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The 80s computer you've never heard of: The NABU PC

Adrian's Digital Basement 264,203 2 years ago
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The year was 1982 when an innovative and new subscription based computer was released to the general public in Ottawa Canada: The NABU Personal Computer. Powerful and advanced, it ran entirely off an operating system and software delivered by a 6mbit cable TV connection. You've probably never heard of it because it was not a commercial success, but let's take a look at the hardware and technical documentation about what makes up this failed computer. 0:00 Intro 3:01 Looking at the outside and inside 9:45 Power Supply 11:15 Keyboard 15:12 Power up test 17:18 The NABU Network and technical information 30:17 Conclusion and outro -- Video Links NABU PC eBay listing: (available as of Nov 20 2022) https://www.ebay.com/itm/394319978146 (original listing. The seller seems to be releasing them in batches now, so try back later and check for relistings) Some videos from Leo Binkowski, a software developer for NABU back when the company was operating. News report: https://youtu.be/yKV-nH3rLHE Inside a NABU development machine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlpZFAX4MZo NABU PC User's Guide: (Color scan) https://archive.org/details/nabu-personal-computer-users-guide NABU Technical Manual and Schematics: https://archive.org/details/nabu-computer-technical-manual-by-mjp More information from the seller of the NABU: (including untested flash device for it, pics and more.) https://pellmill.com/NABU/Code-HTML/Index.html Some additional history behind the NABU: (from someone's who's family was heavily involved) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFaWJu3hDP4 NABU Network (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NABU_Network NABU PC and other information: http://dunfield.classiccmp.org/nabu/index.htm York University NABU Reconstruction Project: https://museum.eecs.yorku.ca/nabu Adrian's Digital Basement Merch store: https://my-store-c82bd2-2.creator-spring.com/ Adrian's Digital Basement ][ (Second Channel) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbtwi4wK1YXd9AyV_4UcE6g Support the channel on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/adriansdigitalbasement -- Tools Deoxit D5: https://amzn.to/2VvOKy1 http://store.caig.com/s.nl/it.A/id.1602/.f O-Ring Pick Set: (I use these to lift chips off boards) https://amzn.to/3a9x54J Elenco Electronics LP-560 Logic Probe: https://amzn.to/2VrT5lW Hakko FR301 Desoldering Iron: https://amzn.to/2ye6xC0 Rigol DS1054Z Four Channel Oscilloscope: https://www.rigolna.com/products/digital-oscilloscopes/1000z/ Head Worn Magnifying Goggles / Dual Lens Flip-In Head Magnifier: https://amzn.to/3adRbuy TL866II Plus Chip Tester and EPROM programmer: (The MiniPro) https://amzn.to/2wG4tlP https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33000308958.html TS100 Soldering Iron: https://amzn.to/2K36dJ5 https://www.ebay.com/itm/TS100-65W-MINI-Digital-OLED-Programmable-Soldering-Iron-Anti-static-Structure/113382669853 EEVBlog 121GW Multimeter: https://www.eevblog.com/product/121gw/ DSLogic Basic Logic Analyzer: https://amzn.to/2RDSDQw https://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-Logic-DSLogic-Basic-Analyzer-16Ch-100MHz-4Ch-400MHz-Xilinx-Spartan-6-FPGA/202543965672 Magnetic Screw Holder: https://amzn.to/3b8LOhG https://www.harborfreight.com/4-inch-magnetic-parts-tray-90566.html Universal ZIP sockets: (clones, used on my ZIF-64 test machine) https://www.ebay.com/itm/14-16-18-20-24-28-32-40-pin-IC-Test-Universal-ZIF-Socket-Fs/303206721971 RetroTink 2X Upconverter: (to hook up something like a C64 to HDMI) http://www.retrotink.com/ Plato (Clone) Side Cutters: (order five) https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-2-5-10PCS-Micro-Scissor-125mm-PLATO-170-Electronics-Cutter-Side-Cutting-Pliers/163458746184 Heat Sinks: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32537183709.html Little squeezy bottles: (available elsewhere too) https://amzn.to/3b8LOOI --- Links My GitHub repository: https://github.com/misterblack1?tab=repositories Commodore Computer Club / Vancouver, WA – Portland, OR – PDX Commodore Users Group https://www.commodorecomputerclub.com/ --- Instructional videos My video on damage-free chip removal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQVjwPsVFd8 --- Music Intro music and other tracks by: Nathan Divino @itsnathandivino

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