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---
title: Amstrad PCW 9512
categories:
- Computers
types:
- Professional Computer
origins:
- United Kingdom
years:
- '1987'
cpus:
- Zilog Z80 A
params:
name: PCW 9512
image: /media/museum/photos/amstrad_9512_system_s3.jpg
company: /companies/amstrad
company_name: Amstrad
specs:
- label: NAME
value: PCW 9512
- label: MANUFACTURER
value: Amstrad
- label: TYPE
value: Professional Computer
- label: ORIGIN
value: United Kingdom
- label: YEAR
value: '1987'
- label: END OF PRODUCTION
value: '1994'
- label: KEYBOARD
value: Full-stroke 82 key with function keys, numeric keypad and special editing keys (COPY, CUT, PASTE, PRINT,etc.)
- label: CPU
value: Zilog Z80 A
- label: SPEED
value: 4 MHz
- label: RAM
value: 512 KB
- label: ROM
value: No ROM chip. Bootstrap loader is masked onto a custom chip.
- label: TEXT MODES
value: 90 xchars. x 35 lines
- label: GRAPHIC MODES
value: 720 x 256 dots
- label: COLORS
value: Monochrome (black & white)
- label: SOUND
value: Beeper, 1 channel
- label: SIZE / WEIGHT
value: 34.5 (W) x 34.5 (D) x 42 (H) cm
- label: I/O PORTS
value: Z80 Bus, Parallel
- label: BUILT IN MEDIA
value: One Hitachi 3'' disk-drive (720k)
- label: OS
value: CP/M, CP/M+
- label: POWER SUPPLY
value: Built-in power supply unit
- label: PERIPHERALS
value: Printer, RAM an serial expansion units
- label: PRICE
value: £499
tabs:
- photos
- adverts
- hardware
- emulators
- links
- docs
photos:
- title: PCW-9512
subtitle: ''
text: ''
image: /media/museum/photos/amstrad_9512_system_s2.jpg
- title: RUNNING
subtitle: ''
text: The PCW-9512 is running the LocoScript word processing program.
image: /media/museum/photos/amstrad_9512_running_s1.jpg
- title: TOP VIEW
subtitle: ''
text: ''
image: /media/museum/photos/amstrad_9512_topview_s1.jpg
- title: 'PROFILE #1'
subtitle: ''
text: ''
image: /media/museum/photos/amstrad_9512_side_s1.jpg
- title: 'PROFILE #2'
subtitle: ''
text: ''
image: /media/museum/photos/amstrad_9512_side_s2.jpg
- title: OPENED
subtitle: ''
text: |-
The electronics is composed of two superimposed cards. The top one holds the power supply and video circuitry, the bottom one holds the logic circuitry.\
The electronics of the PCW series was very reliable. Most of the PCW machines one finds nowaday are still running well, except for the 3" drive belt which releases and have to be replaced regularly.
image: /media/museum/photos/amstrad_9512_opened_s1.jpg
- title: LOGIC BOARD
subtitle: ''
text: |-
**(1)** Floppy drive(s) connector\
**(2)** Zilog Z80FDC, floppy drives controller\
**(3)** Power supply connector\
**(4)** Custom Amstrad chips, manage memory, all I/Os, graphics video, Amstrad and Parallel printers and hold the BIOS ROM\
**(5)** Z80A CPU, original Zilog version\
**(6)** Keyboard and video connectors\
**(7)** 512 KB RAM chips - 16x41256\
**(8)** Beeper
image: /media/museum/photos/amstrad_9512_mainboard_s1.jpg
- title: INSIDE THE PRINTER
subtitle: ''
text: A simple but reliable daisywheel mechanism. A small card manages the printing head. Power and logic functions are provided by the main unit.
