Technical information

Micro-KIM Users Manual
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With an onboard keyboard, 6 segment display, and the ability to connect to a TTY terminal and cassette player
for program storage, it was a complete computer package all on a single board. The success of the KIM-1 was a
catalyst for user groups, magazines based on the 6502 and the KIM-1, and even software companies.
One of the most well known success stories from the KIM-1 is by Peter Jennings who discovered the KIM-1 in
an article in the April 1976 issue of BYTE magazine. Peter Jennings wrote the now infamous Microchess for
the 1K KIM-1 and showed people what can be accomplished with a little memory and a lot of desire. You can
read more about Peter’s story on Microchess at: http://www.benlo.com/index.html
Figure 2: April 1976 article in BYTE magazine featuring the KIM-1
With growing demand, MOS technology started designing add-on boards for the KIM-1. The KIM-2 was a 4K
RAM board, the KIM-3 was an 8K RAM board and the KIM-4 was a motherboard with expansion slots so users
could add multiple boards. The development and production of these boards was slow and people grew
impatient, resulting in aftermarket boards being developed.
After Commodore had purchased MOS technology, they continued to produce the KIM-1. The onboard logo
changed slightly to C=MOS but the layout was kept intact. There were a few revisions but I’m not sure what the
revisions changed. Meanwhile the creator of the 6502 and the KIM-1, Chuck Peddle was working on an
improved version with QWERTY keyboard and a video display. The result of that work turned out the PET
computer in 1977.
The KIM-1 can be credited for being the first single board computer and the first computer for the 6502 CPU;
what the KIM-1 did was to start the first generation of single board computer hobbyists.