Amstrad NC150
 | |
| Outline of the flat Notepad case used by the NC100 and NC150 | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Amstrad plc |
| Type | Notebook computer |
| Released | April 1993 (France and Italy) |
| CPU | Zilog Z80-compatible |
| Memory | 128 KB RAM |
| Storage | PCMCIA/JEIDA SRAM card |
| Display | 80 × 8 character LCD, not backlit |
| Sound | — |
| ROM | 512 KB, including a spreadsheet and a falling-blocks game |
| Power | Four AA cells or mains adaptor; lithium backup cell |
| OS / Firmware | — |
| Predecessor | Amstrad NC100 |
The Amstrad NC150 Notepad is the second model of Amstrad's Notepad range, sold in France and Italy. It keeps the flat A4 case and eight-line screen of the Amstrad NC100, doubles the RAM to 128 KB and the ROM to 512 KB, and uses the extra ROM for a spreadsheet and an action game in which falling shapes are fitted together.[1][2]
History
[edit | edit source]Robin and Chris Nixon's Advanced User Guide, published in 1993, reported that the NC150 was on sale in France and Italy and should soon reach Britain, and that Amstrad intended it to replace the NC100 as the entry-level model.[1] Wikipedia describes it as available only in Italy and France.[2] Tim Surtell's NC users' site gives the launch as April 1993 and describes the NC150 as the NC100's hardware with 128 KB of RAM and the NC200's software, sold only in French and Italian versions, with a French or Italian spell-checker and no WordStar file format.[3]
Cliff Lawson, Amstrad's NC project manager, wrote on the same site that he asked Ranger, a firm known for Sinclair Z88 software, to write an improved terminal program for the NC150, and that Ranger hid a hook in it that lets the NC150 use their external floppy drive. The NC100 has no Ranger code; the NC200 has a built-in drive and Ranger's disc routines.[4] The NC200, a clamshell model with a 16-line backlit screen and a 3.5-inch disc drive, took the NC150's extra software.[1][2] The Centre for Computing History describes the NC100, NC150 and NC200 as Z80-based products that Alan Sugar hoped would help revive Amstrad's fortunes.[5]
Hardware
[edit | edit source]| Item | NC100 | NC150 |
|---|---|---|
| RAM | 64K | 128K |
| ROM | 256K | 512K |
| Extra software | – | Spreadsheet; games (Böhling names Blockade; the NC users' site lists Blockade, Super Blockade and Trikade) |
| External floppy drive | – | Optional Ranger drive through a hook in the terminal software |
| Case and screen | Flat A4 case, 80 × 8 LCD | |
Sources: Nixon,[1] the NC users' site,[3][4] Böhling[6] and Wikipedia.[2]
Böhling's surgical guide, written from an NC100, titles its block diagram and power supply diagram "NC100/NC150", showing the same arrangement for both: four AA cells, a lithium backup cell, a 6 V DC adaptor input through fuse F301, and a DC/DC converter with a lithium-backed supply for the RAM and clock.[6] His board description and IC table are for the NC100.
Repair guides
[edit | edit source]The NC100 guides give the full procedures for the shared case and power arrangement: Amstrad NC100 Maintenance Guide and Amstrad NC100 Troubleshooting Guide.
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Amstrad NC100
- Amstrad NC100 Surgical Guide · Amstrad Notepad Computer User Manual
- Battery Explosion, Capacitor or Corrosion Damage
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Robin Nixon and Chris Nixon, The Amstrad Notepad Advanced User Guide (Sigma Press, 1993), p. 247, "New Notepad models". Scan at archive.org. Retrieved 2026-10-02. The NC150 on sale in France and Italy, its 512K ROM and 128K RAM against the NC100's 256K and 64K, the spreadsheet and game, and Amstrad's plan for it to replace the NC100 as the entry-level model.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Wikipedia, "Amstrad NC100", section "Upgrades". Retrieved 2026-10-02. The NC150 as an intermediate model sold only in Italy and France, in the NC100's case, with the games later seen on the NC200.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Tim Surtell, Tim's Amstrad NC Users' Site, "Introduction" and "Specifications of the NC Computers". Retrieved 2026-10-02. The NC150 launched in April 1993 with the NC100's hardware, 128 KB of RAM, the NC200's software and an option for an external floppy drive; French and Italian versions only; 4 × AA cells and a 6 V mains adaptor; spell-checker for French or Italian and no WordStar format.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Tim Surtell, Tim's Amstrad NC Users' Site, "Questions & Answers: Hardware". Retrieved 2026-10-02. Cliff Lawson, Amstrad's NC project manager, on the Ranger terminal software and external disc hook in the NC150; the internal fuse; adaptor rating and polarity; the NC100 display ribbon cable.
- ↑ Centre for Computing History, "Amstrad NC100", exhibit CH49463. Retrieved 2026-10-02.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Hans-Jürgen Böhling, A Surgical Guide To The Amstrad Notepad Computer. Community document, hosted as File:Amstrad NC100 Surgical Guide.pdf, described at Amstrad NC100 Surgical Guide. The NC150's ROM, RAM and software; the "NC100/NC150" block diagram and power supply diagram.