View source for Intellec

{{use dmy dates|date=January 2020|cs1-dates=y}}
{{use list-defined references|date=October 2023}}
{{anchor|Intellec 4|Intellec 8|Intellec 4 Mod 40|Intellec 8 Mod 80|MDS|MDS-800}}<!-- parked anchors for redirects -->
{{infobox information appliance
| name         = Intel Intellec
| aka          = Intellec&nbsp;4 Mod 40, Intellec&nbsp;8 Mod 80, Intellec MCS4/MCS8
| logo         = <!-- include the [[file:]] tag -->
| image        = Intel Intellec 4 MOD 40.JPG
| caption      = Intel Intellec&nbsp;4 Mod 40
| manufacturer = [[Intel]]<ref name="manual"/>
| family       = 
| type         = Microcomputer
| generation   = 
| releasedate  = {{Start date|1973|df=yes}} (1972)<ref name="Crosby_1994"/>
| lifespan     = 
| price        = $2395<!-- this is price at initial release, not the current price. -->
| media        = Floppy disk, paper tape<ref name="Crosby_1994"/>
| os           = <!-- operating system -->
| power        = 
| soc          = <!-- system-on-chip -->
| cpu          = [[Intel 4004]], [[Intel 4040]], [[Intel 8008]] or [[Intel 8080]] 
| storage      = ROM, PROM, RAM
| memory       = 5&nbsp;K standard, expandable up to 16&nbsp;K for the Intellec 8
| display      = 
| graphics     = 
| input        = Front panel switches, optional terminal interface
| dimensions   = 7&nbsp;in. × 17&nbsp;in. × 14&nbsp;in.<ref name="Crosby_1994"/>
| weight       = {{convert|14|kg|lbs}}<ref name="Crosby_1994"/>
| compatibility = 
| predecessor  = 
| successor    = 
| related      = 
| website      = 
}}

The '''Intellec''' computers were a series of early [[microcomputer]]s [[Intel]] produced in the 1970s as a development platform for their processors.<ref name="manual"/> The Intellec computers were among the first microcomputers ever sold, predating the [[Altair 8800]] by at least two years.<ref name="Crosby_1994"/>

==Introduction==
The first series of Intellecs included the Intellec&nbsp;4 for the [[Intel 4004|4004]], the Intellec&nbsp;4 Mod 40 for the [[Intel 4040|4040]], the Intellec&nbsp;8 for the [[Intel 8008|8008]], and the Intellec&nbsp;8 Mod 80 for the [[Intel 8080|8080]].<ref name="Crosby_1994"/>

The Intellec&nbsp;4 and 8 were introduced at the June 1973 [[National Computer Conference]] in the [[New York Coliseum]].<ref name="Electronics_1973"/> The Intellec computers were sold not to the general public, only to developers, and a very limited number were built. The Intellec 8 retailed for $2,395.<ref name="Crosby_1994"/>

== Features ==
[[File:Intellec 8 computers.jpg|thumb|Two Intellec 8 computers]]
[[File:Intellec 4.jpg|thumb|Intellec 4]]
The Intellecs have [[resident monitor]]s stored in [[Read-only memory|ROM]]s.<ref name="Electronics_1973"/> They also included an assembler, linker, and debugger, as well as the ability to act as an in-circuit emulator.<ref name="comphistoryuk"/> Additionally, a [[PL/M]] compiler, cross-assembler and simulator were available, which allowed writing programs in a higher-level language than assembly. FORTRAN compilers were also available.<ref name="intellecbrochure"/> The Intellec 8 supported a [[teleprinter|Teletype]] operating at 110 [[baud]], a high speed [[punched tape|punched paper tape]] reader<ref name="G1"/> and a [[cathode-ray tube|CRT]] [[computer terminal|terminal]] at 1200 baud.<ref name="G2"/>

