Posts tagged "NEC PC-6001/PC-6601 series"
A home 8-bit computer series made by NEC after the success of the PC-8001.
![thumbnail for "Giving my PC-6001 a LIFT" thumbnail for "Giving my PC-6001 a LIFT"](/thumbnails/pc6001-aerial-emulator.png)
Giving my PC-6001 a LIFT
Most software for the NEC PC-6001 was sold on tape cassettes. Tapes are great, but they require a lot of patience. I do strongly prefer the modern conveniences of floppy disk and ROM cartridge. What do you mean those aren’t “modern?”
![thumbnail for "Why, you three-bit machine..." thumbnail for "Why, you three-bit machine..."](/thumbnails/pc-tv151-pc6601sr-world.jpg)
Why, you three-bit machine...
My NEC PC-6601SR “Mr.PC” has been a nearly permanent resident of my desk ever since it was repaired. This beautiful red computer works okay with a regular old VGA LCD monitor. So why did I pay a fortune to import a CRT monitor from Japan? There are two reasons. For one, it is the NEC PC-TV151 monitor that’s supposed to go with this computer. Also, it’s broken.
![thumbnail for "Becoming Mr.PC's Type" thumbnail for "Becoming Mr.PC's Type"](/thumbnails/mr-pc-keyboard-adapter-arduino-mini.jpg)
Becoming Mr.PC's Type
Like the Sharp X1turbo, the Mr.PC is also not very usable without a keyboard. It’s yet another way in which NEC copied Sharp.
![thumbnail for "That name again is Mr.PC" thumbnail for "That name again is Mr.PC"](/thumbnails/mr-pc-on-my-deck.jpg)
That name again is Mr.PC
Get ready to step into the cyberpunk future of the mid-late 1980s, and don’t forget to bring your boxed wine. NEC pulled out all the stops on this, their final PC-6001 computer. I have to pull out even more stops to get the disk drive to work.
![thumbnail for "Hearing the PC-6001 out" thumbnail for "Hearing the PC-6001 out"](/thumbnails/pc6001-volume-pot-side.jpg)
Hearing the PC-6001 out
When I first set up the PC-6001, I had to bring it back to life by replacing the shorted tantalum capacitors on the motherboard’s power rails. It’s such a great little machine! After some more testing, however, it became obvious that I was getting no sound out of the poor little thing.
![thumbnail for "Cleaning the keyboard on the PC-6001" thumbnail for "Cleaning the keyboard on the PC-6001"](/thumbnails/pc6001-keyboard-sunburnt.jpg)
Cleaning the keyboard on the PC-6001
When I first fixed the PC-6001, there were a few sticky keys on the keyboard. “H,” Left Shift, and - most importantly - Return were all bad to a certain extent. I could limp along with Ctrl-M for a little while to replace Return, but it was pretty awkward. How hard can it be to clean the keyboard?
![thumbnail for "PC-6001mkII, or, sometimes the sequel is better" thumbnail for "PC-6001mkII, or, sometimes the sequel is better"](/thumbnails/pc6001mkII-unboxed.jpg)
PC-6001mkII, or, sometimes the sequel is better
My PC-6001 came cheap because it was untested (and it did end up needing capacitor replacement), but the PC-6001mkII seems like it has always changed hands for a lot of money in Japanese collector circles, at least for as long as I’ve been paying attention to the prices. When I landed one for a great deal, I figured that there must be something wrong with it.
![thumbnail for "The circle of life - an NEC PC-6001 arrives, breaks, is fixed" thumbnail for "The circle of life - an NEC PC-6001 arrives, breaks, is fixed"](/thumbnails/pc6001-auction.jpg)
The circle of life - an NEC PC-6001 arrives, breaks, is fixed
Sure, I’ve got NEC PC-88s, I’ve got NEC PC-98s, but didn’t NEC make anything that was a little friendlier to the home user? By now, you should know better than to doubt our friends at the Electric Company. The NEC PC-6001 has a thriving homebrew scene around it in Japan to this very day, and is still fondly remembered. Let’s rip one open and stuff it with hot molten lead.