R2E Portal

The R2E Portal (Portal R2E CCMC, R2E Micral Portal, R2E CCMC Portal or whatever it’s called) is a very early portable computer, introduced in September 1980 pre-dating the better-known Osborne 1 by a few months. Instead of the Osborne 1’s double floppy drives, the Portal has a single floppy drive and an integrated thermal printer. The Portal 1’s integrated display is a simple 32-character alphanumeric row rather than the fairly high-resolution CRT of the Osborne 1 (52×24 characters, appearing to be 8×8 cells equating to 416×192 pixels for games).

The keyboard features Cherry M8 switches, of the uncovered type. The keycaps using stock legends are double-shot moulded, while all the rest appear to be pad printed. Even where the legends have not been worn away with use, the two types are potentially distinguishable by the yellowing of the white ABS injection-moulded legends.

The example below has suffered extreme damage to the printed legends. The cause is unclear. Potentially an inappropriate cleaning fluid has been used that has dissolved the legends away; the legends could have also been painted back in. In any case, this machine provides a very clear demonstration of the superiority of injection-moulded legends over printed legends.

The photos are courtesy of Frederic Stark / Arthur Dauzat and are placed into the public domain.