Jump to content

Sony HB-701

From RetroTechCollection
Sony HB-701
Sony HB-701 and HB-701FD front
HB-701 (top) and HB-701FD (bottom)
Specifications
ManufacturerSony
TypeMSX home computer
ReleasedNovember 1984[1]
Intro price¥99,800 (HB-701); ¥148,000 (HB-701FD)[2]
CPUZ80A (Sharp LH0080A or NEC µPD780C-1)
Memory64 KB RAM, 16 KB VRAM
StorageTwo cartridge slots; cassette; 3.5-inch drive on the HB-701FD
DisplayTMS9928ANL; 256 × 192, 16 colours
SoundPSG (YM2149F)
PowerAC 100 V, 50/60 Hz, 36 W
Dimensions355 × 325 × 79 mm (main unit)
OS / Firmware—
Model no.HB-701, HB-701FD

The Sony HB-701 is an MSX computer that Sony sold in Japan from November 1984.[1] It was built for use with video equipment. The main unit is shaped to stack with Sony's AV components and has a built-in superimposer for laying computer graphics and titles over a video picture. It can also control Sony televisions, video recorders and audio equipment. The keyboard is a separate unit on a coiled lead.[2] The HB-701FD is the same machine with a 3.5-inch floppy drive fitted, and the HBD-100 drive kit turns an HB-701 into an HB-701FD.[1][3]

Models

[edit | edit source]
HB-701 family
Model Drive Price (December 1984) Notes
HB-701 None; space left for the HBD-100 ¥99,800 HitBit Art graphics and title program in ROM[1]
HB-701FD Sony MFD-33V, single-sided, 360 KB formatted ¥148,000 Disk BASIC in ROM;[4] supplied with a Disk BASIC primer and an original disk[2]
HBD-100 Drive kit for the HB-701 ¥49,800 Sony made a separate charge for fitting it[2]

Prices are from Sony's December 1984 catalogue.[2] On the HB-701FD the ROM copy of HitBit Art is switched off when the drive is present; a disk version with extra options comes with the machine and with the HBD-100.[4][3]

Specifications

[edit | edit source]
HB-701 and HB-701FD specifications
Item Figure
CPU Z80A equivalent;[2] the chip fitted is a Sharp LH0080A or an NEC µPD780C-1[1]
ROM 32 KB MSX-BASIC and 16 KB built-in software; a further 16 KB for Disk BASIC on the HB-701FD[2]
RAM 64 KB main RAM in slot 2-0; 16 KB video RAM[1]
Video TMS9928ANL;[1] 16 colours, 256 × 192 dots, 40 × 24 text[2]
Sound YM2149F PSG,[1] three voices plus one effect, eight octaves[2]
Video interfaces Analogue RGB, composite in and out, RF output, built-in superimposer[2]
Other interfaces Two cartridge slots, cassette, printer, two joystick ports, stereo audio in and out, infrared remote-control receiver[2]
Floppy drive (HB-701FD, HBD-100) 3.5-inch, single-sided double density, 360 KB formatted, 80 tracks, 300 rpm, 250 kbit/s; WD2793A-PL controller[2][3]
Keyboard Separate full-stroke keyboard without a numeric keypad[2][1]
Power AC 100 V, 50/60 Hz, 36 W[5]
Size 355 mm wide, 325 mm deep, 79 mm high (main unit)[2]

Superimposing and AV control

[edit | edit source]

The front panel carries four buttons, HALF DOWN, SUPERIMPOSE, COMPUTER and VIDEO, which select the picture sent to the monitor. Beside them are a COMPUTER SOUND slider and a remote sensor window.[6] Pictures and text made with the built-in software can be laid over a video picture and the result recorded. Sony's catalogue gives the example of a car drawn in 16-colour graphics driven across a motorway scene and recorded on videotape.[2] A HUE control for the superimposed picture and a VIDEO SELECT switch are on the rear panel.[7]

The infrared receiver also takes the JS-C75 wireless joystick.[2] Two CONTROL S sockets on the rear connect to Sony AV equipment.[7][1] The catalogue says the machine can adjust volume and change channels on that equipment.[2] Emulators run the HB-701 ROMs but do not reproduce the superimposing or the AV control.[1]

Connections

[edit | edit source]
Sony HB-701 and HB-701FD rear
Rear panels of the HB-701 (top) and HB-701FD

Front:[6]

  • Two cartridge slots
  • KEY BOARD socket for the separate keyboard, a 13-pin connector[1]
  • Power switch
  • Reset button and two joystick ports, behind the lower front panel

