{"id":17725,"date":"2025-02-12T14:08:06","date_gmt":"2025-02-12T13:08:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deutschlandmuseum.de\/unkategorisiert\/robotron-a-5120\/"},"modified":"2025-07-22T15:22:54","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T13:22:54","slug":"robotron-a-5120","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.deutschlandmuseum.de\/en\/collection\/robotron-a-5120\/","title":{"rendered":"Robotron A 5120"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Robotron A 5120<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe first personal computers (PCs) developed in the 1980s provided first businesses and then private individuals with a level of processing power that previously only mainframes could provide. These first steps into the digital age are symbolized in the Deutschlandmuseum by a Robotron A 5120 office computer produced in the DDR. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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The first mass-produced East German office computer<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Produced by VEB Elektronische Rechenmaschinen in Karl-Marx-Stadt (now Chemnitz) the Robotron A 5120 was named after the parent company of the factory in which it was manufactured, VEB Kombinat Robotron, the largest industrial combine in the DDR. The word Robotron was a portmanteau word created by combining the words robotics and electronics. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe cockpit of East German technological advance: the headquarters of VEB Kombinat Robotron in Dresden <\/strong>(source: Ncarste, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The usually brown, more rarely white or orange, casing and the overall style of the Robotron A 5120 was the brainchild of designer Antje Erkmann. The PC was available in different versions; the model on display in the Deutschlandmuseum was the most common. The computer consists of two parts, an integrated green-display monitor, CPU and three drives for 5.25-inch floppy discs, and a separate keyboard. Designed solely for word and data processing, the A 5120 does not feature a graphics card or audio output. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Modern DDR technology in a solid metal housing<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The 8-bit MME U880 microprocessor was an unlicensed copy of the American Zilog Z80. Manufactured by VEB Mikroelektronik Karl Marx in Erfurt, it was installed in a range of computers and cipher machines deployed in the technical systems developed in the DDR. Whilst the basic version of the processor provided 16 Kbyte of RAM, specialist configurations could provide up to 64 Kbyte. Western office and home computers of the early 1980s featured comparable processors and RAM values. <\/p>

The difference between East and West was manifested in the price. Depending on the model, the Robotron 5120 cost between 27,000 and 80,000 DDR marks. By comparison, a basic East German car, the Trabant 601, cost less than 9,000 Marks. The extremely popular western Commodore C64 (also on display in the Deutschlandmuseum) cost 1,495 DM in 1982 and was reduced to 700 DM in 1983. The difference in weight was even more pronounced. Whilst the C64 weighed a mere 1.8 kilograms, the Robotron A 5120 brought a whopping 33 kilograms to the scales. <\/p>

In total, VEB Elektronische Rechenmaschinen produced around 17,000 Robotron PCs intended for use in businesses and scientific research institutions. It was an impressive piece of technological history, built to last. <\/p>

The Robotron A 5120 is on loan from the DDR Museum Berlin.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Property information<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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