Contents |
Description
For its 3rd series of MSX1 computers, Sony has choosen the simplicity. The design remains similar to the HB-101 and HB-201 series, but all the extras such as firmware and pause or reset button have been removed. The following models exist:
| Product | Region | Keyboard | Video and audio out | Colour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sony HB-10 | JP | QWERTY/JP50on | RF, Composite video and audio | Red, Black or Gray |
| Sony HB-10B | UK | QWERTY with £ key | RF, Composite V+A DIN | Black |
| Sony HB-10D | DE | QWERTZ | RF, Composite V+A DIN | Black |
| Sony HB-10P | NL | QWERTY with £ key | RF, Composite V+A DIN | Black |
| ES | QWERTY with ñ key |
The power supply, a model out of the Sony AC-HB1 series, depending on target region, is external and its connector is proprietary.
| Brand | Sony |
| Model | HB-10 / HB-10B / HB-10D / HB-10P |
| Year | Late 1985 (HB-10) or 1986 (other models) |
| Region | HB-10: Japan HB-10B: United Kingdom HB-10D: Germany HB-10P: Netherlands and Spain |
| Launch price | JP: ¥34,800 UK: £89.00 |
| RAM | 16kB in slot 0 (HB-10) or 64kB in slot 3 (other models) |
| VRAM | 16kB |
| Media | Cartridges |
| Video | Texas Instruments TMS9118NL (HB-10) or Toshiba T6950 (other models) |
| Audio | PSG (YM2149F integrated in MSX-Engine S3527) |
| Chipset | Yamaha S3527 |
| Keyboard layout | see table above |
| Extras | |
| Emulation | ROM dumped and emulated for the HB-10 and HB-10P versions. ROM dumps needed for all other versions. See this thread for details |
Pictures
Check also the pages about the different models!
Specifications
The HB-10 is a MSX1 with a Z80A from NEC (DA780C-1) or Sharp (LH0080A) and an MSX-Engine from Yamaha (S3527).
The used VDP outside Japan is the Toshiba T6950, which does not support some undocumented features of the Texas Instruments TMS9918, TMS9928 and TMS9929 VDP's.
The 16kB model can be upgraded to 64kB by replacing the two 4416 chip with 4464 and add the components: C43 (390pF), C53 (100pF), R62 (47kΩ) and Q4 (NPN transistor like 2SC1815). Then you also need to move the resistor R61(N) to R61(P).
The PSG volume balance with sound expansion cartridges can be improved by replacing R22 (10kΩ) by an 1kΩ and R15 (10k) by a 4.7kΩ. (HB-10B, HB-10D and HB-10P)
Slot Map for 16kB model
| Slot 0 | Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Page C000h~FFFFh | 16kB RAM | Cartridge Slot 1 | Cartridge Slot 2 | ||||
| Page 8000h~BFFFh | |||||||
| Page 4000h~7FFFh | Main-ROM | ||||||
| Page 0000h~3FFFh |
Slot Map for 64kB models
| Slot 0 | Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Page C000h~FFFFh | RAM mirror* | Cartridge Slot 1 | Cartridge Slot 2 | 64kB RAM | |||
| Page 8000h~BFFFh | |||||||
| Page 4000h~7FFFh | Main-ROM | ||||||
| Page 0000h~3FFFh |
(*) RAM mirror quirk
Connections
- RF output
- Analog sound output and composite video output on HB-10
- 6-pin DIN Audio/Video connector on HB-10B, HB-10D and HB-10P
- Data Recorder connector
- Centronics compatible Parallel port for a printer
- 2 general connectors (Joysticks, Mice, Paddle controllers, etc)
- 2 cartridge slots
Fixes, Repair and Upgrades
Quirk on port A8h (RAM mirror)
All the HB-10 models with 64kB RAM and some very early versions of the HB-20P have a quirk on port A8h that makes RAM Page 3 appear both in slot 0 and in slot 3. This mirroring effect is emulated in openMSX for the Sony HB-10P, it can be very annoying as it can play havoc with games that need more than 16kB RAM, using the 16kB RAM mirror to store system variables and assuming that all the ram is in the same slot 0 as page 3.
This configuration can cause poorly written software to crash. Nevertheless, you can run these games if you type following command before loading:
OUT &hA8,240
For cartridges, the trick is to plug it after booting using a slot expander that has switches to disable each slot and prevent them from auto booting (WARNING!! Do not insert a cartridge when power is ON. It can damage the machine). Then type the following instructions on BASIC after re-enabling the slot:
OUT&hA8,240: DEFUSR=&H7D75: ?USR(0)
Alternatively, you can use ROM loaders like Execrom, LoadROM or OPFX /X. Since they start the game from MSX-DOS, this problem will be automatically solved as DOS already selects the proper slots for the RAM.
This quirk RAM mirror can be removed with the following minor modification. (HB-10B, HB-10D and HB-10P)
Links to fixes, repair and upgrades
- Fix the /RESET signal and the PSG volume balance (That improves significantly the cartridges support)
- Repair, upgrade to 64kB and various enhancements by Niga (Japanese)
Links
Pages in category "Sony HB-10"
The following 4 pages are in this category, out of 4 total.