Perhaps this is an improper forum for this question, but I know a lot of you
find European folks hang out here, and may be able to help me.
I recently picked up a CBM-II series low profile machine off eBay from a
British seller. He said it was a CBM-500, but when I questioned him, he
quickly backed away from that and admitted he didn't know what it was. The
back sticker, where the model number is typically written, was conveniently
torn in half, right above the serial number. ARGH!!!
The facts are these:
Low profile, CBM-II series machine in the "typical" casing.
80 column, BASIC 4.0.
256K memory.
The back plate is plainly from a CBM P500 (joystick ports knocked out, but
unpopulated).
The ROM chips (EPROMs with stickers, of course) read "CBM 700 Kernal",
etc...
No 8088 option.
Serial number WG000074.
Guesses include:
A CBM 700:
Pros: It's the only model number written anywhere. The canonical list
documents a low profile CBM 700 machine.
Cons: Low profile CBM 700s are, I believe, a myth (gut feeling). Only
High-profile machines have been documented, to my knowledge, with a "CBM
700" model number. The canonical list says the CBM 700 is a 128k machine.
A CBM 500:
Pros: The seller said it was one. Low serial number 256K machines in the
U.S. are known with model number "CBM B500". The Cannonical List documents
the CBM 500 as a low profile 256k Machine.
Cons: None really, except that I've never heard of one before.
A CBM 620:
Pros: The computer meets all the specs of the CBM 620. Low profile. 256k
memory. European. And they are known to exist!
Cons: The serial number is very low to have the full production model
number. Low serial number U.S. CBM-IIs are often B500 models.
So. That is all I know and guess, but would like to hear all of your
thoughts.
- Bo Zimmerman
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