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yann64andClaude Opus 5.5 b274874139 All machines linked to their forum thread (full comment import) 
1,289 discussions, 9,527 archived comments; pages no longer carry the comments themselves.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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2026-10-13 17:26:43 +02:00

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title, categories, types, origins, years, cpus, params
title categories types origins years cpus params
Philips VG 8020
Computers
Home Computer
Netherlands
1984
Zilog Z80
name image company company_name specs tabs forum_thread photos hardware emulators links related oc_id source
VG 8020 /media/museum/photos/philips_vg8020_3-4_1s.jpg /companies/philips Philips
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NAME VG 8020
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MANUFACTURER Philips
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TYPE Home Computer
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ORIGIN Netherlands
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YEAR 1984
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BUILT IN LANGUAGE Microsoft Extended Basic (MSX Basic V1.0)
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KEYBOARD AZERTY / QWERTY, mechanical keyboard
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CPU Zilog Z80
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SPEED 3.58 MHz
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RAM 64 kb
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VRAM 16 kb
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ROM 32 kb BASIC/BIOS ( MSX BASIC V1.0)
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TEXT MODES Mode 0 : 40 x 24\ Mode 1 : 32 x 24
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GRAPHIC MODES Mode 2 : 256 x 192 with 16 colors (Hires mode)\ Mode 3 : 64 x 48 with 16 colors (Multi colour mode)\ 32 sprites
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COLORS 16
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SOUND General Instruments AY-3-8910 Programmable Sound Generator\ 3 channels, 8 octaves
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I/O PORTS Centronics port, 2 cardridge slots, Tape-recorder connector, RGB video output, 2 joystick sockets (Atari standard), RF lead video output (PAL models)
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OS MSX DOS (with optional floppy drive unit)
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POWER SUPPLY Biult-in switching PSU
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PRICE 455 (France, september 85)
photos
hardware
emulators
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260
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FRONT Thanks to Odessa2020 for this picture /media/museum/photos/philips_vg8020_msx_front_1.jpg
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SECAM MODEL This is a french Secam version. The keyboard is AZERTY and the top part of the case is black. /media/museum/photos/philips_vg8020_3-4_1.jpg
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CARTRIDGE SLOT /media/museum/photos/philips_vg8020_cartridge-slot.jpg
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LEFT SIDE /media/museum/photos/philips_vg8020_l-side.jpg
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RIGHT SIDE Thanks to Odessa2020 for this picture /media/museum/photos/philips_vg8020_msx_rside_1.jpg
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JOYSTICK CONNECTORS /media/museum/photos/philips_vg8020_prises-joy.jpg
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REAR **1** - Power cord\ **2** - Reset button\ **3** - Printer / Centronics interface\ **4** - Tape-Recorder\ **5** - Monitor audio/video output /media/museum/photos/philips_vg8020_rear.jpg
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REAR Thanks to Odessa2020 for this picture /media/museum/photos/philips_vg8020_msx_rear_1.jpg
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INSIDE /media/museum/photos/philips_vg8020_inside_2.jpg
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DEEP INSIDE **(1)** Video generator chipset.\ **(2)** RGB video out DIN connector.\ **(3)** 2 x ROM cartrige slots.\ **(4)** Cassette recorder DIN connector with remote control.\ **(5)** Parallel Centronics printer connector (MSX standard).\ **(6)** Mains plug.\ **(7)** Power supply transformer.\ **(8)** Power regulation board.\ **(9)** S-3527 MSX dedicated chipset. Provides MSX compatible sound generation, various input / outputs and parallel printer management.\ **(10)** 8 x 4164 chips (64000 cells x 1 bit) holding 64 Kb RAM.\ **(11-12)** Keyboard flat cables.\ **(13)** Z-80 microprocessor.\ **(14-15)** 2 x joystick connectors.\ **(16)** RGB signals generation board. This card may differ, depending on the country where the computer was sold. This one is a french 'Peritel' (scart) version. /media/museum/photos/philips_vg8020_inside_1.jpg
