CBM 80xx series (1981)

Features

CPU: 6502 1 MHz
RAM: 32, 64 or 96 KB
ROM: 16 KB
Text Modes: 80 columns x 25 lines
Graphic Modes: none
Colors: Monochrome
I/O Ports: IEEE 488, Cassette
Keyboard: Full-stroke keyboard (“business keyboard”)
Built In Media: None
OS: ROM Based (ROM v4.0)
Built In Language: Commodore Basic (v4.0)

Usage

MESS emulates the following computers

cbm80 [Commodore 80xx (60Hz)]
cbm80pal [Commodore 80xx (50Hz)]
cbm80ger [Commodore 80xx (50Hz, German)]
cbm80swe [Commodore 80xx (50Hz, Swedish)]

For each systems, MESS supports

two datasettes, using “cassette1” (cass1) and “cassette2” (cass2) devices, for tapes in .tap and .wav format (currently not working)
two cart slots, “cartridge1” (cart1) and “cartridge2” (cart2), for cart dumps in .crt and .a0 format
two floppy drives, “floppydisk1” (flop1) and “floppydisk2” (flop2), for disk images in .d64 format.

Also notice that a “quickload” (quik) feature is available for .p00 and .prg files.

These systems require full keyboard emulation to work correctly. At startup, full keyboard emulation mode is enabled by default. Whilst in full keyboard emulation mode, some key associated functionality may be disabled (like the Esc key for EXIT). The keyboard emulation mode is toggled using the Scrl Lock key (by default).

Original Keyboard: QWERTY full-stroke keyboard

CRSR  STOP
    <-   1!   2"   3#   4$   5%   6&   7'   8(   9)   0     :*   -=   UP    L/R   RUN           7   8   9

                                                                        CRSR    DEL
    TAB    Q    W    E    R    T     Y    U    I    O    P    [    \    U/D    INST             4   5   6

	 SHIFT
ESC   LOCK   A    S    D    F     G     H    J    K    L   ;+    @     ]      RETURN            1   2   3

RVS                                                                                HOME
OFF   SHIFT     Z    X    C    V    B     N    M    ,<   .>   /?   SHIFT   REPEAT   CLR           0     .


                                   SPACEBAR

Known Issues

The emulation of these systems is Preliminary.

History and Trivia

The main improvement over the other PET / CBM computers is the 80-column display. The screen is 12” large and the ROM version is 4.0.

The CBM-80xx was often sold as a “bundle”. It was made up of the computer (most often the CBM 8032, though other models were made), the 5.25” double disk drive CBM 8050 (500 KB, 77 tracks) and the bi-directional 132-columns, 160 CPS printer. The 8050 has a 6502 CPU, 4 KB of RAM and 12 KB of ROM (which contains the DOS). It was sold with Ozz, a Database, and a version of the spreadsheet “Visicalc”.

(info from old-computers.com)