SWTPC Advert - December 1976
From Popular Electronics
SWTPC: Need hardcopy? How about pictures?
This is an early advert from SWTPC, the San Antonio, Texas company that had been founded in 1967 out of an earlier business that specialised in selling electronics kits[1]. It's for a completely bizarre-looking dot matrix printer, the SWTPC PR-40 "Alphanumeric Printer".
Dot matrix printers had only been around for a couple of years, with the first commercially successful one probably being DEC's 1974 LA36[2].
SWTPC's version looks far more like an early cyclinder phonograph or some kind of telephone than a recognisable printer. It was based upon receipt-printer technology, and it looks it, right down to the 3 and 7/8" calculator/till-roll paper the printer used.
It did at least run from a generic 8-bit parallel port, so it was fairly universal with the advert claiming TTL, MITS/Altair and SWTPC's own 6800 compatibility.
It retailed for $250, or about £1,880 in 2024.
The second half of the advert is for the GT-6144 graphics terminal, available for $98.50, or about £650 in 2024.
It's not actually the TV shown, but was a 9½" x 13" board which plugged into an available parallel port, thus treating the display more like a printer.
Along with these two add-ons is also SWTPC's original 6800 computer system, first launched in November 1975 and based on the Motorola processor of the same name.
It was around until at least 1978 and in 1976 was retailing for $395 (about £2,820 in 2024).
This compared well against, for instance, MITS's Altair 680 - also based on the 6800 - which retailed for $625 plus tax, or about £4,230 in 2024.
Sources
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