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Philips VG-5000

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Philips VG-5000
Philips VG5000 (Service sa manual cover drawing)
The VG5000, from the cover of the Service sa service manual
Specifications
ManufacturerPhilips (made by Radiotechnique, Le Mans)
TypeHome computer
ReleasedOctober 1984 (France)[1]
CPUZilog Z80A, 4 MHz[2][3]
Memory16 KB RAM (14 KB for the user) and 8 KB video RAM[4]
StorageCassette recorder on a DIN socket[4]
DisplayThomson EF9345P video processor; RGB and sync on a SCART (péritel) DIN socket[2][4]
Sound—
ROM16 KB, Microsoft BASIC[4]
PowerExternal VU-0022 supply: 5 V 1.1 A and 12 V 150 mA, regulated[4][3]
OS / Firmware—

The Philips VG-5000 (VG5000µ) is a Z80-based home computer built in France and launched there in October 1984. It was sold under the Philips, Radiola and Schneider names, plugs into a television through a SCART socket and stores programs on cassette.[1] It runs a 16 KB Microsoft BASIC from ROM, and its display is generated by a Thomson EF9345P video processor with its own 8 KB of memory.[4][2]

History

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Wikipedia gives the launch as 1 October 1984 in France at 1990 francs. The machine was made in Le Mans by Radiotechnique, and production ended in 1986. It was aimed at schools and was not compatible with other computers, although it shares its power supply connector, cassette interface and cartridges with the Philips VG 8000.[1] The service manual covers the VG5000/18, /19 and /39, with a different cabinet assembly part number for each.[2]

Hardware

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Main board components (Service sa manual)
Position Part Function
7800 Z80A CPU, 4 MHz
7801 EF9345P Video processor, clocked at 12 MHz from crystal 1000
7802 µPD23128C 16 KB ROM (BASIC)
7803 µPD4168-20C 8 KB video RAM
7804, 7805 4168 2 × 8 KB system RAM
7806 to 7814 74LS138, 74LS156, 74LS244, 74LS04, 74LS08, 74LS00, 7404, 74LS74 Decoding (7806, 7807, 7810 to 7812), keyboard (7808, 7809), SCART adaptation (7810, 7813), CPU block (7814)
7900, 7901 BC548B SCART adaptation

[2][5][6][3]

Philips VG5000 block diagram (Service sa manual)
The VG5000 block diagram from the Service sa service manual.

The machine has two boards: the main board, and a small cassette interface board that also handles sound, joined by a ribbon cable. The keyboard rests on two foam-covered ledges and plugs into the main board by its own ribbon cable.[7] The cassette board carries a 74LS175, an LM311 comparator and a 74LS125, with transistors 7132 (BC548B), 7133 and 7134 (BC636).[2][8]

The service manual gives a 64-key AZERTY keyboard; Wikipedia gives 63 keys.[4][1] Most of the main chips are in sockets, which makes it practical to test a suspect chip by swapping it with one from a working machine.[7][2]

Connections

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Connectors (Service sa manual, page 6)
Connector Type Pins
Power (alimentation) 5-pin DIN 1 not connected, 2 -12 V, 3 +5 V, 4 +12 V, 5 ground
SCART (péritélévision) 8-pin DIN 1 fast switching, 2 ground, 3 blue, 4 sync, 5 red, 6 slow switching, 7 audio, 8 green
Cassette (magnétophone) 8-pin DIN 1, 2, 3 and 8 ground, 4 microphone, 5 line, 6 and 7 remote (REM)
Expansion 2 × 25-way edge connector Address and data bus, control lines, +5 V, +12 V and -12 V

[9][4][3]

The VU-0022 supply's own circuit diagram numbers its output pins differently from the main board drawing; see Philips VG-5000 Troubleshooting Guide before connecting any other supply.[10][9]

Power supply

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The VG5000 has no internal supply. The external VU-0022 is a switch-mode unit with a TEA1039 controller and a BUX84 switching transistor, giving +5 V, +12 V and -12 V; the same supply served the VG 8000 and VG 8010.[10][11] The service manual specifies 5 V at 1.1 A and 12 V at 150 mA, and a current draw of no more than 900 mA at 5 V for the computer.[4][3]

Expansion

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Schneider VG 5216 memory extension on a VG5000
A Schneider-badged VG 5216 16 KB memory extension in the expansion connector (photo: Vg5000, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Wikipedia lists the VY-0030 cassette recorder, the VG 5200 joystick interface, the VU-0011 RF modulator, the VU-0022 power supply, the VG 5216 and VU-0031 16 KB memory extensions (the VG 5216 with joystick and printer ports) and three printers among the peripherals.[1]

Maintenance and repair

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References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Wikipedia, "Philips VG5000". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philips_VG5000
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Service sa, Micro-ordinateur VG5000/18/19/39, p. 2: parts lists for the main board and the cassette interface. Hosted as File:Philips VG5000 Service Manual 4811 740 17312.pdf.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Service sa, Micro-ordinateur VG5000/18/19/39, p. 10: Contrôle de la platine principale. Hosted as File:Philips VG5000 Service Manual 4811 740 17312.pdf.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 Service sa, Micro-ordinateur VG5000/18/19/39, service manual EV 84-12, 4811 740 17312, 1984, p. 1: Caractéristiques. Hosted as File:Philips VG5000 Service Manual 4811 740 17312.pdf.
  5. ↑ Service sa, Micro-ordinateur VG5000/18/19/39, p. 3: Schéma synoptique. Hosted as File:Philips VG5000 Service Manual 4811 740 17312.pdf.
  6. ↑ Service sa, Micro-ordinateur VG5000/18/19/39, pp. 7 and 8: Schéma de l'unité centrale (RAM 7804 and 7805, 8K 4168). Hosted as File:Philips VG5000 Service Manual 4811 740 17312.pdf.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 VG 5000 Bazar, "Dépanner son VG5000", version 1.0 of 7 December 2015, revised 24 July 2018. http://vg5000bazar.free.fr/html/depannage/vg5000.htm
  8. ↑ Service sa, Micro-ordinateur VG5000/18/19/39, p. 4: Schéma interface cassette. Hosted as File:Philips VG5000 Service Manual 4811 740 17312.pdf.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Service sa, Micro-ordinateur VG5000/18/19/39, p. 6: Implantation côté composants, with connector pinouts. Hosted as File:Philips VG5000 Service Manual 4811 740 17312.pdf.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Philips, Service Manual, External power supply VU-0022, 4822 727 15121, p. 3: circuit diagram. Hosted as File:Philips VU-0022 Power Supply Service Manual 4822 727 15121.pdf.
  11. ↑ Internet Archive, item ServiceManualVU0022, description listing the computers that used the VU-0022. https://archive.org/details/ServiceManualVU0022


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