=== Overview ===
The PC-6001 was NEC's second line of personal computers after the PC-8001 series. Nicknamed the "Papicom", the PC-6001 was a family-oriented computer at a budget price, with bright orange keyboard buttons and a built-in cartridge slot for plug-and-play simplicity.
For a certain generation of Japanese geeks, the PC-6001 was their first computer growing up, and the nostalgia factor is high. Even today, there is still a community of Papicom fans making homebrew software for their beloved machine.
Models:
- PC-6001 (1981). 4-color graphics and 3-voice PSG. Extra RAM, extended BASIC, voice synthesis, and external floppy disk drive available as add-ons.
- PC-6001mkII (1983). More RAM, better graphics (up to 15 colors), and built-in voice synthesis.
- PC-6601 (1983) - Basically identical to the PC-6001mkII, but with singing voice synth and a 3.5" floppy disk drive. Bundled with the game Colony Odyssey Bouken-hen.
- PC-6001mkIISR (1984). "SR" stands for "Super Revision". Added higher resolution support and 3-voice FM synthesis.
- PC-6601SR (1984) - Nicknamed "Mr. PC". Released roughly at the same time with the PC-6001mkIISR. Basically a PC-6601 plus 3-voice FM synth and TV superimpose functions. Also a completely shameless ripoff of the Sharp X1 in design and looks.
=== Modes and Pages ===
The original PC-6001 had 16KB of RAM. The main RAM was also used for video (VRAM), so it was necessary to specify how many screens (pages) of VRAM to reserve at boot up. Thus, "How Many Pages?" is displayed at boot up.
Starting with the PC-6001mkII, a menu appeared at startup to select different BASIC modes for backwards compatibility.
Mode 1 = PC-6001 (1-2 pages)
Mode 2 = PC-6001 with ROM/RAM expansion cartridge (1-4 pages)
Mode 3 = PC-6001 in Extended BASIC (1-2 pages)
Mode 4 = PC-6001 with expansion cartridge in Extended BASIC (1-4 pages)
Mode 5 = N60m BASIC (mkII) or N66 BASIC (PC-6601/SR) (1-4 pages)
Mode 6 = N66 BASIC (2 pages automatically)
=== Screen modes ===
Another important type of mode, different from the BASIC mode above, is the screen mode.
Screen mode 1 = text mode. 32 columns by 16 rows with 4 colors (light/dark green and light/dark amber)
Screen mode 2 = semi-graphics mode, 64x48 pixels with 9 colors
Screen mode 3 = graphics mode. 128x192 pixels w/ 4 colors selected from [red, blue, green, yellow] or [white, cyan, magenta, amber]
Screen mode 4 = 256x192 monochrome (black/white)
Most games used Mode 3, since it offers the best balance of resolution and color reproduction. However, clever programmers exploited the composite signal color smearing to enable a fake 4-color display even while in the hi-res monochrome Mode 4 (see Portopia and AX-5 for good examples). (Western programmers were doing the same thing on the Apple II and IBM PC with CGA displays.)
Portopia actually presents a test pattern when starting the game, and adjusts its graphics depending on how the color smears (which depends on the specific display and computer).
Some games, like AX-5, have separate versions for screen mode 3 and screen mode 4.
=== Running software ===
For most tape software, simply type
CLOAD
RUN
Unlike the PC-8001 series, it is not necessary to specify a program name with CLOAD - the PC-6001 will find one automatically. If you need to specify a filename, type
CLOAD"GameName"
However, it is crucial to know the correct BASIC mode and the number of pages that a program needs. In this set, this is specified in the filename. For example, [m2p2] means that you need to select Mode 2 (or boot up a PC-6001 with extended RAM), and specify 2 pages of VRAM.
If a floppy drive is connected, the question "How many files?" also pops up. Input 0, 1, or 2 as needed.
Occasionally the machine code monitor is required.
MON
R-0
The hyphen is input automatically, so you just need to type "R" and "0".
.bin cartridges are like game console cartridges, they start up automatically.
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