The Matsushita JR series was a line of microcomputers produced by Matsushita Electric Industrial (now Panasonic) during the 1980s. Based on the success of the Sharp MZ and NEC PC-8000 series, it was an attempt by Matsushita to enter the personal computer market.
The JR series included four computer models: the JR-100, the JR-200, the JR-300 and the JR-800.
JR-100
The JR-100 was released on November 21st, 1981 with a price of 54,800 yen. Like the Hitachi Basic Master and Sharp MZ-80, it was a low-performance, low-priced personal computer offering basic semi-graphic character based graphics, a monochrome display, and minimal sound ability. The CPU was an 8-bit Panasonic MN1800A NMOS microprocessor (compatible with the Motorola MC6802, a slightly improved version of the Motorola MC6800) running at a slow 0.89 MHz, and it came with 16 KB of RAM (expandable to 32 KB).
Specifications: CPU: MN1800A (MC6802 compatible) Clock speed: 890 KHz RAM: 16-32 KB ROM: 8 KB Graphics: Monochrome; 32x24 text characters; 64x48 semi-graphic characters with 8x8 pixel matrix Sound: Internal speaker Connections: Monitor, Expansion, Tape (Frequency-shift keying encoding with 1200Hz for space and 2400Hz for mark; 600 baud) OS: JR-BASIC 1.0
JR-200
The JR-200 is made of silver grey plastic, and has a black matte area around the chiclet keyboard area. It used the same MN1800A CPU as the previous model, but added a second processor, the 4-bit MN1544CJR, which is used for I/O and contains 128 bytes of RAM plus four kilobytes of ROM.
The computer received favorable reviews on its launch. Creative Computing wrote "The Panasonic JR-200 is one of the nicest new computers to make the scene in some time."
A version of the JR-200 called the Panasonic JR-200U was developed for the North American and European markets and was announced in January 1983.
Specifications: CPU: MN1800A + MN1544 Clock speed: 890 KHz RAM: 36 KB ROM: 16 KB Graphics: 8 colors (black, blue, red, magenta, green, cyan, yellow, white); 256x192; 32x24 text characters; 64x48 semi-graphic characters with 8x8 pixel matrix Sound: 3 voices, 5 octaves, square wave. Generated by the MN1271 sound, I/O and timer chip. Connections: Composite and RF video, expansion, tape (600/2400 bauds), printer port, floppy drive, joystick OS: JR-BASIC 5.0
JR-300
The JR-300, released in 1984, was completely redesigned in comparison with the earlier JR-100 and JR-200 models. The JR-300 had a Zilog Z80A CPU as well as a second MN1800A CPU to allow backwards compatibility with the JR-200.
Specifications: CPU: MN1800A + Z80A Clock speed: 4 MHz RAM: 82 KB ROM: 40 KB Graphics: 8 colors; 640x200; 320x200; 640x400 Sound: Yamaha 8910 (3 voices, 5 octaves) Connections: RGB, Composite and RF video, sound out, expansion, tape (600/2400 bauds), printer port, floppy drive, joystick OS: JR-BASIC 5.0, Extended Basic
JR-800
A handheld model called JR-800 was launched in 1983 with a price of 128,000 yen, but it was not compatible with the previous JR computers. It was based around a Hitachi HD63A01V CPU (MC6801 compatible) running at 4.9152 MHz, with 16 KB of RAM, and featured a 192x64 pixel LCD screen.
Specifications: CPU: HD63A01V Clock speed: 4.9152 MHz RAM: 16 KB ROM: 16 KB Graphics: monochrome LCD, 32x8 characters; 192x64 pixels Connections: tape, RS-232, printer, sound OS: BASIC
Character set
The table below shows the semigraphics character set available on the Matsushita JR series, as shown on the operations manual. Characters are rendered using modern equivalents, the exact hardware font it not simulated.
See also
JR-BASIC
Panasonic JR-200
Sharp MZ
PC-8000 series
References
External links
The Pocket Computer Museum entry on the National JR-800 handheld computer
BINARIUM museum entry on the Panasonic JR-100 (German language)