website/content/museum/exidy-sorcerer.md

---
title: Exidy SORCERER
categories:
- Computers
types:
- Home Computer
origins:
- U.S.A.
years:
- '1978'
cpus:
- Zilog Z80 A
params:
  name: SORCERER
  company: /companies/exidy
  company_name: Exidy
  specs:
  - label: NAME
    value: SORCERER
  - label: MANUFACTURER
    value: Exidy
  - label: TYPE
    value: Home Computer
  - label: ORIGIN
    value: U.S.A.
  - label: YEAR
    value: '1978'
  - label: END OF PRODUCTION
    value: '1982'
  - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE
    value: BASIC interpreter ROM cartridge
  - label: KEYBOARD
    value: Full-stroke keyboard, 79 keys with numeric keypad
  - label: CPU
    value: Zilog Z80 A
  - label: SPEED
    value: 2.106 Mhz.
  - label: RAM
    value: 8 KB, later 16KB (up to 48 KB)
  - label: VRAM
    value: 2 KB
  - label: ROM
    value: 8 KB
  - label: TEXT MODES
    value: 64 chars. x 32 lines
  - label: GRAPHIC MODES
    value: 128 programmable graphics characters
  - label: COLORS
    value: Monochrome
  - label: SOUND
    value: By connecting a speaker to pins 1 and 4 of the parallel port.
  - label: SIZE / WEIGHT
    value: 48.3 (W) 32.8 (D) 9.7 (H) cm
  - label: I/O PORTS
    value: Expansion Bus (S100), Parallel Interface, Video out, Serial Interface, Tape recorder EAR & MIC (300 / 1200 bauds)
  - label: OS
    value: CP/M (needs the extender chassis with disk drive)
  - label: POWER SUPPLY
    value: Built-in PSU
  - label: PERIPHERALS
    value: Floppy drive unit, S-100 bus expansion box, Intelligent tape recorder, Micromation's Doubler disk drive controller
  - label: PRICE
    value: From $895 to $1395
  tabs:
  - photos
  - adverts
  - hardware
  - software
  - emulators
  - links
  - docs
  photos:
  - title: EXIDY SORCERER
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  - title: RIGHT SIDE
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  - title: DINASTY SMART-ALEC
    subtitle: ''
    text: Compudata European version.
    image: null
  - title: KEYBOARD CLOSE-UP
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  - title: BOTH SIDES
    subtitle: ''
    text: Note the Cartridge slot on the right hand side.
    image: null
  - title: ROM CARTRIDGES SLOT
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  - title: REAR CONNECTORS
    subtitle: ''
    text: An additional TV/RF video output was added to this model, red jack, next to the expansion bus connector.
    image: null
  - title: COMPLETE SYSTEM
    subtitle: ''
    text: Complete system with the standard Exidy monochrome monitor and the FDM 180 floppy drive unit.
    image: null
  - title: OPENED
    subtitle: ''
    text: The power regulation card is fastened on top of the motherboard.
    image: null
  - title: MOTHERBOARD
    subtitle: ''
    text: |-
      In 1978, all the functions of the motherboard - memory management and various I/O, were carried out by numerous standard logic chips.

