Homelab home computer family

The machines were used only for specific purposes

Built by individuals – mainly young people – for home use

There are no copies in public collections; some may be in the private possession of contemporary builders.

Structure

Central unit

• CPU: Zilog Z80 microprocessor, clock speed 4 MHz
• main store:
  • 2 KB – 64 KB expandable, DRAM IC packages
  • ROM and EPROM cases for storing the basic software
• calculator: ALU built into the microprocessor
• connection slot for interfaces and external devices:
  • interface for any tape recorder
  • screen fit to display 32 lines, 32 / 64 chpl (switchable)
  • programmable interface ( PIO ), for connecting any 16-bit devices

Periphery

• backup: tape recorder
• external devices:
  • input: 60-character keyboard
  • output: composite video signal, for TV or monitor

The machine had to be assembled on prefabricated PCBs to be placed in the keyboard housing.

The user had to provide the power supply.

Operation

The machine was controlled by the microprocessor

Program set

• there was no operating system
• compilers:
  • BASIC (previous in-house development with expanded feature set)
  • assembler (a back-and-forth compiler that helps with machine code programming)

A symbolic assembler with a debugger was also "introduced" (not entirely legally) for creating more powerful programs written in assembly language.

There were no “factory” programs.

The new computer owners wrote the programs they needed themselves, most of which they made public among the members of the Hungarian Computer Club (HCC), which was founded at the inspiration of Endre Simonyi and later led by him.

Mostly simpler game programs were created, but there were also word processing, dictionary and music programs, and even "program transcriptions" such as Sargon Chess II or Maxi Galaxy.

Historical curiosities

“When I built my first computer, the example of an American company, Ohio Scientific, which no longer exists, was still vivid in my mind. … This was the company that offered a very excellent computer called the Challenger for $300 in 1978, when the prices of the others — Apple, Tandy, Commodore — were still over $700! … I accepted the Challenger challenge and decided to try to create an accessible computer for Hungarian youth. We called ourselves Homelab – because I found an enthusiastic and tireless colleague for all this in my younger brother – and we really got to work in our home laboratory. … Even if the first machine was not yet ready, the second type, completed in the spring of 1982, already met the requirements we had set for ourselves.” (Excerpt from an interview with József Lukács)

The Lukács brothers believed that the price of the Aircomp 16, which was the result of the Homelab-2, was too high to find a further market and allow young people to buy the computer, and that the price had to be lowered. However, they could not find a state-owned company that could produce the HomeLab significantly cheaper, so they decided to produce it themselves. Since Hungary was under socialism at the time, a serious shortage of components soon arose, which forced them to rethink their strategy. At that time, they decided to release a cheap HomeLab in the form of a do-it-yourself kit, which only included the bare motherboard and keyboard, and the operating system on a ROM – this “kit” cost 10,000 HUF – and the other components (e.g. RAM, processor) had to be purchased separately by the buyer.

The work of the two brothers, József and Endre Lukács, who designed the HomeLab family, greatly helped the development and spread of computer culture in Hungary among young people, for whom they also organized clubs and meetings.

Resources

General description: Homelab

More detailed description: The Homelab home computer

More about the structure: Homelab hardware

More about the programs: Homelab software

József Lukács on hardware (video)

Endre Lukács about the software (video)

Historical and technical overview: The birth of Homelab