A special thanks to “W” for an incredible information about the NANFENG PC-1500A !
I copy here his message from my Guestbook :
“NANFENG PC-1500 is made by 830 Factory ,Kaili,Guizhou,P.R.C. in a brief honeymoon with U.S.A and Japan to counter CCCP, here is a picture of its manual: “
Thank you again, “W”, to share this information with my readers !
Update : The NANFENG manuals are a set of 3
It’s now time to open the box.
The CE-158 is a nice extension with a multi-board construction.
On the bottom there is the main electronic board with the LH5801 multi i/o IC.
On the middle there is the RS-232C interface.
And on the top there is the Centronics interface.
The battery pack is 500mA/h 4,8v.
I know two versions of the CE-158 but don’t know the differences
Here are the Sharp specifications :
Download
And the Service manual :
Download
I have found the connexion cable for 2 CE-158 in a chinese book :
Download
Yes, the Sharp PC-1500 wasn’t only made in Japan but in China too.
Uh… all the parts except the back looks like made in Japan.
Here is this PC-1500 :
And this wouldn’t be complete without the user manual :
(The front cover is self made from a small picture found somewhere on Internet)
Download chinese manual
As for the PC-2 Tandy’s choice was to make the difference : RS-232C but but parallel interface.
This was a manner to reduce price.
I don’t know anything about the original packaging but all accessories are same.
The manual is smaller, the keyboard mask adapted to the geometric keyboard.
And the is no difference when connected to the black printer :
Next time i will show you the hardware of booth interface versions.
Stay tuned…
It’s now time to connect your favorite pocket computer to a big Personal Computer !
First, we have to build the good cable.
CE-158 side it’s a 25 pins male connector.
PC side it’s a 9 pins male connector.
Here is the schematics
Ok ? Now we make the test on a very well known operating system : Windows XP Pro.
(But my version is in french.)
First locate the Hyper Terminal application :
When it opens you’re prompted to name the new connexion.
Choose COM1 as the connexion mode :
And set the parameters and validate :
On the parameters tab click on “ASCII configuration” :
Then check the boxes as on this picture :
Now it’s time to try receiving something from the PC-1500…
Click on “Transfer” menu and on “Capture text” :
And set the filename to CAPTURE.TXT on the primary drive’s root :
Go on the PC-1500 keyboard and type the following program and finish by the CSAVE command:
The lines 10 to 30 are send to the PC trough the CE-158 and you can see the data on the Hyper Terminal screen.
When the CSAVE command disappear from the PC-1500 screen it’s time to stop data recording.
Please control the file C:\CAPTURE.TXT content :
Is it ok ? GOOD ! Close the Hyper Terminal application.
I show you here the hexadecimal content :
Now we have to test data transmission from PC to PC-1500.
Are you ready ?
Open the DOS box and set the COM1 parameters :
If you get an error message then verify that Hyper Terminal is closed.
Otherwise you’ll get the result :
Go to the PC-1500 and update the program to this one and finish by the CLOAD command.
And on the PC side send the CAPTURE.TXT file to the COM port :
Now control on the PC-1500 that the line 20 ends now by CO 😉
Is it ok for you ?
The CE-158 extension is the communication tool for the PC-1500 and provide interface to personal computer world.
It comes in a big box.
The CE-158 and accessories are well packaged.
There is :
The CE-158 interface
The EA-21A power adapter with 8,2v output
The user manual (here in the five major languages)
One metal part for connecting directly to the PC-1500(A)
One metal part for connecting to the CE-150 printer and cassette interface
To screws for the metal parts
One keyboard mask.
Here is the PC-1500 + CE-158 system :
And the PC-1500 + CE-150 + CE-158 system :
You’ll find more informations in the user manuals :
 Download US |  Download JP |
| Manuals extracted from the EU manual | |
 Download DE |  Download FR |
 Download IT |  Download SP |
 Download US |
Next time we will see the hardware side (Cable, Electronic boards…)
After the Blue Brother, a very rare PC-1500, i’m proud to present you the number 10 : NANFENG PC-1500A.
This one is the only one i know as a non Sharp PC-1500A.
It’s the rarest one !
