Intellec

The Intellec computers were a series of early microcomputers Intel produced in the 1970s as a development platform for their processors.[1] The Intellec computers were among the first microcomputers ever sold, predating the Altair 8800.[2] The first series of Intellecs included the Intellec 4 for the 4004, the Intellec 4 Mod 40 for the 4040, the Intellec 8 for the 8008, and the Intellec 8 Mod 80 for the 8080.[2]

Intel Intellec 4 Mod 40
Intel Intellec 4 Mod 40
DeveloperIntel[1]
Release date1970s[2]
MediaFloppy disk, paper tape[2]
CPUIntel 4040
Dimensions7 in. x 17 in. x 14 in.[2]
Mass30 lbs.[2]

The Intellec 4 and 8 were introduced at the June 1973 National Computer Conference in the New York Coliseum.[3] The Intellec computers were sold to the general public, and a very limited number were built. The Intellec 8 retailed for $2,395.[2]

The Intellecs have resident monitors stored in ROMs.[3] The Intellec 8 supported a Teletype operating at 110 baud, a high speed punched paper tape reader[4] and a CRT terminal at 1200 baud.[5]

Intel did not market the Intellec as a general-purpose microcomputer, but rather as a development system. As the first microprocessors were intended to run embedded systems such as in calculators, computer terminals and digital watches, the Intellec was used for programming programmable memory chips used by embedded systems, e.g. the 2048-bit (256-byte) Intel 1602A programmable read-only memory (PROM) or erasable 1702A EPROM chips which were plugged into a ZIF socket on the Intellec-8's front panel.[6][7][8] The chip-programming socket is the green device in the lower right corner of the Intellec's front panel.

Intel also marketed the Intellec microcomputer development system as a system for developing other OEM microcomputers.[9][10]

See also

References
  1. Intellec 8/Mod 80 Microcomputer Development System Reference Manual (PDF), Intel, 1975, archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-06-26, retrieved 2015-06-25
  2. Crosby, Kip (January 1994). "DAWN OF THE MICRO: Intel's Intellecs" (PDF). The Analytical Engine. Computer History Association of California. 1 (3): 10. ISSN 1071-6351.
  3. "Bare-bones and stand-alone microcomputers to bow". Electronics. 1973-05-24. p. 130.
  4. Intel Microcomputer Peripherals: imm8-90 Intellec 8 High Speed Paper Tape Reader Google Docs.
  5. Intellec 8 Bare Bones 8 and Microcomputer Modules Google Docs.
  6. Freiberger & Swaine (2000). Fire in the Valley: The Making of The Personal Computer (Second Edition), McGraw Hill, ISBN 0-07-135892-7.
  7. imm8-76 PROM Programmer Module Google Docs.
  8. Intel Silicon Gate MOS 1602A/1702A 2048-bit electrically programmable read only memory Google Docs.
  9. "Intellec: A new, easy, and inexpensive way to develop microcomputer systems" (PDF).
  10. "Intellec 8 Bare Bones 8 and Microcomputer Modules".
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