The IQ 151 was a

personal computer A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...

produced by ''ZPA

Nový Bor Nový Bor (; until 1948 Hajda, german: Haida) is a town in Česká Lípa District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The town is known for its glass industry. The historic town centre is well preserved an ...

'' in the former

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. It had a Tesla MHB8080A (copy of

Intel 8080 The Intel 8080 (''"eighty-eighty"'') is the second 8-bit microprocessor designed and manufactured by Intel. It first appeared in April 1974 and is an extended and enhanced variant of the earlier 8008 design, although without binary compatibil ...

)

CPU A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, and ...

running at 2 MHz, 32 KB

RAM Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * Ra ...

(later on 64 KB), 4 KB

ROM Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * R ...

, with

semigraphic Text-based semigraphics or pseudographics is a primitive method used in early text mode video hardware to emulate raster graphics without having to implement the logic for such a display mode. There are two different ways to accomplish the emu ...

text mode Text mode is a computer display mode in which content is internally represented on a computer screen in terms of characters rather than individual pixels. Typically, the screen consists of a uniform rectangular grid of ''character cells'', each ...

video output and the

BASIC BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College ...

programming language. The mainboard contained only CPU, supporting ICs and memory. Everything else was added by expansion modules, with five available slots. Like mentioned above, elementary expansion modules are ''Basic 6,'' a BASIC language interpreter and ''Video 32'',a video generator, producing 32 columns and 32 rows of text and

characters. Advanced expansion modules include V''ideo 64,'' allowing 64 x 32 character text display; ''Grafik,'' adding true 512 x 256 monochromatic graphics and ''Basic G,'' with additional graphical functions to BASIC; ''Pascal'', and editor and compiler of the

PASCAL Pascal, Pascal's or PASCAL may refer to: People and fictional characters * Pascal (given name), including a list of people with the name * Pascal (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** Blaise Pascal, Fren ...

programming language; ''Assembler'', a low level programming language; ''AD/DA'', a

ADC ADC may refer to: Science and medicine * ADC (gene), a human gene * AIDS dementia complex, neurological disorder associated with HIV and AIDS * Allyl diglycol carbonate or CR-39, a polymer * Antibody-drug conjugate, a type of anticancer treatm ...

/ DAC converter interface; ''MS 151'' and ''MINIGRAPH,'' a drivers for Czechoslovak

plotter A plotter is a machine that produces vector graphics drawings. Plotters draw lines on paper using a pen, or in some applications, use a knife to cut a material like vinyl or leather. In the latter case, they are sometimes known as a cutting pl ...

s ''XY4130'' and ''Aritma 0507; STAPPER'', a driver for a

punched tape Five- and eight-hole punched paper tape Paper tape reader on the Harwell computer with a small piece of five-hole tape connected in a circle – creating a physical program loop Punched tape or perforated paper tape is a form of data storage ...

unit; ''SESTYK,'' adding a

serial port In computing, a serial port is a serial communication interface through which information transfers in or out sequentially one bit at a time. This is in contrast to a parallel port, which communicates multiple bits simultaneously in parallel. ...

for networking and ''DISC 2, a''

controller Controller may refer to: Occupations * Controller or financial controller, or in government accounting comptroller, a senior accounting position * Controller, someone who performs agent handling in espionage * Air traffic controller, a person ...

for a 8"

floppy drive A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, or a diskette) is an obsolescent type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined w ...

using on an unlicensed

CP/M CP/M, originally standing for Control Program/Monitor and later Control Program for Microcomputers, is a mass-market operating system created in 1974 for Intel 8080/ 85-based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Inc. Initial ...

clone. Due to an

EPROM An EPROM (rarely EROM), or erasable programmable read-only memory, is a type of programmable read-only memory (PROM) chip that retains its data when its power supply is switched off. Computer memory that can retrieve stored data after a power s ...

address conflict, ''DISC 2'' couldn't be used with the ''Basic G'' or ''Pascal'' modules. It IQ 151 was primarily used in Czech schools, while in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

the

PMD 85 The PMD 85 is an 8-bit personal computer produced since 1985 by the companies Tesla Piešťany and Tesla Bratislava in the former Czechoslovakia. They were deployed ''en masse'' in schools throughout Slovakia (while the IQ 151 performed a simila ...

series was used instead. This computer was produced locally due to a lack of foreign

currency A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general def ...

with which to buy systems from

the West West is a cardinal direction or compass point. West or The West may also refer to: Geography and locations Global context * The Western world * Western culture and Western civilization in general * The Western Bloc, countries allied with NATO ...

. This computer had a persistent tendency to overheat under even a light workload and thus the common joke about it was "it's an excellent coffee mug heater." It also had a poor

membrane A membrane is a selective barrier; it allows some things to pass through but stops others. Such things may be molecules, ions, or other small particles. Membranes can be generally classified into synthetic membranes and biological membranes. B ...

in its keyboard, in comparison with slightly more advanced PMD 85. After the

fall of Communism The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...

in 1989, production of the IQ 151 was stopped, since it was not competitive in terms of price, quality or features compared to more modern computers.

References

External links

Information about IQ 151 at old-computers.com

Computer-related introductions in 1985 Home computers Z80-based home computers Science and technology in Czechoslovakia {{Compu-stub