1985 · Single-Board Computer Kit · Work 990 of 1,871
A kitchen in a prefabricated block of flats in Riesa late at night, on a yellow laminate table a shallow glossy orange-red plastic tray with moulded hollows, in it a green circuit board twenty-three centimetres square with rows of black integrated circuits, one large processor chip, a small silver box, a blue capacitor and one square red key, every part plain, smooth and unmarked, on top a small added board with bundles of coloured wires, two hands soldering a red wire to it, beside the tray a home-made power supply built into a metal bread tin, a small black-and-white television glowing softly, a hanging lamp with an orange shade.
What it was used for
Microcomputer kit from VEB Robotron-Elektronik Riesa: a populated and tested circuit board, a 32-key membrane keyboard to be soldered on, and detailed documentation. U880 at 1 MHz, 2 KB ROM, 16 KB RAM, picture via television channel 3 with 32 lines of up to 32 characters; no built-in BASIC. To private buyers it was sold in exactly 2 shops — the home-electronics specialist shop of VEB Robotron-Vertrieb Erfurt and an HO hobby shop in Riesa — ordered in writing and collected in person. About 10 percent of output went directly to firms and universities, the rest to computer clubs and private users. It became known through the Leipzig spring fair and magazines such as Funkamateur.
What was new
The kit grew out of a materials problem. Riesa held large stocks of "Anfalltypen" — components that worked but did not meet every parameter — and the Z 1013 was meant to use them up; each part was tested individually before fitting and entered the costing only at that testing cost of about 1 Mark apiece. The barb: the machines still failed often, the complaints were costly and damaged the product's reputation, so from July 1987 production switched to fully specified components. The extended pilot series of December 1985 comprised 150 units at 650 Mark. Buyers often waited about 1 year: demand permanently exceeded supply.
What the sources leave open: No source gives a total production figure; hc-ddr.hucki.net records that the quantity was limited by the components allocated, and dates the end of production to mid-1990. Prices differ by version and year: 650 Mark (Z 1013.01, 1985), 936 to 965 Mark (Z 1013.16, 1987/88), 90 Mark (Z 1013.64, 1990).