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Other Japanese computers (niche)

The rare / niche Japanese machines outside the big lines. Generic 8-bit repair & modernisation at the bottom, with a pointer to the Methods hub.

Catalogue

Machine Year CPU Notable for
Casio PV-2000 1983 Z80A "Casio-tron", TMS9918-like + SN76489, cartridge
Casio FP-1100 1983 Z80 (+ sub-CPU) business-oriented, expandable
Hitachi Basic Master (MB-6880…) 1978 6800 one of the very first JP micros (6800, rare)
Toshiba Pasopia (7 / IQ…) 1981 Z80 Toshiba's pre-MSX line; Pasopia IQ = MSX
Bandai RX-78 1983 Z80A Gundam theme, cartridge, a curiosity
Tomy Tutor / Pyuuta 1982 TMS9995 consumer, TMS9918 VDP, Japanized

Already detailed: Sord M5, NEC PC-6001/8001, plus the big lines MSX, X68000, X1/MZ, PC-88/98, FM Towns, FM-7.

Repair & modernisation (generic 8-bit)

  • Recap (PSU + board) → Recap; mains RIFA → replace.
  • Cartridge contacts (Casio/Bandai/Tomy): clean (the #1 "won't start" cause).
  • TMS9918/9995 VDP + SN76489: diagnose by substitution; the VDP is shared with MSX/Coleco → RGB mods (an F18A replacement for crisp VGA/RGB).
  • Modern storage: multi-game cartridges; cassette → audio; community SD interfaces.
  • Video: RF → composite mod; RGB → OSSC/RGB2HDMI.

⚠️ Do not host ROMs/games — method only. A machine deserves its own page? Just ask.

See also

Sources & attribution

  • Wikipedia — Casio PV-2000, Hitachi Basic Master, Toshiba Pasopia, Bandai RX-78, Tomy Tutor — CC-BY-SA — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casio_PV-2000
  • Established JP retro community knowledge (contacts, VDP, recap) — synthesis.

Review & corrections

How this space is used

Spotted a wrong value, an outdated procedure, a chip reference that does not match your board? Say so here, with what you observed (model, board revision, serial number, measurement). Every report is cross-checked against a source before anything changes — an unverifiable correction is published as “reported by …, not cross-checked” rather than silently applied.

Reading is open to everyone; posting requires signing in with Discord. Reports from the wiki's declared reviewers are handled first; anyone else's are read too, but go through a human before anything is changed.