      **(1)** Character generator 2 KB ROM\
      **(2)** Z80 processor, here a NEC D780 version\
      **(3)** AY-3-1015 UART *Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter* Manages various serial communications\
      **(4)** Power regulation card connector\
      **(5)** ROM cartridge connector\
      **(6)** 8 KB monitor ROMs\
      **(7)** 48 KB RAM chips (24 x 4116)\
      **(8)** RAM banks selector switches
    image: null
  - title: MOTHERBOARD CLOSE-UP
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  - title: TAPE DRIVE
    subtitle: ''
    text: Provision was made inside the monitor case for either 1 or 2 5.25" floppy disk drives or an intelligent tape drive. The monitor and tape drive could be switched on separately (2 black switches on the right hand side). The two chrome buttons allowed to adjust read and record levels.
    image: null
  - title: 'TAPE DRIVE #2'
    subtitle: ''
    text: The tape drive and card were provided by a third company called MECA. The card holds its own CPU, ROM and RAM.
    image: null
  - title: USER'S MANUAL
    subtitle: ''
    text: User's manual and Word processor cartridge.
    image: null
  - title: THE BOX
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  - title: BOOT UP SCREEN
    subtitle: ''
    text: Boot up screen followed by a memory dump command.
    image: null
  - title: TEST SHEET
    subtitle: ''
    text: Final test before the system left the factory.
    image: null
  adverts:
  - title: FRENCH AD (JAN. 1980)
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  hardware:
  - title: THE COMPUPRINT PRINTER
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  - title: THE MECA DIGITAL TAPE
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  - title: THE "PENNYWHISTLE" ACOUSTIC MODEM
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  - title: FDM 180
    subtitle: FDD unit
    text: This FDD unit was made in 1980 made by Liveport Ltd., in the UK. The FD drive was a hard sector Teac model, single sided, single density, 180 KB formatted capacity. The controller cards occupie both sides of the FD drive.
    image: null
  emulators:
  - title: WSorcerer
    url: http://www.geocities.com/emucompboy/
    platform: Windows
    text: The only Sorcerer Win32 emulator. Supports \*.SNP format file
  - title: Exidy Sorcerer Emulator
    url: http://www.liaquay.co.uk/sorcerer/index.html
    platform: Other platform
    text: emulator with files to download
  - title: JSorcerer
    url: http://www.liaquay.demon.co.uk/sorcerer/
    platform: Other platform
    text: Java Exidy Sorcerer emulator that can be played online with some games !
  - title: MESS
    url: http://www.mess.org
    platform: Multiplatform
    text: MESS can emulate the Sorcerer computer
  links:
  - title: Digibarn Computer Museum
    url: http://www.digibarn.com/collections/systems/exidy-sorcerer/index.html
    text: Nice page with a lot of pictures from their acquisition
  - title: Mike's Exidy Sorcerer Z80 Page
    url: http://www.lisp.com.au/~michael/exidy/
    text: ''
  - title: oldcomputers.net
    url: http://oldcomputers.net/sorcerer.html
    text: Nice detailed page with pictures
  - title: Sorcerer's Lair
    url: http://www.liaquay.co.uk/sorcerer/
    text: A showcase of magical computing on the Exidy Sorcerer
  - title: The Trailing Edge
    url: http://www.trailingedge.com/exidy/
    text: Docs and ROMs for download
  - title: Wikipedia article
    url: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exidy_Sorcerer
    text: ''
  - title: www.computer-museum.nl
    url: http://www.computer-museum.nl/Exidy.html
    text: a lot of info here with many pictures and scans
  docs:
  - title: TECHNICAL MANUAL
    url: null
    cover: null
    text: |-
      **TECHNICAL MANUAL**\
      written by Dick Smith Electronics

       compiled/archived by David Wilson\
       type of document : PDF\
       size : 984 KB\
       source : www.old-computers.com
  comments:
  - author: Peter Jones (United Kingdom)
    date: Friday 17th February 2023
    text: 'Correction to the size of the rompacs. 8k not 16k.The CPU could only address 64k: 0-48k for RAM, 49-56 for rompacs, 57-64 for the OS.'
  - author: Jeef
    date: Saturday 25th April 2020
    text: Hello Stephany, did the Sorcerer find a good home?
  - author: stephany (Tennessee US)
    date: Sunday 5th August 2018
    text: |-
      I''ve my Dad''s Exidy Sorcerer in a hall closet for years and it''s now time to get rid of it. I have no idea if it still boots up. But it does have the original manual. He upgraded the system to have the 8-track-ish tape thing for storage.\
      Anyone who is willing to pay the shipping CAN HAVE THIS FOR FREE. It is heavy.
  - author: PAOK
    date: Wednesday 20th June 2018
    text: |-
      Bolches yarboclos, Batman!!!

