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Sharp MZ-2000

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Sharp MZ-2000
Sharp MZ-2000
An MZ-2000 at the UEC Communication Museum, Tokyo, with its built-in green monitor and vertical cassette deck (photo: Darklanlan, CC BY 4.0)
Specifications
ManufacturerSharp
TypePersonal computer with built-in monitor and cassette deck
Released1 July 1982 (Japan)[1]
Intro price218,000 yen[1]
CPUSharp LH0080A (Z80A), 4 MHz[2]
Memory64 KB RAM, 2 KB text VRAM; graphics VRAM optional, 16 KB per page up to 48 KB[2]
StorageBuilt-in cassette deck, 2,000 bit/s; floppy disk drives through the expansion I/O port[2][3]
DisplayBuilt-in 10-inch green CRT, 80 × 25 or 40 × 25 text; optional 640 × 200 graphics, in colour on an external RGB monitor[2]
SoundSpeaker driven from a single output port bit, up to 400 mW[2][3]
ROM2 KB IPL ROM, 2 KB character generator ROM[2]
PowerAC 100 V ±10 %, 50/60 Hz, about 50 W[2]
Dimensions440 × 490 × 262 mm (W × D × H)[2]
WeightAbout 13 kg[2]
OS / FirmwareIPL in ROM; BASIC (MZ-1Z001) loaded from tape or disk at switch-on[4]
SuccessorSharp MZ-2200

The Sharp MZ-2000 is an 8-bit personal computer that Sharp released in Japan on 1 July 1982, at 218,000 yen. It has a Z80A processor at 4 MHz, 64 KB of RAM, a 10-inch green monitor and an electromagnetic cassette deck in one case with the keyboard.[1][2] It replaced the MZ-80B and keeps its design: only the initial program loader (IPL) is in ROM, and BASIC or any other system is loaded from tape or disk when the machine is switched on.[3] Sharp's owner's manual for the MZ-2000 includes the full circuit diagrams of the computer, its display, cassette deck and power supply.[5]

History

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Sharp announced the MZ-2000 at Microcomputer Show '82, held from 26 to 29 May 1982, and sold it from 1 July 1982.[1] It succeeded the MZ-80B, with which it is compatible at BASIC level; the MZ-80B was kept on sale as the MZ-80B2 with graphics RAM fitted.[3] With the MZ-1200, it was the last of Sharp's all-in-one MZ models.[3] Its successor, the Sharp MZ-2200 of 1983, is a separate-component version with the graphics memory and expansion unit built in and no monitor or cassette deck.[3][6]

Hardware

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Sharp's specification lists the following parts on the CPU board: the LH0080A (Z80A) processor, an LH0081A (Z80A-PIO), the 8253 timer and 8255 parallel interface, a 2 KB IPL ROM, a 2 KB character generator ROM, eight 64 Kbit dynamic RAMs, 2 KB of video RAM, and two Sharp custom chips, the LZ90D01 CRT controller and the LZ90D02 memory controller.[2] Counters 0, 1 and 2 of the 8253 form the built-in clock.[7] The LZ90D01 runs from a 16 MHz crystal on the CPU board.[8]

Graphics are an option. The MZ-1R01 graphics board carries the LZ90D03 colour graphics controller and the first 16 KB page of graphics RAM; each MZ-1R02 adds another page of eight 16 Kbit RAMs, up to three pages (48 KB).[2] The board fits directly above the CPU board.[9] Without the MZ-1R01 the machine has no colour output at all, even for text, because the chip that produces the colour signals is on that board.[3]

The power supply (Sharp unit DBOXD0044PAZZ) has a mains transformer with a thermal fuse, two TL494 switching regulators for +5 V and +12 V, a 7815 regulator for +15 V and a 7805-type regulator arranged for −5 V.[10] The display unit uses a 10-inch E2728B31 tube with 90° deflection and runs from 12 V, with the speaker amplifier on the same board.[2][11]

The cassette deck is solenoid operated. A TC9121P controller and a TD62003 driver work its play, fast forward, rewind and eject solenoids from the computer, and the deck has its own record and playback head, erase head and tape-end sensor.[12] Four keys below the deck (rewind, fast forward, stop and eject) act on the motor and eject mechanism directly and work whatever the computer is doing; a green READ lamp and a red WRITE lamp show the deck's activity, and a button beside the tape counter resets it.[13]

Connections and controls

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  • Rear, left: the mains inlet (a figure-eight socket) with the power switch above it.[1]
  • Rear, right: the RESET and IPL buttons, the volume and brightness knobs and an 8-pin DIN socket for a colour monitor.[1]
  • Rear: a bay for the MZ-1U01 expansion I/O port, closed by a cover when the unit is not fitted.[1] The MZ-1U01 holds four boards, two of them in slots sized for the printer and floppy interfaces, and has its own auxiliary power supply.[3][14]

