlistment bonus in April 1982. The manuals were all in Japanese, so I hadn''t really been able to use it to its full potential. I used it for the next five years until I bought a Dell System 25, but the PC-8801 (now my secondary computer) lasted for about 12 years (until 1994) when it became inoperable due to the post office damaging the 8" dual drive when I shipped it from one duty station (Key West) to the next (Hawaii). author date text Frits Meuris (Nederland) Saturday 10th November 2012 The NEC PC8801 was the followup from the NEC PC8001. It was distributed in west Europe by NEC Neuss Germany. These even manufactured computer furniture to be bought by complete systems. In the U.K. this was also a well know model in the marked of office equipment. The PC8801 had 2 basic interpretors in ROM, at first the bill gates written N-basic from Microsoft and second the very special Microsoft N-88 basic with extended commands for graphics etc.\ You could load CP/M operating system by discette. At first the CP/M from the PC8001 computer, and later also CP/M in PC8801 mode.\ In GB was at last also availble separate double DS/DD 8 inch discette station. The discettes had 1,2 Mb capacity in this format. Also was available a harddisk station from Japan for these computers. It''s brand was Anritsu, and the capacity was 10 Mb. In America was another development going, also selden sold in Europe, the famous APC computer.\ This was a more IBM compatible model, with build in\ 2 x 51/4 inch discette stations. The APC was the counterpart for the Northstar pc''s. only link for available software\ http://www.frimu.nl/bu/nec.htm author date text Brent (US) (Colorado, USA) Friday 13rd April 2012 It was definitely released in the US. My folks bought one in 1982 or 1983. I learned to program on it in BASIC, Pascal, and Z80 Assembly. It went from sibling to sibling until it finally was sent to me sometime in the 90s. It still functioned as late as a year ago when I finally donated it to a museum rather than move it across country with me. :-) By the time I got it back from a sibling, you could emulate a Z80 processor in software faster than the NEC would run it, but... I still have fond memories of all the hours I spent in front of it during my high school years, though. author date text Ian E. Gorman Saturday 7th April 2012 I bought a PC-8801 in Canada and used it from 1984 to 1990, with an NEC "Spinwriter" printer, and a pair of 5.25" disk drives, CP/M WordStar (with MailMerge) and MultiPlan. I didn''t buy the MS-DOS board (it was only available with DOS 1.25) and heard later that, in contrast to the PC-8801 itself, the MS-DOS board was very troublesome. I also used code and circuit diagrams supplied by NEC to write a driver that used the 48K graphics memory as a rAM disk, a utility that would convert 5.25" diskettes from N88-Basic format to CP/M format and back, and a file manager that would automatically recognize MS-DOS and CP/M diskettes and treat them as if they were all CP/M diskettes. All of these were posted on a bulletin board run by Ryugen Fisher, who gave me some useful advice and coaching. It was a very good computer and, at the time, well-supported by NEC Home Electonics in the USA. author date text Daniel (Switzerland) Saturday 27th February 2010 I don''t know if it applies in this particular case, but it doesn''t have to be a contradiction. Quite a few times manufacturers have simply already been promoting a system in a country before deciding not to release it after all, for financial reasons or whatever. Judging by how little English coverage there is on the system, I would suppose it was never released, or was a big failure. author date text Guy (US) Tuesday 29th July 2008 I'm confused. The main article says the machine was not released in the USA, but there are american ads. /museum/nec-pc-8001 /museum/nec-pc-8001-mk-2 /museum/nec-pc-8001-mk-2-sr /museum/nec-pc-8801-fa /museum/nec-pc-8801-fe /museum/nec-pc-88va /software/177-146 398 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230528085355/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=398 2023-05-28

The NEC PC 8801 was the successor of PC 8001. It offered fine colour graphics.
It had an optional MS-Dos board. It was one of the fist, if not the first color CPM computer.

It ran in three bootable modes: CPM, MS-Dos, and N88-Basic. The N-Basic would natively boot on the system without disk, just like the PC 8001. It also had a software / hardware switch to turn it into PC 8001 mode.

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