Olivetti M15, 80s laptop, vintage notebook, laptop, monochrome LCD display

Olivetti M15

The Olivetti M15 is a portable personal computer with 80C88 processor. It was produced in 1987 by the Italian company Olivetti. It is a laptop with monochrome LCD display and internal NiCd battery. The operating system is MSDOS. With regard to data storage media, the Olivetti M15 is equipped with two internal floppy disk drives, 3.5", 720KB.

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Its big brother, the Olivetti M15 Plus, can be equipped with a 20MB hard drive, instead of one of the two floppy drives, and the LCD display has backlighting, which the M15 does not have.

The keyboard is removable: it can be used both in its housing, and externally to it.

Olivetti M15, computer portatile anni 80, vintage notebook laptop, tastiera rimovibile, monitor LCD. TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS

CPU:	            80C88 (4.77 MHz)

ROM:	            16K bytes

RAM:	            User RAM: 256K bytes, 512K bytes depending on con-
                    figuration.
Video RAM:          16K bytes

CLOCK:	            Battery-backed clock/calender

Minifloppy	    Two 3.5"disk drives.
disk drive:	    Diskettes used:
                    double sided, double density, 135 t.p.i.
No. of heads:       2
No. of cylinders (tracks): 80
Data transfer rate: 250K bits/sec.

Power supply to	    5 V DC (from Power Unit)
Central Unit:	    5 V DC (from battery)

System power	    max. 20 W
consumption:

Display:	    1:2.4 aspect ratio
                    Liquid crystal display (LCD)
                    Alphanumeric:
                    25 lines of 80 characters
                    25 lines of 40 characters (by selection)
                    Graphic:
                    640 x 200 pixels
                    320 x 200 pixels

Keyboard:	    78 keys, including:
                    10 Function keys
                    Numeric keypad (integrated into alphanumeric area) 
		    LEDs indicating numeric keypad and upper case mode

Battery:	    Ni-Cd-Battery set, 5 V
                    500 charge/recharge cycles
                    6 hours operation with 10 % use of the disk drives 
		    8 hours recharging time

Interfaces:	    Parallel (Centronics)
                    Serial (RS 232C)
                    Interface for the optional 5.25"disk drive
                    Common Bus

31/E
	


Ambient	Temperature range: from 5 to 35º C (41 to 95º F).
                           conditions	
Relative Humidity:  from 20 to 80 per cent, non condensing.
Altitude (max.):    operating 3000 m. (10,000 feet),
                    non-operating 10,000 m. (33,000 feet)

Dimensions/	    385 x 276 x 72 mm.
Weight:	            (15.15 x 10.8 x 2.83 inches)
                    5,700 Kg (12.5 Ibs).

AC Adapter:	    Input: AC (voltage, frequency according to the label on the
                    AC-Adapter)
Output:             5 V DC for battery charging,
                    5 V DC to system
                    AC supply current variations tolerated:
                    Voltage +/-10 per cent
                    Frequency +/-1 per cent

32/E	Installation and Operations Guide

I had the opportunity to purchase this laptop on the Facebook group "Retro Computer, Audio and Vintage Electronics". A member of the group sold this computer at a low price, because it has some small defects in the LCD monitor.

Olivetti M15, computer portatile anni 80, vintage notebook, laptop, display LCD monocromatico. TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS

CPU:	            80C88 (4.77 MHz)

ROM:	            16K bytes

RAM:	            User RAM: 256K bytes, 512K bytes depending on con-
                    figuration.
Video RAM:          16K bytes

CLOCK:	            Battery-backed clock/calender

Minifloppy	    Two 3.5"disk drives.
disk drive:	    Diskettes used:
                    double sided, double density, 135 t.p.i.
No. of heads:       2
No. of cylinders (tracks): 80
Data transfer rate: 250K bits/sec.

