The VC 50 was an

8-bit In computer architecture, 8-bit integers or other data units are those that are 8 bits wide (1 octet). Also, 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) and arithmetic logic unit (ALU) architectures are those that are based on registers or data bu ...

home computer Home computers were a class of microcomputers that entered the market in 1977 and became common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a s ...

produced in Brazil by the company ''Engetécnica'' (later called ''Varix'') between 1983 and 1985. It was one of the many clone machines based on the

TRS-80 Color Computer The RadioShack TRS-80 Color Computer, later marketed as the Tandy Color Computer, is a series of home computers developed and sold by Tandy Corporation. Despite sharing a name with the earlier TRS-80, the Color Computer is a completely different ...

introduced during the Brazilian "

Market Reserve Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market *Marketing, the act of sat ...

", like the Codimex CD-6809 or Prológica CP 400 COLOR.

History

Launched in 1983, the initial target audience for the VC50 was mainly agricultural companies,

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and

distilleries Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

. The machine, originally equipped with an integrated

floppy disk drive A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, a diskette, or a disk) is a type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined with a ...

and

numeric keypad A numeric keypad, number pad, numpad, or ten key, is the calculator-style group of ten numeric keys accompanied by other keys, usually on the far right side of computer keyboard. This grouping allows quick number entry with right hand, ...

, came to be used as a controller for industrial manufacturing processes and for financial and production calculations related to agriculture. ''Varixx'', formerly ''Engetécnica/Varix'', developed specific software packages for these usages (including for example of

sucrose Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula . For human consumption, sucrose is extracted and refined ...

content control or

freight In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in ...

price list generation). The machine faced competition from established business machines like the CP 500 and the

Sistema 700 Sistema 700 was a personal professional microcomputer, introduced by the Brazilian computer company Prológica in 1981. General information The machine was based on the Intertec Superbrain and had similar characteristics: based on the Zilog Z ...

, both from Prológica, as well as

Apple II Apple II ("apple Roman numerals, two", stylized as Apple ][) is a series of microcomputers manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1977 to 1993. The Apple II (original), original Apple II model, which gave the series its name, was designed ...

compatibles, having a limited success, with 500 to 1000 units sold. Despite intending to establish itself as a professional computer, the VC 50 also tried to compete with other Brazilian TRS-80 Color Computer clones, like the Prológica CP-400, CP 400. It was not successful due to the extra cost of the integrated floppy disk drive.

Technical features

The basic features of the VC 50 are similar to the TRS-80 Color Computer. * CPU:

Motorola 6809 The Motorola 6809 ("''sixty-eight-oh-nine''") is an 8-bit microprocessor with some 16-bit features. It was designed by Motorola's Terry Ritter and Joel Boney and introduced in 1978. Although source compatible with the earlier Motorola 6800, the ...

E, 890 kHz to 1.8 MHz * Memory: **

ROM Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...

: 16 KB (containing Varix BASIC) **

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: 64 KB * Keyboard: ** Built-in, 52-keys plus 12-keys keypad * Display:

Motorola 6847 The MC6847 is a Video Display Generator (VDG) first introduced by Motorola in 1978 and used in the TRS-80 Color Computer, Dragon 32/64, Laser 200, TRS-80 MC-10/ Matra Alice, NEC PC-6000 series, Acorn Atom, Gakken Compact Vision TV Boy an ...

, 9 colors ** Text mode (with 32 × 16 characters) ** Low resolution graphics (with 64 × 32 pixels) ** Medium and high resolution graphics (up to 256 × 192 pixels, 2 colors per pixel) * Expansion port (cartridges, disk interfaces, etc.) * Built in disk drive: 180K, single-sided * Other ports: **

Composite video Composite video, also known as CVBS (composite video baseband signal or color, video, blanking and sync), is an analog video format that combines image information—such as brightness (luminance), color (chrominance), and synchronization, int ...

monitor (

PAL-M PAL-M was the analog color TV system used in Brazil since early 1972, making it the first South American country to broadcast in color. It is unique among analog TV systems in that it combines the 525-line 30 frames-per-second System M ...

color TV using an external modulator) ** RS-232C serial port ** Analogue or digital joysticks ** Cassette recorder (1500

baud In telecommunications and electronics, baud (; symbol: Bd) is a common unit of measurement of symbol rate, which is one of the components that determine the speed of communication over a data channel. It is the unit for symbol rate or modulat ...

, with remote engine control)

History

Technical features

See also

References