The Sharp PC-1500 was a

pocket computer A pocket computer was a 1980s-era user programmable calculator-sized computer that had fewer screen lines, Some had only one line and often fewer characters per line, than the Pocket-sized computers introduced beginning in 1989. Manufacturers i ...

produced by

Sharp Sharp or SHARP may refer to: Acronyms * SHARP (helmet ratings) (Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme), a British motorcycle helmet safety rating scheme * Self Help Addiction Recovery Program, a charitable organisation founded in 199 ...

between 1981 and 1985. A

rebadged In the automotive industry, rebadging is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. To allow for product differentiation without designing or engineering a new model or brand (at high cost or risk), a man ...

version was also sold as the

TRS-80 Pocket Computer The Tandy Pocket Computer or TRS-80 Pocket Computer is one of a line of 1980s small pocket computers—calculator-sized programmable computing devices—sold by Tandy Corporation under the "''Tandy''" or "''Radio Shack TRS-80''" brands. A ...

PC-2. The whole computer was designed around the LH5801, an

8-bit In computer architecture, 8-bit integers or other data units are those that are 8 bits wide (1 octet). Also, 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) and arithmetic logic unit (ALU) architectures are those that are based on registers or data buses of ...

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, an ...

similar to the

Zilog Zilog, Inc. is an American manufacturer of microprocessors and 8-bit and 16-bit microcontrollers. It is also a supplier of application-specific embedded system-on-chip (SoC) products. Its most famous product is the Z80 series of 8-bit microp ...

Z80 The Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor introduced by Zilog as the startup company's first product. The Z80 was conceived by Federico Faggin in late 1974 and developed by him and his 11 employees starting in early 1975. The first working samples were ...

, but all laid-out in power-saving CMOS circuits. Equipped with 2KB of on-board RAM, the

programming language A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs. Most programming languages are text-based formal languages, but they may also be graphical. They are a kind of computer language. The description of a programming l ...

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 ...

. Later German engineers provided an

assembler Assembler may refer to: Arts and media * Nobukazu Takemura, avant-garde electronic musician, stage name Assembler * Assemblers, a fictional race in the ''Star Wars'' universe * Assemblers, an alternative name of the superhero group Champions of A ...

for the machine. Later even a

C compiler This page is intended to list all current compilers, compiler generators, interpreters, translators, tool foundations, assemblers, automatable command line interfaces ( shells), etc. Ada Compilers ALGOL 60 compilers ALGOL 68 compilers cf. ...

followed. An external slot is available and accepts memory (from 4 KB to 32 KB) and ROM modules. Eight versions of this pocket computer with 2 KB memory: *Sharp PC-1500 - Japanese version (1981) *Sharp PC-1500 - Japanese version with blue paint around LCD. Known as PC-1500D (1984) *Sharp PC-1500 - European, Australasian and North American version (1982) *Sharp PC-1500 RP2 - Brazilian version (1982) *HiradasTechnika PTA-4000 - Hungarian licence. *HiradasTechnika PTA-4000+16 - Hungarian licence (with internal 16 KB memory extension) *Tandy TRS-80 PC-2 *Nanfeng PC-1500A - Chinese license (CKD assembly from Japanese components) Two versions with 8 KB memory: *Sharp PC-1501 - Japanese rework with 8 KB memory (1984) *Sharp PC-1500A - Western rework with 8 KB memory (1984)

Technical specifications

*156×7 pixel LCD *Integrated speaker *Integrated RTC *Memory/cartridge slot *60-pin expansion port for printer and tape drive *Battery slot (4×AA) *Connector for external power supply (Official adaptor is Sharp EA-150, rated at 500 mA at 9 V, comes with the CE-150 printer interface.)

