Console

Consoles were an important part of Olivetti's computers design. They were first introduced in 1987 with the Olivetti M380/T, the first tower made by Olivetti. The first desktop PC to have a console was the P500 which was released in 1989.

## First Style XP 1078 Consoles

The First Style XP 1078 consoles were used on the Olivetti M380/T, M380 XP5, M380 XP7 and M380 XP9 computers. The lower-part of these consoles feature a power button, a power light, a "RESET" button, an hard drive light, a small volume sliding potentiometer, a key lock and a key lock light. The upper-part features a dot matrix display used to display POST/diagnostic messages and two white buttons presumably used to manually cycle through said messages. According to an Olivetti representative, you can also write programs that display messages on the console.

A First Style XP 1078 consolePowered on...A white variant of the First Style XP 1078 console
## Second Style XP 1078 Consoles

The Second Style XP 1078 consoles were used on the Olivetti CP486, LSX 5010, LSX 5020 and P800 computers. The lower-part of these consoles feature a round power button, a reset button, a volume button that you probably have to press multiple times to cycle through the different volume "settings" (or maybe it's a simple "mute/unmute" button), and two buttons named "F1" and "F2" respectively that are used to view the system configuration settings through the 24-character LCD. The upper-part features a bunch of LEDs (7 to be exact!) and the 24-character LCD.

A Second Style XP 1078 consoleAccording to this picture, these consoles had a backlight for the LCD.A white variant.Explanation of what the LEDs represent.
## LSX 5015/5030 Consoles

The LSX 5015/5030 consoles were used on the Olivetti LSX 5015 and LSX 5030 computers. Nothing is known about them due to the lack of information about those 2 computers. They have the same layout as the Second Style XP 1078 consoles. Notice how the LSX 5015's console has a purple power button and the rest are blue. On the LSX 5030 the colors are reversed.

## LSX 5050 Consoles

The LSX 5050 consoles were possibly only used on the Olivetti LSX 5050. They look like shrunken versions of the LSX 5015/5030 consoles. They appear to have had only 4 indicators instead of 7, and they had the buttons on the same level as the indicators.

An LSX 5050 console.
## P500 Consoles

The P500 consoles were only used on the Olivetti P500, which was the first desktop PC to have a console. They feature a volume potentiometer, a power light and a reset button. The large empty space between the power light and the reset button could mean that P500 consoles with hard drive lights were planned/made, but no such consoles have ever been found...

A P500 console
## Desktop #1 Consoles

The Desktop #1 consoles were used on the Olivetti M386/25, on some P750s, on the Memorex Telex 7290, on the Digital DECstation 325, and they also might've been used on some First Style XP 2655 computers. They feature a power light, a reset button and a sliding volume potentiometer. They were used when the computer they were in had an hard drive light(s) over the hard drive bay(s).

A Desktop #1 consoleA mysterious First Style XP 2655 computer with a Desktop #1 console. Or it could be a Desktop #2 console that doesn't appear to have an hard drive light due to the bad quality of the picture(and the computer doesn't seem to have an hard drive light where it would be on a computer with a Desktop #1 console...It looks like this is the exact same computer as in the last picture, but in this one you can clearly see an hard drive light over where the hard drive is...In this picture of what looks like the same computer as in the last 2 pictures, you can see what looks like an hard drive light on the console (making it a Desktop #2 console), and there doesn't seem to be an hard drive light over where the hard drive is... Alright so those pictures don't tell much, but I wouldn't be surprised if they actually made First Style XP 2655 computers with Desktop #1 consoles. Some P750s have Desktop #1 consoles and some have #2s so it's totally not impossible...A Desktop #1 console on a Memorex Telex 7290 computer.A Desktop #1 console on a Digital DECstation 325 computer.
## Desktop #2 Consoles

The Desktop #2 consoles were used on the Olivetti M300-10, M380-40 and on some P750s. The only difference between the Desktop #1 consoles and the #2s is that the #2s have an hard drive light. They were used when the computers they were in didn't have any hard drive lights over the hard drive bays.

