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Sanyo MBC-550 series
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The MBC-550 series, also known as the MBC-550/555,[1][2] is a series of personal computers sold by Sanyo. It was unveiled at the COMDEX/Spring '83 in April 1983 and first released to market in March 1984.[3][4]: 12 All models in the MBC-550 series featured pizza-box-style cases and Intel 8088 microprocessors and run versions of MS-DOS. On its release in 1984, the MBC-550 was the least expensive IBM PC compatible released to date, at a price of US$995 (equivalent to $3,010 in 2024).[5][6] The MBC-550 series followed Sanyo's MBC-1000 line of CP/M computers.[7]
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Specifications
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The MBC-550 has much better video display possibilities than the CGA card (based on the HD46505 CRTC, providing a 3-bit RGB palette of 8 colors at 640 × 200 resolution, vs CGA's 4 colors at 320 × 200 or 2 colors at 640 × 200). Other resolutions, like 144 × 200 and 576 × 200 were possible.[8] This display was not completely compatible with the IBM PC.[8]
The computer lacks a standard BIOS, having only a minimal bootloader in ROM that accesses hardware directly to load a RAM-based BIOS.[9] The diskette format (FM rather than MFM) used is not completely compatible with the IBM PC, but special software on an original PC or PC/XT (but not PC/AT) can read and write the diskettes, and software expecting a standard 18.2 Hz clock interrupt has to be rewritten.
The MBC-550 was also the computer for NRI training. Starting by building the computer, the NRI promised you would be "qualified to service and repair virtually every major brand of computer".[10] NRI was advertised in Popular Mechanics and Popular Science throughout 1985.[11]
The MBC-550 is less PC compatible than the IBM PCjr. Its inability to use much PC software was a significant disadvantage; [6] InfoWorld reported in August 1985 that Sanyo "has initiated a campaign to sell off" MBC-550 inventory. The company's newer computers were, an executive claimed, 99% PC compatible.[12]
Early MBC-500 machines used true Intel 8088 microprocessors. In late March 1984, Sanyo reached an agreement with Intel to manufacture the 8088 in Japan as a second source, prompted by a widespread chip shortage at the time.[13][14] As part of the agreement with Intel, Sanyo was not to sell their 8088 chips except as part of their Sanyo MBC-550 series computers.[14]
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Dedicated magazine
Soft Sector was a magazine for people who owned Sanyo MBC-550 and 555 DOS computers. (But much of the content equally applied to most IBM clones at the time.) A typical issue includes news, reviews, how-to's, technical advice and education, tips and tricks, as well as BASIC language programs that one could type in and adapt to suit one's needs.[8]
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