1801 series CPU

1801
K1801VM1
General information
Launched1980 onwards
Common manufacturer
Performance
Max. CPU clock rate2 MHz to 12 MHz
Architecture and classification
Instruction setElektronika NC,
LSI-11
Physical specifications
Package

The 1801 series CPUs were a family of 16-bit Soviet microprocessors based on the indigenous Elektronika NC [ru] microarchitecture cores, but binary compatible with DEC's PDP-11 machines. First released in 1980, various models and variants of the series were among the most popular Soviet microprocessors and dominated embedded systems and military applications of the 1980s. They were also used in widely different areas such as graphing calculators (Elektronika MK-85 [ru]) and industrial CNCs (Elektronika NC series), but arguably their most well-known use was in several Soviet general-purpose mini- and microcomputer designs like the SM EVM, DVK, UKNC, and BK families. Due to being the CPU of the popular Elektronika BK home computer, used in its late years as a demo machine, as well as the DVK micros that often offered a first glimpse into the UNIX world, this processor achieved something of a cult status among Soviet and then Russian programmers, and to a lesser extent, international programmers.