The TC 3256 or Timex Computer 3256 was a 1987
computer created by
Timex of Portugal, a branch of
Timex Corporation
Timex Group USA, Inc. (formerly known as Timex Corporation) is an American global watch manufacturing company founded in 1854 as the Waterbury Clock Company in Waterbury, Connecticut. In 1944, the company became insolvent but was reformed into ...
.
It was a third generation
Sinclair
Sinclair may refer to:
Places
* Lake Sinclair, near Milledgeville, Georgia
* Sinclair, Iowa
* Sinclair, West Virginia
* Sinclair, Wyoming
* Sinclair Mills, British Columbia
* Sinclair Township, Minnesota
* Sinclair, Manitoba
People
* ...
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer.
Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colou ...
compatible computer, with expanded capabilities and new ''TEC - Timex Extended Commands''
BASIC commands supporting the
AY-3-8912 sound chip,
RS-232
In telecommunications, RS-232 or Recommended Standard 232 is a standard originally introduced in 1960 for serial communication transmission of data. It formally defines signals connecting between a ''DTE'' (''data terminal equipment'') such ...
network and the 512x192 pixel high resolution graphic mode.
Besides the legacy
Sinclair BASIC, the ROM included a
word processor
A word processor (WP) is a device or computer program that provides for input, editing, formatting, and output of text, often with some additional features.
Early word processors were stand-alone devices dedicated to the function, but current ...
(''Timeword''),
Timex Extended Basic (with support for the ''Tenet''
network, floppy disks and
RAM drive
Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to:
Animals
* A male sheep
* Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish
People
* Ram (given name)
* Ram (surname)
* Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director
* RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch
* ...
) and a
CP/M terminal emulator
A terminal emulator, or terminal application, is a computer program that emulates a video terminal within some other display architecture. Though typically synonymous with a shell or text terminal, the term ''terminal'' covers all remote term ...
.
RAM was expanded to 256kb.
At least one prototype was built, but the machine never reached the market due to Timex of Portugal shutting down its production line before its release.
Technical specifications
CPU
*Zilog Z80A
ROM
* 64K
**16K
Sinclair BASIC
**16K
Timeword text processor
**16K
Timex Extended Basic (''Tenet'', disk,
RAM drive
Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to:
Animals
* A male sheep
* Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish
People
* Ram (given name)
* Ram (surname)
* Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director
* RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch
* ...
)
**16K
CP/M terminal emulator
A terminal emulator, or terminal application, is a computer program that emulates a video terminal within some other display architecture. Though typically synonymous with a shell or text terminal, the term ''terminal'' covers all remote term ...
RAM
* 256K
** 208K
RAM drive
Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to:
Animals
* A male sheep
* Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish
People
* Ram (given name)
* Ram (surname)
* Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director
* RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch
* ...
**48K base memory
Display
* Timex SCLD chip
instead of the Spectrum's ULA, offering
additional screen modes:
** Text: 32×24 or 64x32 characters (8×8 pixels, rendered in graphics mode)
** Graphics: 256×192 pixels, 15 colours (two simultaneous colours - "attributes" - per 8×8 pixels, causing attribute clash)
** Extended Color: 256×192 pixels, 15 colors with colour resolution of 32×192 (two simultaneous colours - "attributes" - per 1×8 pixels)
** Dual Screen: (two 256×192 pixels screens can be placed in memory)
** A two color 512×192 mode
Sound
*
Beeper (1 channel, 10 octaves and 10+ semitones via internal speaker)
*
AY-3-8912
I/O
*
RS-232
In telecommunications, RS-232 or Recommended Standard 232 is a standard originally introduced in 1960 for serial communication transmission of data. It formally defines signals connecting between a ''DTE'' (''data terminal equipment'') such ...
*
Cartridge
Cartridge may refer to:
Objects
* Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition
* ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device
* Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators
Other uses
* Cartridge (surname), a ...
port
*Tape audio in/out for external
cassette tape storage
*
RF television out
*
Composite video monitor out
*
RGB
The RGB color model is an additive color model in which the red, green and blue primary colors of light are added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colors. The name of the model comes from the initials of the three addi ...
monitor out
*
Kempston Joystick
Kempston Micro Electronics was an electronics company based in Kempston, Bedfordshire, England specialising in computer joysticks and related home computer peripherals during the 1980s.
The Kempston Interface, a peripheral which allowed a jo ...
input
Storage
*External cassette tape recorder
*Disk Drive: TOS / CP/M
Keyboard
*69 keys with cursors, numpad and function keys
See also
*
Timex Sinclair
Timex Sinclair was a joint venture established in December 1982 between the British company Sinclair Research and Timex Corporation in an effort to gain an entry into the rapidly growing early-1980s home computer market in North America.
His ...
*
Timex Sinclair 2068
The Timex Sinclair 2068 (T/S 2068), released in November 1983, was Timex Sinclair's third and last home computer for the United States market. It was also marketed in Canada, Argentina, Portugal and Poland, as Timex Computer 2068 (TC 2068).
Hi ...
References
External links
Timex Computer World
ZX Spectrum clones
Home computers
Z80-based home computers
Portuguese inventions
{{compu-hardware-stub