Computer History: 1975 SWTPC 6800 (A Motorola 6800 Powerful Kit-Based Computer)
52Computer history video! We talk about the vintage computer SWTPC 6800 which was one of the first successful computers build around the Motorola 6800 CPU. It used an interesting bus, SS-50, and used to be sold as a kit. Read below for more information.
Contents:
0:35 The Company
2:42 The Computer
4:30 The Software
5:57 Turn It On
8:07 The Inside
The computer was produced by an electronics company called Southwest Technical Products Corporation. That was a company which made electronic kits such as amplifiers, test equipment and other hi-fi tools. In 1975 they designed a computer terminal kit, called the TV Typewriter which was published in their electronics catalogues. In the same year they improved and released, also as a kit, the SWTPC 6800 based on the Motorola 6800 processor and a new bus design called the SS-50.
The computer featured a second bus the SS-30 to which smaller cards could be connected, such as serial connection or tape/disk/paper readers. The SS-50 bus was used for the processor and the memory card.
Later the system was sold with the upgraded Motorola 6809 processor, which also featured the new S/09 version of the SS-50 bus. This would allow the new SWTPC computer to access up to 1Mb of memory.
Website: http://www.digiloguemuseum.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/digiloguecollection/