Timex Sinclair
Encyclopedia
Timex Sinclair was a joint venture
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 the United States
. The choice of partnership was natural as Timex was already the main contractor for manufacture of Sinclair's ZX81
and ZX Spectrum
computers at its Scottish
plant in Dundee
.
It was Timex of Portugal, though, that took on the R&D and the local manufacturing of the models to be exported to the U.S. Although both Timex of Scotland and Timex of Portugal were full subsidiaries of Timex, internal rivalry, whether unintended or purported, meant there were no contacts nor experiences shared between the two plants. Timex of Portugal also sold the Timex Sinclair models in Portugal and Poland under the Timex Computer brand.
In July 1982, Timex Sinclair introduced the first computer touted to cost under $100 marketed in the U.S. (TS 1000). In spite of the flaws in the early versions, half million units were sold in the first 6 months alone.
Overall, the machines were nowhere near as successful as their UK
progenitors; in contrast with the ZX Spectrum, which was the best-selling computer in Britain at the time, the TS2068 was a relative failure.
Timex Corporation withdrew from the U.S. home computer market in February 1984 but Timex of Portugal continued to manufacture, sell and develop hardware in Portugal and Poland for another ten years.
The next computer, the TC3256, was the third generation of Timex Computer Technology, but it vanished when Timex of Portugal shut down its production line.
Timex of Portugal also produced a Z80-based CP/M
-compatible computer, the Timex FDD or FDD 3000
. Most people only know it as a floppy disk drive controller but in fact, it is a computer without graphics circuitry. The FDD or FDD 3000 could be used in three different ways:
Timex Computer (TMX Portugal) produced the following peripherals for the Timex computer line:
TMX Portugal also sold the TS2040 and later renamed it to Timex Printer 2040.
To export the Timex Computer to Poland, Timex of Portugal had to be paid in goods. It chose to import the Neptun 156 12" green monochrome monitor, manufactured in Poland by Unimor company. Based on the Vela TV receiver, it proved very popular in Portugal and was frequently sold in bundles with the TC computers.
Joint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
between the British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
company Sinclair Research
Sinclair Research Ltd
Sinclair Research Ltd is a British consumer electronics company founded by Sir Clive Sinclair in Cambridge. Originally incorporated in 1973 as Ablesdeal Ltd., it remained dormant until 1976, and did not adopt the name Sinclair Research until 1981....
and Timex Corporation in an effort to gain an entry into the rapidly-growing early-1980s home computer
Home computer
Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user...
market in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The choice of partnership was natural as Timex was already the main contractor for manufacture of Sinclair's ZX81
Sinclair ZX81
The ZX81 was a home computer produced by Sinclair Research and manufactured in Scotland by Timex Corporation. It was launched in the United Kingdom in March 1981 as the successor to Sinclair's ZX80 and was designed to be a low-cost introduction to home computing for the general public...
and ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
computers at its Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
plant in Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
.
It was Timex of Portugal, though, that took on the R&D and the local manufacturing of the models to be exported to the U.S. Although both Timex of Scotland and Timex of Portugal were full subsidiaries of Timex, internal rivalry, whether unintended or purported, meant there were no contacts nor experiences shared between the two plants. Timex of Portugal also sold the Timex Sinclair models in Portugal and Poland under the Timex Computer brand.
Products
Timex Sinclair released four computers, all of them based (to some extent) on Sinclair Research's existing machines. In chronological order:- TS1000Timex Sinclair 1000The Timex Sinclair 1000 was the first computer produced by Timex Sinclair, a joint-venture between Timex Corporation and Sinclair Research. It was launched in July 1982....
, essentially a modified ZX81 with 2 KiBKibibyteThe kibibyte is a multiple of the unit byte for quantities of digital information. The binary prefix kibi means 1024; therefore, 1 kibibyte is . The unit symbol for the kibibyte is KiB. The unit was established by the International Electrotechnical Commission in 1999 and has been accepted for use...
RAM - TS1500, a TS 1000 with 16 KiB RAM and a ZX Spectrum-like case and keyboard
- TS2068Timex Sinclair 2068The Timex Sinclair 2068 , released in November 1983, was Timex Sinclair's fourth and last home computer for the United States market...
