HITAC 201

Hitachi started working on an affordable compact computer in 1960 that was easy to set up for smaller businesses to do their business accounting on. The result of this development was the HITAC 201.

Hitachi set the HITAC 201's development targets by getting feedback from its personnel in office managerial departments on the initial specifications. The eventual targets were: (1) develop an inexpensive magnetic tape unit and make it possible to connect around four sortable decks; (2) connect a kana-character line printer; and (3) have a storage capacity of about 4,000 words and an instruction set tailored for business accounting.

The HITAC 201 improved upon the basic circuitry of the HITAC 301 which was Hitachi's first transistorized computer, and achieved a higher mounting density with a different mounting method. It used decimal fixed-point arithmetic and had a word size of 11 digits plus sign.

Hitachi added storage capacity to and reduced the cost of the magnetic drum from the HITAC 101's magnetic drum and increased the belt drive speed to 9,000 rpm. Most magnetic drums at the time were coated and were cooled by drawing in external air, but the 201's magnetic drum was notable because it used a mechanical mechanism and was completely sealed.

Despite having only just developed its first-ever magnetic tape unit for the KDC-1, Hitachi quickly went about trying to reduce the cost by using small reels (storage capacity of 300,000 digits) and placing four units within one module, with a speed specification of 1,000 digits per second, to share the control circuit.

The HITAC 201 prototype was completed in March 1961. The powerful compact business computer's entrance made quite a splash in the market.