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Beta Disk Interface is a disk interface for ZX Spectrum computers. It was developed by Technology Research Ltd. ( United Kingdom), in 1984 and released in 1985 with price £109.25 (or £249.75 with one disk drive). Beta 128 Disk Interface is a 1987 version supporting ZX Spectrum 128 machines (difference is in access points addresses). Beta disk interfaces were distributed with TR-DOS operating system in ROM, also attributed to Technology Research Ltd. Latest firmware version is 5.03 (1986).
The interface was based on the WD1793 chip.
The interface handles single and double sided, 40 and 80 track double density
In the years 2018-2021, clones were produced in the Czech Republic with the names: Beta Disk 128C, 128X and 128 mini.
* TR-DOS
*
World of Spectrum
Virtual TR-DOS
ZX Spectrum Computer storage devices
Beta Disk Interface is a disk interface for ZX Spectrum computers. It was developed by Technology Research Ltd. ( United Kingdom), in 1984 and released in 1985 with price £109.25 (or £249.75 with one disk drive). Beta 128 Disk Interface is a 1987 version supporting ZX Spectrum 128 machines (difference is in access points addresses). Beta disk interfaces were distributed with TR-DOS operating system in ROM, also attributed to Technology Research Ltd. Latest firmware version is 5.03 (1986).
The interface was based on the WD1793 chip.
The interface handles single and double sided, 40 and 80 track double density floppy disk
A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, or a diskette) is an obsolescent type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined w ...
s, up to 4 drives.
Clones
This interface was popular for its simplicity, and the Beta 128 Disk Interface was cloned all around the USSR. The first known USSR clones were ones produced by НПВО "Вариант" (''NPVO "Variant"'', Leningrad) in 1989. Beta 128 schematics are included in various Russian ZX Spectrum clones. Some variants of schematics support only 2 drives. Phase correction of the drive data signal is made in different ways.Рюмик С. Контроллер дисководов. Канал чтения / Радиолюбитель. Ваш компьютер, 1999, N4-8
In the years 2018-2021, clones were produced in the Czech Republic with the names: Beta Disk 128C, 128X and 128 mini.
Operating systems support
* TR-DOS
* iS-DOS
iS-DOS is a disk operating system (DOS) for Soviet/Russian ZX Spectrum clones. iS-DOS was developed in 1990 or 1991, by Iskra Soft, in Leningrad, Soviet Union, now Saint Petersburg, Russia.
It handles floppy disks (double sided, double densit ...
* CP/M
CP/M, originally standing for Control Program/Monitor and later Control Program for Microcomputers, is a mass-market operating system created in 1974 for Intel 8080/ 85-based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Inc. Initial ...
(various hack versions)
* DNA OS
See also
* DISCiPLE *MB02
MB, Mb or M. B. may refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Mälarhöjden/Bredäng Hockey, a Swedish ice hockey club
* Media Blasters, an American multimedia entertainment distributor
* Mediobanca, and Italian company with Borsa Italiana s ...
References
External links
{{commonscat, Beta Disk InterfaceWorld of Spectrum
Virtual TR-DOS
ZX Spectrum Computer storage devices