Description

Release 1974 | End of production 1977

The Altair 8800 microcomputer was developed in 1974 by Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS). Its kit consisted of several base boards and the bus system for up to 16 plug-in cards with 100 pins each. Once started from the machine console, the operating system, programming environments, Microsoft's Altair BASIC and other programs could be loaded from external data storage devices. Input and output could be done via a connected terminal. The Altair 8800 served as the centerpiece for further development within the Homebrew Computer Club and had a significant influence on the development of the first personal computers.

The ALTAIR 8800 can be interfaced with a great many external devices. Generally, these devices provide input information to the computer and accept output information from the computer. The CPU monitors the status of program execution and Input/Output devices and provides the necessary signals for servicing external devices. The programmer can instruct the CPU to either ignore or respond to interrupt signals provided by an external device. These interrupt signals, when accepted by the CPU, cause the program execution to be temporarily halted while the external device is serviced by the computer. When the external device has been serviced, the program resumes normal execution. The ALTAIR 8800 will service up to 256 Input and 256 Output devices.

Images

Altair 8800 front view

Altair 8800 inside view