website/content/museum/sharp-mz-80k.md

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

title	categories	types	origins	years	cpus	params
Sharp MZ 80K	Computers	Home Computer	Japan	1979	Sharp LH-0080	name company company_name specs tabs photos hardware screenshots emulators links videos comments related oc_id source MZ 80K /companies/sharp Sharp label value NAME MZ 80K label value MANUFACTURER Sharp label value TYPE Home Computer label value ORIGIN Japan label value YEAR 1979 label value BUILT IN LANGUAGE Sharp Basic available on tape label value KEYBOARD Strange transparent square keys. 78 keys. Numeric keypad label value CPU Sharp LH-0080 (Zilog Z80 A compatible) label value SPEED 2 MHz label value RAM 20 KB (up to 48 KB)\ MZ-80K2 & K2e: 32 KB label value ROM 4 KB label value TEXT MODES 40 x 25 (8 x 8 character matrix) label value GRAPHIC MODES 80 x 50 label value COLORS built-in 10'' black & white monochrome monitor label value SOUND one channel label value SIZE / WEIGHT 410 (W) x 470 (D) x 270 (H) mm / 13 kg label value I/O PORTS Expansion bus label value BUILT IN MEDIA Tape recorder label value POWER SUPPLY Built-in PSU label value PERIPHERALS RAM expansions, printer, Floppy drives unit, color display label value PRICE MZ-80K: 198,000 yen (1978, japan)\ MZ-80K2: 198,000 yen (1980, japan)\ MZ-80K2e: 148,000 yen (1981, japan) photos hardware software emulators links videos title subtitle text image MZ 80K2 null title subtitle text image MZ 80K2E null title subtitle text image MZ 80K2E - FRONT VIEW null title subtitle text image MZ 80K2E - PLAYING A GAME null title subtitle text image FRONT VIEW null title subtitle text image TOP VIEW null title subtitle text image SIDE VIEW #1 null title subtitle text image SIDE VIEW #2 null title subtitle text image KEYBOARD CLOSE-UP Notice the MZ logo that will be used in all of the computers of the MZ series. About this logo, MZ 80K user manual says: From ancient times people have been fascinated by the lights from outer space.\ That's why through times people would have the lad in Greek mythology dreamt of lights spreading over the vistas of space.\ Then he sailed for the Golden Fleece, aiming at a bright future. Indeed, Argo Navis is such a constellation clearly shining over the horizon in the south. This constellation is symbolized by the ship sailing with youth; the ship representing courage, future, search and longing.\ Just like the ship of youth, the MZ 80K will sail before long. To realize your dreams in such a manner, we have created this Sharp's original mark. null title subtitle text image IN USE MZ 80K running a demo program delivered with the BASIC cassette. null title subtitle text image REAR VIEW Except the power switch and mains plug **(1)**, only one expansion connector **(2)** was available on the MZ-80K, mainly intended for the Sharp I/O unit, although several interfaces were built by third companies. null title subtitle text image OPENED **(1)** Tape recorder mechanism\ **(2)** Power supply and transformer\ **(3)** Video board and adjustment knobs\ **(4)** Keyboard null title subtitle text image MAINBOARD **(1)** Video connector\ **(2)** Expansion connector\ **(3)** Tape recorder connectors\ **(4)** I/O chip. Manages video, cassette I/O and expansion bus\ **(5)** Characters generator 2 KB ROM\ **(6)** Z80A microprocesseur, a Sharp version\ **(7)** 2 KB monitor ROM\ **(8)** RAM memory area. 3 x 16 KB banks (8 x 4116 chips each) null title subtitle text image USER MANUAL Actually, a very pedagogic BASIC course for beginners. null title subtitle text image THE BOX Special thanks to **B. Clayton** who gave us this box... along with a MZ-80K inside null title subtitle text image MZ-80FB - DOUBLE 5.25" FDD It uses 5.25" floppy disks drives (143 KB, double side, 35 tracks, 16 sectors per track, 128 bytes per sector null title subtitle text image MZ-80FB - DOUBLE 5.25" FDD - INTERNAL VIEW null title subtitle text image FLOPPY DISK INTERFACE This card is plugged into the IO Expansion box. The MZ-80FB FDD is connected to this card. null title subtitle text image MZ 80SDF 5.25" FDD The single FDD uses 143 KB floppy disks. null title subtitle text image IO EXPANSION BOX - VIEW #1 The MZ 80K has only one bus extension. To remedy to this problem, Sharp developped the MZ80 I/O Port device. This heavy device can support up to five boards (floppy controller, EPROM programmer, Centronics, etc...). A parallel interface was developped by Sharp to use the Seikosha printers. null title subtitle text image IO EXPANSION BOX - VIEW #2 null title subtitle text image CENTRONICS INTERFACE CARD This card is plugged into the IO Expansion box. It allows any Centronics printer (the MZ80P3 for example) to be connected onto the MZ 80K. null title subtitle text image FRENCH FDD UNIT Instead of selling the original Sharp FDD unit, the Sharp French subsidiary (Sharp Burotype Machines) preferred to made their own unit. The case could hold up to 4 drives. The drives were Canon models. null title subtitle text image MZ 80P3 - DOT MATRIX PRINTER null title subtitle text image MZ-P4 PRINTER null title subtitle text image MZ-P6 PRINTER null title subtitle text image BUG FIRE null title subtitle text image COSMIC CRUISER 1 null title subtitle text image CRAZY CLIMBER null title subtitle text image CROSS RALLY null title subtitle text image RANGER SPECIAL null title subtitle text image SPACE DRIVE null title subtitle text image SPACE MOUSE null title subtitle text image UFO HUNTER null title subtitle text image VIEW FINDER null title subtitle text image WESTERN null title subtitle text image BOXING null title subtitle text image ZIGZAG null title subtitle text image SPACE INVADERS null title subtitle text image PENGUIN This game uses the optional graphic card. null title subtitle text image STAR TREK null title subtitle text image RALLYE X null title subtitle text image CUBIX MAZE null title url platform text EMUZ-2000 