TS2068
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| Type | Home computer |
|---|---|
| Release date | November 1983 |
| Discontinued | 1989 |
| Operating system | Sinclair BASIC |
| CPU | Zilog Z80A @ 3.5 MHz |
| Memory | 48 KB |
| Predecessor | Timex Sinclair 2048 |
| Successor | Timex Computer 3256 |
The Timex Sinclair 2068 (TS2068), released in November 1983, was Timex Sinclair's fourth and last home computer for the United States market. It was also marketed in Argentina, Portugal and Poland, as the Timex Computer 2068.
A variant of the machine was later sold in Poland under the name Unipolbrit Komputer 2086.
The TS2068 was based on the ZX Spectrum and followed Timex's ZX81-based TS1000 and TS1500, and the Spectrum-based TC2048.
Advertisements described the TS2068 as offering 72K of memory, color, and sound for a price under $200. Like the TS2048 was announced as a 40K memory machine (16K RAM + 24K ROM), so the 2068 was announced as a 72K machine (48K RAM + 24K ROM).
The TS2068 was a more sophisticated device, significantly changed from its UK ancestor. Arguably one of the first Sinclair clones to significantly improve on the original design, it added a number of new features:
Sinclair BASIC was extended with new keywords (STICK, SOUND, ON ERR, FREE, DELETE, RESET) to address the new hardware and the machine offered bank-switched memory, allowing ROM cartridges to be mapped in.
However, these changes made the machine incompatible with most Spectrum machine-code software, which is to say virtually all commercial titles; less than 10% would run successfully. In an attempt to remedy this, many TS users built a cartridge with a Spectrum ROM for emulation. The emulation was sufficiently accurate that it was able to run the majority of software produced for the Spectrum. Later, Timex of Portugal produced a Spectrum emulator cartridge that would auto-boot. This cartridge did not fit in a TS2068 as it was higher than TC2068 cartridges. The TC2068 casing was changed to accommodate this.
Although Timex Computer Corporation folded in February 1984, the independent Portuguese division continued to sell the machine in Portugal as the Timex Computer 2068, and Poland until 1989, as the Unipolbrit Komputer 2086. Although the Portuguese-made TC2068 was also sold in Poland, only the UK2086 was actually made there. Timex of Portugal sold 2 versions of TC2068: the Silver TC2068 version came with a ZX Spectrum emulator cartridge and a black TC2068 version sold with TimeWord word processing cartridge plus the Timex RS232 Interface to use TimeWord with a RS232 printer. Strangely the black version came with a silver keyboard template with TimeWord commands to be used with the program. It can be removed because it is not glued to the black keyboard template.
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