The Amstrad PCW series is a range of personal computers produced by British company Amstrad from 1985 to 1998, and also sold under licence in Europe as the “Joyce” by the German electronics company Schneider in the early years of the series’ life.
The PCW, short for Personal Computer Word-Processor, was targeted at the word processing and home office markets. When it was launched the cost of a PCW system was under 25% of the cost of almost all IBM-compatible PC systems in the UK, and as a result the machine was very popular both in the UK and in Europe, persuading many technophobes to venture into using computers.
My History with the Amstrad PCW8256
I first saw the Amstrad PCW8256 in my commerce class at Elgar High School while in the 3rd year of secondary school.
This machine was also responsible for a couple of milestones in my computer development history. Both these things were instrumental on my computer career development and how I function even to this day.
Fear & Panic
The first thing that had a major impact on my life was when I first saw the machine. I was in the class on my own and was this glowing green screen in the corner and was instantly attracted and had to see what it was. I went up to the machine and pressed a couple of buttons and it beeped and then the whole screen was blank and I was instantly taken over by panic. I thought I had broken it, and when the teacher arrived to take the class, I would be in for it.
This was awful, I felt like most people where technology is concerned, I was afraid of breaking such an expensive computer, so I quickly started to focus on the problem and try and get the machine back to the state it was before I touched it so no one would notice anything had happened. I am not sure how I did it, but 5 minutes later after trying this and that, I got the machine back to the state it was just before the teacher turned up. The effect his had on me was that I never wanted to feel like that again where computers or technology was concerned, and from that moment, I vowed I would learn everything I could and never be afraid of technology. I still mess things up, but now its all part of the process and every failure teaches me something. I look back and I am glad of that first horrible experience, as it shaped who I am today.
Keep me out of trouble
For the second milestone, this was a plan from the teacher to keep me occupied and out of trouble during class. I was a high spirited student and was easily bored during class making me disruptive to the teacher and other students. This is where the teacher hatched her plan. She came up with this story of some students being ill and missing class, and it would be useful to have notes taken during the class to give them on their return.
I was tasked to type as the teacher taught the class, and quickly my touch typing speed increased, and my proficiency using this computer grew and grew. It was a good plan from the teacher, as it certainly kept me out of trouble, and did me yet another huge favour in my career. Both learning not to be afraid of new technology or situations and helping a hgh amount with my typing.
As with the BBC Model B improving my mathematics skills and experience, the Amstrad PCW8256 helped with me with my grammar, spelling and typing. Both key skills I continue to use today.
In October 2020, I found the Amstrad PCW8256 I wanted to add to my Retro Room
I spent a lot of time searching through all the eBay listings, checking this and that, and getting an idea of the price for retro systems. Eventually, I found this one that ticked all my boxes.
EBAY LISTING:
Vintage 1980s Amstrad PCW8256 Green Screen Personal Computer Word processor.
- In good overall condition. Has a few minor marks / scratches / yellowing etc
- In good working order.
- Complete with keyboard and boot disks.
- Disk drive has been serviced with a new belt fitted, motor bearings lubed etc.
- CRT is nice and bright.
After my Ebay purchase arrived, I took the computer apart to check the components and clean the case as much as possible.
The case is a bit yellow as is expected for a machine of this age.
As you can see from the listing and the image. this was a very clean system and all the work had been done to protect the computer for use in the future. I would, however, still need a couple of things to finish off this entry into my Retro Room.
ACCESSORIES & UPGRADES
MANUAL
Amstrad PCW 8256 / 8512 Personal Computer
Word Processor User Guide Manual.
Good used condition
Sections include:
- Setting Up
- Your first 20 minutes
- A Guide to LocoScript
AMSTRAD PCW8256 PRINTER
Vintage AMSTRAD PCW 8256 Printer.
When the printer arrived, I took it apart and cleaned all the plastic coverings and components.
I also purchased a new printer ribbon and now the printer works perfectly.
GOTEK FLOPPY EMULATOR
The Gotek drive replaces the standard Amstrad PCW 3” floppy A or B drive.
Just remove the old drive, screw in the Gotek
(using 2 of the original drive screws) and connect the 2 cables.
The Gotek has also been kitted out with an OLED screen, green LED, disk eject button and a small speaker to simulate the drive loading noise.
512K MEMORY UPGRADE
Amstrad PCW8256 RAM Upgrade To 512K.
Condition is New.
High quality made in Japan Amstrad PCW8256 RAM chips to bring your Amstrad PCW8256 up to 512k memory!
Includes 8 x RAM modules required for the upgrade, easy installation by plugging these in your PCW empty motherboard sockets
Simply set the motherboard DIP switches to B and D UP, A and C DOWN to use the full RAM.
256mb Chip Configuration
512mb Chip Configuration
Summary
I credit the Amstrad PCW 8256 with 2 major things in my life.
Firstly, it helped my overcome my fear of technology and secondly it helped improve my grammar, spelling and typing skills.
PCW8256 Printer
PCW8256/8512 Manual
Printer Ribbon
512K RAM Upgrade
Cleaned throughout
