This is a luggable IBM-PC compatible system. It tends to offer an all-in-one solution for the perfect 80's business man. Back in 1983 it was the first Japanese computer completely IBM-PC compatible (hardware & software).
It has a built-in thermal printer (80/132 columns, 8.5'' wide) using paper-rolls. This was quite useful where you were on the move, but the weight of the whole system is also quite impressive. It is maybe transportable but surely not portable !
It was also possible to connect a more sophisticated printer through the Parallel port.
There is a 9'' CRT green display built-in along with a brightness control.
An interesting feature is that you can also connect the Sr Partner to an external color monitor, thus unleashing the fantastic power of this ultra-modern laptop...err. Maybe not, but you can at least enjoy CGA color graphics (640 x 200 with 4 colors, wow).
Apparently there were several models with different storage configurations : one 5''1/4 disk-drive (360k), two 5''1/4 disk-drives, one disk-drive and one hard-disk (10Mb, 20Mb)...
On the original disk, the MS-DOS ver 2.0A and Basic v2.0 were delivered.
Presented at the Las-Vegas Comdex in november 1983, the Senior Partner was proposed for 2495$ with Wordstar, Visicalc, PFS-File, PFS-Graph, PFS-Report and GW-Basic.
Panasonic, along with National and Technics were brands owned by the Matsushita japanese group.
I have a Panasonic Sr Partner that I purchased new. I have the original shipping box, a carry case and the original receipt. I have been storing it since I could not bring myself to part with this piece of my personal history. I no longer have room for it. Anyone interested? It has not been plugged in for over ten years. I doubt if it works.
Thursday 25th April 2013
BillN (FL, USA)
Well, bought one in 1986 for half the price, which was then around $2000, including 2 * 360 KB drives and only MS DOS 2.11$ but i later "repaired" it, by using parts from a Nixdorf clone. I still have it, and i won''t give it away EVER. Was very expensive then, and had to work hard for the money to pay it. I used it to write, play, and be online for the first time in my life with a 300bd modem. I will have to figure out, whether it is still working, because i didn''t use it for some time, but i''ll check out soon :-)
Thursday 24th January 2013
just me (Germany)
I recently picked one of these up for free. It didn''t include the software though. I''m hoping I come a cross the software somewhere.
Friday 4th January 2013
Corey K (MD, United States)
NAME
Senior Partner
MANUFACTURER
Panasonic
TYPE
Transportable
ORIGIN
Japan
YEAR
? 1983
KEYBOARD
Full-stroke QWERTY keyboard with numeric keypad and function keys
CPU
Intel 8088
SPEED
4.77 Mhz
CO-PROCESSOR
optional 8087 mathematic co-processor
RAM
128 kb (512k max.)
ROM
16 kb
TEXT MODES
80 x 25
GRAPHIC MODES
CGA graphics :320 x 200 (4 colors), 640 x 200 (2 colors)
COLOrsc
Monochrom (built-in 9 inch CRT green display) and 4 colors (CGA) with external monitor
SOUND
Beeper ?
SIZE / WEIGHT
14 kg
I/O PORTS
Serial/RS232c, Centronics/Parallel, 1 x ISA expansion slot, RAM expansion slot, RGB monitor ouput
BUILT IN MEDIA
Model RL-H7000 : 1 x 360k floppy + optional second floppy Model RL-H7000W : 2 x 360k floppy drives
OS
MS-DOS 2.0A
POWER SUPPLY
Built-in PSU. Doesn't work with any fuse less than 20 Amp !...
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