Rear:[7]

  • RGB, a 21-pin connector (RGB21, not SCART)[1]
  • VIDEO SELECT switch
  • AUDIO in and out, left and right (RCA)
  • VIDEO in and out (RCA)
  • SUPERIMPOSE HUE control
  • RF output with a channel 1/2 switch, and an earth terminal
  • Two CONTROL S sockets
  • PRINTER (14-pin)[8]
  • CASSETTE
  • Switched AC outlet for a monitor

Inside

[edit | edit source]
Sony HB-701 video board
The EN-36 video board

The HB-701 does not use an MSX-ENGINE or MSX-SYSTEM chip. Its address decoding and other glue logic are built from separate logic ICs, which take up much of the main board.[1][8] An owner's teardown of an HB-701FD records:[8]

  • main RAM in eight HM4864 64K × 1 DRAMs and video RAM in eight MCM4116 16K × 1 DRAMs, with the video processor under a heat sink;
  • a Yamaha YM2149 PSG, with the joystick ports handled by separate logic;
  • two 50-pin connectors on the main board, from which 50-way flat cables run to the cartridge slots;
  • a separate superimpose board carrying the RF box, sync separator, RGB decoder, encoder and switching, clock generator and audio circuits;
  • a separate power unit.

The video board in the photograph, printed EN-36 and 1-614-550-13, carries the 21-pin RGB connector, the RCA sockets, the RF modulator and two relays.[9]

On the HB-701FD the drive is a Sony MFD-33V with one head, powered through a 4-pin connector at +12 V and +5 V and connected by a 34-pin signal cable to the FC-22 floppy controller board.[8] An HB-701 owner could fit the HBD-100 kit (controller board and drive); the fitting instructions are on the underside of the top cover.[8][3]

Documentation

[edit | edit source]

No Sony service manual for the HB-701 or HB-701FD is held in the MSX Archive's service-manual collection.[10] Sony's two-page catalogue from December 1984, with the specification and accessory list, is on the Internet Archive.[2]

[edit | edit source]
  • HB-701 rating label: 100 V, 36 W, 50/60 Hz
    HB-701 rating label: 100 V, 36 W, 50/60 Hz
[edit | edit source]

