MK14
MK14 (foreground) with modern reproductions behind | |
| Also known as | MK14 |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Science of Cambridge |
| Type | computer kit |
| Release date | 1977 |
| Introductory price | £39.95 GBP (£314; $430 at 2025 prices) |
| Units sold | 15,000 |
| CPU | National Semiconductor SC/MP (INS8060) |
| Memory | 256 bytes of RAM (expandable to 640 bytes) + 512 bytes of ROM |
| Display | 8 or 9 red light-emitting diode (LED) seven segment display |
| Input | 20 key keyboard |
| Successor | ZX80 |
The MK14 (Microcomputer Kit 14) was a computer kit sold by Science of Cambridge of the United Kingdom, first introduced in 1977 for £39.95. The price was very low for a complete computer system at the time, and Science of Cambridge eventually sold over fifteen thousand kits.
The design was unusual in that it used the National Semiconductor SC/MP microprocessor, which was not widely used in this role. The original design was custom, based on a Sinclair calculator as the main input and output device. National Semiconductor offered them the design of National's IntroKit single board computers for free if they agreed to a purchase agreement on the parts, which would be lower than what they could negotiate separately. The original design was dropped in favour of National's offer.
Several upgrades for memory were available, allowing a maximum of 2 kB of RAM, as well as a variety of other add-ons.