Sanyo PHC-20

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PHC-20
Sanyo PHC-20 logo with background.png
Manufacturer Sanyo
Product family Sanyo PHC-10, PHC-20 and PHC-25 family
TypeHome computer
Release date1982
Introductory price¥47,800 - 1982 (Japan) [1]
£100 - 1982/83 (Cancelled UK launch) [2] [3]
Media Audio cassette (via cassette out) [4]
CPU Z80A-compatible [4]
Memory4 kB [4]
DisplayMonochrome video out [4]
Input Keyboard (56 keys) [4]
Power7W (via AC PSU) [4]
Dimensions51 x 160 x 300 mm [4]
Weight790g [4]
Marketing targetHome
RelatedSanyo PHC-10 and 25
Language Extended Tiny BASIC [4]

The Sanyo PHC-20 is a home computer released by Sanyo in 1982 and a member of the concurrently-launched Sanyo PHC-10, PHC-20 and PHC-25 family.

Contents

The PHC-20 sits between the PHC-10 and PHC-25 in terms of price [1] and capability [2] and features a monochrome display output and a simple, integer-only implementation of BASIC.

Features and design

The PHC-20 is based on a Z80A-compatible CPU and includes 4 kB of RAM [2] and support for monochrome-only video for display on external television or monitor.

In common with the majority of home computers of its era, the PHC-20 features a built-in BASIC interpreter- in this case a limited, integer-only implementation known as Extended Tiny BASIC. [4]

The PHC-20 lacks the printer [4] and expansion ports of the higher-end PHC-25 (with blanking plates on the case where those appear on the latter). [5] [6]

Despite the superficial similarities, the PHC-20 is not merely a cut-down PHC-25. It features an internal design and architecture distinct in several major respects and which was described by emulator developer Toshiya Takeda as "unique" and "completely different" to that of the PHC-25. [7]

Reception

A joint review in the UK-based Your Computer magazine focused mainly on the PHC-25, but devoted a few paragraphs to the PHC-10 and 20. While the PHC-20 was praised for sharing the "same good ergonomics" as its stablemates ("well packaged and [with] comfortable keyboards"), it was considered underspecified for the price and criticised for a lack of printer support and a "severely limited" BASIC. [2]

It concluded that "users can expect new machines to offer more than 3K user RAM, integer Basic and black and white display for £100". [2]

In France, L'Ordinateur individuel magazine considered the PHC-20 less interesting than the PHC-25 (accounting for the 700 F price difference). [8]

Release, marketing and availability

Japan

The PHC-20 was announced in Japan in mid-1982 alongside both the PHC-10 and PHC-25. A release date of 1 May and a launch price of ¥47,800 were quoted. [1]

France

Sanyo France announced the PHC-20 (alongside the PHC-25 and PHC-8000) in late 1982 for a price of 1500 F. [8] [9] However, L'Ordinateur individuel magazine- which had itself expressed more interest in PHC-25- commented that Sanyo France were "showing little enthusiasm for [the PHC-20's] distribution". [8]

While the PHC-25 was later sold in France [Notes 1] it is not clear whether or not the PHC-20 ultimately made it to shops there.

United Kingdom

In the UK, it was announced that the PHC-20 would launch for £100 in January 1983, alongside the PHC-10 and PHC-25. [11] Your Computer magazine reviewed all three together for the October 1982 issue. [2] However, they later noted that they had all "disappeared again in November" [3] with no indication that they ever reached the UK market.

United States

In the United States, Sanyo originally intended to sell the PHC-20 for $99 [12] alongside the PHC-25. However, despite advance publicity having already made it into print, they later withdrew both [13] [14] and the PHC-20 never went on sale there. [14]