References

[edit | edit source]
  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 Sony HB-701, MSX Resource Center wiki—link(accessed 2026-10-21) Community specification page: Japan, November 1984, ¥99,800; the first Hit Bit that could take a built-in floppy drive (the HBD-100); identical to the HB-701FD apart from the drive; control of Sony AV equipment, with an infrared remote sensor on the front; separate keyboard without a numeric keypad; Z80A made by Sharp (LH0080A) or NEC (µPD780C-1); 64 KB RAM in slot 2-0; 16 KB VRAM; TMS9928ANL video; YM2149F PSG; no MSX-ENGINE, separate ICs; HitBit Art graphics and title firmware in ROM; 355 × 325 × 79 mm; connections listed as RF, stereo audio and composite video in and out, RGB21 output (not SCART), 13-pin keyboard connector, data recorder, Centronics printer, two joystick ports, two cartridge slots, two control sockets for Sony AV equipment, a mains outlet for the monitor, and AC 100 V ±10 %, 50/60 Hz mains.
  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 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 Sony, Hit Bit HB-701FD / HB-701 catalogue (Japanese), two pages, dated December 1984, printed code ABWMG-1. Internet Archive item "Sony HB-701 Flyer 1984-12", https://archive.org/details/SonyHB-701. Prices: HB-701FD ¥148,000, HB-701 ¥99,800, HBD-100 ¥49,800, wireless joystick JS-C75 ¥8,000. Specification: Z80A equivalent; ROM 32 KB (BASIC) and 16 KB (built-in software), main RAM 64 KB, video RAM 16 KB, and 16 KB (DOS); 16 colours, 256 × 192 dots, text 40 × 24; separate full-stroke keyboard; sound three voices plus one effect, eight octaves; analogue RGB in/out, composite in/out, built-in RF output; two MSX cartridge slots; built-in 3.5-inch drive (HB-701FD only); built-in infrared remote-control receiver; cassette and printer interfaces; two joystick ports; stereo in and out; main unit 355 mm wide, 325 mm deep, 79 mm high. Accessories: RF cable, cassette cable, aerial switch, BASIC primer, instruction manual, and, with the HB-701FD only, a Disk BASIC primer and one original disk. HBD-100: 3.5-inch disk, 360 KB formatted (single-sided, double density), 250 kbit/s, 300 rpm, 80 tracks; a separate charge is made for fitting it. The text describes the superimposer, the control of Sony TV, video and audio equipment, and fitting the HBD-100 to turn the HB-701 into an HB-701FD.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Sony HBD-100, MSX Resource Center wiki—link(accessed 2026-10-21) Single-sided 360 KB 3.5-inch drive designed by Sony in 1984 for the HB-701, turning it into an HB-701FD; WD2793A-PL controller; MB8847 microcontroller; Sony MFD-33V mechanism; fitting instructions are inside the HB-701; the interface ROM carries Disk BASIC version 1; supplied with an improved HitBit Art disk.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Sony HB-701FD, MSX Resource Center wiki—link(accessed 2026-10-21) The HB-701FD at ¥148,000: floppy disk controller Western Digital WD2793A-PL; an MB8847 4-bit microcontroller in the drive; Sony MFD-33V single-sided (1DD) drive, as used in the HBD-50; Disk ROM in the slot map; the HitBit Art ROM is switched off when the drive is present, and a disk version with extra options is supplied.
  5. ↑ Rating label of the HB-701, photographed for the MSX Resource Center wiki (File:Sony HB-701 rating label.jpg, uploaded by Mars2000you, 7 January 2023): "MODEL HB-701 HOME COMPUTER", "100V 36W 50/60Hz", ソニー株式会社, Made in Japan.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 File:Sony HB-701 and HB-701FD front.jpg, photograph of an HB-701 and HB-701FD uploaded to the MSX Resource Center wiki by Mars2000you on 10 August 2016. Read from it: REMOTE SENSOR window, COMPUTER SOUND slider (MIN to MAX), HALF DOWN, SUPERIMPOSE, COMPUTER and VIDEO buttons, CARTRIDGE 1 and 2 slots, POWER switch and KEY BOARD socket on both; RESET button and two joystick ports behind the lower front strip.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 File:Sony HB-701 and HB-701FD rear.jpg, photograph of the rear panels of an HB-701 and HB-701FD uploaded to the MSX Resource Center wiki by Mars2000you on 10 August 2016. Read from it: RGB (21-pin) connector, VIDEO SELECT switch, AUDIO IN and OUT (L and R), VIDEO IN and OUT, SUPERIMPOSE HUE control, RF output with CHANNEL 1/2 switch, earth terminal, two CONTROL S sockets, PRINTER, CASSETTE, switched AC OUTLET; rating labels "100V 36W 50/60Hz" on both.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 HB-701FD– up-c, 2011–2013—link(accessed 2026-10-21) In Japanese, with linked detail pages. An owner's teardown of an HB-701FD: main RAM eight HM4864 64K × 1 DRAMs; VRAM eight MCM4116 16K × 1 DRAMs beside the VDP, which is hidden under a heat sink; Yamaha YM2149 PSG with separate logic for the joystick ports; address decoding ("gate circuit") built from logic ICs instead of an MSX-SYSTEM chip; two 50-pin connectors on the main board feeding the cartridge slots over 50-way flat cable; floppy controller board FC-22, which an HB-701 owner could fit with the drive, fitting instructions being on the underside of the top cover; Sony MFD-33V single-sided drive, one head, power through a 4-pin connector needing +12 V and +5 V, 34-pin signal connector; superimpose board with RF box, encoder and switch, control pulse generator, AFC II and VDP clock, clock pulse generator, sync width, sync separator, RGB decoder and audio sections, shown removed in the inside view; the power unit is a separate block; the rear panel has a 14-pin Centronics printer connector.
  9. ↑ File:Sony HB-701 video board.jpg, captioned "Sony HB-701 video PCB" on the MSX Resource Center wiki (uploaded by Mars2000you, 7 January 2023). Read from it: board printed EN-36 and 1-614-550-13; 21-pin RGB connector, RCA sockets and RF modulator along one edge; two relays.
  10. ↑ Index of /pub/msx/docs/service_manuals, MSX Archive—link(accessed 2026-10-21) Directory of MSX service manuals. The Sony files are sonygb7sm, sonyhb101sm, sonyhbd30sm, sonyhbd50sm, sonyhbf1xdsm, sonyhbf9psm, sonyhbf500sm1 and sm2, sonyhbf700psm, sonyhbg900apsm1 and 2, sonyhbg900psm1 and 2, sonyhbk30sm, sonyhbm232sm, sonyhbm512sm, sonyhp5575sm, sonyprnc41sm and sonysdc500sm; none is for the HB-701 or HB-701FD.


Retrieved from "https://retrotechwiki.com/index.php?title=Sony_HB-701&oldid=28244"