image: /media/museum/photos/amstrad_9512_printer_s1.jpg
- title: 9512 MANUALS
subtitle: ''
text: ''
image: /media/museum/photos/amstrad_9512_manuals_s1.jpg
- title: THE BOX
subtitle: ''
text: ''
image: /media/museum/photos/amstrad_9512_box_s1.jpg
adverts:
- title: FIRST U.K. AD (OCT. 87)
subtitle: ''
text: |-
Advert said:
The letters you send speak volumes for your company's image. Scrappy typing, untidy layouts and poor spelling announce that you're less than professional outfit.\
Whereas beautifully presented correspondence shows quite clearly that you're a company to be reckoned with.\
Now Amstrad's new wordprocessor with daisywhell printer and spellcheck facility means that any company can produce superb quality letters, reports and documents.\
With the minimum of effort and for a minimal outlay.
image: /media/museum/pubs/amstrad_9512_pub_1.jpg
hardware:
- title: SERIAL / PARALLEL INTERFACE
subtitle: ''
text: ''
image: /media/museum/hardware/amstrad_8512_serialinterf_1.jpg
- title: SERIAL INTERFACE AND MOUSE
subtitle: ''
text: A standard serial mouse could be used thrue a serial interface expansion and a specific connector.
image: /media/museum/hardware/amstrad_8512_serialmouse_s1.jpg
- title: RAMPAC
subtitle: 1.5 MB memory expansion
text: This memory expansion was used by some programs as a fast virtual floppy disk drive.
image: /media/museum/hardware/amstrad_9512_rampac_s1.jpg
emulators:
- title: Joyce
url: http://www.seasip.demon.co.uk/Unix/Joyce/index.html
platform: Multiplatform
text: JOYCE emulates the Amstrad PCW on Unix, Windows and Mac OS X
links:
- title: Amstrad PCW
url: http://ciberia.ya.com/tuamstradpcw/
text: Nice spanish PCW dedicated page with screenshots, software to download and much more!
- title: Amstrad PCW products from Pineboard Computers
url: http://www.btinternet.com/~pinboardcomputers/pcws/indexa.htm
text: ''
- title: AMSTRAD PCW SPARES
url: http://www.pcwking1.netfirms.com
text: ''
- title: Ian Macdonald's PCW pages
url: http://www.caliban.org/PCW.html
text: ''
- title: Kathleen's General Interest PCW Site
url: http://pcwgallery.cjb.net
text: Information about the Amstrad PCW range of computers with photographs and links
- title: MB Schneider PCW Seite
url: http://www.3pro.de/mb/pcw8256.htm
text: (in german)
- title: SD Microsystems
url: http://members.aol.com/sdmicro/index.htm
text: Company supporting CPC, PCW and Amstrad PC
docs:
- title: PCW 9512 - MANUEL UTILISATEUR (FRENCH MANUAL)
url: http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/article.php?sid=23
cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/amstrad_pcw-9512_user-manual.jpg
text: |-
[**PCW 9512 - MANUEL UTILISATEUR (FRENCH MANUAL)**](http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/article.php?sid=23)written by Amstrad
 compiled/archived by Charles Da Silva\
 type of document : PDF\
 source : [Amstrad.CPC](http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/)
comments:
- author: Sam
date: Thursday 14th November 2013
text: |-
Becky, pretty sure 499 was the retail price back then! As this site mentions, they sold 700,000 of these! Since demand for them isn''t quite what it was, a bit of basic economics tells me you might get 10 or 20 quid for it, if someone really wants one.
Collectors of old computers are nearly all private individuals reliving their past, and appreciating the specialness that''s hard to explain. We''re usually not rich, and we''re certainly not insane!
Perhaps someone online will be grateful to get it off you cheap, postage will be a bugger though.
- author: Becky Platt (Weybridge UK)
date: Sunday 29th September 2013
text: |-
I am hoping to get some advice. After having a clear out I have come across a working (I think!) Amstrad pcw 9512 and wanted to know the best place to sell this?
Can anyone recommend somewhere that would buy vintage computers and also what sort of price I could expect as I saw £499 on this site but wasn''t sure!
