website/content/museum/homelab-series-homelab.md

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

title	categories	types	origins	years	cpus	params
HOMELAB SERIES Homelab	Computers	Home Computer	Hungary	1985	Z80A	name image logo company company_name specs tabs forum_thread photos emulators links oc_id source Homelab /media/museum/photos/homelab_brailab_system_s1.jpg /media/museum/logos/homelab_logo_s1.gif /companies/homelab-series HOMELAB SERIES label value NAME Homelab label value MANUFACTURER Homelab Series label value TYPE Home Computer label value ORIGIN Hungary label value YEAR 1985 label value END OF PRODUCTION 1987 label value BUILT IN LANGUAGE BASIC interpreter label value KEYBOARD 59 keys, QWERTY Hungarian style label value CPU Z80A label value SPEED 3 MHz label value RAM 64 KB label value ROM Unknown label value TEXT MODES 64 chars. x 32 lines label value GRAPHIC MODES None label value COLORS Unknown label value SOUND Built-in speaker label value I/O PORTS TV/VHF, tape recorder, Parallel, Bus connector label value POWER SUPPLY External power supply unit label value PERIPHERALS Unknown label value PRICE Unknown photos emulators links 1065 title subtitle text image BRAILAB, LARGE VIEW /media/museum/photos/homelab_brailab_system_s2.jpg title subtitle text image BRAILAB CLOSE-UP /media/museum/photos/homelab_homelab4_closeup_s1.jpg title subtitle text image REAR SIDE /media/museum/photos/homelab_brailab_rear_s1.jpg title subtitle text image HOMELAB 2 Also called Aircomp 16 /media/museum/photos/homelab_brailab_aircomp16_s1.jpg title subtitle text image HOMELAB 3 /media/museum/photos/homelab_homelab3_system_s1.jpg title subtitle text image HOMELAB 4 Standard version. /media/museum/photos/homelab_brailab_system_s3.jpg title subtitle text image HOMELAB 3 #1 (HOMEBREW) Homebrew Homelab 3 made by **Imre Solti** in 1985 Thanks to **Imre Solti** /media/museum/photos/homelab_homelab3_homebrew_s1.jpg title subtitle text image HOMELAB 3 #2 Back side Thanks to **Imre Solti** /media/museum/photos/homelab_homelab3_homebrew_s2.jpg title subtitle text image HOMELAB 3 #3 Two joystick sockets and a dual Parallel port are located on the right side. Thanks to **Imre Solti** /media/museum/photos/homelab_homelab3_homebrew_s3.jpg title subtitle text image HOMELAB 3 #4 Inside. Four ROM chips hold the BASIC interpreter and a Z80 assembler. Two ROM sockets remain empty. Thanks to **Imre Solti** /media/museum/photos/homelab_homelab3_homebrew_s4.jpg title subtitle text image HOMELAB 3 #5 Handmade wired keyboard! Thanks to **Imre Solti** /media/museum/photos/homelab_homelab3_homebrew_s5.jpg title url platform text Homelab 3 & 4 emulator http://homelab.8bit.hu/emulator.html Windows title url text Homebrew homelab page (in Hungarian) http://web.axelero.hu/vizipok56/homelab/index.html title url text Homelab page (in Hungarian) http://homelab.8bit.hu/attekintes.html 1095 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20221202035832/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=1095 2022-12-02

The HomeLab computers family was conceived in the People's Republic of Hungary by the famous Lukács brothers.

József Lukács, the older brother was the creator of the hardware, and the younger, Endre Lukács was the father of software (a great BASIC language).

The HomeLab machines were cheap, well-working and easy-to-use Basic computers. They were neither clones nor licencied, but original Hungarian home computers.

The HomeLab-2 (see the 'More pictures' section) was also called Aircomp-16. It was made by a little agro-electronics company called the Personal Agroelektronikai GT.

Thanks to Képes Gábor for all this information and pictures. All of the HomeLab versions could also be homebrew built or assembled by the HCC (Hungarian Computer Club), an association of amateur computer fans.

The Brailab (pictured) was an exciting curiosity. It was a speaking Homelab-4 version especially intended for blind people. It featured a nice retro robot voice and a perfect Hungarian phonetics reproduction. It was a member of the BraiLab series. The text-to-speech system was conceived by András Arató and Teréz Vaspöri.

It was made by the Color Ipari Szovetkezet factory, in Dombóvár, a little Hungarian city. Only 400 machines were made between 1985 and 1987.

The BraiLab ran with a simple tape recorder and could be connected to either a TV set (VHF) or a monochrome monitor. A blind user could use it only with a tape recorder, hear but not watch the data.

The BraiLab was followed by the BraiLab Plus with floppy and CP/M system then by the BraiLab PC, a text-to-speech interface for IBM PCs.

Click here to hear a BraiLab voice synthesizer sample. (MP3 file).

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.