At the beginning of December Oscar Rysdyk, from Holland, contacted me after finding my site by Google.
He wanted to offer me his own first hand PC-1500.
This one was purchased in the united states by his father.
Lets examine this PC-1500…
Do you see the serial number on the last picture ?
It don’t have any metallic grey paint.
This is same for all USA models, i think.
Thank you very much Oscar for this gift !
Oscar, you’re a photographer ! These pictures are very nice.
Do you remember the beautiful NANFENG PC-1500A ?
Here is a little bit more about the company with this advertisement :
If you own other informations from this company and this version of the PC-1500A then contact me)
Just after Christmas my friend CGH was at home for a “PC-1500 day”.
We have talked, tinkered and exchanged some machines.
I’m proud to present you this one : the oldest PC-1500 i know !
(Except his one with a lower serial number)
Externally there is no change, it’s a PC-1500.
And on the back the only difference is the serial number :
But let’s opening the machine :
It’s strapped like a A01 ROM. Uh… these straps are white ! The first time i see one like this.
We can see on the SC613128 IC that it’s a A01 ROM.
The biggest white strap is mine, to repair a memory access problem.
Do you see the diodes on straps ? First time too…
Ok, more ?
The display board version is F2025, the oldest i know.
And the mode exciting, the CPU board !
There is no board revision !!!
If some of you have similar PC-1500, please, contact me to compare boards versions. 😉
And if you don’t have… this is a new quest !
Yes ! The instruction manual in Japan is here !
But there are some other manuals missing… can you help me ? 😉
All my PC-1500 and clones manuals
| Manuals JP | Link |
|---|---|
 | Download |
 | Download |
 | Download |
A special thanks to “W” for an incredible information about the NANFENG PC-1500A !
I copy here his message from my Guestbook :
“NANFENG PC-1500 is made by 830 Factory ,Kaili,Guizhou,P.R.C. in a brief honeymoon with U.S.A and Japan to counter CCCP, here is a picture of its manual: “
Thank you again, “W”, to share this information with my readers !
Update : The NANFENG manuals are a set of 3
Yes, the Sharp PC-1500 wasn’t only made in Japan but in China too.
Uh… all the parts except the back looks like made in Japan.
Here is this PC-1500 :
And this wouldn’t be complete without the user manual :
(The front cover is self made from a small picture found somewhere on Internet)
Download chinese manual
After the Blue Brother, a very rare PC-1500, i’m proud to present you the number 10 : NANFENG PC-1500A.
This one is the only one i know as a non Sharp PC-1500A.
It’s the rarest one !
In details you can see the NANFENG logo.
It’s not a paint add-on, it’s like original Sharp embossed logo.
On the back it’s like the other Sharp, The CE-161 memory module is a real Sharp one.
But the sticker is different and shows “Made in China” and the brand is NENFENG.
The serial number is “NF 002/83 J”. This means that it’s one of the firsts PC-1500A.
Was this a preproduction lot ?
I’m surprised that the front panel is EU/US and don’t have Katakana chars.
The screws are very cheaper than the originals.
Inside, on the boards nothing differs from the PC-1500A.
But the metal parts are wider, yellow/orange color. And the screws basic.
Well, is it really a chinese production ? YES only for font parts.
The brown paint is very similar to the Sharp but a little bit darker.
The varnish is not that brilliant.
The symbols near the function keys are brown and not orange.
The beige paint is darker.
The chars on the keys are bigger.
The CL key is a little bit transparent.
All this seems low cost.
This is the only one sample i know for the NANFENG PC-1500A.
If someone has more informations then please, use the contact form.
This PC-1500 is more than an updated version with huge memory amount and double-speed oscillator.
It’s one of the firsts samples of the A04 production.
In this picture you can see the ROM version on the SC613128 IC.
Do you remember the A03 versions ? They have blue straps… like here on the display board :
And now lets see under the memory extension…
The board shows many blue straps like the A01 and A03 versions :
Sure this is a rare item for collectors.
It’s serial number is 20024876.
Who owns a such collector version ?
Take a screwdriver and verify your PC-1500s 🙂
Thanks again to Lukas ZELLER for this gift.
Lukas told me about his gift that there will be a 28Kb PC-1500.
This was a good news !
But this is more than a good news.
Lets me present this updated machine.
Opening the CE-150 box shows us some nice things.
Do you see what i mean ? Examine this picture carefully…
First there is a sticker “28K”. This means that the memory size is 28Kb. It’s the maximum reachable on this pocket because of the display addressing method.
Let’s open the machine…
Here is it :
This extension it made of 13 x 6116 ICs and present a total amount of 26KB of memory.
It’s a very professional board. You can see where the RAM pins are placed ? Simply on the holes between sides. Well done guys !
This board is named “DF1SE PC 1503”. (If you know more about it then use the contact form to tell it to me.)
Second, there is a switch on the PC-1500 side :
Do you know why ?
The LH5801 microprocessor is driven by a 2,6Mhz oscillator.
In 1982 it was fast ! In 1984 it was slow ! lol
This button switch between the 2,6Mhz and a new 5Mhz oscillator. Yes, the twice !!!
Uh… this has some back effects to the real time clock… but the speed is here !
The printer case and the pocket pouch have being modified for the switch.
Third, there is a very nice update of the printer’s door.
A little black plastic strap help the opening.
Next time i will explain something very particular on this PC-1500.
Do you have an idea ???
The Tandy PC-2 was exclusively sold by Radio Shack, in shops or catalogs.
A big thanks to Mike from www.RadioShackCatalogs.com for allowing me to publish here some pages with the PC-2 !
First we have the General catalogs for 1983 and 1984.
It’s strange but there wasn’t any PC-2 in the 1982 one.
The start price was $279.95 for the pocket and $239.95 for the printer.
The printer’s carrying case was sold apart at $29.95
1983 : | 1984 : |
And we have the Computer catalogs for 1983 and 1984 too.
Nothing after 1984… definitely replaced by the PC-3 !
Uh, do you see the PC-2 color page 39 ? It’s light brown, like PC-1500…
Printing problem or does it really exist a non grey version ?
1983 RSC 08 page 38: | 1983 RSC 08 page 39: |
1983 RSC 09 page 116: | 1983 RSC 09 page 117: |
1984 RSC 10 page 57: | 1984 RSC 11 page 61: |
And here are the Additional catalogs from 1982 to 1984.
Yes ! 1982, this the first time on catalog for the PC-2.
But at the last catalog its price was $99.95 only !
Sale 1982 n°358: | Sale 1983 n°369: |
Sale 1983 n°370: | Sale 1983 n°371: |
Sale 1984 n°376: | Sale 1984 n°379: |
You can visit Mike’s website for more informations of Radio Shack’s story and to see these pictures in high resolution.