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Elektor Junior Computer

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by F5pbl (talk | contribs) at 07:04, 14 May 2009 (Adding info about the I/O Interface card, fixing URLs and wrong info about mother board (6532 PIA & 2708 1K EPROM)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Elektor Junior Computer was a simple 6502 based Microprocessor development board published in the 1980s in the Dutch, German and later French and British versions of Elektor/Elektuur, in the form of a series of articles, and four books. It was developed by the German engineer Loys Nachtmann. In fact the Junior Computer was a virtual clone of the KIM-1, only it did not use the special I/O+ROM chips (MCS6530) but rather an of the shelf 6532 PIA and a 2708 1K EPROM. It also had a differerent physical shape, as it used the Eurocard board, and a 31 pin-DIN connectors for I/O and a DIN 41612 connector for system expansion. It was delivered as a Electronic kit, or you could just buy the two Printed circuit board's (main board and Seven-segment display board) only, and add your own components.

As It was much lower in price than an original KIM, many more Junior computers (several thousands) were used in the Netherlands, Germany and France, than original KIM-1's.

Later extension boards were developed, and a BASIC interpreter was ported. Elector Expansion boards specifically for the junior were an I/O Interface card (including a 6532 VIA, a Tape Recorder interface an a RS232C serial port), a VDU (video terminal) (an improvment of the previous "elekterminal" design), an EPROM and SRAM expansion board, an 16/64KB DRAM board and EPROM programmer board, and even a Floppy disk controller, as well as a dozen smaller boards for small improvements and interfaces etc.