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BOX Thanks to Odessa2020 for this picture /media/museum/photos/philips_vg8020_msx_box_1.jpg
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NATIONAL CF-2131 16 KB RAM expansion /media/museum/hardware/national_cf2131_16k-cart.jpg
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CASIO OR-216 - 16 KB RAM EXPANSION Box /media/museum/hardware/casio_or216_16kbramexpansion_box.jpg
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PHILIPS RAM EXPANSION RAM expansion and LOGO language cartridges. Thanks to Daniele from Italy /media/museum/hardware/philips_vg8020_cartridges_s1.jpg
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MEGA RAM DISK 256 from DDX (Brazil) This is the famous Megaram cartridge made in Brzail, used to play all Konami cracked Megarom games.6401999243 /media/museum/hardware/msx_megaram256-ddx_1.jpg
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PANASONIC FS-IFA1 & FW-RSU1W Scanner/Printer interface The FS-IFA1 is the printer/scanner interface (left on the picture) and the FW-RSU1W is the handheld scanner (right on the picture). These expansions are for MSX2 systems. /media/museum/hardware/msx_fs-ifa1_fw-rsu1w.jpg
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SONY HBI-232 RS232c cartridge Used to connect serial printers. /media/museum/hardware/sony_msx_rs232c-cartridge.jpg
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YAMAHA MOUSE #1 This mouse was compatible with all MSX systems. It connects to the first Joystick port. Thanks to **www.zonadepruebas.com** /media/museum/hardware/yamaha_mouse_s2.jpg
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YAMAHA MOUSE #2 Brand new! Thanks to **www.zonadepruebas.com** /media/museum/hardware/yamaha_mouse_s1.jpg
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PHILIPS VW0020 80-col dot-matrix printer This printer was a rebadged version of the Seikosha GP-500.\ It was a 80-column, 50 CPS model with a 7x5 dot matrix head.\ Commodore and Atari used same hardware basis for their MPS-801 and 1029 printers. /media/museum/hardware/philips_vg8020_printervw0020_s1.jpg
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SANYO PHC-DR II Side /media/museum/hardware/sanyo_phc-drii_side_1.jpg
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SANYO PHC-DR II Front /media/museum/hardware/sanyo_phc-drii_front_1.jpg
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SANYO DR-202 The ADSS system allowed to quickly search a specific program in a cassette tape and load it. Seach time for a C60 cassette was less than 1 minute. /media/museum/hardware/sanyo_phc28_dr202tapedrive_s1.jpg
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NATIONAL RQ-8030 tape-recorder /media/museum/hardware/national_tape_rq8030.jpg
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BIT-CORDER Cassete recorder dedicated to Hit-Bit MSX systems, though it could be used with any home computers. /media/museum/hardware/sony_hb201_bitcorder_1.jpg
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fMSX for MS DOS Homepage http://www.komkon.org/~dekogel/fmsx.html MS DOS
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fMSX for MS DOS Homepage http://www.komkon.org/~dekogel/fmsx.html MS DOS
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BlueMSX http://www.bluemsx.com/ Windows Excellent free MSX emulator
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BrMSX http://www.lsi.usp.br/~ricardo/brmsx.htm Windows A Bresilian MSX Emulator written in 100% assembler
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BrMSX http://www.lsi.usp.br/~ricardo/brmsx.htm Windows A Bresilian MSX Emulator written in 100% assembler
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CompuJunk's MSX Emulator http://ftp.castel.nl/msx/ Windows A MSX1 and MSX2 Emulator
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CompuJunk's MSX Emulator http://ftp.castel.nl/msx/ Windows A MSX1 and MSX2 Emulator
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RuMSX http://members.eunet.at/lexlechz/msx.html Windows A MSX Emulator for Win95 and Win NT + Direct X
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RuMSX http://members.ping.at/lexlechz/msx.html Windows A MSX Emulator for Win95 and Win NT + Direct X
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Virtual MSX http://www.msxnet.org/vmsx/ Windows An other MSX 1 emulator for Win 95 / Win NT
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fMSX for MAC OS Homepage http://www.emulation.net/msx/index.html Apple
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fMSX for MAC OS Homepage http://www.emulation.net/msx/index.html Apple
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fMSX official Homepage http://www.komkon.org/fms/fMSX Other platform fMSX is a portable MSX emulator ported on : Amiga OS, Mac OS, MS DOS, OS/2, Sony Playstation, Risc OS, Towns OS, Unix / X, Win95 / NT, X68K.