      I''d like an Exidy Sorcerer for Xmas.
  - author: Binaryben
    date: Monday 5th February 2018
    text: I have one of these in my loft. Back in 1981 I wrote my own COS (cassette operating system) using Hitachi tape deck which had electrical controls and a opto to check for tape stop. Using this deck I could write a directory at the start of tape, and then automatically access multiple programs off a C90 cassette by letting the Sorcerer control the tape movements and get position count from opto!
  - author: rod (canada)
    date: Tuesday 30th January 2018
    text: |-
      I knew that Exidy published and developed a lot of games for various home computers and video game consoles. But I had no idea that they also made a line of computers as well.

      Very interesting read...
  - author: Tibsi (Gyula, Hungary)
    date: Tuesday 31st October 2017
    text: I''m searching for a working piece of Exidy Sorcerer.
  - author: Scott Adams (United States)
    date: Wednesday 3rd June 2015
    text: My company Adventure International did support this system with a number of my games. It was a decent machine I really liked it.
  - author: Scott Adams (United States)
    date: Wednesday 3rd June 2015
    text: My company Adventure International did support this system with a number of my games. It was a decent machine I really liked it.
  - author: Miles (New york)
    date: Monday 11th May 2015
    text: |-
      I have two new exidy computers in original boxes.\
      Would you like to buy them? Email me at exidy@nym.hush.com\
      now before they sell out.
  - author: Miles (New York)
    date: Monday 11th May 2015
    text: I have two new exidy sorcerer computers in the original boxes. Who would like to buy them?
  - author: Tyler (us)
    date: Friday 17th October 2014
    text: I have a sorcerer complete in box working in good condition with original literature few cassette tapes a cartridge standard basic I think it is and a external cassette player I''m looking to sell this contact me via email a9163161094 at Gmail for pictures info and offErs
  - author: Rob (Australia)
    date: Friday 27th June 2014
    text: I am interested Paul, if it still boots, I am not sure if the internal battery would be good to replace if it doesn''t. Wait to hear from you, Only needs to boot to Rom, as I only ever programmed them in hex. Regards Rob
  - author: Paul Hynek (Canada)
    date: Monday 23rd June 2014
    text: I have a Sorcerer with the original box. Cleaning house. anyone want to make me an offer?
  - author: Andy Holyer (UK)
    date: Sunday 1st May 2011
    text: |-
      We had a Sorcerer as the only computer at my school (in about 1980).

      Not a very good machine. Tended to freeze, and we put a sticker on the top of the case saying "hit here to unfreeze".

      The wierdest thing was the "bounce-free" keyboard. To prevent bouncing, the key registered on the up-stroke of the key rather than the down-stroke. That is, you pressed a key, nothing happened. Released the key, and the character was entered.

      \*Not\* a good idea.
  - author: James Perrett (Melbourne)
    date: Monday 17th January 2011
    text: I remember it being the first Micro Computer in Austrailia with the top 128 Characters being programable. My Homebrew was a cross between a Trs-80/System 80 and Sorcerer. With a monitor program writen by myself and a friend and Basic copied/mod-ed from TRS-80 Remember the wiz.
  - author: Brian C (Vermont, USA)
    date: Tuesday 12th December 2006
    text: The sorcerer II was my first non-mainframe computer. It totally used 8-track carts for the ROM packs. I don't remember it being terribly colorful, but that's probably because we had a mono monitor. I totally remember programming like mad in basic, and playing some of the games..
  - author: Paolo Colombo (Australia)
    date: Tuesday 20th December 2005
    text: Is the Sorcerer really dead? I have kept my 4th Sorcerer packaged up for a number of years, and one of these days I shall start it up. It has a S100 Box, 2 Micropolis 16 hard sector drives 360Kb, 64K of memory and a modified 80x32 columns screen. It was the mightiest machine of the time before the arrival of the first XT, and besides the floppies being totally unreliable by Verbatim, my wife used to do thesis typing with an Olivetti daisywheel typewriter with the interface designed and built by me. his offered excelllent pages, miles better that the 8 dot dotmatrix printers of the time without lower case descendants. The lot cost me a fortune by todays standards, but thats all that was available.
  - author: Steve Shepherd (Herts, UK)
    date: Thursday 27th January 2005
    text: I have a Sorcerer II but don't ever remember it having any colour capabilities, only the ability to define your own mono graphics characters. I also have the Video/Disk Unit.
  - author: Duncan Layne (UK)
    date: Wednesday 5th January 2005
    text: They bought one of these at work (British Aerospace) back in 1980. I am sure that the ROM packs (seen on the right of the machine) were built into empty 8 track tape cartridges ! Was a colour version (or add on) available. I am sure that the reason work bought this was for its colour graphics (they already had a PET and Nascom which were both monochrome). I remember someone being sent out to buy a portable colour TV (costing £250, about the same as my monthly wage) to use with the Exidy. The arrival of this generated just as much interest as the arrival of the computer !
  software:
  - /software/chomp
  - /software/galaxians
  - /software/martian-invaders
  - /software/snake
  - /software/sorcerer-invaders
  oc_id: 214
  source:
    url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230603023204/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=214
    date: '2023-06-03'
---