Starting up

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At switch-on the IPL starts. With no tape in the deck it opens the deck lid and shows Make ready CMT; inserting the BASIC tape and closing the lid starts loading, with IPL is looking for a program and then IPL is loading BASIC MZ-1Z001 on screen. The BASIC tape takes about two minutes to load, and the tape is rewound automatically at the end.[4] With a floppy disk interface fitted, the IPL boots from drive 1 first; holding C while switching on loads from tape instead.[4]

Known problems

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  • The cassette deck's pinch roller deteriorates with age and its rubber can melt.[3][15]
  • The oil damper on the cassette lid can leak. Ohishi, who keeps an MZ-2000 in his collection, replaced the damper and fitted the lid of an MZ-1T01 data recorder.[16]
  • Ohishi also describes an internal monitor whose picture became distorted while an external monitor worked; a new CRT board did not cure it, and fitting another tube did.[17]

Diagnosis and repair are covered in the guides below.

Documentation

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  • Sharp MZ-2000 Owner's Manual: Sharp's Japanese owner's manual, with operating instructions, setting up of the options, hardware description, full circuit diagrams and specifications.
  • The Internet Archive holds the same owner's manual together with the BASIC/Monitor Manual and the Disk BASIC Manual.[18]

Repair guides

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  • MZ-2000 at the UEC Communication Museum (Darklanlan, CC BY 4.0)
    MZ-2000 at the UEC Communication Museum (Darklanlan, CC BY 4.0)
  • Upper cabinet raised on its support arm (Sharp owner's manual, figure 3-2)
    Upper cabinet raised on its support arm (Sharp owner's manual, figure 3-2)
  • Power supply circuit (Sharp owner's manual, figure 4-18)
    Power supply circuit (Sharp owner's manual, figure 4-18)
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References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 MZ-80Bがグレードアップして登場！シャープの一体型PC「MZ-2000」– Sasaki Jun, AKIBA PC Hotline! (Impress), 13 April 2021—link(accessed 2026-10-21) Announced at Microcomputer Show '82 (26 to 29 May 1982) and released on 1 July 1982 at 218,000 yen; Z80A at 4 MHz with 64 KB all-RAM address space; software-controlled electromagnetic cassette deck; MZ-1R01 graphics board (39,800 yen) and MZ-1R02 memory (8,000 yen each) for 640 × 200 eight-colour graphics on an external display, and an Oh!MZ tip that eight 4116-2 16 Kbit DRAMs could stand in for an MZ-1R02; the front of the upper case lifts like a car bonnet and is held by a support arm set into a hole in the base; 10-inch green monitor as on the MZ-80B; graphics board mounted above the CPU board; rear panel with a figure-eight mains inlet, power switch, RESET and IPL buttons, volume and brightness knobs and an 8-pin DIN colour monitor socket, and a space for the MZ-1U01 closed by a rear cover.
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 Sharp, MZ-2000 Owner's Manual (Japanese) (File:Sharp MZ-2000 Owner's Manual.pdf), appendix A.3, specifications, printed pages 149 and 150 (PDF pages 150 and 151): LH0080A (Z80A) at 4 MHz; 2 KB IPL ROM and 2 KB character generator ROM; 64 KB dynamic RAM; 10-inch green CRT, 8 × 8 characters, 40 × 25 or 80 × 25; optional graphics of 320 × 200 or 640 × 200 dots, colour with the extended BASIC; sound up to 400 mW (440 Hz); 92 keys; built-in clock; cassette at 2,000 bit/s by Sharp PWM; AC 100 V ±10 %, 50/60 Hz, about 50 W; 0 to 35 °C; about 13 kg; 440 × 490 × 262 mm. CPU board: LH0080A, LH0081A (Z80A-PIO), IPL ROM, character ROM, eight 64 Kbit RAMs, 2 KB video RAM, LZ90D01 CRT controller, LZ90D02 memory controller, 8253, 8255 and 18 other ICs. Colour graphics board (option): LZ90D03, eight 16 Kbit RAMs (16 KB) per page, up to 48 KB. Power supply: AC 100 V ±10 % in, 5 V, −5 V, 12 V and 15 V out. Display: 10-inch E2728B31 tube with 90° deflection, 15.75 kHz horizontal and 60 Hz vertical, DC 12 V supply, 11.0 kV at zero beam current; controls Volume, Contrast, Brightness, V-Hold, H-Hold and Focus; 8 cm, 32 Ω speaker. Cassette: PWM recording, two-track mono, 4.75 cm/s, 12 V electronic-governor motor.