Panasonic JR-200

The Panasonic JR-200 was a compact home computer with a rubber keyboard, colourful character graphics and built-in BASIC. Programs and data were stored on cassette and displayed on a television.

Its distinctive blue case, custom character graphics and modest price made it one of Panasonic’s earliest internationally distributed home computers.

Notable Features

• Rubber chiclet keyboard
• Programmable character graphics
• Built-in BASIC and cassette interface

Historical Significance

• Its distinctive blue case, custom character graphics and modest price made it one of Panasonic’s earliest internationally distributed home computers.

Collector’s Notes

• Keyboard condition, power supply and regional video standard should be checked; software libraries were relatively small.
• Memory, storage, displays and expansion hardware should be documented because configurations often changed during a system’s working life.

Specifications

Technical Information
Name	Panasonic JR-200
Manufacturer	Panasonic
Launched	Friday, January 1, 1982
Launch Price	Approximately $300
Country	Japan
CPU	MN1800A compatible with Motorola 6802
Units Sold
Form Factor	Keyboard console
Power	External power supply
Networking	None
Operating System	Microsoft BASIC
Expansion / I/O	Cassette, printer, joystick and RF/composite video
Keyboard	Integrated 63-key rubber keyboard
Storage	Cassette
Sound	Three voices over five octaves
Colours	8
Graphics	32 x 24 text with programmable 8 x 8 characters
Display	Television
ROM	16 KB including BASIC
RAM	32 KB
CPU Speed	Approximately 0.89 MHz