Didaktik
The Didaktik was a series of
Initially the company produced PMD 85 compatible machines aimed at schools, then switching to the home market with ZX Spectrum clones.
Didaktik's glory diminished with the falling price of the
Didaktik Alfa
Didaktik Alfa
Didaktik Beta
Didaktik Beta was a slightly improved version of previous Didaktik Alfa, having almost identical hardware.[11] Didaktik Alfa and Beta were mostly deployed in schools to replace older PMD 85 computers.
Didaktik Gama
Didaktik Gama was a ZX Spectrum clone with 80 KB RAM divided into two switched 32 KB memory banks and 16 KB of slower RAM containing graphical data for video output, while the size of ROM was 16 KB.[2][12][13] A peripheral interface with a 8255 chip was added, providing centronics plotter and printer connections and a Kempston joystick port.
The case was similar to that of the ZX Spectrum+, a grey or black box in
Didaktik Gama was produced in three variants: the first, Gama '87, fixed some bugs in the original ZX Spectrum ROM (thus breaking compatibility with some software) and introduced its own bugs effectively inhibiting the use of the second 32 KB memory bank from BASIC. Gama '88 fixed the original ZX Spectrum bugs in a more compatible way, and also fixed the memory switching bug. The final and the more compatible model was Gama '89.
The computer was expensive but available on the market and could be purchased in Czechoslovak currency outside specialized Tuzex stores, unlike other foreign home computers. Production of Didaktik Gama computers ceased in 1992.[14]
Didaktik M
The Didaktik M
The computer was considerably redesigned. Instead of the original
There were two separated connectors for joysticks and one connector for additional hardware, such as a printer interface. Unlike the previous version of Didaktik, these connectors were proprietary, with no compatible peripherals available in Czechoslovakia. Thus, users were forced to develop and produce various homemade interfaces to satisfy their needs.
A 5.25-inch floppy disk drive, called D40, was introduced in 1992 and featured a "Snapshot" (see hibernation) button that stored the current memory contents on diskette. It was then possible to later load this memory image and continue the software from its previous state.
A 3.5-inch floppy disk drive, called D80, was also introduced later in 1992, simultaneously to the release of the Didaktik Kompakt.
Didaktik Kompakt
The Didaktik Kompakt from 1992 was basically a Didaktik M with a built-in 3.5-inch 720 KB floppy drive and a parallel printer port.[2][18][19]
References
- ^ Malý, Martin (December 15, 2014). "Home Computers Behind The Iron Curtain". HACKADAY.
- ^ a b c d Arn, Lift. "Sinclair Clones - Didaktik Skalica Ltd". Sinclair Nostalgia Products. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- ^ "Didaktik Kompakt". www.old-computers.com. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- ^ "Didaktik". OLD-COMPUTERS.COM : The Museum. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- ^ "Domov" [Home]. www.didaktik.sk (in Czech). Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- ^ "Computers list by manufacturer: Didaktik (Slovak Republic)". 1000BiT. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- ^ "Didaktik Alfa". Spludlow MAME. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- ^ a b "Didaktik Alfa 2". 1000BiT. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- ^ "8 bity / Klony PMD-85 / DIDAKTIK ALFA 2" [8 bits / PMD-85 clones / DIDAKTIK ALFA 2]. SAPI.CZ - web věnovaný československým osmibitů, zejména počítačům SAPI-1 (in Czech). Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- ^ "8 bity / Klony PMD-85 / DIDAKTIK ALFA" [8 bits / PMD-85 clones / DIDAKTIK ALFA]. SAPI.CZ - web věnovaný československým osmibitů, zejména počítačům SAPI-1 (in Czech). Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- ^ "8 bity / Klony PMD-85 / DIDAKTIK BETA" [8 bits / PMD-85 clones / DIDAKTIK BETA]. SAPI.CZ - web věnovaný československým osmibitů, zejména počítačům SAPI-1 (in Czech). Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- ^ Slabihoud, Stephan (2000). "The PCB-Gallery - Didaktik Gamma". 8bit-museum.de. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- ^ "Didaktik Gama". 1000BiT. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- ^ "Didaktik Gama". www.old-computers.com. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- ^ "Didaktik M". www.old-computers.com. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- ^ Slabihoud, Stephan (2000). "The PCB-Gallery - Didaktik M". 8bit-museum.de. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- ^ "Didaktik M". 1000BiT. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- ^ Slabihoud, Stephan (2000). "The PCB-Gallery - Didaktik Kompakt". 8bit-museum.de. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- ^ "Didaktik Kompakt". 1000Bit. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
External links
- Didaktik computers
- Didaktik computers on old-computers.com Archived 2011-06-05 at the Wayback Machine
- PCB scans
- A schematic including the inside of the modulator
- Didaktik družstvo Skalica – the website of the company (in Slovak)
- Т34ВГ1 – an article in the Russian Wikipedia about the Russian ULA replacement (in Russian)