A new machine has joined the collection: an original Commodore PET 2001. This is the early design, with the small chiclet keyboard and the cassette deck built into the case. The case has scuffs and marks, but all the parts are there.
// HISTORY
The PET (Personal Electronic Transactor) was designed by Chuck Peddle, who also designed the 6502 CPU. Commodore showed it in January 1977 and began shipping it later that year. Along with the Apple II and the TRS-80, it was one of the three machines of 1977 that sold computers to ordinary buyers ready to use, with no kit to build. It cost $795 for the 8K model.
The original PET was criticised for its tiny keyboard. In 1979 Commodore replaced it with the 2001-N, which had a full-size keyboard and an external cassette drive. That makes these first machines with the built-in deck especially collectable.
// SPECS
CPU ........ MOS 6502 @ 1 MHz
RAM ........ 4K or 8K
DISPLAY .... 9" monochrome CRT, 40x25 text, PETSCII graphics
STORAGE .... built-in cassette deck
BASIC ...... Commodore BASIC 1.0 (Microsoft)
I/O ........ IEEE-488, user port, second cassette port
KEYBOARD ... 73-key chiclet, with numeric keypad
// HOW IT WAS USED
The PET found a home in schools, especially in the UK and North America, where it introduced many students to programming. It was also used in small businesses and labs. Its IEEE-488 port made it a handy controller for scientific instruments. The PETSCII character set let people draw on screen with block graphics, and hobbyists used it to write early text and graphics games.
// WHAT'S NEXT
Here's the plan before it gets switched on:
[ ] clean the case and the chiclet keyboard
[ ] inspect the PSU and replace any suspect capacitors
[ ] power up on a variac and check the CRT
[ ] service the cassette deck and replace the belt
Progress updates will be posted here. For more vintage machines, see the hardware section.