Altair 680
The Altair 680 is an 8-bit personal computer created by MITS and first sold in May, 1976 as either fully assembled or as a kit computer. The computer was similar in appearance to the Altair 8800 before it with a comparable LED and switch interface on the front panel, though a noticeably smaller case. It also uses the same S-100 bus, but the key difference is that it's based on the cheaper Motorola 6800 CPU. It initially came with 1kB of RAM, but was eventually upgradable to 8kB, and Microsoft ported Altair BASIC to it. The computer never sold well and has become little more than a footnote in history. The 680s that were sold were known in their literature as model 680b because the original model, which was expected to be sold four months earlier, had problems and needed to be revised.
Contents
Personal
I only learned about the Altair 680 after reading about MITS and the Altair 8800. Since it too can't do much, I've never made any effort to use the computer.
Hardware
- Altair Disk Drive - The same 8.5" floppy disk drive that worked on the 8800 worked on the 680.
Software
Due to its lack of success, very little software was made for the Altair 680.
Applications
Games
- See all Altair 680 Games.
Media
Hardware
The Altair 680.
Documentation
Manual - Operator's Manual.
Manual - Theory of Operation.
Manual - Altair 680b - Assembly Manual.
Manual - Altair 680b - System Monitor Manual.
Manual - Altair 680b - I - Assembly Hints.
Manual - Altair 680b - II - Main PC Board Assembly.
Manual - Altair 680b - III - Display/Control Board Assembly.
Manual - Altair 680b - IV - Back Panel Assembly.
Manual - Altair 680b - V - Front Panel and Final Case Assembly.
Manual - Schematics.
Manual - Altair BASIC - Reference Manual.
Manual - Programming Manual.
Manual - Altair 680 Assembly Language Development System.
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