NEC PC-6001
Released:November 1981 (Japan)
October 1983 (North America)
Price:US $349
CPU:uPD780C-1 (Z80) @ 4MHz
RAM:16K
Display:256x192 graphics, 9 colors
Expansion:optional sidecar
Ports:tape, RGB, printer
ROM, sound
Storage:cassette, floppy
OSMicrosoft BASIC in ROM





The NEC (Nippon Electric Company) PC-6001 was first released in November of 1981 in Japan. It has an inexpensive chiclet-style keyboard, which is typically more difficult to use efficiently.

The PC-6001 made a showing in the US at the 1982 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January of 1982, with the same chiclet keyboard.

In March of 1983, the system was referred-to as the NEC PC-6000 in the BYTE "What's new?" column.

The system was officially released in North America as the PC-6001A or NEC TREK - it's basically the same as the Japanese version, with a new and more professional keyboard.

Like most home computers of the era, there is no user-accessible operating system - the NEC TREK runs a built-in version of Microsoft BASIC. You can write your own programs, and save them on the optional external PC-6082 Cassette Recorder.

If you own the PC-6011A Expansion Unit, programs and data can be loaded and saved to the external PC-6031 floppy disk drive. Games and programs can also be loaded from cartridges plugged into the right side of the system, or plugged into the Expansion Unit, which holds three carts at once.




Related Links

  • NEC Home Electronics USA from Classic Tech
  • YouTube videos



    • NEC TREK advertisement from August 1983


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