Accessories

*CE-150 4-colour printer/plotter and cassette interface in travel case. Known as KA-160 with PTA-4000. *CE-151 4 KB memory module *CE-152 Cassette recorder (as external storage) (same as General Electric 3-5160A) *CE-153 Software board *CE-154 Wallet dedicated to PC-1500 + CE-150 + CE-152 + CE-153 *CE-155 8 KB memory module *CE-156 Tape with

Katakana is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji and in some cases the Latin script (known as rōmaji). The word ''katakana'' means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana characters are derived f ...

software *CE-157 4 KB memory module with

CR2032 A button cell, watch battery, or coin battery is a small single-cell battery shaped as a squat cylinder typically in diameter and high — resembling a button. Stainless steel usually forms the bottom body and positive terminal of the cell; i ...

battery data backup and Katakana chars ROM *CE-158 Communication dock with

RS-232C In telecommunications, RS-232 or Recommended Standard 232 is a standard originally introduced in 1960 for serial communication transmission of data. It formally defines signals connecting between a ''DTE'' ('' data terminal equipment'') suc ...

and parallel interface with (4 rechargeable, shrink-wrapped, permanently built-in) NiCd battery ( AA) as additional power supply for the computer. *CE-159 8 KB memory module with CR2032 battery data backup *CE-160 7.6 KB read only memory module with CR2032 battery data backup *CE-161 16 KB memory module with CR2032 battery data backup *CE-162E Tape and parallel port interface *CE-163 32 KB (2x16 KB) dual-page memory module with CR2032 battery data backup. Only one page (16 KB) can be accessed at a time, switchable via the following command in PROG mode: Page 0 nterPOKE&5804,0 nter Page 1 nterPOKE&5804,1 nter

Related Sharp pocket computers

* Sharp PC-1210 *

Sharp PC-1211 The Sharp PC-1211 is a pocket computer marketed by Sharp Corporation in the 1980s. The computer was powered by two 4-bit CPUs laid out in power-saving CMOS circuitry. One acted as the main CPU, the other dealt with the input/output and display int ...

* Sharp PC-1251 * Sharp PC-1500 * Sharp PC-1500A upgrade version with 8 KB onboard RAM * Sharp PC-1501 Japanese version of PC-1500A * Sharp PC-1600 with more memory and larger multi-line LCD display and more graphics capabilities

BASIC compatibility with early models

Some earlier model PC-1500s will show a value 1 less in the FOR...NEXT counter on exiting the loop compared to later PC-1500s and the PC-1600. For example: 10 FOR K=1 TO 10 20 NEXT K 30 PRINT K K will be set to 11 on later model PC-1500s and PC-1600s, but will be 10 on early PC-1500s. Consider this example: 10 S=0 20 FOR K=1 TO 10 STEP 4 30 S=S+1 40 NEXT K 50 PRINT S S will be set to 3 on later model PC-1500s and PC-1600s, but will be 4 on early PC-1500s. Early model PC-1500s evaluate IF...THEN statements differently. The behaviour can be summarised thus: An early model PC-1500 can be detected by using the command: PEEK&C5C0. If the value returned is 6, it is an early model.

Example program in BASIC

1 ARUN 10 5 REM "PC1500 VAT Program:" 10 INPUT "Price: ";P 20 PRINT P;" ";P*V;" ";P*V*M 30 GOTO 10 40 END The PC-1500 allows special abbreviations, and the syntax can also look as follows: 20 PRINT P;" ";PV;" ";PVM

Usage of variables

P = Purchase Price V = VAT (%/100) - To be input by hand before calculation begins, e.g.: V=1.14 (''Enter'') M = Markup (%/100) - To be input by hand before calculation begins, e.g.: M=1.15 (''Enter'')

Display of the answers are as follows

Answer1; Answer2; Answer3 Purchase Price; VAT Price; Sales Price Value: P; Value: P*V; Value: P*V*M

Program description

Significance

The design of initial prototypes of EMKE series of public transport cash registers were built around customized versions of the PC-1500 and its Hungarian clone PTA-4000. The series production models used almost exclusively in Hungarian regional and national bus services up to present day, are built around a version designed by EMKE and are heavily influenced by the PC-1500 design.

Emulation

With the ''SHARP PC-1500A emulator'' and the ''PockEmul'' you can emulate a PC-1500A.

References

External links

Sharp ProgrammablesPC-1500 Data SheetSharp PC-1500 computer (TRS-80 PC-2) resource pagepc-1500.info Sharp computer (and clones) resource sitewww.promsoft.com/calcs
Sharp Pocket Computers
PockEmul
- is a Sharp Pocket Computer emulator.

SHARP PC-1500A Emulator {{Authority control PC-1500 PC-1500