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 MZ-2000, Wikipedia (Japanese)—link(accessed 2026-10-21) Successor to the MZ-80B, with BASIC-level compatibility; MZ-80B2 sold alongside; with the MZ-1200, the last of the all-in-one MZ designs; only the IPL in ROM ("clean computer"); at power-on the deck lid opens and "Make Ready CMT" is shown; the cassette deck's pinch roller material does not age well and the rubber can melt; MZ-1U01 expansion unit with its own auxiliary supply, with two general and two dedicated slots; MB8876 floppy controller with 35- or 70-track formats; full circuit diagrams in the Owner's Manual; MZ-2200 released 17 July 1983 with graphics memory and colour BASIC as standard, separate monitor and data recorder, an expansion unit without the auxiliary supply, IPL, reset and volume moved to a front pocket; MZ-1T02 data recorder whose pinch roller melts with age; sound is one I/O port bit switching the speaker high or low, with the volume set by a knob on the back.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Sharp, MZ-2000 Owner's Manual (File:Sharp MZ-2000 Owner's Manual.pdf), section 2.1, initial program loading, printed pages 15 to 18 (PDF pages 16 to 19): with no tape the cassette lid opens and "Make ready CMT" is shown; "IPL is looking for a program", then "IPL is loading BASIC MZ-1Z001"; loading takes about two minutes and the tape is rewound when the IPL ends; with a floppy interface fitted the disk takes priority; hold C at switch-on to load from tape; if drive 1 is not ready the IPL asks for F (floppy) or C (cassette) and then a drive number; BREAK during a tape load rewinds the tape; the IPL loads the first file of mode OBJ and gives "File mode error" if it finds another type first; holding / at start-up boots from a memory board on the I/O port.
  5. ↑ Sharp, MZ-2000 Owner's Manual (File:Sharp MZ-2000 Owner's Manual.pdf), section 4.4, "MZ-2000 circuit diagrams", printed pages 62 to 76 (PDF pages 63 to 77): CPU board in five parts, CRT display control, cassette tape deck control and power circuit; MZ-1R01 graphics board control and RAM blocks; MZ-1U01 expansion I/O motherboard and its power circuit.
  6. ↑ パソコン戦国時代に第一線で走り続けた「シャープ MZ-2200」– Sasaki Jun, AKIBA PC Hotline! (Impress), 1 June 2021—link(accessed 2026-10-21) Announced 23 May 1983 as the MZ-2000's successor with the colour graphics and I/O unit fitted as standard; 128,000 yen; fully software compatible with the MZ-2000.
  7. ↑ Sharp, MZ-2000 Owner's Manual (File:Sharp MZ-2000 Owner's Manual.pdf), section 4.3.2, signals around the 8253, printed page 57 (PDF page 58): counters 0, 1 and 2 of the 8253 act as the built-in clock.
  8. ↑ Sharp, MZ-2000 Owner's Manual (File:Sharp MZ-2000 Owner's Manual.pdf), figure 4-12, CPU board (2), printed page 64 (PDF page 65): crystal X1 (16 MHz) and IC20 (40H004) feeding IC21 (LZ90D01); IC17 2 KB SRAM (TMM-2016-1) video RAM; IC14 2 KB mask ROM; connector CN2 to the display with SOUND, SYNC, VIDEO, GND and +12 V, and C1 (100 µF 16 V) on the +12 V line.
  9. ↑ Sharp, MZ-2000 Owner's Manual (File:Sharp MZ-2000 Owner's Manual.pdf), section 3.1, setting up the graphics board and expansion I/O port, printed pages 36 to 41 (PDF pages 37 to 42): switch off and unplug; remove the two fixing screws under the keyboard; lift the upper part (CRT display and cassette deck) gently from the front and support it on the arm drawn from its underside, set in the hole in the lower cabinet (figure 3-2); do not switch on with the upper part raised, as circuit parts can be damaged and there is a risk of electric shock; do not leave screws or other metal inside; the graphics board fits directly above the CPU board; the MZ-1U01 fits at the rear in place of the rear cover held by two screws, plugs into the CPU board's edge connector through connector E, and its power connector F plugs into connector G on the main unit's power supply primary board.
