NEC PC-8001 & PC-6001¶
NEC's beginnings before the PC-88/98: the PC-8001 (1979), NEC's first successful computer (Z80, a business/hobby reference in Japan), and the PC-6001 (1981, the consumer "papa" — color VDG + PSG sound). Standard JP 8-bit repair: recap, keyboard, PSU.
NEC PC-6001 — photo by Darklanlan, CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons).
Identification¶
| Model | Year | CPU | Video / Sound | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC-8001 | 1979 | µPD780 (Z80) | text/graphics, mono | NEC's first hit; mkII 1983 |
| PC-6001 | 1981 | µPD780 (Z80) | MC6847 (VDG) + PSG AY-3-8910 | consumer, color ("PC-6001 mkII/SR") |
Media: cassette, floppy via external units (PC-8031…), cartridge (PC-6001); RF/composite (PC-6001), RGB/mono per model.
Clocks & frequencies ✅¶
| Component | Frequency | Role / scope |
|---|---|---|
| NEC μPD780C-1 | 4 MHz | CPU du PC-8001 — compatible Z80 ; 16 Ko de RAM extensible à 32 Ko |
| CPU du PC-6001 | (non relevée dans notre source) | — |
The PC-8001 uses a μPD780C-1, NEC's Z80 clone, at 4 MHz. ⚠️ The PC-6001's clock is not given by our source and is therefore not stated here.
Why this matters in repair
A clock that is missing or off-value on a frequency counter points straight at the crystal, its divider chain or the component it feeds — the fastest starting point on a machine that will not boot. Source: Wikipedia (CC-BY-SA).
Repair (technician)¶
- Recap (PSU + board) → Recap.
- Keyboard: contacts / membrane → clean.
- PSU: period regulation → service.
- Cartridge contacts (PC-6001): clean.
- Socketed RAM / ROM: substitution on a dead screen.
Modernisation & mods — what to buy, how¶
- Storage: cassette → audio 🟢 from a PC/phone; community SD solutions on the expansion bus 🟡; floppy → Gotek + FlashFloppy 🟡 on external-FDD configs (PC-8001 mkII + PC-8031).
- Video: RF output (PC-6001) → composite mod 🟡; RGB → OSSC/RGB2HDMI 🟢 for crisp digital.
- Reliability: recap 🟠; check battery/RTC if present; clean contacts.
⚠️ Do not host ROMs/games — method only.
See also¶
- NEC PC-88 / PC-98 (the lines that followed) · Tandy CoCo (same MC6847 VDG) · Recap.
Sources & attribution¶
- Photo NEC PC-6001 — Darklanlan, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NEC_PC-6001.jpg
- Wikipedia — PC-8001 / PC-6001 (Z80, MC6847, AY-3-8910) — CC-BY-SA — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC-8000_series
- Established JP retro community knowledge (recap, cassette) — 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Spotted a wrong value, an outdated procedure, a chip reference that does not match your board?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.
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