Very Rare 1978 The SuperElf Single - Board Computer By Quest Electronics Vintage
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:31110248 | Model: Super Elf |
| MPN: Does Not Apply | Type: Home Computer |
| Brand: Quest Electronics | UPC: Does not apply |
Very Rare The SuperElf Single-Board Computer by Quest Electronics
Very nice condition. Found in the original box, with manual. Everything looks to be in perfect condition including the speaker. I didn't power up it. The person I purchased this from said he hadpowered it up a few years ago and it work great. He also said thathe stored this inside his house in his safe. Which leads me to believe that the computer did not have to go through ...weather andcondensation.
This is a very rare find. These SuperElf Computer boards were soldin the back pages of Popular Mechanics in the late 1970's. I believethey were originally sold for $100 plus the shipping. When it arrive, the buyer was expected to put it together. The computer museumis the only place I can find one of these.
Please see photos for content and physical condition.
The SuperElf single-board computer was made by Quest Electronics. It was an improvement of the Netronics Elf and Elf II training boards, also based on the RCA 1802, one of the first RISC microprocessors.
The board also featured an 1861 video chip that was closely tied ot the 1802 to generate a video image of 128x64 dots.
Two, four or six 7-segment Led display could be used.
Its hexadecimal keyboard allowed programs to be entered and controlled more efficiently thanks to 8 function keys:
I - Input
L - Load mode
R - Reset
G - Go (run mode)
W - Wait (processor clock could be stopped)
M - enable Monitor ROM
S - Single step
P - Protect memory
The main board had connections for a speaker (and a circuit to drive the speaker). Sound was entirely software driven as the hardware simply had a single digital output bit (Q) tied to an LED and also to the speaker.
An optional expansion board could be added, providing serial port (software driven), cassette interface (also software driven), 1 KB ROM monitor, optional 2K tiny basic, 4 KB RAM. 2 S-100 slots where additional static memory or a video board could be used. Along with a Super Monitor, there where two versions of pitman's tiny basic, one that used the 1861 video chip and another that used a 64 characters x16lines s-100 video board.
The cassette's output used the same 'Q' output used for audio on the main board, which meant that you heard all of your data as it was written out to cassette.
The 9 LEDs along the left side of the keypad indicate the state of the 'Q' output, the current operating mode (Load, Reset, Run, Wait) as well as the current state of the CPU (Fetch, Execute, DMA, Interrupt).
eBay policies leave me with no choice but to mark each of myauctions with a “no return” policy. Thisis being done to protect me against returns such as (buyer’s remorse). Afterusing the item for days and weeks, the buyer can submit a return and is notobligated to reimburse the seller for shipping charges and I have to pay forshipping charges back. Even though it ismarked a “no return, “a buyer can still submit a return if the item was not asdescribed or the item was damaged during shipping. Also, I do not need an eBay policy to do whatis right and accept the item back if it wasn’t as described or damaged duringshipping. Keep in mind, that I mainlysell vintage computers and vintage computer accessories. That said even though the box/item may notshow damage, the internal mechanism may have been damaged or jarred from arough truck and/or plane ride. I willwork with ALL my customers to resolve the problem. Recently, I have had to take back items wherethe buyer didn’t check with mom/dad, husband/wife, or God prior to buying anddid a return. eBay forced me to take theitem back. Personally, I do not thinkthat this is an acceptable way to return items. Many of the sellers on here are just trying to provide for theirfamilies and this kind of previous return is not fair to the seller. We are not Walmart or Costco that cannotabsorb these financial damages. Again, I will work with all my costumers to ensure that they are happy with the itemthey purchased. Thank you for you patronage.
Very nice condition. Found in the original box, with manual. Everything looks to be in perfect condition including the speaker. I didn't power up it. The person I purchased this from said he hadpowered it up a few years ago and it work great. He also said thathe stored this inside his house in his safe. Which leads me to believe that the computer did not have to go through ...weather andcondensation.
This is a very rare find. These SuperElf Computer boards were soldin the back pages of Popular Mechanics in the late 1970's. I believethey were originally sold for $100 plus the shipping. When it arrive, the buyer was expected to put it together. The computer museumis the only place I can find one of these.
Please see photos for content and physical condition.
The SuperElf single-board computer was made by Quest Electronics. It was an improvement of the Netronics Elf and Elf II training boards, also based on the RCA 1802, one of the first RISC microprocessors.
The board also featured an 1861 video chip that was closely tied ot the 1802 to generate a video image of 128x64 dots.
Two, four or six 7-segment Led display could be used.
Its hexadecimal keyboard allowed programs to be entered and controlled more efficiently thanks to 8 function keys:
I - Input
L - Load mode
R - Reset
G - Go (run mode)
W - Wait (processor clock could be stopped)
M - enable Monitor ROM
S - Single step
P - Protect memory
The main board had connections for a speaker (and a circuit to drive the speaker). Sound was entirely software driven as the hardware simply had a single digital output bit (Q) tied to an LED and also to the speaker.
An optional expansion board could be added, providing serial port (software driven), cassette interface (also software driven), 1 KB ROM monitor, optional 2K tiny basic, 4 KB RAM. 2 S-100 slots where additional static memory or a video board could be used. Along with a Super Monitor, there where two versions of pitman's tiny basic, one that used the 1861 video chip and another that used a 64 characters x16lines s-100 video board.
The cassette's output used the same 'Q' output used for audio on the main board, which meant that you heard all of your data as it was written out to cassette.
The 9 LEDs along the left side of the keypad indicate the state of the 'Q' output, the current operating mode (Load, Reset, Run, Wait) as well as the current state of the CPU (Fetch, Execute, DMA, Interrupt).
eBay policies leave me with no choice but to mark each of myauctions with a “no return” policy. Thisis being done to protect me against returns such as (buyer’s remorse). Afterusing the item for days and weeks, the buyer can submit a return and is notobligated to reimburse the seller for shipping charges and I have to pay forshipping charges back. Even though it ismarked a “no return, “a buyer can still submit a return if the item was not asdescribed or the item was damaged during shipping. Also, I do not need an eBay policy to do whatis right and accept the item back if it wasn’t as described or damaged duringshipping. Keep in mind, that I mainlysell vintage computers and vintage computer accessories. That said even though the box/item may notshow damage, the internal mechanism may have been damaged or jarred from arough truck and/or plane ride. I willwork with ALL my customers to resolve the problem. Recently, I have had to take back items wherethe buyer didn’t check with mom/dad, husband/wife, or God prior to buying anddid a return. eBay forced me to take theitem back. Personally, I do not thinkthat this is an acceptable way to return items. Many of the sellers on here are just trying to provide for theirfamilies and this kind of previous return is not fair to the seller. We are not Walmart or Costco that cannotabsorb these financial damages. Again, I will work with all my costumers to ensure that they are happy with the itemthey purchased. Thank you for you patronage.
