MK 14

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The original in the front, replicas in the back
Prototype of the MK14 by Ian Williamson at the center for computing history, Cambridge

The MK 14 is a home computer kit that was brought onto the market by the English provider Science of Cambridge from 1978. On July 25, 1961, Clive Sinclair founded his first company in Cambridge, UK : Sinclair Radionics Ltd. He initially produced hi-fi equipment, radios and pocket calculators, and renamed the company several times. In June 1978 he presented the MK 14 under the company name Science of Cambridge, a home computer kit for 39.95 British pounds .

hardware

The developers Ian Williamson and Chris Curry, who significantly controlled the project, chose the National Semiconductor Microprocessor ISP-8A / 600 called SC / MP , an abbreviation for "Simple Cost-effective Micro Processor" , for the easy-to-program CPU .

As standard, the system had 256 bytes of RAM (but could be expanded to 640 bytes) and 512 bytes of ROM . A keyboard with 20 keys enabled input and programming. An eight or nine-digit 7-segment display was used for output, a cassette drive could also be connected and the input / output ports were freely programmable.

Development and sale

For a comparatively low price, the buyer got a circuit board, the necessary chips and some documentation, a housing had to be made by himself. Nevertheless the computer was a relative success, the first production batch was sold out within a very short time. The MK 14 was manufactured until 1980 and sold between 15,000 and 50,000 times.

Chris Curry left the company in 1978 to found Acorn Computers with Hermann Hauser from Vienna . Your first product was System 1 . A few months later, Clive Sinclair realized the importance of computers and decided to offer a complete computer for less than £ 100. In 1979 planning began for the ZX80 , which appeared in 1980.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Sinclair: A Corporate History. In: Chris Owen, Planet Sinclair, rk.nvg.ntnu.no. 2003, accessed October 25, 2019 .
  2. ↑ a b c Sinclair MK 14. In: Thierry Schembri, Sylvain Bizoirre, Olivier Boisseau, Pierre-Emmanuel Chauvaud, old-computers.com. 2019, accessed February 13, 2020 .
  3. ^ Sinclair MK 14. In: Boris Jakubaschk, Ettlingen, homecomputermuseum.de. 2019, accessed October 25, 2019 .