The Sorcerer II was the successor of the Sorcerer I (launched in 1978).

The computer used programs on 8KB ROM packs encased in 8-track tape cartridges. The CPU could only address 64k: 0-48k for RAM, 49-56 for rompacs, 57-64 for the OS.

It shipped with Microsoft MBASIC and a development tools assembler / editor ROM pack. A word processor ROM pack was also available.

Exidy initially provided an expansion chassis that would accept up to 6 S-100 cards, and a Micropolis dual-disk quad-density 16-sector hard sector floppy disk drive was available. These disks would hold up to 330kb of data on a single side. A later version of the expansion chassis also included a green-screen monitor and two floppy drives, but may have held only 4 S-100 slots. A standard serial port was available, but shared internal resources with the keyboard which made baud rates higher than 300 a problem. The Pennywhistle 300-baud modem was often provided with this machine.

The MECA digital "intelligent" tape drive could also be used and inserted into the Exidy monochrome monitor. (1 MB storage capacity, 8000 bauds transfer rate, file access in 10s, plugged into the parallel port)

**Dutch CompuData** (CD) imported the Sorcerer into the European mainland. When sales in the US dropped because of the heavy competition in home computers market, Exidy Inc. stopped production of the Sorcerer. CompuData then produced the original Sorcerer in Holland in exactly the same outfit, but with the CompuData Systems Trademark for the European market. EXIDY Inc. of Richardson, Texas, finally closed the doors on March 26th 1982.

---

**Brian Shoebridge** adds:\
The Exidy Sorcerer II was used in Australia by a few scientific and research people, like my father. Not many were sold as it was hugely expensive (>AUD$3,000 1981) and no good for games (the best was "Tank-Trap"). Sorcerers here shipped with either 32k or 48k. As it used a standard cassette tape for data storage, volume control was always an issue when loading or saving. Disk drives cost as much again as the basic machine, but there was a urious "stringy-floppy" which was less expensive. I owned one for a year or two, and used it with a large Unisys greenscreen monitor unit i sourced from a mini-computer.

**Tim Bishop** specifies:\
The sorcerer had better games than Tank Trap. (Though I fondly remember the game, playing it for hours when I was a kid, and would love to get a copy of the source code.) The graphics were quite good, with Chomp a Pac Man clone and Glaxians a Space Invaders clone.

**Alan Meyer** reports:\
I bought an Exidy Sorcerer II for $715 some time near the end of its sales life from a store that wanted to get rid of the last one it had. My son, then aged 6, wrote his first program on the machine and played "Arrows and Alleys" for hours. In addition to a 6.5KB MBASIC interpreter that was smaller and less functional than those found on Apple, Radio Shack, Atari or Commodore computers, a Forth compiler / interpreter was also available. It produced programs that were intermediate in efficiency between Basic and assembler.

Two distinguishing features of the Sorcerer were the ROM cartridge port and the screen size. It supported, IIRC, a 30 line by 64 column display. The good part of that was that far more information could be displayed than in the competing systems. The bad side was that a real video monitor was required. A TV RF modulator would not produce readable text on screen. The keyboard was also quite nice, as can be seen from the image.

Sorcerer sales were never very high and the manufacturers never had the money to get all the bugs out of the hardware and software. Crashes and hardware failures seemed to me to be more common than on other machines - though that may have just been my experience.