NAME  

8080

MANUFACTURER  

IMSAI

TYPE  

Home Computer

ORIGIN  

U.S.A.

YEAR  

Start of 1976

BUILT IN LANGUAGE 

None

KEYBOARD  

None, front panel switches are used to program the system

CPU  

Intel 8080A (rarely 8080)

SPEED  

2 MHz (each instruction takes 4 clock cycles)

RAM  

256 bytes

ROM  

Unknown

TEXT MODES 

Depending on the video terminal used (optional 64 x 12 card)

GRAPHIC MODES 

None

COLORS  

None

SOUND  

No speaker in the case

SIZE / WEIGHT 

Unknown

I/O PORTS 

I/O port

BUILT IN MEDIA 

None

OS  

Unknown

POWER SUPPLY 

Built-in power supply unit

PERIPHERALS  

S-100 cards

PRICE  

$439 kit, $621 assembled (1976) - $599 kit, $931 assembled (1977)

NAME  

8080

 

IMSAI 8080

IMSAI 8080

 After seeing the instant success of the MITS ALTAIR 8800 computer, the first "home computer" ever made, others soon tried their luck in this new business space. One of the first to do so was Bill Millard who founded IMS Associates.

The computer they designed, the IMSAI 8080, was very similar to the Altair 8800 and was designed to run the same software. However, it was a much better design, with a higher specification power supply, an


anodized aluminum chassis, 22 slots on the S-100 bus, and a great front panel design.

The IMSAI 8080 aimed to take advantage of the Altair's popularity, the inability of MITS to meet a growing demand for the product, and the need to improve on some of the internal components. Like the Altair, the IMSAI came either in kit form, or preassembled at the factory.

At the production starting, the IMSAI was shipped deliberately missing many parts in the kit version, because the company hadn't received them yet. But since IMSAI promised delivery by a certain date, they shipped them anyway!

Like the Altair system, there were no keyboard but a front panel and switches used to program the system. The LED's blinked, depending of the values found on the address and data buses. One could manually stop the CPU, single step the CPU, and read and write to memory locations.

In the end, the IMSAI outlasted the Altair by several years. Owners were delighted to see it featured in the 1984 movie "War Games", with Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy. Through the years, it has remained a much-beloved design amongst vintage computer collectors, and newly manufactured parts and documentation are still available!