Sharp MZ-6500
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| The MZ-5600, the export version of the MZ-6500, on the cover of Sharp's service manual; no photograph of a Japanese MZ-6500 was found | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Sharp Corporation |
| Type | 16-bit personal computer |
| Released | 1984 (Japan) |
| Intro price | 650,000 yen (MZ-6541) to 1,048,000 yen (MZ-6546A) |
| CPU | Intel 8086 at 8 MHz (5 MHz selectable); optional 8087 |
| Memory | 512 KB RAM, up to 640 KB (MZ-6500); 256 KB, up to 512 KB (MZ-5600); 96 KB video RAM, up to 192 KB |
| Storage | Two 5.25-inch 640 KB floppy drives, or one with a 10 MB or 20 MB hard disk |
| Display | Bit-mapped, up to 640 × 400, 8 colours; multi-window display controller |
| Sound | Sound generator through a built-in speaker |
| OS / Firmware | CP/M-86; MS-DOS optional |
| Predecessor | Sharp MZ-5500 |
The Sharp MZ-6500 is a 16-bit personal computer that Sharp released in Japan in 1984 as a faster successor to the Sharp MZ-5500, aimed at computer-aided design and computer-aided instruction. It runs its 8086 at 8 MHz and was sold with two floppy drives or with a hard disk. Sharp sold it outside Japan as the MZ-5600.[1][2]
Models
[edit | edit source]| Model | Year | Storage | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| MZ-6541, MZ-6541A | 1984 | Two 5.25-inch drives | 650,000 yen |
| MZ-6545, MZ-6545A | 1984 | One drive and a 10 MB hard disk | 998,000 yen |
| MZ-6546A | One drive and a 20 MB hard disk | 1,048,000 yen | |
| MZ-6541B | Two drives; keyboard with Japanese conversion keys | ||
| MZ-6541C | 1985 | Two drives; memory and kanji ROM on the main board | 498,000 yen |
| MZ-6546C | 1985 | One drive and a 20 MB hard disk | 798,000 yen |
| MZ-6551, MZ-6556 | 1988 | 80286 processor, upright case, 3.5-inch drives | 430,000 yen (MZ-6551) |
| MZ-5631, MZ-5641, MZ-5645 (export) | One drive; two drives; one drive and a 10 MB hard disk |
Hardware
[edit | edit source]Sharp's service manual for the export MZ-5600 gives an 8086-2 at 8 MHz with an optional 8087-2, an 80C49 keyboard controller, 16 KB of IPL ROM, 256 KB of system RAM (a further 256 KB in the expansion unit) and 96 KB of video RAM (a further 96 KB on a RAM board). The bit-mapped display runs at up to 640 × 400 in eight colours, with up to four windows. Standard interfaces are a Centronics printer port, two RS-232C channels, a battery-backed real-time clock, the sound generator and a floppy controller for up to four drives. The MZ-5645 has a 10 MB hard disk as standard.[3] Sharp's technical reference adds that the 8 MHz processor can be switched to 5 MHz to run software written for the MZ-5500.[4] The service manual covers 120 V and 200 V versions of the power supply.[5]
Power supply
[edit | edit source]The supply uses a mains transformer with switching regulators on the secondary side. Two MB3759 controllers switch +5 V and +12 V at 50 kHz from a 29 V DC rail, and a series regulator gives −12 V. For the MZ-5631, MZ-5641 and MZ-5645 Sharp rates it at 10.8 A on +5 V, 3.9 A on +12 V and 0.15 A on −12 V. An ALARM signal resets the processor when the supply fails.[5][6] Maintenance and fault-finding are covered in the Sharp MZ-6500 General Maintenance and Sharp MZ-6500 Troubleshooting Guide.
Self check
[edit | edit source]The IPL ROM contains a self check of the RAM, the ROM and the floppy drives, started by setting section 2 of the system DIP switch underneath the system unit. Results are reported by beeps and messages on the screen.[7] The full procedure is in the Troubleshooting Guide.
Known faults
[edit | edit source]No fault reports for the MZ-6500 or MZ-5600 were found in the sources consulted. Sharp's own fault-finding for the power supply and the self-check error codes are in the Sharp MZ-6500 Troubleshooting Guide.
Documentation
[edit | edit source]- Sharp MZ-5600 Service Manual: Sharp's service manual for the MZ-5600, with the power supply procedure, self check, circuits and parts lists (File:Sharp MZ-5600 Service Manual.pdf).
- Sharp MZ-5500 and MZ-5600 Technical Reference: Sharp's internal hardware reference for both series (File:Sharp MZ-5500 and MZ-5600 Technical Reference Vol. 2.pdf).
- Sharp MZ-5600A Diagnostic Manual: Sharp's manual for the disk-based service check program (File:Sharp MZ-5600A Diagnostic Manual.pdf).