Known boards: IF469

A Desktop #2 console.A Desktop #2 console found on a Digital computer, possibly a DECstation 320.A Desktop #2 console with the newer "black" logo and name badge.The PCB of a Desktop #2 console. Pictured here is an IF469.Solder side
## Desktop #3 Consoles

The Desktop #3 consoles were used on some Olivetti M380-40s, on the M486, on some M700-10s, and on the PWS 4000. The only difference between the Desktop #2 consoles and the #3s is that the #3s have an headphone jack.

A Desktop #3 consoleA Desktop #3 console with the newer "black" Olivetti logo and name badgeA Desktop #3 console found on an M380-40. Notice the headphone jack cover?
## Desktop #4 Consoles

The Desktop #4 consoles were only used on some Olivetti M700-10s. They are quite similar to the Desktop #3 consoles but they managed to add a second audio jack (possibly a microphone jack) next to the headphone jack either by using magic or by shortening the length of the empty space between each "items" on the console....

A Desktop #4 console
## Mysterious Console #1

Found on the mysterious AT&T tower prototype /AT&T 6386E WGS. These 2 computers are obviously based on the First Style XP 1078 computers by Olivetti, and the lower-part of their consoles have an identical layout as their Olivetti counterparts, but their upper-parts seem to be lacking the dot matrix display and the 2 buttons next to it.... Or maybe the dot matrix display IS present, and it's just hiding behind that green-black plastic window, but the 2 buttons definitely seem to be missing...

The mysterious AT&T tower prototype.The AT&T 6386E WGS.
## Mysterious Console #2

Found on the mysterious "NET³ Demo" computer, which appears to use a modified Second Style XP 2655 case... The console on this computer appears to have something under its hard drive light, and also appears to have a 3.5mm jack connector next to its... Hard drive light... Or it could be a simple volume sliding potentiometer that's creating a round shadow. But there definitely seems to be something under the hard drive light... Eh, I don't know. Blurry/low quality pictures can create a lot of weird illusions so it could be a simple Desktop #2 console for all I know... Except it can't be a Desktop #2 console because it is clearly smaller than one! Yup, this is a very mysterious Olivetti computer AND console...

==

The mysterious computer in question...
## "Fake" consoles mentioned in documentation

In some documentation, simple power buttons and lights are sometimes referred as "consoles" even though they aren't a distinct part of the computer's design like the ones that can be seen all over this page. For that reason, they won't be included in this page.

## References

1. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=ByIl6BeV7z8C
2. ↑ http://www.retrocomputing.net/
3. ↑ http://www.supervinx.com/OnlineMuseum/
4. ↑ This was cut from a picture that came of ebay
5. ↑ https://books.google.ca/books?id=OjwEAAAAMBAJ
6. ↑ http://www.olivettivintage.net/
7. ↑ https://books.google.ca/books?id=l3Z0ZgEexGEC
8. ↑ http://www.olivettivintage.net/
9. ↑ http://issuu.com/adpware/docs/mc118/1
10. ↑ http://archive.amdl.it/en/index-search.asp?q=olivetti&x=0&y=0
11. ↑ This came from an ad.
12. ↑ http://issuu.com/adpware/docs/mc084/1
13. ↑ http://www.retrocomputing.net/
14. ↑ http://collections.banq.qc.ca:8008/lapresse/src/cahiers/1991/08/12/03/82812\_1991081203.pdf
15. ↑ http://collections.banq.qc.ca:8008/lapresse/src/cahiers/1991/12/17/01/82812\_1991121701.pdf
16. ↑ http://collections.banq.qc.ca:8008/lapresse/src/cahiers/1991/12/19/01/82812\_1991121901.pdf
17. ↑ This was cut from a picture found on eBay.
18. ↑ https://www.flickr.com/photos/62043147@N03/27942945483/in/photolist-acxzs2-4R7SDK-JzdUb8
19. ↑ http://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=39993&start=1520
20. ↑ I don't remember from where this picture came from.
21. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJIFg\_aEtCA
22. ↑ http://fr.1001mags.com/parution/svm/numero-92-mars-1992/page-18-19-texte-integral
23. ↑ http://issuu.com/adpware/docs/mc118/1
24. ↑ https://www.e-pages.dk/ingarkiv/8936/
25. ↑ http://gunkies.org/wiki/Olivetti\_M700-10
26. ↑ http://petermdobey.com/
27. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=ngUAAAAAMBAJ
28. ↑ http://olivettiuk.org/Newsletters/1993%20September.pdf