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fMSX official Homepage http://www.komkon.org/fms/fMSX Multiplatform fMSX is a portable MSX emulator ported on : Amiga OS, Mac OS, MS DOS, OS/2, Sony Playstation, Risc OS, Towns OS, Unix / X, Win95 / NT, X68K.
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openMSX - The MSX emulator that aims for perfection. http://openmsx.sourceforge.net/ Multiplatform This new MSX emulator can reproduce, among many other MSX, MSX2and MSX2+ machines, both Panasonic Turbo-R models. Be sure to get the catapult frontend and the system roms from FUNET.
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Baboo! http://www.baboo.net/baboo.shtml MSX dedicated Yahoo clone. Essential !
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FILE-HUNTER.COM http://www.file-hunter.com/ Excellent! All MSX emulators, sources and utilities!
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FTP da MSXBr-L/MSX.Org.Br http://www.caetano.eng.br/msxsoft/ Excellent brasilian software archive
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MOAI TECH http://www.moai-tech.com/ Spanish/English website with interesting content
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MPC http://msx.fab.free.fr/MSX1/philips/philips.htm Nice french page detailing the different versions of the VG-8020
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MSX Hardware List http://www.faq.msxnet.org/hardware.html An impressive list of MSX hardware. The Bible !!!
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MSX Ressource Center http://www.msx.org/ Essential site !
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Possi's Konami MSX Page http://dynamo.geol.msu.ru/MSX/ Nice page dedicated to all Konami MSX games (roms, scans, mids, etc.)
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The MSX Games Box http://www.msxgamesbox.com All about MSX gaming (games, covers.etc.). More Fun, Less Mhz!
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The MSX Museum BOX http://www.msxmuseumbox.com More than 190 different MSX models in pictures.
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The ultimate MSX Faq http://www.faq.msxnet.org Here, you can find near all hardware pieces related to MSX.
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Web Wiz CAPTCHA http://www.webwizcaptcha.com The MSX home computer system
/museum/canon-v-10
/museum/canon-v-20
/museum/canon-v-8
/museum/casio-mx-10-mx-101
/museum/casio-pv-16
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/museum/epcom-sharp-hotbit-hb-8000
/museum/fujitsu-fm-x
/museum/general-paxon-pct-50
/museum/goldstar-fc-80-fc-200
/museum/gradiente-expert-plus
/museum/gradiente-expert-xp-800
/museum/hitachi-ah-200
/museum/hitachi-h1-h1e
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/museum/mitsubishi-ml-f110-ml-f120
/museum/mitsubishi-ml-f48-ml-f80
/museum/mitsubishi-ml-fx1-fx2
/museum/mitsubishi-ml-g10
/museum/msx-1
/museum/national-cf-2000
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/museum/national-fs-4000
/museum/national-fs-4500
/museum/olympia-phc-2
/museum/panasonic-cf-2700
/museum/philips-nms-801
/museum/philips-vg-8000-8010
/museum/philips-vg-8235
/museum/pioneer-palcom-px-7
/museum/sanyo-mpc-100
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/museum/sanyo-wavy-10-mpc-10
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/museum/schneider-philips-mc-810
/museum/sony-hit-bit-10
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/museum/spectravideo-svi-728
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/museum/victor-hc-6
/museum/yamaha-cx5
/museum/yamaha-cx5m-music-computer
/museum/yamaha-sx-100
/museum/yamaha-yis-303
/museum/yamaha-yis-503-diabolik
/museum/yashica-yc-64
/museum/yeno-dpc-64
/museum/yeno-mx-64
250
url date
https://web.archive.org/web/20230602191702/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=250 2023-06-02

The Philips 8020 belongs to the MSX 1 family. In fact, it wasnt't built by Philips, but, as the Yashica MSX, built by Kyocera in Japan. The VG8020 comes in 3 different versions : 8020/00 are first PAL models, 8020/19 Secam models (black case) and 8020/20 PAL models with a more integrated motherboard.

There is another difference between the Secam and Pal models, one missing key. The Pal versions have one key at the right side of the right SHIFT key which is missing in the Secam version. It can be easily checked comparing pictures found here. The function of this key is for entering accents; specifically accent acute, accent grave, circumflex and tréma.

There's another vital difference between Secam and Pal models, the RF lead, which is missing in the Secam models.

Due to some differences in the chipset, the Philips VG-8020 was not always 100% compatible with other MSX-computers. Typing 'poke -1,170' before loading programs usually fixed the bug.

Contributors: Francisco Martin, Martijn

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