MZ-80K

The MZ-80K is a training kit for 8-bit microcomputers released by Sharp in 1978 and was one of the representatives in early days of Japanese personal computers. It was an all-in-one personal computer equipped with a CRT display, a keyboard and a cassette deck. It used Z80 8-bit microprocessor and 20KB of RAM. A keyboard was made by an array of square switches. A display used a 10 inch CRT having the capability to show 40x25 text characters and an 80x50 dots semi-graphic image using graphic characters.

Instead of equipping a BASIC interpreter stored in a ROM, MZ-80K adopted a system to load an interpreter from a cassette tape to RAM (what they call “Clean Computer System”) that allowed the use of operating systems or languages provided by third party software vendors. It could also generate the sounds covering the range of three octaves.

MZ-80K was popular as one of the three major 8-bit personal computers in those days. This MZ-80 model was the forerunner of the so-called MZ Series that includes many of its successor models.