Power supply to	    5 V DC (from Power Unit)
Central Unit:	    5 V DC (from battery)

System power	    max. 20 W
consumption:

Display:	    1:2.4 aspect ratio
                    Liquid crystal display (LCD)
                    Alphanumeric:
                    25 lines of 80 characters
                    25 lines of 40 characters (by selection)
                    Graphic:
                    640 x 200 pixels
                    320 x 200 pixels

Keyboard:	    78 keys, including:
                    10 Function keys
                    Numeric keypad (integrated into alphanumeric area) 
		    LEDs indicating numeric keypad and upper case mode

Battery:	    Ni-Cd-Battery set, 5 V
                    500 charge/recharge cycles
                    6 hours operation with 10 % use of the disk drives 
		    8 hours recharging time

Interfaces:	    Parallel (Centronics)
                    Serial (RS 232C)
                    Interface for the optional 5.25"disk drive
                    Common Bus

31/E
	


Ambient	Temperature range: from 5 to 35º C (41 to 95º F).
                           conditions	
Relative Humidity:  from 20 to 80 per cent, non condensing.
Altitude (max.):    operating 3000 m. (10,000 feet),
                    non-operating 10,000 m. (33,000 feet)

Dimensions/	    385 x 276 x 72 mm.
Weight:	            (15.15 x 10.8 x 2.83 inches)
                    5,700 Kg (12.5 Ibs).

AC Adapter:	    Input: AC (voltage, frequency according to the label on the
                    AC-Adapter)
Output:             5 V DC for battery charging,
                    5 V DC to system
                    AC supply current variations tolerated:
                    Voltage +/-10 per cent
                    Frequency +/-1 per cent

32/E	Installation and Operations Guide

In addition to the computer, I also bought the original Olivetti power supply, the cables and the original bag for transporting the computer.

Olivetti M15, 80s laptop, vintage notebook, carrying bag, power supply, cables

Startup screen

The computer boots with Resident Diagnostics: These are ROM-resident diagnostic programs that verify that the computer is working properly. Diagnostic programs test the operation of: CPU (80C88), ROM, Timer, Interrupt, DMA, LCD controller, video RAM and system RAM.

After the initial self-test, the computer searches for a startup disk. If not present, it prompts you to insert it into the A: drive and press a button.

The computer then starts with the Microsoft MS-DOS operating system version 3.20.

80s laptop, vintage notebook, monochrome LCD display, www.valoroso.it

Technical characteristics of the Olivetti M15

CPU: 80C88, 16-bit, 4.77 MHz

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ROM: 16 KB

RAM: 256 KB, expandable up to 512 KB, my computer has 512 KB

Olivetti M15, 80s laptop, vintage laptop notebook, internal cards, floppy disk drive, mainboard, RAM expansion, circuits

Graphics: Integrated LCD, monochrome, 16 KB video memory

Text mode: 80 columns x 25 rows or 40 columns x 25 rows

Graphics mode: 640 x 200 pixels or 320 x 200 pixels

Audio: Built-in system speaker

Keyboard: Detachable, QWERTY 78 keys, includes function keys and numeric keypad

Battery: NiCd, 4.8V, 4400mAh, allows computer use for 6-8 hours

Olivetti M15, vintage laptop, notebook NiCd battery replacement

Software supplied: Microsoft MS-DOS version 3.20

Storage media: n. 2 internal floppy disk drives, 3.5", 720 KB

Expansion ports:

  • Centronics
  • External Floppy Disk Drive, Optional, 5.25
  • Serial (RS 232C)
  • Common Bus
Olivetti M15, 80s laptop, vintage notebook, rear ports, parallel, serial, BUS expansion, external floppy disk drive, power supply, battery charger

Dimensions and weight: 385 x 276 x 72 mm, 5.7 Kg

Olivetti, 80s laptop, M15, vintage notebook, closed

Emulation

The portable computer starts with the Microsoft MS-DOS operating system. It is possible to emulate the MS-DOS environment with DOSBox (although DOSBox is an emulator for x86-based systems).

Power supply

The Olivetti laptop personal power supply is external, 48VA. It accepts mains voltages from 100 V to 240 V alternating, 50-60 Hz. It has a 5V. direct current output, to power the laptop, and a second output to charge the computer battery. The computer draws 20 W maximum.

Olivetti M15, 80s laptop, vintage notebook, closed transport bag

Papers

1. Olivetti M15, technical specifications

2. Olivetti M15, installation and operations guide

Collection entry date: 18/11/2022

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4 Comments

  1. Hello. Thanks for the interesting article.
    Recently, I also received such a computer.
    I want to take it apart to clean and check the plastic hinges. Could you tell me how to remove the display, is it possible to disassemble it?
    Thanks for the answer.

  2. Hello,

    I bought a brand new M15 in 1989 and still have it with boot disks and manuals, but the original computer bag was stolen – is it possible to buy a new one?

  3. Hello! I’m not a seller. I just show my collection in this blog. I think it is difficult to find the bag. I think you should keep eBay and Vinted monitored for some time, in order to see if somebody is selling it.

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