Didaktik M

Computer was manufactured from 1990 to 1991 by Didaktik Skalica. The computer was inspired by or was successor to Didaktik Gama. Hardware is based on Z8400 @ 4MHz.

Parts of this topic may be machine translated.

A home gaming computer with a built-in keyboard, but the machine looked more like a professional home computer with arrow keys separated from the rest of the keyboard and a more ergonomic case shape.

Instead of the original ULA, a custom ULA1 KA1515XM1-216 circuit from the Russian company Angstrom was used, so the screen had a square aspect ratio instead of a 4:3 rectangle. All RAM was implemented by a single set of 64KB chips, of which only 48KB was used, and there was no difference between fast and slow memory for video content.

It has two separate connectors for joysticks and one connector for other interfaces, such as a printer interface. Unlike the previous version of the Didaktik, these connectors were a typical "socialist solution" compatible with nothing that was then available in the Czechoslovakia. Thus, users were forced to develop and produce different and sometimes funny home interfaces to satisfy their needs.

I/O ports

31	0x1F	Kempston joystick
254	0xFE	keyboard, tape recorder, speaker, border color, Sinclair joystick (port treated in ULA1)

Interface M/P

A parallel interface from 1990 produced by Didaktik Skalica for the Didaktik M computer for connecting peripheral devices. It contains its own EPROM memory with a capacity of 16KB and a parallel input-output circuit 8255. The software stored in the EPROM memory enables communication with peripherals with a Centronics interface and BT 100 or Gamacentrum 01 printers. When working with a computer in the BASIC language, there is no need to record a service program from a tape cassette to operate the device. This interface can be used with its own program support to communicate with any device and is a useful addition to the Didaktik M computer, expanding its useful features

I/O Ports

31	0x1F	gateway A interface 8255
63	0x3F	gateway B interface 8255
95	0x5F	gateway C interface 8255
127	0x7F	control register interface 8255
225	0xE1	memory paging

Computers derived from Didaktik M

The following computers were inspired by or derived from Didaktik M:

Didaktik Kompakt (Didaktik Skalica)

References

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