View source for Engineering:SWTPC 6800

{{Infobox information appliance
| name         = SWTPC 6800 Computer System
| logo         = SWTPC logo.svg
| image        = SWTPC6800 Computer.jpg
| caption      = 
| developer    = Southwest Technical Products Corporation (SWTPC)
| manufacturer = SWTPC
| release date = {{Start date|1975|11}}
| price        = {{USD|450|1975|round=-2}}
| discontinued = 
| units sold   = 
| media        = 
| os           = 
| power        = 
| cpu          = Motorola 6800
| memory       = 4&nbsp;KB (stock)
| storage      = 
| graphics     = ASCII [[Computer terminal|terminal]] output
| sound        = 
| dimensions   = {{convert|6.75|x|15|x|15.375|in|cm}}
| weight       = 
}}
The '''SWTPC 6800 Computer System''', simply referred to as '''SWTPC 6800''', is an early [[Microcomputer|microcomputer]] developed by the Southwest Technical Products Corporation and introduced in 1975. Built around the Motorola 6800 microprocessor from which it gets its name, the SWTPC 6800 was one of the first microcomputers based around that microprocessor.<ref name=Miller1995>{{cite journal | last=Miller | first=Leslie | date=June 27, 1995 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/306716342/ | title=Loyal users cling to comfortable old computers | journal=USA Today | publisher=Gannett Company | page=4D | via=ProQuest}}</ref> It is the progenitor of the widely used and broadly supported [[Engineering:SS-50 bus|SS-50 bus]]. The SWTPC 6800 became one of the most popular 6800-based systems of its time, owing to its ease of use and ample documentation. Though rudimentary, the [[Software:MIKBUG|MIKBUG]] [[Software:Resident monitor|resident monitor]] built into [[Read-only memory|ROM]] allows the immediate entry of program data after power-up, as opposed to other microcomputers of its day which required bootstrapping such software. Southwest Technical Products introduced the SWTPC 6800 in November 1975 for US$450 ({{inflation|US|450|1975|fmt=eq|r=-2}}) in [[Engineering:Electronic kit|kit]] form only. Any contemporary ASCII [[Computer terminal|terminal]] can be used to interface with the SWTPC 6800.<ref name=Nadeau2002>{{cite book | last1=Nadeau | first1=Michael | date=2002 | url=https://archive.org/details/collectiblemicro0000nade/page/128/ | title=Collectible Microcomputers | edition=Illustrated | series=Schiffer Book for Collectors | page=122 | publisher=Schiffer Publishing | isbn=9780764316005 | via=the Internet Archive}}</ref> SWTPC sold their own television-set-based terminal, for $275; a crude dot-matrix printer was another optional accessory, for $250.<ref name=Miller1995 />
[[File:SWTPC6800 open.jpg|thumb|Diagram of the SWTPC 6800's internals]]
Southwest Technical Products followed up the 6800 with the S/09 in 1979 and the 69/K, 69/A, and 69/56 in 1980. All four replaced the Motorola 6800 processor of the original with its successor the 6809. The SWTPC 6800 can be converted to a S/09 with a system board kit sold by Southwest Technical Products, which is also compatible with existing 6800 peripherals and cards; while the 69/K, 69/A, and 69/56 features a redesigned system board and chassis that is incompatible with the 6800. The 69/K was sold as a kit, while the 69/A and 69/56 came pre-assembled (the latter featuring 56&nbsp;KB of [[Random-access memory|RAM]] as opposed to the 69/A's 8&nbsp;KB).<ref>{{cite journal | format=Advertisement | date=July 1979 | url=https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerWorld1979-07/page/80/ | title=The World's Most Powerful 8-bit Microcomputer | journal=Personal Computer World | publisher=Intra Press | volume=2 | issue=3 | page=80 | via=the Internet Archive}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last=Stark | first=Peter A. | date=July 1980 | url=https://archive.org/details/kilobaudmagazine-1980-07/page/n101/ | title=Thoughts on the SWTP Computer System | journal=Kilobaud Microcomputing | volume= | issue= | pages=100–108 | via=the Internet Archive}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | format=Advertisement | date=February 1980 | url=https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1980-02/page/n1/ | title=We Have a 6809 for You | journal=Byte | publisher=McGraw-Hill | volume=5 | issue=2 | page=i | via=the Internet Archive}}</ref>

==Specifications==
{| class=wikitable
|+ SWTPC 6800 specifications<ref>{{cite web | last= | first= | date=2012 | url=https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/16739/SWTPC-6800/ | title=SWTPC 6800 Computer | publisher=The Centre for Computing History | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508111739/https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/16739/SWTPC-6800/ | archivedate=May 8, 2022}}</ref>
! Date introduced !! [[Engineering:Microprocessor|Microprocessor]] !! Clock speed<br />({{abbr|kHz|Hertz}}) !! Stock [[Random-access memory|RAM]]<br />size ({{abbr|KB|kilobyte}}), width !! Dimensions
|-
| 1975 || Motorola 6800 || 980 || 4&nbsp;KB, 8-bit || {{convert|6.75|x|15|x|15.375|in|cm}}
|}

==See also==
* Chieftain, a clone by [[Company:Smoke Signal Broadcasting|Smoke Signal Broadcasting]]
* [[Software:FLEX (operating system)|FLEX (operating system)]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://deramp.com/swtpc.html Information and documentation on the SWTPC 6800] at DeRamp
[[Category:Early microcomputers]]


{{Sourceattribution|SWTPC 6800}}