Sharp MZ-80C

The Sharp MZ-80C refined the successful MZ-80K for the Japanese market in 1979. It retained the integrated Z80-based Clean Computer architecture while providing a more comfortable typewriter-style keyboard, 48KB of RAM and a green-screen monitor.

Programs and languages were loaded from the built-in cassette drive, preserving the flexibility that distinguished Sharp’s early MZ computers from machines with BASIC permanently stored in ROM.

Notable Features

• Improved typewriter-style keyboard compared with the MZ-80K.
• 48KB RAM and integrated green-screen CRT.
• Retained Sharp’s cassette-loaded Clean Computer architecture.

Historical Significance

• An important refinement of Sharp’s first personal-computer platform.
• Helped bridge the original semi-kit MZ-80K and later professionally styled MZ systems.

Collector's Notes

• The MZ-80C was primarily a Japanese-market model and is scarce elsewhere.
• The integrated CRT and cassette mechanism require appropriate safety precautions during restoration.

Specifications

Technical Information
Name	Sharp MZ-80C
Manufacturer	Sharp
Launched	Wednesday, January 10, 1979
Discontinued	Early 1980s
Country	Japan
CPU	Sharp LH0080, Zilog Z80-compatible
Units Sold
Architecture	Sharp Clean Computer system
Ports	Centronics-compatible printer interface
Keyboard	Full typewriter-style keyboard
Storage	Integrated cassette recorder
Graphics	Character-based semigraphics
Text	40 × 25 characters
Display	Integrated monochrome CRT
ROM	Monitor ROM; BASIC and languages loaded from cassette
RAM	Up to 48KB
CPU Speed	Approximately 2 MHz