SUN85: NEC PC-8801mkIIMR (1985) \ VOGONS

SUN85: NEC PC-8801mkIIMR (1985)

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First post, by sunkindly

Posted on 2025-10-01, 21:09

sunkindly Offline

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I'm pretty excited about this one so wanted to give it a build thread. Here's an NEC PC-8801mkIIMR I recently acquired from a listing that literally only said "PC-8801mkIIMR personal computer" with nothing about whether it was working, how it's been stored, etc. But the photos looked promising and it also came with the keyboard and a trove of the original materials for it. As mentioned in another thread, I'm usually pretty wary of going for things where there's a lot of unknowns. But as an enthusiast of all things retro Japan I couldn't pass up on it from what I could see of the external condition.

Specs:
4MHz NEC μPD780C-1 CPU (Zilog Z80A based)
RAM: 192KB
VRAM: 48KB
Sound: Yamaha YM2203C
2x TEAC 5.25'' FD-55GFV-40-Us

Currently awaiting a monitor with digital RGB from Japan so it might be a couple of weeks before first boot, but I wanted to start opening it up to check up on the internals. So far, it's fairly immaculate. The battery is starting to corrode of course, but thankfully it's not bad at all. All the caps looks great, even the power supply is just as in good visual condition. I didn't even dust it. The board is so nice!

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Last edited by sunkindly on 2025-10-01, 21:15. Edited 2 times in total.

Reply 1 of 7, by sunkindly

Posted on 2025-10-01, 21:10

sunkindly Offline

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Caps and things:

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Reply 2 of 7, by sunkindly

Posted on 2025-10-16, 23:56

sunkindly Offline

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Just a couple of small updates...

-I had removed the battery while it was disassembled, sadly it had begun its corrosive assault but this was the extent. I cleaned it up and put everything back together.

-The monitor arrived! It's a Logitec K-124S with digital RGB only. Funnily it's easy to find the RGB to VGA cables but not a legit digital RGB cable for NEC / MSX computers.

So basically what's delaying the first boot is the cable quest and I also need to do research on decent transformers. But in the meantime, the retro Japanese media corner is set up!

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Reply 3 of 7, by Jo22

Posted on 2025-10-19, 23:55

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Impressive, looks very good! ^^ Thanks for the update! Glad the battery damage was small.

"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

//My video channel//

Reply 4 of 7, by BloodyCactus

Posted on 2025-10-20, 00:08

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lin Minmei and yuri!

oh and a pc

--/\-[ Stu : Bloody Cactus :: [ https://bloodycactus.com :: http://kråketær.com ]-/\--

Reply 5 of 7, by sunkindly

Posted on 2025-10-20, 21:11

sunkindly Offline

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Jo22 wrote on 2025-10-19, 23:55:

Impressive, looks very good! ^^ Thanks for the update! Glad the battery damage was small.

Yeah! I'm a little sad it's sort of on the backburner at the moment but at least it looks really cool in the meantime!

BloodyCactus wrote on 2025-10-20, 00:08:

lin Minmei and yuri!

oh and a pc

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Reply 6 of 7, by Jo22

Posted on 2025-10-27, 05:32

Jo22 Offline

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sunkindly wrote on 2025-10-20, 21:11:

Yeah! I'm a little sad it's sort of on the backburner at the moment but at least it looks really cool in the meantime!

It's a pretty machine, congrats! ^^

I often think that many people who start with an PC-98 might be surprised how good the PC-88 library of games looked with the right monitor.
Some games looked really stunning, perhaps even more dramatic with the lower colour depth.

Personally, I used to be unaware of this, as well.
I didn't realize that the PC-88 was more than "just" the predecessor to PC-98.

A similiar experience can be seen with Windows 2.x and the default EGA/VGA driver, I think. It uses merely 8c out of 16c.
The picture viewer EASEL allows displaying PCX and GIF87 files up to 256c.

"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

//My video channel//

Reply 7 of 7, by sunkindly

Posted on 2025-10-27, 05:50

sunkindly Offline

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Joined: 2025-09-11, 15:52

Jo22 wrote on 2025-10-27, 05:32:
It's a pretty machine, congrats! ^^ […]
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sunkindly wrote on 2025-10-20, 21:11:

Yeah! I'm a little sad it's sort of on the backburner at the moment but at least it looks really cool in the meantime!

It's a pretty machine, congrats! ^^

I often think that many people who start with an PC-98 might be surprised how good the PC-88 library of games looked with the right monitor.
Some games looked really stunning, perhaps even more dramatic with the lower colour depth.

Personally, I used to be unaware of this, as well.
I didn't realize that the PC-88 was more than "just" the predecessor to PC-98.

A similiar experience can be seen with Windows 2.x and the default EGA/VGA driver, I think. It uses merely 8c out of 16c.
The picture viewer EASEL allows displaying PCX and GIF87 files up to 256c.

Funnily enough I wanted to start with a PC-98 and I guess this was fate instead. But as someone who enjoys and even prefers modes with lesser colors, it sounds like I'll really enjoy it. I've also never used a CRT monitor that uses digital RGB so I'm pretty excited about that. I'm not even sure what to expect visually but I've read it's extremely precise which sounds great for art using 8 colors.

Speaking of games though, that's been the other impasse to this whole project. The prices on eBay for just one game are absolutely insane. They're a little better through Buyee but importing these days gives me extreme anxiety. I've only been doing it if it's absolutely worth it. Not to mention that we're dealing with sensitive 5.25'' floppies. But I've managed to get some of a dubious nature haha: ASCII's Chaos Angels, as well as Dragon Knight I and II.

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