The Intellec&nbsp;8 is able to address up to 16&nbsp;K of memory and came with 5&nbsp;K pre-installed. The Intellec&nbsp;4 came with 1&nbsp;K of PROM and 4&nbsp;K of RAM for instruction memory, as well as 320 4-bit words of data memory, expandable to 2560 words. The Intellec&nbsp;8 ran with a two-phase clock of 800&nbsp;kHz, resulting in an instruction cycle time of 12.5&nbsp;us. The Intellec&nbsp;4 ran at a slower clock rate of 750&nbsp;kHz, but had a faster instruction cycle time of 10.8&nbsp;us. Both systems were available in "Bare Bones" editions, which omitted the front panel, power supply, and completed chassis; instead, it is designed to mount into a rack. Both systems also weighed {{convert|14|kg|lbs}}.<ref name="intellecbrochure" />

==Usage==
[[File:Intel MCS8 Cover Removed 01.jpg|thumb|Intel MCS8 Intellec microcomputer with the cover removed]]
[[File:Intel MCS8 Rear Chassis.jpg|thumb|Intel MCS8 Intellec microcomputer showing the rear of the chassis]]
Intel did not market the Intellec as a general-purpose microcomputer, but rather as a development system. As the first microprocessors were intended to run [[embedded system]]s such as in [[calculator]]s, [[cash register]]s, [[scientific]] [[instrumentation]], [[computer terminal]]s, [[Printer (computing)|printer]]s, [[plotter]]s, [[industrial robot]]s, [[synthesizers]], [[game consoles]], and so on, the Intellec was used for programming programmable memory chips used by embedded systems, e.g. the 2048-[[bit]] (256-[[byte]]) Intel 1602A [[programmable read-only memory]] (PROM) or erasable 1702A [[EPROM]] [[integrated circuit|chip]]s which were plugged into a [[Zero insertion force|ZIF]] socket on the Intellec-8's [[front panel]].<ref name="Freiberger-Swaine_2000"/><ref name="G3"/><ref name="G4"/> The chip-programming socket is the green device in the lower right corner of the Intellec's front panel.

Intel also marketed the Intellec microcomputer development system as a system for developing ''other'' [[OEM]] microcomputers.<ref name="G5"/><ref name="G6"/>

==See also==
* [[Intel system development kit]]
* [[List of early microcomputers]]
* [[ISIS (operating system)]]
* [[Intel HEX]]

