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Announced at the Chicago Electronics Show in June 1982, the CBM BX256 was to be the first in the new 'BX' series range, the
third-generation PET designed by none other than the German designer of Porsche motor cars. Along with the B128, it was touted as
one of the replacements for the CBM 8032 that promised to bring Commodore Business Machines in line with more modern micro
computers. The BX256 was equipped with the MOS 6509 micro processor, the same SID chip as used in the C-64, and 256K of RAM, but
using an external 640K memory expansion, 896K was possible. It also included the 8088 16-bit micro-processor board for CP/M-86
capability.
There was a built-in RS-232C interface for hooking up modems and printers, Commodore's traditional IEEE-488 interface to support
the full range of Commodore peripherals, a real-time clock, an enhanced Microsoft BASIC upward compatible with BASIC 4.0, audio
system output, monitor output, and a cartridge slot for plug-in games and other software. High-level languages such as U.C.S.D.
Pascal would also be supported, and the CP/M made possible languages such as FORTRAN, COBOL and APL. It came with an 80 column 25
line built-in "tilt-and-swivel" green phosphor monitor, dual 5¼" disk drives and detachable keyboard. Its 94 keys
included 10 programmable function keys, a separate numeric keypad with CE, 00, ENTER and math operators, a key for each cursor
arrow to support the full-screen editor, a large and easy to find RETURN, Pi, ESC, CTRL, INS/DEL, RUN/STOP, NORM/GRPH, CLR/HOME,
OFF/RVS, and the full CBM business character set with PET graphics symbols.
A release date of October 1982 was announced but the machine was not released as far as we know.
| CBM BX256 | Technical Specifications |
| Microprocessor | MOS 6509 |
| System Memory | 2K ROM |
| User Area | 256K RAM, and using a 640K external expansion to 896K. |
| Keyboard | Qwerty layout - 94 keys including 10 programmable function keys and numeric keypad. |
| Display | 80 columns 25 lines 255 displayable characters |
| Resolution | 640 x 400 pixels |
| Colours | None - Monochrome Green only |
| Sound | 3 tone generators + white noise generator |
| Input/Output | RS232C Commodore Serial Port IEEE-488 Interface |
| Cassette Drive | No Cassette Drive port |
| Joysticks | No Joystick ports |
| Other | ROM Cartridge port |
| Price | US$2995 |