Dick Smith VZ-200

The Dick Smith VZ-200 was an inexpensive colour home computer manufactured by Video Technology and sold throughout Australia and New Zealand. Its small rubber keyboard, Microsoft BASIC and television output targeted first-time programmers and families.

Although modestly equipped, the VZ-200 gained strong local support through Dick Smith stores, magazines and user groups. Expansion modules added RAM, floppy storage, speech and other capabilities.

Notable Features

• Low launch price made colour computing widely accessible in Australasia.
• Microsoft BASIC offered more built-in commands than several competing budget computers.
• A broad local range of cassette software and plug-in expansions sustained the system.

Historical Significance

• A formative first computer for many Australian and New Zealand programmers.
• Known elsewhere in related forms as the VTech Laser 200/210 and Texet TX8000.

Collector’s Notes

• Rubber keys and brittle early case plastic should be inspected carefully.
• The 16KB and 64KB expansion modules are separate accessories rather than base memory.

Specifications

Technical Information
Name	Dick Smith VZ-200
Manufacturer	Dick Smith Electronics
Launched	Friday, July 1, 1983
Launch Price	A$199
Country	Australia
CPU	Zilog Z80A at 3.58 MHz
Units Sold
Operating System	Microsoft BASIC 2.0 in ROM
I/O	RF, composite video, cassette, memory and general expansion ports
Keyboard	45-key rubber keyboard
Storage	600-baud cassette; optional floppy system
Sound	Piezoelectric speaker
Graphics	128 x 64 in 4 colours; VDG supported additional semigraphics modes
Display	32 x 16 text in 8 colours
ROM	16KB Microsoft BASIC
RAM	8KB main RAM plus 2KB video RAM; expandable to 24KB or banked 64KB
CPU Speed	3.58 MHz