website/content/museum/columbia-data-products-vp.md

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

title	categories	types	origins	years	cpus	params
Columbia Data Products VP	Computers	Portable	U.S.A.	1983	Intel 8088	name company company_name specs tabs photos adverts comments oc_id source VP /companies/columbia-data-products Columbia Data Products label value NAME VP label value MANUFACTURER Columbia Data Products label value TYPE Portable label value ORIGIN U.S.A. label value YEAR 1983 label value BUILT IN LANGUAGE None label value KEYBOARD Standard PC 82-key with function keys and numeric keypad label value CPU Intel 8088 label value SPEED 4.77 MHz label value CO-PROCESSOR Socket for 8087 math coprocessor label value RAM 128 KB up to 256 KB on board label value VRAM 16 KB label value ROM 12 KB label value TEXT MODES 40 or 80 characters x 25 lines label value GRAPHIC MODES 320 or 640 x 200 pixels (CGA mode) label value COLORS 16 maximum label value SOUND Tone generator label value SIZE / WEIGHT Unknown label value I/O PORTS Serial and Parallel ports label value BUILT IN MEDIA 2 x 360 KB 5.25'' floppy disc drives label value OS MS-DOS, CP/M-86 label value POWER SUPPLY Built-in power supply unit label value PERIPHERALS 1 internal expansion slot label value PRICE $2,995 photos adverts title subtitle text image SYSTEM Dual floppy drive version Thanks to **Roxanne Anderson** - firstchoicerecycling.com null title subtitle text image REAR SIDE **(1)** Brightness knob, reset switch and keyboard DIN socket\ **(2)** Parallel and Serial ports Thanks to **Roxanne Anderson** - firstchoicerecycling.com null title subtitle text image COLUMBIA LABEL Thanks to **Roxanne Anderson** - firstchoicerecycling.com null title subtitle text image INSIDE Notice the stange place where the 20 MB Seagate hard disk drive is fixed. Thanks to **Roxanne Anderson** - firstchoicerecycling.com null title subtitle text image VIDEO SIDE Notice the piece of wood **(1)** used as a stand for the hard disk drive! Thanks to **Roxanne Anderson** - firstchoicerecycling.com null title subtitle text image SWITCHING PSU Thanks to **Roxanne Anderson** - firstchoicerecycling.com null title subtitle text image ORIGINAL MANUALS Thanks to **Roxanne Anderson** - firstchoicerecycling.com null title subtitle text image FIRST AD. The red part shows all the IBM-PC software boxes the VP could run. null author date text Padgett (USA) Saturday 26th June 2021 Before the Columbia I played mostly with Vaxes but when the luggables came along I bought a Columbia VP-1600-1 hotrodded with 256k of memory to which I added a multipurpose expansion card with 384k of memory to reach the 640k limit imposed by 1-2-3. Selected the Columbia for the amber screen (was sick of green phosphor). Was very fortuitous since the Columbia also had a BIOS debugger. Was TDY to the FAA in DC when they were hit by the BRAIN. Took it apart, wrote a thruway to fix it and another I found (both stored the original boot sector elsewhere) and went back to my real job. Later used the debugger to repair many boot sector viruses. Still have the original dual floppy, and a second purchased later with a 20MB HDD. Think both wound up with 10Base-T LAN cards. author date text Martin Cohen (United States) Wednesday 12th August 2020 This was my first pc compatible. I remember upgrading from dos 1 to dos 2. I liked the perfect software series and was very annoyed when perfect 2 series removed keyboard compatibility with emacs.\ I got the carrying case and sometimes brought it into work. I borrowed as 1200 baud modem so I could dial into work. I usually stayed in emacs. 1200 baud was fast enough.\ I added an 8087 and a card with a 10mb hard drive (really helped) and 64kb (I think) of ram.\ I still have it in storage and haven''t used it for at least 30 years. Don''t know if it works.\ I may have the original 5-1/4" floppies. author date text Go (Michigan, USA) Sunday 2nd February 2020 I used Perfect Calc software in the late 1980s and still have a few dozen spreadsheets that I would like to convert to a more recent spreadsheet format. I have the software but missing pc.swp. If anyone has that file and willing to share, I would greatly appreciate it. author date text Kim (Utah) Thursday 8th February 2018 I still own a 1600-1 Columbia PC with the Perfect Software floppies and manuals. I used this computer to start my career in the software industry. I have it sitting in my office at home. It still works. Amazing. author date text Richard (Vancouver BC CANADA) Thursday 2nd March 2017 I own $392 just brought down from the attic. Willing to sell at nominal value to any interested collector. Have photos. author date text Marcin (Kraków/Poland) Monday 28th November 2016 Hey, by browsing CDP OEM version of MS-DOS 1.25 I encountered that there are different versions of this computer (this is from DEFINE.EXE executable).\ * 1600-1 Dual Floppy System\ * 1600-2 Floppy + 5 Megabyte Hard Disk\ * 1600-3 Floppy + 7.5 Megabyte Hard Disk\ * 1600-4 Floppy + 10 Megabyte Hard Disk Additionally by hex-viewing DEFINE.DAT there are several similar entries: 1600-1S, 1600-2S, 1600-3S, 1600-4S, 1600-1R, 1600-1SR, 1600-2R, 1600-2SR, 1600-3R, 1600-3SR, 1600-4R, 1600-4SR and S9600. These are probably just model variations of 1600-X model, but I don''t know what S9600 is. You can find this info also on my wiki http://beta-changes.wikia.com/wiki/MS-DOS:1.25:CDP_OEM:2.11 (pages DEFINE.DAT and DEFINE.EXE) author date text John A. Ficke (Virginia Beach, VA/USA) Saturday 7th February 2015 I worked at Columbia Data Products as a production technician in the soldier shop and then briefly in the cable assy shop (after they shipped the soldiering tasks to PR). What Mr. Sommerville doesn''t tell you about Columbia Data Products is that, just before they started laying people off... They had a big (mandatory) meeting with all of the production personnel on the floor. They pushed buying the company stock with the eagerness of a street hooker and literally a week later started laying everyone off! Having their fill of champagne and knowing that there competitors would destroy them in court for literally stealing the intellectual property of another. I never bought any of the company stock, but many did... Their way of sticking it to their production personnel just as hard as they could, after robbing other honest innovators! I too never looked back, but I learned a valuable lesson about liars and thieves that wear suits... author date text Vince Gray (Canada) Thursday 18th August 2005 This was my first home computer. A "luggable", as opposed to "portable", I think we called it then. I remember that mine had 1 MB of RAM - I used the portion that wasn't consumed by TSR programs as a virtual disk - fantastically fast access, compared to the floppy :-) author date text Lyle Van Camp (Drayton ND) Thursday 21st April 2005 For several years we published our weekly newspaper using a Coumbia Data Products VP. It has two floppies and a memory expansion unit. It should still be working fine. I will try and dig it out tomorrowand set it up. We ran Wordstar, Rimwriter and LePrint and output to an HP Laserjet. The HP was supposed to be the third one shiped out of Minneaoplis. We had our choice of waiting for the "new" parallel model or taking a seial one. We took the serial one and it still works fine, although it does need a good cleaning and probably a new cart. I would be interested in selling the Columbia if I could find the best way to market it. Any suggestions? 889 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230601093609/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=889 2023-06-01

