SCELBI was an early model of microcomputer
A microcomputer is a small, relatively inexpensive computer having a central processing unit (CPU) made out of a microprocessor. The computer also includes memory and input/output (I/O) circuitry together mounted on a printed circuit board (PC ...
based on the Intel 8008 processor. The company SCELBI (derived from SCIentific-ELectronics-BIology) Computer Consulting in 1973, by Nat Wadsworth. The SCELBI 8H was marketed in 1974 and was delivered either as an assembled unit or as a kit, with five basic circuit boards and provision for memory expansion to 16 kB (16,384 bytes). The company offered input/output devices including a keyboard, teleprinter interface, alphanumeric oscilloscope interface, and a cassette tape interface for data storage. The basic system only used a front panel
A front panel was used on early electronic computers to display and allow the alteration of the state of the machine's internal registers and memory. The front panel usually consisted of arrays of indicator lamps, digit and symbol displays, ...
with 11 switches and LEDs for input and output.
The company also offered a version of the BASIC programming language
BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College i ...
that ran on the platform, called SCELBAL
SCELBAL, short for SCientific ELementary BAsic Language, is a version of the BASIC programming language released in 1976 for the SCELBI and other early Intel 8008 and 8080-based microcomputers like the Mark-8. Later add-ons to the language inclu ...
. Optional modules for strings and transcendental functions allowed the system to operate in small memory configurations. SCELBAL was sold in book format, allowing it to be used on any similar 8008 or 8080 based platform.
The initial model 8H was discontinued at the end of 1974 and an improved model 8B was introduced. Fewer than 150 board sets and assembled systems were ever sold.http://history-computer.com/ModernComputer/Personal/Scelbi.html SCELBI 8H, retrieved November 12, 2018 Later in 1975, the availability of systems based on the more flexible 8080 processor reduced demand for the slower 8008-based product. The company discovered that the demand for books on microcomputers was very high and published several books; the publishing business was sold in 1982.
See also
*Mark-8
The Mark-8 is a microcomputer design from 1974, based on the Intel 8008 CPU (which was the world's first 8-bit microprocessor). The Mark-8 was designed by Jonathan Titus, a Virginia Tech graduate student in Chemistry. After building the machine, ...
*MCM/70
The MCM/70 was a pioneering microcomputer first built in 1973 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and released the next year. This makes it one of the first microcomputers in the world, the second to be shipped in completed form, and the first portable com ...
*Micral
Micral is a series of microcomputers produced by the French company Réalisation d'Études Électroniques ( R2E), beginning with the Micral N in early 1973. The Micral N was the first commercially available microprocessor-based computer.
In 1986, ...
*List of early microcomputers
This is a list of early microcomputers sold to hobbyists and developers. These microcomputers were often sold as "DIY" kits or pre-built machines in relatively small numbers in the mid-1970s. These systems were primarily used for teaching the us ...
References
External links
SCELBI Computer Museum
Video history of SCELBI Computer Consulting
Early microcomputers {{microcompu-stub