yann64andClaude Opus 5.5
3eeabe9649
6,654 pages: 1,289 machines, 702 software, 460 companies, 64 history, 17 articles, 59 fun. 4,336 media files so far; references to files not downloaded yet are left out. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01YDRjtmAiNpo5mK5N3d7QwZ
169 lines
7.1 KiB
Markdown
169 lines
7.1 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: VISUAL TECHNOLOGY Visual 1050
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categories:
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- Computers
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types:
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- Professional Computer
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origins:
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- U.S.A.
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years:
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- '1984'
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cpus:
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- Z80-A
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params:
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name: Visual 1050
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company: /companies/visual-technology
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company_name: VISUAL TECHNOLOGY
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specs:
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- label: NAME
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value: Visual 1050
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- label: MANUFACTURER
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value: Visual Technology
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- label: TYPE
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value: Professional Computer
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- label: ORIGIN
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value: U.S.A.
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- label: YEAR
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value: '1984'
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- label: END OF PRODUCTION
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value: 1987?
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- label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE
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value: None
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- label: KEYBOARD
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value: Keytronic full stroke 93-key with numeric key pad & 17 function keys
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- label: CPU
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value: Z80-A
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- label: SPEED
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value: 4 MHz.
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- label: CO-PROCESSOR
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value: 6502 (Graphic video management)
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- label: RAM
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value: 128KB (bank-switched)
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- label: VRAM
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value: 320Kb (32Kb x 10)
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- label: ROM
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value: 8 KB
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- label: TEXT MODES
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value: 80 chars. x 25 lines
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- label: GRAPHIC MODES
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value: 640 x 300 dots
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- label: COLORS
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value: Monochrome
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- label: SOUND
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value: No sound
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- label: SIZE / WEIGHT
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value: CPU - 5'' (H) x 17'' (W) x 17'' (D) / CPU 15 lbs, Monitor 10 lbs
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- label: I/O PORTS
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value: video terminal, Serial, Parallel, Winchester HD
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- label: BUILT IN MEDIA
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value: |-
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2 x 400KB, 5.25'', SSDD, 96tpi floppy disk drives (TEAC FD-55E)\
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Optional 10Mb external Winchester hard disk drive.
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- label: OS
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value: Digital Research (DR) CP/M Plus (CP/M, Version 3)
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- label: POWER SUPPLY
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value: 75 watt, switching power supply unit
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- label: PRICE
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value: $2700
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tabs:
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- photos
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- adverts
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- links
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- docs
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photos:
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- title: SYSTEM
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: null
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- title: BACK SIDE
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subtitle: ''
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text: |-
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**(1)** Parallel printer connector\
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**(2)** Serial connector\
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**(3)** Winchester hard disk drive connector\
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**(4)** Video terminal connector
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image: null
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adverts:
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- title: US ADVERT (APRIL 1984)
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subtitle: ''
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text: Thanks to Dave Dunfield for the picture
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image: null
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links:
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- title: Visual Technology Visual 1050
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url: http://www.metabarn.com/v1050/index.html
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text: Richard Bramante's page where he collected lots of information on this system
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docs:
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- title: THE VISUAL 1050 USER'S GUIDE
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url: http://www.metabarn.com/v1050/
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cover: null
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text: |-
