Hitachi Computers  MB 6880
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Hitachi MB-6880 BASIC Master Level 1

The Hitachi MB-6880 was announced in September of 1978 by Hitachi. It was an 8-bit computer that would later be called the "BASIC Master Level 1".

The computer could be connected to a special-purpose RGB monitor, but also to a television set. It could be programmed in BASIC, but was also capable of playing tunes that could be programmed with tones given by Japanese Kana characters. Many consider this computer to be the first example of the "personal computer".

Motorola 6800 CPU

The 6800 is an 8-bit microprocessor designed by Motorola in 1974. The processor was developed as part of the M6800 Microcomputer System that was announced in the same year.

The 6800 has a 16-bit address bus that can directly access 64KB of memory and an 8-bit bi-directional databus. The CPU has a total of 72 instructions using seven different addressing modes, resulting in 197 opcodes. The original 6800 used a clock frequency of up to 1 MHz, while later versions increased this limit to 2MHz.

The 6800 was used in various computer systems and point of sale terminals. It can also be found in older arcade systems and pinball machines. It was succeeded by the MC6802 which was released in 1977. This CPU had 128 bytes of RAM on board and an internal clock oscillator. The later produced Motorola 6809 was stil backwards compatible with the 6800.

Technical Details
Released 1978 Brand Hitachi Type Hitachi Computers Basic Master Name MB 6880 CPU Class 6800 CPU Motorola 6800 @ 0.8MHz Memory RAM: 4kB
ROM: 18kB
Sound Chip none Sound 3 octaves Display Chip none Display 64x48 text, 256x192 graphics Best Color 8 colors using optional color adapter Best Graphics 256x192 Sprites none System OS MB-6880 BASIC Storage External Tape
Related Systems
 
Hitachi Computers Basic Master
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MB  6880 (1978)
Related Media
 
Hitachi Basic
Books about the Hitachi Basic Master computers
 
I/O Magazine
Japanese Magazine about home computers in Japan such as the Hitachi Basic Master, Sharp MZ, and NEC home computers.
 
Micro
The 6502/6809 Journal
World Wide Web Links
 
Wikipedia: Motorola 6800 CPU
The 6800 is an 8-bit microprocessor designed by Motorola in 1974.