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The DRAGON 32 enjoyed a pretty good success in Europe. Its
ROM holds the Operating System and a version of the Microsoft Extended
BASIC.
One of its characteristics is partial compatibility with the Tandy
TRS 80 Color Series. They can use same peripherals and some cartridges,
but most ROM calls will fail on the other computer.
However, the Dragon did have at least two advantages over the first
TRS-80 Color computer: A typewriter-style keyboard that was somewhat
better than the Tandy's calculator-like keys; and a Centronics parallel-printer
port.
The Dragon 64, launched in 83, was
exactly the same computer as the Dragon 32, except that it had 64k
RAM instead of 32k, an OS9 operating system and a RS232C connector.
The Extended Basic has been modified to provide RS232 I/O calls,
to remove the USR bug present in the Dragon 32 ROM and to add calls
allowing the additional interpreter to be invoked.
This second interpreter was the same Extended Basic re-compiled
to run from a higher memory address and stored in a EPROM. When
invoked, the machine was switched into 64k RAM mode and the interpreter
copied from EPROM to RAM giving an extra 16K BASIC workspace. (Source
: Jon's Dragon Home Page)
The Dragon 64 was sold in various European countries. A slightly
modified version was also manufactured and sold in the US by TANO
(Technical Associates of New Orleans) from August 1983. They sold
the machine under the TANO name for a few months but couldn't compete
with the aggressive price policy from Commodore, Atari and T.I.
All the unsold machine were eventually sold off to a discount store
called California Digital.
In 85 Eurohard, a Spanish manufacturer, acquired Dragons Data. Then
the Dragon 200 replaced the 64 with some minor changes: power-on
lights, auto-repeat keyboard... They also also had plans for a 128k
Dragon and a MSX Dragon.
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| Data Sheet |
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Operating System |
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Flex
and OS-9 (Level I) |
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Processor |
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0,9
Mhz Motorola MC6809EP |
|
Sound |
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1 voice,
5 octaves with the Basic 4 voices, 7 octaves with machine
code |
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RAM |
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32
kb |
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Resolution |
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Max
: 256 x 192 (with 2 colors) |
|
Color |
|
8 |
|
IO Ports |
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TV
connector, 2 analogue joystick ports, cassette port,
Centronics parallel printer port, cartridge slot, composite
monitor port |
|
Release Date |
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January
1982 |
|
Language |
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Microsoft
Extended BASIC + BASIC Interpreter 1.0 (1982) |
| |
|
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| Data Sheet Dragon 64 |
|
Operating System |
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OS9 |
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Processor |
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0,9
Mhz Motorola MC6809EP |
|
Sound |
|
1 voice,
5 octaves with the Basic 4 voices, 7 octaves with machine
code |
|
RAM |
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64
kb |
|
Resolution |
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max
: 256 x 192 (with 2 colors) |
|
Color |
|
8 |
|
IO Ports |
|
TV
connector, 2 analogue joystick ports, cassette port,
Centronics parallel printer port, cartridge slot, composite
monitor port, serial connector |
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Release Date |
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Summer
1983 |
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Language |
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Microsoft
Extended BASIC |
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| Emulator |
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Dragon 32 & 64 uses MESS, a free
emulator for a large variety of different systems. Its
main purpose is to be a reference to the inner workings
of the emulated systems. This is done for educational
purposes and to preserve many historical games.
MESS BIOS File:
dragon32
DRAGON64
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Download Emulator
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