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[**THE VISUAL 1050 USER'S GUIDE**](http://www.metabarn.com/v1050/)written by Visual Technology Incorporated
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compiled/archived by Richard Bramante\
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type of document : PDF\
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size : 6.9 MB\
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source : [Visual Technology Visual 1050 info page](http://www.metabarn.com/v1050/)
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- title: V1050 PERSONAL COMPUTER MAINTENANCE MANUAL
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url: http://www.metabarn.com/v1050/
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cover: null
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text: |-
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[**V1050 PERSONAL COMPUTER MAINTENANCE MANUAL**](http://www.metabarn.com/v1050/)written by Visual Technology Incorporated
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compiled/archived by Richard Bramante\
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type of document : PDF\
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size : 1 MB\
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source : [Visual Technology Visual 1050 info page](http://www.metabarn.com/v1050/)
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- title: 1050 PROGRAMMER'S TECHNICAL DOCUMENT VERSION 1.0
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url: http://www.metabarn.com/v1050/
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cover: null
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text: |-
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[**1050 PROGRAMMER'S TECHNICAL DOCUMENT VERSION 1.0**](http://www.metabarn.com/v1050/)written by Visual Technology Incorporated
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compiled/archived by Richard Bramante\
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type of document : PDF\
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size : 1.6 MB\
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source : [Visual Technology Visual 1050 info page](http://www.metabarn.com/v1050/)
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- title: VISUAL 1050 SCHEMATICS
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url: http://www.metabarn.com/v1050/
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cover: null
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text: |-
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[**VISUAL 1050 SCHEMATICS**](http://www.metabarn.com/v1050/)written by Visual Technology Incorporated
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compiled/archived by Richard Bramante\
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type of document : PDF\
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size : 1.1 MB\
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source : [Visual Technology Visual 1050 info page](http://www.metabarn.com/v1050/)
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comments:
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- author: Jim Schifalacqua (USA)
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date: Wednesday 8th December 2010
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text: This was my first "real" home computer, purchased back in 1984 after I graduated college and I used it up through 1995! It was great for word-processing, spreadsheets, and programming (used FTL C and Modula-2 compilers for CP/M). The best thing was it''s VT-100 compatibility. I used it with a modem as my home terminal for UNIX systems all through graduate school. It was great for vi and editing/compiling/uploading C programs. What a great little machine, and great graphics and display capabilities. But its floppy drives were noisy! My wife referred to them as buzz-saws, and between those and the daisy-wheel printer I used with it, I couldn''t use the thing past 10 pm without waking everyone up!
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- author: Richard Bramante (USA)
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date: Tuesday 18th December 2007
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text: |-
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I put together a basic page here for some information I have collected on this system. If anybody can help with more information please let me know.
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http://bramante.metabarn.com/visual1050/
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oc_id: 842
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source:
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url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230201165415/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=842
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date: '2023-02-01'
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---
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The Visual 1050. Entered into the PC battles mid-80s from the now defunct Visual Technology company (most famous for video terminals at the time).
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This CP/M based machine was tailored to Wordstar with a specialized keyboard featuring all the wordstar function keys.\
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Graphic capabilities were managed by a second 6502 processor.
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It was delivered with a set of Digital Research software, including CP/M, C-BASIC compiler, DR-GSX (graphic extensions), as well as WordStar (Word processor), Mailmerge (address database), Multiplan (spreadsheet) and TTY-1050 (communications)
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**John Citron** remembers:\
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I worked for Visual from 1980-1987. From 1983 to 1987, I was a hardware technician with them and serviced many of these machines. In addition to the expansion ports on the outside, there is also a riser header for a, never implemented, optional memory expansion card. The 9" green monitor was manufactured in Taiwan by ADI and it, along with the keyboard, eventually became the main components for their V-50/55 and V-60/65 line of video terminals.
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In addition to coming with a huge bundle of applications, the system was also able to read CP/M disks from many of the competitive machines in its day. By running a special utility, one could load in programs and data from [Osborne](/museum/osborne-corp-osborne-1/), DEC VT-180, DEC [Rainbow](/museum/digital-equipment-corporation-rainbow-100/), and others.
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Overall, the system was great in its day and I eventually owned one for a number of years. The video was crisp and the Keytronic keyboard was comfortable to use. The only complaint that I ever had was the noise. The system was very loud due to the empty case and the noisy fan and floppy drives.
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Thanks to **Richard Bramante** for information and pictures.
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<table> <tr> <td></td> <td>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.</td> <td></td> </tr> </table>
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