Company Profile: Byturbo International Corp. (Boston, MA)

Byturbo sold rebranded Hyundai PC clones. In fact, the company referred to its PC family as “Byturbo by Hyundai.”  The Byturbo came in five models, the Model I through Model V, based on configuration.

Byturbo PC

Byturbo PC (1986?, desktop PC)
Original Retail Price: $895
Base Configuration: 8MHz 8088-II CPU, 256K RAM (640K max), 5.25-inch floppy drive, 6 expansion slots, parallel and serial ports, 84-key PC-AT type keyboard, 135W power supply, MS-DOS 3.2, Electric Desk
Important Options: 8087 FPU, 30MB hard drive, second 5.25-inch floppy drive, 10MB tape drive, monochrome  monitor

 

Company Profile: Blue Chip Electronics (Chandler, Ariz.)

Founded in 1982 by Commodore’s former European sales manager John Rossi, Blue Chip started as an export manufacturer of peripherals, mainly for Commodore systems. The company entered the PC market in 1986 with the Blue Chip Personal Computer, which was made by Hyundai.

In 1987, the company began selling the PC Popular, a relabeled Hyundai PC XT clone sold as the Super-16 under the Hyundai brand. The PC Popular was a low-cost system that came bundled with software designed “to allow the new PC owner to be instantly productive.”

Blue Chip Electronics Personal Computer

Blue Chip Personal Computer (1986, desktop PC)
Original Retail Price: $699
Base Configuration: 4.77MHz 8088 CPU, 512K RAM (640K max), 5.25-inch floppy drive, 6 expansion slots, serial and parallel ports, keyboard, MS-DOS 2.1
Video: 720 x 350 pixels
Important Options: 8087 FPU, monochrome or color monitor

 

 

 

Blue Chip Electronics PC Popular

Blue Chip Electronics PC Popular (1987, desktop PC)
Original Retail Price: $549
Base Configuration: 4.88/8MHz 8088-2 CPU, 512K RAM (640K max), 5.25-inch floppy drive, parallel and serial ports, 2 expansion slots, AT-style keyboard, mouse, MS-DOS 3.2
Video: CGA, Hercules
Important Options: second floppy drive, monochrome or color monitor, modem, multifunction card

Auction Report: This Week on eBay

Newly listed items to watch:

Tandy 1000HX, complete working system. Starting bid is only 99 cents, but I suspect the reserve is a bit higher than that. You will get a good deal if you can get this PC-compatible for less than $50.

HP-1000 Series M. The seller of this early microcomputer claims it’s working, but all he really claims is that the lights come on. It appears to be a relatively complete system, and the $1300 buy-it-now price is reasonable. 29 days left at this writing.

Franklin Ace 100. Although the opening bid is on the high side at $400, you don’t see many of the original Franklin line for sale.  This one appears to be in above-average working condition.

MicroBee 32K IC Series II. Popular in Australia, where this system currently resides, the MicroBee is a home system from the early 1980s. This example is in good working order with a lot of extras.

Commentary on recently ended auctions:

DEC VAX 11/780. The market is strong for DEC minicomputers. The VAX 11/780 was top of the line when new, and the $500 sale price is reasonable. I hope the buyer didn’t choose the seller’s option to part out the system.

HP 75C. Milestone models of handheld computers are rising in value. HP is one of the premiere brands in the space, and the HP 75C is one of the most sought-after models. This one sold for nearly $275–a strong price.

Hyundai Super-386STc PC. I have to admit, I’m surprised that this PC clone even sold, let a lone for $61 with no keyboard or monitor. The Hyundai brand never carried much cachet in the PC market. I could easily see an early Dell, Gateway, or AST system selling in this range. Maybe people are starting to collect off-brands of PC clones.