The Columbia VP was a Compaq Portable like IBM PC compatible. Besides, it was said that Compaq designed the electronic part of the VP.
It was the last computer made by Columbia, the company which made the MPC, first true copy of the IBM-PC.

Columbia built a very rugged but heavy case which supported a 9" monochrome monitor, larger than the Compaq. All other features were the same as the Compaq.

When the system was launched, the main argument of Columbia was the large number of software bundled with it. Among them: MS-DOS, CP/M-86, Perfect series (Writer, Filer, Speller, Calc), MS-BASIC, Macro assembler, Home accountant and Space Commander game.

It seems that several versions of the VP were built: 1600/1, 1600/4, 2110, 2220, VP-Plus, but we have no information about them.

---

Stephen Somerville's memories:
I was the senior operations manager at Columbia Data Products from 1982 to 1984. My production team built and shipped about 2,000 VP's a month during that time.
I still have one buried in my closet. Wish I could find the "perfect" bundled software that came with it. I'd pay big to find that software somewhere on the net.
Anyway, those days were indeed heady times. BIG BONUSES, all expense trips for the senior staff in Vegas, and bahamas, the champange flowed like water. We were making money hand over fist, then one day, all of the sudden, I was told to layoff 400 production line workers. I ONE DAY! I quit 2 weeks later and never looked back.
But I'll never forget those times. We took Kaypros apart, as well as commodores, compaqs, and anybody elses where we could see a better idea, cheaper method, any item to drive a higher margin. I remember sitting at a conference room table with the guts of all our competitors machines hanging out, and saying to the rest of the senior staff, "guys, there is no more profit in this box, we've trimmed everything we can".
I remember the press coming to the company. An expedition team was taking one of our VP's to the top of mount everest to plot wind, conditions, etc. and the entire company was wearing tee shirts that read "Columbia Data Products, computers that can climb mountains".
Geeez, those were heady times, we had the world by the balls. Steve

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.