RARE 1976 VINTAGE SPHERE COMPUTER CPU And MEMORY BOARDS (EARLY PC) 6800
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:31085761 | Country/Region of Manufacture: United States |
| MPN: CPU/2 | Type: CPU/Processor |
| Brand: Sphere Computer | Vintage: Yes |
| UPC: Does not apply |
Offered is a lot of two circuit boards made by the Sphere Corporation of Bountiful, Utah, for their Sphere 1 and 2 computers. Some say they were the first true PC. These were offered either factory assembled or as kits, and the boards were also sold separately. They were very expensive at the time and not many were produced (about 1300).
The date codes I see on some of the chips indicate that these boards date from 1976, though the copyright date is 1975 on both boards. Th...ey appeared on the market in November, 1975, and the company lasted until 1977.
Both boards measure about 8 by 10 inches.
The CPU board is marked CPU/2 Module, which suggest this is for the Sphere 2 computer, an enhanced version of the Sphere 1.
Their brochure (search on Google) says this board offered a 6800 processor, 4K RAM, 1K EEPROM containing editor, assembler, debugger, BASIC, cassette loader, and utilities), a real-time clock, serial interface, and modem interface. I believe there was also a keyboard and monitor interface on this board, which was touted as a single-board computer.
This board originally cost $350 as a kit, and $520 assembled. A complete system could cost as much as $11, 300!
The memory board offers up to 16K of RAM, but is only populated with 4K.
These boards are in as-found condition. Some chips are missing, and many of the bypass capacitors are damaged on the memory board. The boards themselves appear to be undamaged.
Make no mistake, these are rarities, and well worth restoring to operating condition. A lot of documentation is available from the bitsavers site so this might not be as hard as it might seem.
This is an auction. These boards will sell to the high bidder. Sorry, but I am not taking offers.
Thank you for looking and good luck!
00290
The date codes I see on some of the chips indicate that these boards date from 1976, though the copyright date is 1975 on both boards. Th...ey appeared on the market in November, 1975, and the company lasted until 1977.
Both boards measure about 8 by 10 inches.
The CPU board is marked CPU/2 Module, which suggest this is for the Sphere 2 computer, an enhanced version of the Sphere 1.
Their brochure (search on Google) says this board offered a 6800 processor, 4K RAM, 1K EEPROM containing editor, assembler, debugger, BASIC, cassette loader, and utilities), a real-time clock, serial interface, and modem interface. I believe there was also a keyboard and monitor interface on this board, which was touted as a single-board computer.
This board originally cost $350 as a kit, and $520 assembled. A complete system could cost as much as $11, 300!
The memory board offers up to 16K of RAM, but is only populated with 4K.
These boards are in as-found condition. Some chips are missing, and many of the bypass capacitors are damaged on the memory board. The boards themselves appear to be undamaged.
Make no mistake, these are rarities, and well worth restoring to operating condition. A lot of documentation is available from the bitsavers site so this might not be as hard as it might seem.
This is an auction. These boards will sell to the high bidder. Sorry, but I am not taking offers.
Thank you for looking and good luck!
00290