  10. ↑ Sharp, MZ-2000 Owner's Manual (File:Sharp MZ-2000 Owner's Manual.pdf), figure 4-18, power circuit, printed page 70 (PDF page 71); also File:Sharp MZ-2000 power supply circuit (owner's manual).png: power unit DBOXD0044PAZZ; mains socket SO101, switch SW101, fuse F101 (T1A), C101 and C102 (0.047 µF 125 V AC), line filter L101 (Z0005), transformer T101 (P0079PA) with thermal fuse T.F, and a second socket wired after the switch, fuse and filter; −5 V from FR1, D1 (V03C), C1 (470 µF 16 V), IC1 (µPC7805H or TA78005AP), C3 (100 µF 10 V) and R1 (1 kΩ); +15 V from IC41 (µPC7815H or TA78015AP) with C42 (100 µF 25 V); +12 V from bridge D41 (S4VB10), fuse F41 (T2.0A), C45 and C46 (2200 µF 35 V), TL494CN IC42, transistors Q41 (A770Y) and Q42 (A673C), choke L41 (Z0007), diode D42 (CTB24), C48 (3300 µF 16 V), C49 (33 µF 35 V) and VR41 (1 kΩ); +5 V from bridge D21 (S4VB10), fuse F21 (T2.0A), C22 and C23 (2200 µF 25 V), TL494CN IC21, Q21 (A770Y), Q22 (A673C), L21 (Z0027), D22 (CTB24), C25 (4700 µF 10 V), C26 (33 µF 35 V) and VR21 (1 kΩ); output connector +15 V, +12 V, GND, +5 V, with −5 V on a separate lead.
  11. ↑ Sharp, MZ-2000 Owner's Manual (File:Sharp MZ-2000 Owner's Manual.pdf), figure 4-16, CRT display control, printed page 68 (PDF page 69): input connector with sound, sync, video, GND, E and +12 V; fuse F01 (2 A) on the +12 V input; vertical IC I2001 (RH-IX0015TA); horizontal output transistor Q2006 (2SC681A); flyback transformer T2002 (RTRNF2015TA); tube 2728B31; audio IC I2002 (RH-IX0243PA) driving a 32 Ω speaker; contrast, brightness, volume, V-hold, V-size, V-lin, H-hold and focus controls.
  12. ↑ Sharp, MZ-2000 Owner's Manual (File:Sharp MZ-2000 Owner's Manual.pdf), figure 4-17, cassette tape deck control, printed page 69 (PDF page 70): controller IC7 (TC9121P); solenoid driver IC1 (TD62003) for the play, fast-forward, rewind and open solenoids; LS123 one-shots; LM324 read amplifier; G2V-2 relay; erase head and record/playback head; photo sensor; supply decoupling C22 (100 µF 16 V) on 12 V, C23 (100 µF 25 V) on 15 V and C24 (100 µF 16 V) on 5 V.
  13. ↑ Sharp, MZ-2000 Owner's Manual (File:Sharp MZ-2000 Owner's Manual.pdf), section 2.2.5, cassette tape deck control keys, printed page 30 (PDF page 31): REW and FF (each lights an LED), STOP and EJECT; the keys act on the motor and eject mechanism directly and work regardless of the computer's mode; READ lamp green, WRITE lamp red; reset button beside the tape counter; reading and writing are under software control.
  14. ↑ Sharp, MZ-2000 Owner's Manual (File:Sharp MZ-2000 Owner's Manual.pdf), figures 4-23 and 4-24, MZ-1U01 expansion I/O unit and its power circuit, printed pages 75 and 76 (PDF pages 76 and 77): connectors CN1 to CN4; power unit DBOXD0048PAZZ with transformer T1 fed with AC 100 V from the MZ-2000, bridge D1 (S4VB), fuse (T2A), C1 and C4 (2200 µF 35 V), TL494CN IC1, C3 (33 µF 35 V), C7 (3300 µF 10 V) and a +5 V output.
  15. ↑ MZ-80B/2000エミュレータ関係, 気まぐれページ (Takky)—link(accessed 2026-10-21) The author's own MZ-2000 was retired after the tape pinch roller melted.
  16. ↑ MZ-2000, Nibbles lab. シャープ博物館 (Ohishi)—link(accessed 2026-10-21) Owner's page: a service engineer repaired the cassette deck, then found a shaft on the deck chassis broken and replaced the chassis; oil leaking from the cassette lid's oil damper is a trouble particular to the MZ-2000, and the owner replaced the damper and fitted the lid from an MZ-1T01; specifications.
  17. ↑ MZ-2000モニタ交換計画, Nibbles lab. (Ohishi)—link(accessed 2026-10-21) Owner's account: the machine powered up but did nothing; when the power cord came out the 5 V fuse blew; a new fuse did not cure it; a main board said to come from an MZ-2200 was fitted and the IPL message appeared, but distorted on the internal monitor while an external colour monitor was normal; according to the manual only 12 V is wired to the CRT; the power supply capacitors showed no bulging and are glued down; changing the CRT board did not help; replacing the picture tube cured it; detaching the lead on the side of the tube and soldering the board's earth wire take some care.
  18. ↑ Personal Computer MZ-2000 Manuals, Internet Archive—link(accessed 2026-10-21) MZ-2000 BASIC/Monitor Manual, Disk BASIC Manual and Owner's Manual (Sharp, 1982), scanned PDFs.


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