website/content/museum/quay-corporation-500-series.md

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

title	categories	types	origins	years	cpus	params
QUAY Corporation 500 Series	Computers	Professional Computer	U.S.A.	1980	Z-80A	name company company_name specs tabs photos adverts oc_id source 500 Series /companies/quay-corporation QUAY Corporation label value NAME 500 Series label value MANUFACTURER QUAY Corporation label value TYPE Professional Computer label value ORIGIN U.S.A. label value YEAR 1980 label value END OF PRODUCTION 1989 label value BUILT IN LANGUAGE None label value KEYBOARD Depends on the terminal used label value CPU Z-80A label value SPEED 4 Mhz. label value RAM 32 KB expandable up to 64 KB label value TEXT MODES Video terminal label value SIZE / WEIGHT 16" x 18" x 6" label value I/O PORTS Disc Drive Expansion connector, 3 x Serial Ports, Parallel printer connector label value BUILT IN MEDIA Dual 200 KB or 400 KB floppy drives label value OS CP/M label value POWER SUPPLY Built-in P.S.U. label value PERIPHERALS RS232C & TTY serial port compatible product label value PRICE Model 500 : $2500\ Model 520 : $4600 list (but usually sold to OEM's for 30%-40% - $3200 less) photos adverts title subtitle text image MODEL 520 Thanks to Phillip Good for this picture null title subtitle text image LEFT SIDE Thanks to Phillip Good for this picture null title subtitle text image REAR From left to right: - big fan\ - disc drive expanson connector\ - 3 x serial ports\ - parallel line printer connector Thanks to Phillip Good for this picture null title subtitle text image INSIDE MODEL 520 Thanks to Phillip Good for this picture null title subtitle text image MODEL 500 null title subtitle text image U.S. ADVERT (1980) Advert said: The facts speak for themselves. The QUAY 500 SERIES offers more for the money than North Star Horizon computers... ...The bottom line is simple. There is a new star in the computer field. The 500 SERIES by Quay. It outshines all of the competition. A little pretentious tone! null 577 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230323152424/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=577 2023-03-23

The QUAY 500 was a clone of the North Star Horizon offering some technical improvements compared to its competitor: a standalone single-board instead of a backplane and several S-100 boards, Direct Memory Access for better disk access performance, on-board expansion capabilities for additional parallel and serial port and higher disk capacity.

The 500 model was sold with two 200 KB double density 5"1/4 floppy drives, the 520 model with two quad density 400 KB drives.

In spite of these technical advantages and a price 20% lower than North Star's similar models, the Quay 500 series do not seem to have been marketed for long.

Phillip Good comments:
The Quay computer was not sold to consumers but to OEM's who would package it around some kind of accounting package and sell it to professionals--accountants, dentists, physicians, and so forth for use in their offices. Its wooden case was intended and succeeded in making it look professional in contrast to the rinky tink plastic and metal contraptions which are standard today.