ABC 80
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Also known as | Advanced BASIC Computer 80 |
---|---|
Developer | Dataindustrier AB (DIAB) |
Manufacturer | Luxor in Motala, Sweden |
Type | Home computer |
Release date | 1978 |
Operating system | 16 KB ROM with Luxor BASIC[1] |
CPU | Zilog Z80 @ 3 MHz |
Memory | 16–32 KB RAM + separate screen memory |
Display | 12-inch monochrome monitor,[1] Text mode 40×24 monochrome Teletext[2] |
Graphics | 78×72 block graphics[2] (equivalent resolution of 312×287 @ 50 Hz)[2] |
Sound | 1-channel Texas Instruments SN76477[2] |
Connectivity | Tape recorder, relay, display/sound/power, 2×32 pin CPU bus (4680), RS-232 |
The ABC 80 (Advanced BASIC Computer 80) was a personal computer engineered by the Swedish corporation Dataindustrier AB (DIAB) and manufactured by Luxor in Motala, Sweden in the late 1970s and early 1980s.[3] It was introduced on the market in August 1978.[4]
The ABC 80 was based on an earlier modular computer system from the same company
The ABC 80 was used in schools and offices around Scandinavia and parts of Europe.
ABC 80 was also manufactured on license as BRG ABC80 by Budapesti Rádiótechnikai Gyár in Hungary.[7] It used the same keyboard, but the case was metal instead of plastic.
Popularity
In addition to its widespread use in schools, offices and industrial applications, the ABC 80 initially also grasped a majority share of the rising personal computer market in
Luxor (and Facit) held on to its more professional markets for some more years with the ABC 800 series (also sold as Facit DTC). It had a more extensive BASIC, more memory, color, and a 512×240 graphics mode. From 1985 DIAB and Luxor also tried to compete against the IBM PC in the industrial and office markets with its high performance ABC 1600 and ABC 9000 series of computers based on DIABs real-time operating system called DNIX, but failed.
However, many ABC 80 and ABC 800 machines used in industrial or scientific applications were in use in their respective installations for many years to come, sometimes well into the late 1990s, despite no longer being produced.[9]
Performance
In order to see how the ABC 80 would compare to other contemporary personal computers, in 1982, the Swedish magazine MikroDatorn ran the Rugg/Feldman benchmarks of eight short BASIC programs (referred to as BM1~BM8) originally published by the American Kilobaud Microcomputing magazine and routinely used by the British magazine Personal Computer World for testing new machines. The result was that ABC 80's interpreter turned out to be faster than most other BASICs used in popular machines, especially when integer variables are used, the results for some well known computers were as follows (times in seconds, lower is better):
Computer | CPU | [MHz] | BM1 | BM2 | BM3 | BM4 | BM5 | BM6 | BM7 | BM8 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ABC 80 Integer | Z80 | 3 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 5.8 | 9.3 | 65 |
ABC 80 Floating point | 1.0 | 2.1 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 12.5 | 17.5 | 24.0 | 130 | ||
IBM PC | 8088 | 4.77 | 1.5 | 5.2 | 12.1 | 12.6 | 13.6 | 23.5 | 37.4 | 35 |
Apple III | S6502 | 2 | 1.7 | 7.2 | 13.5 | 14.5 | 16.0 | 27.0 | 42.5 | 75 |
VIC-20 | 6502 | 1.108 | 1.4 | 8.3 | 15.5 | 17.1 | 18.3 | 27.2 | 42.7 | 99 |
ZX81 in "fast mode" | Z80 | 3.25 | 4.5 | 6.9 | 16.4 | 15.8 | 18.6 | 49.7 | 68.5 | 229 |
As seen from the table, the ABC 80 were up to 4.7 times as fast as the
Sound
- Quick decay, sine overlay, high or low tone, pulse tone control, on and off.
Books on ABC 80
The circuitry in the ABC 80 is described in detail in the book Mikrodatorns ABC (The microcomputer ABC), by Gunnar Markesjö. It starts off with a course in digital electronics and microcomputer principles (assuming some general knowledge in electronics) and then presents a large number of block diagrams and partial circuit schematics, covering most of the computer, along with detailed explanations of how it works and why certain solutions were chosen.
See also
References
- ^ a b "Greentac Blog: July 2008". Archived from the original on September 11, 2008. 090502 greentacblog.com
- ^ a b c d "mess:drivers:abc80:abc80 [MESS DevWiki]". Archived from the original on 2009-02-23. 090502 mess.toseciso.org
- ^ "Advanced BASIC Computer 80". The Media Archeology Lab. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
- ^ Rautiainen, Sami (February 13, 2020). "The History of Luxor ABC". www.devili.iki.fi. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
- ^ This system was called DIAB Data Board 4680 and could initially also use the 4004 or 6800 CPUs before the newer Z80 CPU was available.
- ^ "ABC 80 Luxor". www.old-computers.com. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
- ^ "East-European Home-Computer Hungary". Home Computer Museum. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
- VIC 20 and the ZX81being typical examples, respectively.
- ^ This was practical enough as the ABC 80 as well as most I/O, peripheral, and expansion cards used almost no custom designed parts. Most of the ROM, DRAM and SRAM memory ICs were socketed and replaceable for many years. The Z80 family and most of the integrated circuits in the 74-series used to implement the logic are actually still readily available, as of 2016.
- ^ ABC80 manual page 36
External links
- ABC80 at Curlie
- ABC user group (in Swedish)