website/content/museum/mark-8-minicomputer.md

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

title	categories	types	origins	years	cpus	params
MARK-8 Minicomputer	Computers	Home Computer	U.S.A.	1974	Intel 8008	name image company company_name specs tabs photos comments oc_id source Minicomputer /media/museum/photos/mark8_minicomp_system_1.jpg /companies/mark-8 MARK-8 label value NAME Minicomputer label value MANUFACTURER Mark-8 label value TYPE Home Computer label value ORIGIN U.S.A. label value YEAR July 1974 label value BUILT IN LANGUAGE None label value KEYBOARD 16 switches on front panel label value CPU Intel 8008 label value SPEED 0.5 Mhz label value CO-PROCESSOR None label value RAM 256 bytes label value ROM None label value TEXT MODES No display interface label value SOUND No sound interface label value I/O PORTS 1 x I/O port label value BUILT IN MEDIA None label value POWER SUPPLY External power supply label value PRICE About $300 photos title subtitle text image MANUALS & SHEMAS Mark-8 with Jon Titus instruction manual and circuit diagrams. /media/museum/photos/mark8_minicomp_manual_1.jpg title subtitle text image CASE KIT The case and board kit as it was received from Techniques Inc, of Englewood. /media/museum/photos/mark8_minicomp_kit_1.jpg title subtitle text image BACK SIDE Power supply back panel and logic boards /media/museum/photos/mark8_minicomp_back_1.jpg title subtitle text image RADIO-ELECTRONICS MAGAZINE front cover of the July 1974 issue of Radio-Electronics magazine where the Mark-8 computer appeared for the first time. /media/museum/photos/mark8_minicomp_magazine_1.jpg author date text Achim Baqué Sunday 12th September 2021 Hi, I am a vintage computer collector. Please contact me (E-Mail via my website) if you have the Mark-8 to offer. author date text Erik Jordan (USA) Friday 28th September 2007 Mr. Titus later wrote a book on how to custom-build a computer based on the 8085A processor called the "8085A Cookbook". It is part of the Blacksburg Continuing Education Series and was published by Howard W. Sama & Co Inc., out of Indianapolis. Mine is 1st Ed, 3rd Printing, 1982. at 350 pages, it is an interesting little book...while not directly related to this computer, it is the brainchild of its creator, and I invite the editors to place this snippet wherever they deem appropriate. 741 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230529194732/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=741 2023-05-29

"Build your own Mark-8". This title appeared on the front cover of the July issue 1974 of an electronic hobbyist magazine called Radio-Electronics.

The Mark-8 was an Intel 8008 / 256 bytes RAM memory based system without neither ROM monitor, power supply, case, video, keyboard, nor backup interface. Consequently, the user had to enter program instructions each time he turned the system on.

To build this computer, the home computing fanatic had first to buy for $5.50 the 48 pages instruction manual written by Jon Titus, the creator of the system, from Radio Electronics. Then order the circuit board from an Englewood, New Jersey based company for $47.50, and finally provide himself with various components, including the Intel 8008 processor for about $250. About 7500 home computing fanatics ordered the instruction manual and 400 of them the main board. Very few of them succeeded in running the final assembled system as it was a very long and full of traps job.

The LED display featured 4 rows of 8 leds. The two upper rows displayed the address bus (14 leds) and processor cycle state (2 leds). The third row displays an 8-bit memory data, and the fourth, the 8-bit value available from the output port 0.

Most of the fanatics who tried to bring the Mark-8 to a running state gave up and bought a few months later the first versions of the Altair 8800, the first real personal home computer.

If you want to learn more about the Mark-8 computer, you should read the page written by Jon Titus, the Mark-8 designer.

To note: Pictures of this page show a Replica version of the Mark-8, not an original system. The Replica was made by Steve Gabaly of Apalacia, NY and sold in the late 2000.
Original pictures needed!