Any help would be great as would like to sell ASAP!
- author: Keylogger software (USA)
date: Tuesday 6th November 2012
text: Keylogger for Mac application is used to trace and record keyboard actions, chat sessions using Gmail, facebook accounts.
- author: Stephen Page (Scotland)
date: Thursday 28th June 2012
text: I am reliably informed that if your having difficulties getting ribbons for your PCW 9512 try looking for ribbons for an Olympia Carrera II, they are the same.
- author: Fred Sheehan (United Kingdom)
date: Monday 27th February 2012
text: |-
@Adam Campbell and any other user of this type of PC
You can transfer all of your old word processor documents to a newer computer running Microsoft Office or any compatible, like the free Open Office suite.\
This would allow you to compile a document containing all of your chapters.
All word processors, including your old Amstrad support saving files as Rich Text Format (.rtf) and this will preserve the document with it''s main formatting like paragraphs, tabs and new lines, and can be imported into a newer word processing document with ease. (important, you have to look for the ''import as'' menu it is not ''automatic'' to import it in some programs)
I used to have the earlier Amstrad PCW 8512 with the green monochrome screen and had to do this for all my college assignments as the local college only accepted word documents double spaced.
Hope this helps!\
Fred
- author: Chris Ze Miller (Shropshire,UK)
date: Tuesday 31st January 2012
text: In the mid 1980s the only dedicated wordprocessor on the market and displayed at The Which Computer Show cost £8000.I cant remember the makers name.My need was for a machine to produce a mail order catalogue that had fractions on its keyboard because I was dealing in old fishing tackle and fishing reels were in sizes 31/4 inch$3 1/2 inch$3 3/4 inch$3 1/8 inch etc I went round every computer sales team at every show and no one did fractions on their keyboard or could grasp how to get around it and I came to the conclusion all the computer companies were employing car sales reps who looked pretty but knew f all about their products! The £8000 word processor had these fractions but as I had just bought my shop freehold for £18,000 I wasnt about to spend half as much again on a machine! In January 1988 I bought my Amstrad 9512 which had fractions on its keys!It cost £582.22 including VAT which I got back.Within a week I was posting a mail order catalogue worldwide at 15 characters
per inch on A3 sheets using the daisywheel printer and a Nashua Photocopier.It was fantastic and I did not have to go to evening classes to learn how to use the machine nor read copious amounts of text in the instruction book.But from that day to this I have still not transferred all my printed material to a modern Windows environment.Sadly the 9512 has a little battery in it which died some years ago and now my Amstrad does not work as a result.I dont know how I would transfer my CPM86 discs to Microsoft Word but in answer to Adam.Recently I bought an A3 colour copier,scanner,printer and my ambition is to scan all my old mail order catalogues (which were A3) into my new Windows 7 computer and pray the character recognition software (ocr) recognises my Amstrad daisywheel 15 characters per inch print!
- author: adam campbell (London, England)
date: Friday 14th October 2011
text: |-
Dear any 9512 user,
I have written a novel with 14 chapters. All are on SEPERATE FILES. I have been asked to submit the novel on ONE FILE only. I have tried and tried to attach the chapters and have got as far as attaching 11 together - then half way through trying to attach chapter 12 to 11 I am told my disc is full. However I have loads of room left on the disc! What am I doing wrong? I just need all 14 files on ONE FILE. The publisher wants it emailed that way. I already have a company that can transfer an amstrad disc to a modern computer disc.
Any ideas?
With many, many thanks,
Adam Campbell
- author: adam campbell (London, England)
date: Friday 14th October 2011
text: |-
Dear any 9512 user,
I have written a novel with 14 chapters. All are on SEPERATE FILES. I have been asked to submit the novel on ONE FILE only. I have tried and tried to attach the chapters and have got as far as attaching 11 together - then half way through trying to attach chapter 12 to 11 I am told my disc is full. However I have loads of room left on the disc! What am I doing wrong? I just need all 14 files on ONE FILE. The publisher wants it emailed that way. I already have a company that can transfer an amstrad disc to a modern computer disc.