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Sharp MZ-6500 General Maintenance
- Sharp MZ-6500 Troubleshooting Guide
- Sharp MZ-6500 Capacitor Replacement Guide
- Sharp MZ-5500
Gallery
[edit | edit source]-
Power supply board circuit of the MZ-5600 (Sharp service manual)
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References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 MZ (コンピュータ), Wikipedia (Japanese)—link(accessed 2026-10-21) MZ-6500/MZ-6500A: released 1984; clock raised to 8 MHz; 512 KB of memory (up to 640 KB); sold for CAD and CAI. MZ-6541/MZ-6541A: two 5.25-inch drives, 650,000 yen. MZ-6545/MZ-6545A: one drive and a 10 MB hard disk, 998,000 yen. MZ-6546A: one drive and a 20 MB hard disk, 1,048,000 yen. MZ-5600: the overseas model of the MZ-6500 (MZ-5631 one drive; MZ-5641 two drives; MZ-5645 one drive and a 10 MB hard disk). MZ-6500B: successor with conversion and non-conversion keys for Japanese word processing added to the keyboard, the only model with MZ-6500B on the front panel (MZ-6541B, two drives). MZ-6500C: released 1985, cost-reduced with memory and kanji ROM integrated on the main board (MZ-6541C two drives, 498,000 yen; MZ-6546C one drive and a 20 MB hard disk, 798,000 yen). MZ-6550: released 1988, the last successor, with an 80286 CPU and an upright case (MZ-6551, two 3.5-inch drives, 430,000 yen; MZ-6556 with a 20 MB hard disk).
- ↑ Sharp MZ, Wikipedia—link(accessed 2026-10-21) MZ-6500 series (1984): a high-speed version of the MZ-5500 marketed as a CAD workstation.
- ↑ Sharp Corporation, Service Manual, Personal Computer Model MZ-5600 (code 00ZMZ5600SM/E), section 1, "MZ-5600 Series Hardware Description", printed pages 1 to 3 (PDF pages 2 to 4). Hosted as File:Sharp MZ-5600 Service Manual.pdf; description at Sharp MZ-5600 Service Manual. System highlights: 16-bit processor; 512 KB addressable, 256 KB standard plus 256 KB; colour bit-map display; one or two 640 KB mini-floppy drives, the MZ-5645 with a 10 MB hard disk as standard; integrated sound generator; CP/M-86 as the standard operating system. Models: MZ-5631 one drive and 256 KB; MZ-5641 two drives and 256 KB; MZ-5645 one drive, one hard disk and 256 KB. Hard disk 673 tracks per side, 16 sectors of 512 bytes; floppy two sides, 40 tracks, 16 sectors of 256 bytes. Specification: 8086-2 (8 MHz) main CPU; 8087-2 (8 MHz) optional; 80C49 for keyboard control; IPL ROM 16 KB (8 KB × 2); system RAM 256 KB, optional 256 KB in the expansion unit; VRAM 96 KB, optional 96 KB on a RAM board; monochrome composite and colour RGB with H and V sync; bit-map display at 640 × 400, 640 × 200 and 320 × 200; 8 colours; 8 grey levels on the dedicated monochrome monitor; up to 4 windows; sound through a built-in speaker; Centronics port; battery-backed real-time clock with 13 bytes of RAM; floppy interface for up to 4 drives; two RS-232C channels, 110 to 9600 baud; keyboards MZ-1K09 (German), MZ-1K10 (French) and MZ-1K11 (English); monitors MZ-1D13, MZ-1D14 and MZ-1D18.
- ↑ Sharp Corporation, MZ-5500/5600 Technical Reference Vol. 2 (Hardware) (File:Sharp MZ-5500 and MZ-5600 Technical Reference Vol. 2.pdf), section one, "Introduction", and section two, 1, "CPU peripheral": the MZ-5600 series succeeds all the functions of the MZ-5500 series with 8 MHz or 5 MHz operation selectable, a 640 KB (formatted) 5.25-inch floppy drive and a 10.7 MB (formatted) hard disk on the MZ-5645; the MZ-1F18 external hard disk raises this to 21.4 MB on 200 V versions only; the 5 MHz mode gives compatibility for software developed on the MZ-5500. Description at Sharp MZ-5500 and MZ-5600 Technical Reference.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Sharp, MZ-5600 service manual, section 16, "Power circuit", printed pages 80 to 83 (PDF pages 81 to 84), and the power supply board circuit, PDF page 107, also hosted as File:Sharp MZ-5600 power supply circuit (service manual).png: the power transformer's secondary gives 22.5 V AC, rectified to 29 V DC, from which the +5 V and +12 V outputs are switched at 50 kHz under pulse-width control; −12 V comes from a separate winding through a series regulator; values on the circuit are written for the 120 V series and the 200 V series.
- ↑ Sharp, MZ-5500/5600 technical reference (File:Sharp MZ-5500 and MZ-5600 Technical Reference Vol. 2.pdf), section 16, "Power supply unit", PDF pages 109 and 110: MZ-5631, MZ-5641 and MZ-5645, transformer plus secondary switching type, +5 V 10.8 A, +12 V 3.9 A, −12 V 0.15 A, with ALARM signal; ALARM is an open-collector output pulled up to +5 V through 2.2 kΩ and resets the CPU on a supply failure or a quick off and on of the power switch; overcurrent protection on +5 V and +12 V but not on −12 V.
- ↑ Sharp, MZ-5600 service manual, section 17, "Self check", printed pages 84 and 85 (PDF pages 85 and 86): RAM, ROM and floppy drive checks run from the check programs in the ROM when section 2 of the system DIP switch, on the bottom of the System Unit, is set to ON; a short beep marks each stage; a long beep sounds once for a RAM error, twice for a ROM error and three times for a floppy drive error, with an error message.