Sharp PC-4500 PC-4502 Vintage Laptop Dual Floppy Drives Amber EL LCD Japan

Sharp PC-4500 PC-4502 Vintage Laptop Dual Floppy Drives Amber EL LCD Japan

The Sharp PC-4500 (model number PC-4502) is a rare Japanese-made portable personal computer from the mid-1980s, representing an early and distinctive take on the laptop form factor. Unlike most contemporaries, the PC-4500 integrates a thermal printer directly into the unit alongside its amber electroluminescent (EL) display — making it a self-contained mobile computing solution for its era. It runs MS-DOS and connects to external devices via its serial and parallel ports. Power comes from a rechargeable battery pack or the Sharp EA-451V/57A AC adapter (not included with this listing).

Specifications & What's Included

• Model: Sharp PC-4500 / PC-4502
• FCC ID: AFL9QECOM0119
• Power: 6V DC, 14W — rechargeable battery pack or AC adapter (Sharp EA-451V / 57A)
• Display: Amber electroluminescent (EL) panel with Brightness and Contrast controls
• Keyboard: Full QWERTY layout with function key row and LED status indicators
• Storage: Dual 3.5" floppy disk drives (stacked, left side of unit)
• Built-in peripheral: Integrated thermal printer (top-left of keyboard area)
• Serial port: DB-25 RS-232 (labeled "Serial [RS-232]" on rear panel)
• Parallel ports: Two DB-25 connectors (labeled "Parallel [Printer]" on rear panel)
• Expansion: Additional slot area visible on rear panel
• Country of manufacture: Japan (Sharp Electronics Corporation)
• U.S. Patents: 3,902,169 and 3,976,994
• What's included: Laptop unit only — no AC adapter, no software, no cables
• AC adapter required: Sharp EA-451V / 57A (6V DC, 14W) — not included, must be sourced separately

Applications

The Sharp PC-4500 dates from the mid-1980s, a period when Japanese consumer electronics manufacturers — Sharp, NEC, Toshiba, and Epson among them — were competing to define what a portable personal computer could be. The PC-4500's combination of a built-in thermal printer, dual floppy drives, and amber EL display made it well-suited for field data entry, document drafting, and light MS-DOS productivity work away from a desk. Its dual 3.5" drives (a format Sharp helped pioneer) allowed users to work from one disk while saving to a second — a practical workflow before hard drives became standard in portables. Today the PC-4500 is sought primarily by vintage computer collectors and enthusiasts interested in 1980s Japanese portable computing history. It represents an unusual and well-engineered design from an era when laptop form factors had not yet converged on a single standard.