In details you can see the NANFENG logo.
It’s not a paint add-on, it’s like original Sharp embossed logo.
On the back it’s like the other Sharp, The CE-161 memory module is a real Sharp one.
But the sticker is different and shows “Made in China” and the brand is NENFENG.
The serial number is “NF 002/83 J”. This means that it’s one of the firsts PC-1500A.
Was this a preproduction lot ?
I’m surprised that the front panel is EU/US and don’t have Katakana chars.
The screws are very cheaper than the originals.
Inside, on the boards nothing differs from the PC-1500A.
But the metal parts are wider, yellow/orange color. And the screws basic.
Well, is it really a chinese production ? YES only for font parts.
The brown paint is very similar to the Sharp but a little bit darker.
The varnish is not that brilliant.
The symbols near the function keys are brown and not orange.
The beige paint is darker.
The chars on the keys are bigger.
The CL key is a little bit transparent.
All this seems low cost.
This is the only one sample i know for the NANFENG PC-1500A.
If someone has more informations then please, use the contact form.
This PC-1500 is more than an updated version with huge memory amount and double-speed oscillator.
It’s one of the firsts samples of the A04 production.
In this picture you can see the ROM version on the SC613128 IC.
Do you remember the A03 versions ? They have blue straps… like here on the display board :
And now lets see under the memory extension…
The board shows many blue straps like the A01 and A03 versions :
Sure this is a rare item for collectors.
It’s serial number is 20024876.
Who owns a such collector version ?
Take a screwdriver and verify your PC-1500s 🙂
Thanks again to Lukas ZELLER for this gift.
Lukas told me about his gift that there will be a 28Kb PC-1500.
This was a good news !
But this is more than a good news.
Lets me present this updated machine.
Opening the CE-150 box shows us some nice things.
Do you see what i mean ? Examine this picture carefully…
First there is a sticker “28K”. This means that the memory size is 28Kb. It’s the maximum reachable on this pocket because of the display addressing method.
Let’s open the machine…
Here is it :
This extension it made of 13 x 6116 ICs and present a total amount of 26KB of memory.
It’s a very professional board. You can see where the RAM pins are placed ? Simply on the holes between sides. Well done guys !
This board is named “DF1SE PC 1503”. (If you know more about it then use the contact form to tell it to me.)
Second, there is a switch on the PC-1500 side :
Do you know why ?
The LH5801 microprocessor is driven by a 2,6Mhz oscillator.
In 1982 it was fast ! In 1984 it was slow ! lol
This button switch between the 2,6Mhz and a new 5Mhz oscillator. Yes, the twice !!!
Uh… this has some back effects to the real time clock… but the speed is here !
The printer case and the pocket pouch have being modified for the switch.
Third, there is a very nice update of the printer’s door.
A little black plastic strap help the opening.
Next time i will explain something very particular on this PC-1500.
Do you have an idea ???
Frank C. ODDS presents his favorite printer for the Sharp PC-1500 : the MCP-40.
The MCP-40 printer — identical, it seems, to another model called “Oric 1” — was a four-colour printer plotter that used a rotating “bullet chamber” device identical to the one in the Sharp CE-150. But the MCP-40 printed on paper rolls 114 mm wide, thus offering larger results than the “bus ticket” output of the CE-150.
The MCP-40 connected to computers via a 36-pin parallel port connector that reduced to a 25-pin DIN connection at the computer. It connected directly to the electricity mains. It therefore functioned more like a full-sized printer than a pocket computer add-on. The printer connected to the PC-1500 via the parallel port on the CE-158 serial/parallel interface.
For printing full-sized text output from the PC-1500, a serial or parallel port connection to the dot matrix, tractor feed type of printer that was widely used in the 1980s. But the MCP-40 came into its own for graphic printing: the four-colour capability, together with the ability to draw smooth lines in any direction, meant it was ideal for plotting graphs and drawing computer-generated diagrams. The MCP-40 sold for a relatively cheap price, making it a great value add-on for a Sharp PC-1500 set-up.
And here is the self test on video :
If you want to learn more here is the Operation manual :
Download
Thank you Frank for sharing your experience with us.
