Commodore Teachers' PET

The Teachers’ PET was a PET 2001-8N supplied through Commodore’s Canadian education initiatives and marked with a distinctive donation badge. Its underlying hardware remained that of the standard full-keyboard PET.

The model records Commodore’s important early effort to place computers and teacher training in Canadian schools.

Notable Features

• The special Teachers’ PET identification badge is its principal distinguishing feature.
• Hardware corresponds closely to an 8KB PET 2001-N.

Historical Significance

• The model records Commodore’s important early effort to place computers and teacher training in Canadian schools.

Collector’s Notes

• PET revisions often share names while differing in motherboard, ROM, keyboard and display hardware; the serial number and internal board revision should be recorded.
• Memory, storage, displays and expansion hardware should be documented because configurations often changed during a system’s working life.

Specifications

Technical Information
Name	Commodore Teachers' PET
Manufacturer	Commodore
Launched	Tuesday, January 1, 1980
Discontinued	Early 1980s
Country	United States
CPU	MOS Technology 6502 at approximately 1 MHz
Units Sold
Form Factor	All-in-one metal desktop computer
Power	Internal mains supply
Networking	PET networking and shared-drive systems available from Commodore and third parties
Operating System	Commodore BASIC in ROM
Expansion / I/O	IEEE-488, cassette, user port and internal expansion connections
Keyboard	Full-size graphics keyboard
Storage	External cassette and IEEE-488 disk options; external IEEE-488 disk drives supported
Sound	Piezoelectric beeper on later models; early PETs have no dedicated sound
Colours	Monochrome green or white phosphor
Graphics	MOS 6545/CRTC or discrete PET video logic depending on model; character graphics
Display	Built-in 9-inch CRT; 40 x 25 text
ROM	PET BASIC firmware
RAM	8KB
CPU Speed	Approximately 1 MHz