Brother Meritus A53
The Brother Meritus A53 is a Socket 7-based desktop replacement laptop that was released in 1998. This laptop is extremely rare - this is only page on the internet that describes this system in any detail. Brother's website from the late 90s also never referenced this machine, at least, not in any place I could find. I can only document this laptop because one showed up on eBay and I bought it.
One thing I can say for sure is that Brother didn't manufacture this machine - Veridata did, and Veridata's archived website did have a specsheet for a model A53. Veridata at this time was owned by CTX, and mostly manufactured laptops for them, but they did occasionaly supply laptops for other companies. The A53 is special because it is not a model that CTX sold. Currently, the Meritus A53 is the only version of it that I've seen. The manual references that there was another version of this laptop that used MMC1 processor modules instead of Socket 7 CPUs.
Luckily, the CPU jumper codes are printed on the back of the CPU cover. Mine came with a 266MHz Pentium MMX, but it supports the correct voltages to run a K6-2, at least in theory. The fastest clock speed printed is 266MHz.
Specifications
Specs below include all options listed by Veridata - it's possible that not all of these were sold by Brother.
| Spec | Details |
|---|---|
| CPU | Socket 7 - see above text for more CPU info. |
| RAM | 1x 144-pin slot supporting EDO or SDRAM - 16MB Soldered - 80MB Maximum |
| Hard Disk | IDE 2.5" |
| Display Options | 13.0" DSTN/Passive Matrix Color @1024x768 - 13.3" DSTN/Passive Matrix Color @1024x768 - 13.3" TFT/Active Matrix Color @1024x768 - 14.1" TFT/Active Matrix Color @1024x768 |
| Graphics Chipset | Chips & Technologies 65555 - 2MB VRAM |
| Audio | Yamaha OPL3-SAx - Stereo Speakers - Microphone |
| Main Battery | Lithium Ion |
| CMOS Battery | Soldered 1220 Lithium battery |
| Power Supply | Barrel Jack |
| Disk Drives | 3 Spindle - CD-ROM and Floppy built-in |
| PC Cards | 2x PCMCIA Slots - 2x Type II/1x Type III - CardBus Supported - ZoomVideo Supported |
| Networking | Optional Modem |
| Other I/O | -1x Parallel - 1x Serial - 1x VGA Out - 2x USB 1.x - 1x MIDI/Game Port - 1x PS/2 - 1x Dock Connector - 1x Composite Out - 1x Headphone Out - 1x Line In - 1x Mic In |
| BIOS | AMI |
| Pointing Device | Trackpad |
Resources
 Driver CD-ROM |
 User Manual |
|---|
Common Faults & Maintenance
The plastic on this laptop has gone very brittle with age, and it will form cracks near the display hinges no matter what. You will need to add epoxy or some other reinforcement to keep it intact if you're planning on using it.
Gallery
Click on an image to view the full-size version.
Page last updated (MM/DD/YYYY): 12/17/2024
Update Reason: manual link added
Have additional information on this laptop? Want to send me photos to use on the site? Send me an email: macdatnet@gmail.com
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