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="manual">{{cite book |title=Intellec 8/Mod 80 Microcomputer Development System Reference Manual |publisher=[[Intel]] |date=1975 |url=http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/intel/MCS80/Intellec_8_Mod_80/Intel_Intellec_8_Mod_80_Reference_Manual_Feb75.pdf |access-date=2015-06-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626145722/http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/intel/MCS80/Intellec_8_Mod_80/Intel_Intellec_8_Mod_80_Reference_Manual_Feb75.pdf |archive-date=2015-06-26}}</ref>
<ref name="Crosby_1994">{{cite journal |title=Dawn of the Micro: Intel's Intellecs |author-last=Crosby |author-first=Kip |date=January–March 1994 |journal=The Analytical Engine |publisher=Computer History Association of California |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=10–14 |issn=1071-6351 |url=http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/chac/CHAC_Analytical_Engine/1.3_January_1994.pdf |access-date=2023-10-17 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231017214519/http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/chac/CHAC_Analytical_Engine/1.3_January_1994.pdf |archive-date=2023-10-17 |quote-pages=10–11 |quote=[…] the Intel Intellec 8 […] first appeared sometime in 1972 or 1973, two years or more before the [[Altair 8800]] often credited as the "first microcomputer" by standard histories […] [[Intel]] maintains that the 8 Mod 8 was first produced in 1973 and discontinued in 1975. Tony Duell has an 8 Mod 80 CPU board dated 1972, and the 8 Mod 8 and 4 Mod 40 are both listed in the Intel Data Catalog published in February 1976, so the actual period of production may have been somewhat longer. (Pertinent Intel docs must be read carefully because the names MCS4, MCS40, MCS8 and MCS80 were used almost indiscriminately to refer to chipsets, computers or full systems.) […]}} (52 pages)</ref>
<ref name="Electronics_1973">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Bare-bones and stand-alone microcomputers to bow |magazine=[[Electronics (magazine)|Electronics]] |page=130 |date=1973-05-24}}</ref>
<ref name="comphistoryuk">{{cite web |title=Intellec 8 |date= |publisher=Center for Computing History |url=http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/3366/intellec-8/ |access-date=2020-09-30}}</ref>
<ref name="intellecbrochure">{{cite web |title=Intellec Brochure |date= |publisher=[[Intel]] |url=http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/components/intel/MCS8/Intel_Intellec_8_Intellec_4_Brochure.pdf |access-date=2020-09-30 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930192049/http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/components/intel/MCS8/Intel_Intellec_8_Intellec_4_Brochure.pdf |archive-date=2020-09-30}}</ref>
<ref name="G1">[https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B9rh9tVI0J5mZTZlZDNjMmMtZDMwNC00MGU5LWFkMmItNTkxZTVlYmNjZTc4&hl=en Intel Microcomputer Peripherals: imm8-90 Intellec 8 High Speed Paper Tape Reader]</ref>
<ref name="G2">[https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B9rh9tVI0J5mMzMwMmEwNzMtZjg2Yy00MzdmLWIzMDMtYWJkNDEwYmFjZTZl&hl=en Intellec 8 Bare Bones 8 and Microcomputer Modules]</ref>
<ref name="Freiberger-Swaine_2000">Freiberger & Swaine (2000). ''Fire in the Valley: The Making of The Personal Computer (Second Edition)'', [[McGraw Hill]], {{ISBN|0-07-135892-7}}.</ref>
<ref name="G3">[https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B9rh9tVI0J5mYzA0ZjIwOTYtY2NmMy00YTBlLTk4NDMtNzA0ZmJlNmRiZWY5&hl=en imm8-76 PROM Programmer Module]</ref>
<ref name="G4">[https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B9rh9tVI0J5mMTE0Y2JlYWEtNjBkZC00NzA2LWEzNTAtZDZkZDU0Nzc4ODYx&hl=en Intel Silicon Gate MOS 1602A/1702A 2048-bit electrically programmable read only memory]</ref>
<ref name="G5">{{cite web |title=Intellec: A new, easy, and inexpensive way to develop microcomputer systems |date= |url=http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/components/intel/MCS8/Intel_Intellec_8_Intellec_4_Brochure.pdf}}</ref>
<ref name="G6">{{cite web |title=Intellec 8 Bare Bones 8 and Microcomputer Modules |date= |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9rh9tVI0J5mMzMwMmEwNzMtZjg2Yy00MzdmLWIzMDMtYWJkNDEwYmFjZTZl/view}}</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite web |title=Development of Intel ISIS Operating System - An interview with Ken Burgett |author-first=Ken |author-last=Burgett |date=2017-11-10 |url=https://www.rogerarrick.com/osiris/burgett.txt |access-date=2023-11-25 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231124165914/https://www.rogerarrick.com/osiris/burgett.txt |archive-date=2023-11-24}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20231125032320/https://00362628054895325210.googlegroups.com/attach/1cc719e8305ed/burgett.txt?part=0.1&view=1&vt=ANaJVrFYjqMX6NCUFa_l-LUDCL-Mu3EqJS1xO4wZczmxImZg2kP3F8E1qEWYTXI5rHv6URyeMi3pcc1oH5LeyEkzHUSeSnUncsii1D7SyIa5EcFQPzu1fzM][https://web.archive.org/web/20231125121523/https://www.rogerarrick.com/kenburgett/]

[[Category:Early microcomputers]]
[[Category:Intel products]]
[[Category:4-bit computers]]
[[Category:8-bit computers]]

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