Sanyo's then marketing manager Ron Milos commented on the affair in early 1984, saying "we had a lot of trouble with that one" and describing it as "nice, but not unique". [14]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Sanyo France continued to promote the PHC-25 for around a year or so after its launch there [10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Micom News". 月刊マイコン ('Monthly Microcomputer'). June 1982. p. 496. [Product Number, Standard Price, Release Date / PHC-10, 24,800 yen, May 25 1982 / PHC-20, 47,800 yen, May 1 1982 / PHC-25, 69,800 yen, June 25 1982]
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Review [Joint review, PHC-20 sections]". Your Computer [UK] . October 1982. pp. 24, 25, 27. PHC-20, a 4K RAM. machine with no colour capability for about £100 [..] PHC-20 is Z-80A based with 8K of ROM and 4K RAM of which 3K is available to the user. [..] Although the PHC-20 is quite fast it is severely limited by an integer-only ROM. [..] [PHC-20 was reviewed alongside the lower-end] PHC-10 [and the] top of the range [colour-capable] PHC-25 for about £150. [Plus other quotes used directly in article].
  3. 1 2 "Editorial". Your Computer [UK]. November 1984. p. 41. Remember Sanyo's enigmatic PHC range which appeared in October 1982 [issue in which PHC-10, 20 and 25 were reviewed] and disappeared again in November?
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 ""New Products [..] PHC-10, PHC-20, PHC-25, PHC-8000" [ PHC-20 details column ]". I/O (in Japanese). June 1982. p. 365. [PHC-20, CPU: Z80A, ROM: 8KB, RAM: 4KB [..] 56 keys [..] [ Marked present for cassette and video interface, absent for printer interface], Color display: [No], Power supply: AC 100V [..] Language: Extended Tiny BASIC, Power consumption: 7.0W, Size: 51 x 160 x 300mm [identical to PHC-10 and PHC-25 dimensions in adjacent columns], Weight (g): 790]
  5. ↑ "[Image of rear of PHC-20]". homecomputer.de. Archived from the original on 17 September 2025.
  6. ↑ "[Image of rear of PHC-20 and text on blanking plate reading...]". Yahoo! Japan auctions. Archived from the original on 4 September 2025. [[Sticker over blanking plate reads] A printer cannot be used with this model (PHC-20)]
  7. ↑ Toshiya Takeda (4 September 2010). "ePHC-20 / ePHC-25 / eMAP-1010 / eCEFUCOM-21 謎WIPページ". Archived from the original on 23 January 2025. [PHC-20...] 単に、PHC-25からメモリを減らしただけと思って油断してたんですが、 外見はともかく中身は似ても似つかぬ代物でした。割り込み未使用、メモリマップドI/Oのみなど、かなり特徴的です。メモリマップもPHC-25とは全然違ってます。キーマップはPHC-25と似てますが、ANK以外のキーはかなり違ってます。[[I thought that PHC-20] was simply a PHC-25 with less memory, but the internals were completely different. Its unique design includes no interrupts and only memory-mapped I/O. The memory map is also completely different [..]The keymap is similar [but] the keys other than ANK are quite different.]
  8. 1 2 3 "Nouveau Produits". L'ordinateur Individuel. Paris ("L'ordinateur Individuel, Paris"): Groupe Tests. December 1982. pp. 61, 62. Les nouveaux Sanyo seraient arrivés [..] novembre. Ce sont notamment les modèles PHC 20 et 25. [PHC 20] coûte 1 500 FF ttc. [..] (Le modèle 20 est toutefois nettement moins intéressant que le PHC 25 vu la différence de pnx de 700 FF ttc, et Sanyo France semble manifester peu d'empressement pour sa diffusion.)[The new Sanyo models are expected to arrive [in] November. These include the PHC 20 and 25 models. [PHC 20] costs 1,500 FF including tax. [..] (The 20 model is, however, significantly less interesting than the PHC 25 given the price difference of 700 FF including tax, and Sanyo France seems to be showing little enthusiasm for its distribution.)]
  9. ↑ "Entrées : Pour noël ou le jour de l'an". Micro7. December 1982. p. 19. ...de nouveaux produits Sanyo. Déjà présentés, ils seront commercialisés en décembre ou au plus tard début janvier 83. Le PHC20 [..et..] le PHC 25 [..et..] le PHC 8000[...new Sanyo products. Already presented, they will be marketed in December or at the latest at the beginning of January 83. The PHC20 [..and..] the PHC 25 [..and..] the PHC 8000]
  10. ↑ Sanyo France (January 1984). "[Sanyo PHC-25 advertisement]". Micro et Robots. No. 3. Société des Publications Radio-Electriques et Scientifiques [..] 75940 Paris. p. 5.
  11. ↑ "Three New Micros from Sanyo". Popular Computing Weekly . 4 November 1982. p. 5. Archived from the original on 26 March 2024. Sanyo will launch three new microcomputers in the UK in January 1983. [..] PHC-25 [..] PHC-20, to cost around £100 [..] PHC10
  12. ↑ John Dvorak (31 January 1983). "Inexpensive home computers highlight winter CES". InfoWorld. p. 18. Archived from the original on 10 September 2025. Three [Sanyo] models were shown [..] The PHC 10 [..] won't be released in this country [the United States], and no price was available. [..] The PHC 20 [costs] $99 [plus] a more expensive version, the PHC-25
  13. ↑ David H. Ahl (January 1984). "IFIP, SICOB and PCW". Creative Computing. p. 148. Another small machine we saw previously at CES is the Sanyo PHC-25. [..] We were told it would not be marketed in the U.S. because of the cutthroat price competition at that end of the market.
  14. 1 2 3 Arielle Emmett (February 1984). "Why Japanese Computers Aren't Selling in America". Personal Computing. Hayden. p. 237. [Sanyo] had planned to market a home computer known as the PHC 20 series in the U.S., but pulled the machine out before it even hit the dealer shelves, according to Ron Milos, marketing manager for Sanyo. "We had a lot of trouble with that one," [..] there were already advance press reports [..] [It] was "nice," he reports, but not unique.
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