http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~object/ Windows SHARP MZ-80B / 2000 / 2200 emulator for Windows title url text Sharp Games http://sharpgames.atspace.com Some homebrew games in develoment for the MZ title url text The Sharp Users Club http://sharpusersclub.org Very useful web site done by the UK Sharp Users Club title url text www.sharpmz.org http://www.sharpmz.org THE website for all MZ fans !! title url text Pac-Man played on Sharp MZ-80K2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJZSODc_lNg Length: 28 s author date text Chris Mottram (Swadlincote UK) Friday 8th March 2013 I am sitting in my office coding in .net and the like, and on my right is my Sharp MZ-80K that started it all! And it has a hi-res graphics card :-o Like others, it was my first computer. My dad bought it for me, as I was a sickly child with really bad asthma and eczema and he thought that an active life-style wouldn’t be an option (he was wrong by the way). I remember the Orange BASIC book that came with it, which I trawled through again and again to learn how to use this new machine. There was a TRON light-cycle like game in there over several pages called something like “Mr Smith and Mr Jones”, which I laboriously typed in with 1 finger. I remember being very upset when I accidentally cleared the screen and I thought I’d lost it all. That’s when I discovered the LIST command :-) author date text yowl (UK) Tuesday 3rd March 2009 Though it looked like a Norse ship it was in fact meant to represent the Argo and thus a voyage of discovery. If one sees the MZ80K M/C or Assembler Manuals the ship is larger and the figures on it can be seen to be Greek, also it is accompanied by a map indicating\ Okeanos\ Hippomolgen\ Hyperboreer\ Phonicien,etc oh and what''s this just beneath the Argo\ ahh THIS IS SPARTA! sorry author date text Tim Baker (London, UK) Saturday 6th December 2008 P.S. Did anyone work out what the whole Norse Viking ship thing was about on all the manuals and software and branding? That still puzzles me to this day....why? author date text Tim Baker (London, UK) Saturday 6th December 2008 Like Paul and Dean this was the first computer I used at age 9/10- at some point in the early 80''s, and started to learn BASIC on it. Early memories were trying to get Spectrum and other BASIC games to work on it (and failing). I also played Space Invaders on it! Like the Spectrum it seemed to have a good catalogue of games. author date text Paul Hooker (UK) Tuesday 1st January 2008 One of the first computers I worked with, earnt me a fortune, with pre programmed letters I wrote in basic and pascal! I also doubled the tape speed of the cassette drive by halving the circumference of the drive wheel and also double the cpu clock speed with a switch at the back!! Those were the days!!! :-) author date text Denis Cleyet-Merle (France) Thursday 11th December 2003 This was my first computer, bought in France, in the year 1983 (I think...). I was 17-year old at that time. I learned the basic and soon, the Z-80 assembly language : I needed speed for the plateform games I was trying to devellop. The tape was... so slow that I could spend hours trying to get something out of the 'Z-80 Machine language Reference Manual', while it was loading. *very* funny, as you can think ;) author date text Chris Peel (UK) Tuesday 22nd April 2003 Like Dean, the MZ80K was the first computer I ever used (I was probably about 8 at the time). I used to play "Block Kuzushi" and Space Invaders to death! Does anyone know if these games are available to download anywhere? I've still got the machine but it's not in full working order any more... author date text Dean Adams (London, UK) Monday 19th August 2002 The MZ80k was my first computer in 1981 at the tender age of 11yrs old! I started writing games on it and at the age of 13, I sold my first commercial piece of software, the rest is history, thank you Sharp! author date text Karl-Heinz (Germany) Wednesday 17th July 2002 Hello, does anyone know how I can copy my MZ-80K-disk into the PC ? I tried CPDREAD, but it cannot. May be it is unable to read a sector size lower than 256 bytes ? Best wishes\ Karl-Heinz /museum/sharp-mz-2000 /museum/sharp-mz-2200 /museum/sharp-mz-2500 /museum/sharp-mz-2800 /museum/sharp-mz-3500 /museum/sharp-mz-5500-5600 /museum/sharp-mz-700 /museum/sharp-mz-800-mz-1500 /museum/sharp-mz-80a-mz-1200 /museum/sharp-mz-80b /museum/sharp-mz-80c 174 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230608163530/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=174 2023-06-08

The MZ-80K was, alongside the Apple II, the Commodore PET and the Tandy TRS 80’s one of the best known computer in the early 80's. Its name stands for "M" from MICRO and Z-80 from the computer it uses.

It has no language in ROM, and BASIC has to be loaded from tape. Sharp called this "clean design", as you could choose what you wanted to put in your computer, the MZ-80K being delivered clean... Though a 5.25" floppy disk unit was later available, most people never used anything else than the built-in tape recorder (1200 bps).

There is no colour, no high resolution and characters sets can't be redefined. But the pre-defined characters set was very complete offering a lot of different graphical symbols, and people (mainly japanese) created great games, overcoming the main flaw of the MZ-80 serie... A graphic card was later designed for this computer, allowing to redefine the characters set resulting in a virtual "high resolution" of 320 x 192 pixels.

The MZ-80K is equiped with a real clock and a built-in speaker.

First MZ-80K were sold in Japan as assembly kits (1978). In 1980, Sharp released the MZ-80K2 which is basicaly a MZ-80K with 32 KB RAM, a non-reflective keyboard and and a volume control at the rear of the system. One year later, a cost reduced version, the MZ-80K2e, was marketed as an anniversay model when MZ serie sales reached one hundred thousand machines.