website/content/museum/luxor-abc-80.md

---
title: Luxor ABC 80
categories:
- Computers
types:
- Home Computer
origins:
- Sweden
years:
- '1978'
cpus:
- Z 80
params:
  name: ABC 80
  image: /media/museum/photos/luxor_abc80_system_s1.jpg
  logo: /media/museum/logos/luxor_abc80_logo.gif
  company: /companies/luxor
  company_name: Luxor
  specs:
  - label: NAME
    value: ABC 80
  - label: MANUFACTURER
    value: Luxor
  - label: TYPE
    value: Home Computer
  - label: ORIGIN
    value: Sweden
  - label: YEAR
    value: '1978'
  - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE
    value: Luxor Basic
  - label: KEYBOARD
    value: Full-stroke 55 keys
  - label: CPU
    value: Z 80
  - label: SPEED
    value: 3 MHz
  - label: RAM
    value: 16 KB (up to to 32 KB)
  - label: ROM
    value: 16 KB
  - label: TEXT MODES
    value: 40 x 24 (ViewData and Teletext compatible)
  - label: GRAPHIC MODES
    value: 78 x 72
  - label: COLORS
    value: Monochrome
  - label: SOUND
    value: 1 channel - Built-in speaker
  - label: I/O PORTS
    value: V24 / RS232
  - label: BUILT IN MEDIA
    value: Optional 2 x 5.25'' disk-drives
  - label: POWER SUPPLY
    value: Unknown
  - label: PRICE
    value: From $1400
  tabs:
  - photos
  - hardware
  - emulators
  - links
  forum_thread: 56
  photos:
  - title: LEFT SIDE
    subtitle: ''
    text: The monitor was a modified TV set produced by Luxor. The receiver module was replaced with a second power supply unit which supplied power to the computer.
    image: /media/museum/photos/luxor_abc80_leftside_s1.jpg
  - title: COMPLETE SYSTEM
    subtitle: ''
    text: |-
      Complete system with Power supply unit and Luxor tape recorder.\
      The power supply unit allowed to use a standard TV SET through the aerial plug. In addition to the supply unit, it contained a TV modulator and a loudspeaker.
    image: /media/museum/photos/luxor_abc80_completesystem_s1.jpg
  - title: FDD UNIT
    subtitle: ''
    text: Complete system with single or dual 5'' 160 KB floppy drive unit.
    image: /media/museum/photos/luxor_abc80_fddunit_1.jpg
  - title: KEYBOARD CLOSE-UP
    subtitle: ''
    text: Notice the specific Swedish characters.
    image: /media/museum/photos/luxor_abc80_keyboardcloseup_s1.jpg
  - title: KEYBOARD & LOGO
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/photos/luxor_abc80_keyboardlogo_s1.jpg
  - title: REAR SIDE
    subtitle: ''
    text: |-
      **(1)** Tape recorder DIN plug\
      **(2)** Tape recorder remote control jack\
      **(3)** Power supply input and video output connector\
      **(4)** This sliding index card could be pulled from underneath the computer to get commands summary of the Basic language\
      **(5)** Z80 address and data lines bus connector, mainly intended for the floppy drive unit\
      **(6)** Serial RS232 DB9 connector\
      **(7)** Reset switch.
    image: /media/museum/photos/luxor_abc80_rear_s1.jpg
  - title: INSIDE
    subtitle: ''
    text: The keyboard was made in Japan by Keytronic
    image: /media/museum/photos/luxor_abc80_inside_s1.jpg
  - title: MAIN BOARD EXPLAINED
    subtitle: ''
    text: |-
      **(1)** Keyboard connector\
      **(2)** Z80 PIO Parallel Input/Output controller\
      **(3)** Z80 processor\
      **(4)** 4 x 4K ROM chips hold the Basic interpreter\
      **(5)** Video RAM chips 2 x 2114 (1K x 4 bit static RAM)\
      **(6)** 16 KB RAM chips. 8 x 4116 (16K x 1 bit)\
      **(7)** TI-76477 sound generator. While it was a fairly competent sound generator, most of the chip's control inputs were analogue and thus "prohibitively expensive" to interface to a computer in the optimal way. Instead, it was hard-wired to a latch, which gave it only 256 sound settings, half of which were silent.
    image: /media/museum/photos/luxor_abc80_mainboard_s1.jpg
  hardware:
  - title: ABC-821
    subtitle: Tape recorder
    text: The nice and sophisticated Luxor tape recorder with sensitive keys.
    image: /media/museum/hardware/luxor_abc80_taperecorder_s1.jpg
  emulators:
  - title: ABC 80 Emulator by Erik Isaksson
    url: http://www.lysator.liu.se/~exon/archive.html
    platform: MS DOS
    text: works also with Windows
  - title: WinABC80
    url: http://www.lysator.liu.se/~exon/archive.html
    platform: Windows
    text: ABC-80 emulator by Erik Isaksson
  - title: MESS
    url: http://www.mess.org
    platform: Multiplatform
    text: MESS also emulates the ABC-80 computer
  links:
  - title: Gorän Lundberg's web site
    url: http://www.hultsfred.org/luxor.htm
    text: Good information about Luxor computers (Swedish)
  oc_id: 37
  source:
    url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230604072542/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=37
    date: '2023-06-04'
---

In August 1978, first units of the "Advanced Basic Computer for the 1980s", in short ABC-80 left the Swedish Luxor factory.

A few months earlier, Luxor contracted with two other companies, Scandia Metric and Data Industrier AB (DIAB), to build the first totally Swedish computer. Scandia Metrics which had previous experience of computer based products designed the main board, DIAB manufactured the chips, while Luxor, one of the biggest TV set manufacturers, built the monitor, case and keyboard and assembled the whole system in its assembly plant of Motala (Sweden, at the northeast shore of Swedens second largest sea, Vättern).

Despite the fact that the technology behind the ABC 80 was very simple and technical features wasn't better than US competitors, the ABC80 was a quality machine and became a great success among early Swedish computer enthusiasts, who had been waiting for a long time a real local computer. More than 10.000 computers were sold within two years. For six years, the ABC80 and then its sequel the ABC800, were by far the most sold and used personal computers in Sweden, for home, hobby, and especially education.

Many schools in Sweden had ABC 80 or [ABC 800](/museum/luxor-abc-800-series/) for the students. It was possible to connect together several ABC 80 thanks to a network called ABC NET.

In 1984, the ABC1600 and ABC9000, two Unix systems, were launched with the slogan "Who needs to be IBM compatible?"... They were the last Luxor computers produced.