Any ideas?
With many, many thanks,
Adam Campbell
- author: adam campbell (London, England)
date: Friday 14th October 2011
text: |-
Dear any 9512 user,
I have written a novel with 14 chapters. All are on SEPERATE FILES. I have been asked to submit the novel on ONE FILE only. I have tried and tried to attach the chapters and have got as far as attaching 11 together - then half way through trying to attach chapter 12 to 11 I am told my disc is full. However I have loads of room left on the disc! What am I doing wrong? I just need all 14 files on ONE FILE. The publisher wants it emailed that way. I already have a company that can transfer an amstrad disc to a modern computer disc.
Any ideas?
With many, many thanks,
Adam Campbell
- author: Noobsaibot73 (Spain (Madrid))
date: Thursday 30th June 2011
text: |-
Amdrew, check the drive belt, in old 3" and 3 1/2 drives is a very common problem, with the passing of time this rubber is degradated and, as a result of this, the drive is not able to read disks.
Check this and replace the drive belt if it''s damaged (if your PCW has installed a 3" drive you can use a drive belt for the CPC6128 which is available on many ebay shops at a very low cost).
Keep in mind that Amstrad 3" units have a pin in order to check if the disk is write protected or if it''s not, take care of this and try to maintain this pin in it''s position or your drive won''t be able to check if the disk is protected or not.
Hope this will be of any help for you. Kind regards.
- author: Amdrew
date: Tuesday 21st June 2011
text: |-
PLEASE HELP! I have recently aquired an Amstrad PCW 9512. However when I $ the boot disk the flloppy drive lights up, but it does not boot. Any suggestions will be appreciated at:\
nigelferguson6@gmail.com
- author: Jeff (USA)
date: Monday 10th May 2010
text: |-
For folks looking for help with the Amstrad PCW\
spare parts/tips/etc\
http://www.luxsoft.demon.co.uk/lux/sitemap.html
- author: Gavin White (Ireland)
date: Saturday 20th November 2004
text: |-
I NEED HELP! I have information which I need printed or even better converted form my 3" 9512 disc onto more accessable format. I have four discs holding my university dissertation and other undergraduate essays. I lost the only hard copy of my disseration while moving house and would really love to access it again. CAN YOU HELP!!!!!
Gavin
- author: zelez (Czech republic)
date: Friday 2nd May 2003
text: |-
Hi, I'm looking for boot diskettes for PCW 9512. Thanx in advance 4 help\
Pavel
related:
- /museum/amstrad-pcw-8256-8512
oc_id: 190
source:
url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230608080417/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=190
date: '2023-06-08'
---
The Amstrad PCW 9512 was a dedicated word processing computer. It was the successor to the [Amstrad PCW 8512](/museum/amstrad-pcw-8256-8512/) and had the same basic characteristics. However, it corrected two of the main criticisms of the 8512: the low quality of the printer and the machine's non-business-like styling.
It had a paper-white monochrome screen (black on white) unlike the 8512, which had a green monochrome screen (green on black). It was equiped with a 3" 720k floppy disk drive (a second one could be added) and used a daisywheel printer instead of the dot matrix printer of the PCW 8256/8512.
Like the previous models, it could run CP/M+ and was supplied with the Locoscript V2 word processor including LocoSpell and LocoMail, and Mallard Basic, both made by Locomotive software. DR Logo was also supplied as standard.
In 1991, two new models were produced :\
\- A cut-down model called the **PcW 9256** (same characteristics, but only 256 KB RAM and a 3.5" disk-drive) which was a replacement in the PCW range for the PCW-8256.\
\- The **PcW-9512+** which replaced the PCW-9512. It was almost the same machine but with a 3.5" 720K drive.
Finally in 1993, these models were replaced with the **PcW-10**.
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