The Sharp MZ 80K
(Acquired 3-00 )
Back in 1980 the MZ80K was one of the most common system in the UK striving for third position in the market place behind the TRS80-1 / Video Genie
The MZ80K is an integral unit having video display and cassette unit built in to the keyboard housing. It uses a Sharp LH-0080 processor ( Z80A Compatible) with a clock speed of 2 MHz . There is a 10" monochrome display showing 25 x 40 characters or 80 x 50 pixels. The system also has a considerable number of graphic characters. The keyboard is a none standard layout and uses 79 keys. The system has an integral speaker with three octave tone generator and comes with 20K of RAM in its basic form . There is no resident high level language - this has to be loaded from cassette or optional disk. There is however a 4K monitor ROM. The system can be expanded internally to 48K. An expansion interface allows up to five peripherals to be connected - disk, printer RS232C etc.
The price of a MZ80K in 1980 was £460 + VAT (Value Added Tax)