, a ZX Spectrum-based machine with enhancements, namely a cartridge port to make it compete with videogame consoles, which resulted in poor compatibility with software developed for the original. Its European sibling, the TC2068, featured improved compatibility with the ZX Spectrum. - TC2048Timex Computer 2048The TC 2048 or Timex Computer 2048 is a computer created by "Timex of Portugal, Lda", a branch of Timex Corporation.It was highly compatible with the Sinclair ZX Spectrum computer, although differences in the ROM prevented 100% compatibility....
, a ZX Spectrum-based machine with a TS 2068-like keyboard. Not sold in the US.
In July 1982, Timex Sinclair introduced the first computer touted to cost under $100 marketed in the U.S. (TS 1000). In spite of the flaws in the early versions, half million units were sold in the first 6 months alone.
Overall, the machines were nowhere near as successful as their UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
progenitors; in contrast with the ZX Spectrum, which was the best-selling computer in Britain at the time, the TS2068 was a relative failure.
Timex Corporation withdrew from the U.S. home computer market in February 1984 but Timex of Portugal continued to manufacture, sell and develop hardware in Portugal and Poland for another ten years.
The next computer, the TC3256, was the third generation of Timex Computer Technology, but it vanished when Timex of Portugal shut down its production line.
Timex of Portugal also produced a Z80-based CP/M
CP/M
CP/M was a mass-market operating system created for Intel 8080/85 based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Inc...
-compatible computer, the Timex FDD or FDD 3000
Timex FDD3000
The Timex FDD 3000 was nearly a complete computer by Timex of Portugal. It began its development at Timex Computer Corporation in the U.S., but it was at Timex of Portugal that the work was finished....
. Most people only know it as a floppy disk drive controller but in fact, it is a computer without graphics circuitry. The FDD or FDD 3000 could be used in three different ways:
- as a disk drive controller for a TC2048/2068 or ZX Spectrum, running TOS (Timex Operating System)
- as a CP/M system, using a TC2048/2068 computer running the Timex Terminal Emulator as a console.
- as a CP/M system, using the Timex Terminal 3000, a terminal keyboard, as a console.
Peripherals
Timex Sinclair produced the following peripherals for the Timex computer line:- TS1016 - Timex 16K RAM Pack for use on a TS1000. Can be used on a TS1500.
- TS1050 - Not a real peripheral, but a "suitcase" to carry TS1000, tapes and peripherals
- TS1510 - A cartridge player for TS1500. It can be used on TS1000 with a 16K RAM Pack
- TS2020 - Analog Tape Recorder
- TS2040 - Thermal Printer
- TS2050 - Communications Modem
- TS2060 - Bus Expansion Unit (vaporwareVaporwareVaporware is a term in the computer industry that describes a product, typically computer hardware or software, that is announced to the general public but is never actually released nor officially canceled. Vaporware is also a term sometimes used to describe events that are announced or predicted,...
) - TS2065 - Timex Microdrives (vaporware)
- TS2080 - 80 column dot matrix printer (vaporware)
- TS2090 - Joystick to be used on TS2068 internal ports
Timex Computer (TMX Portugal) produced the following peripherals for the Timex computer line:
- TS1040 - A multi-voltage power supply (printer + tape recorder (TS2020) + TS1000 + TC2048/2068)
- TC2010 - A digital tape recorder
- TC2080 - A serial 80 column dot matrix printer
- Timex FDD - A "cut down" computer that can be used as a floppy disk controller
- Timex FDD3000 - A "cut down"computer that can be used as a floppy disk controller (an upgraded Timex FDD)
- Timex Terminal 3000 - A "cut down"computer to be used as a CP/M terminal with FDD3000
- Timex RS232 - A serial RS232 interface
- Sound/Joystick Unit - A sound amplifier for SLCD sounds and Kempson(?) Joystick Interface
TMX Portugal also sold the TS2040 and later renamed it to Timex Printer 2040.
To export the Timex Computer to Poland, Timex of Portugal had to be paid in goods. It chose to import the Neptun 156 12" green monochrome monitor, manufactured in Poland by Unimor company. Based on the Vela TV receiver, it proved very popular in Portugal and was frequently sold in bundles with the TC computers.
Software
TMX Portugal sold/developed the following software:- TOS - Operating system for the FDD/FDD3000 known as Timex Operating System
- CP/M for FDD3000 - Advanced operating system for the FDD3000
- Basic 64 - Basic extensions for the extra video modes
- Timeword - A word processor in cartridge that can save to TOS disks or to a tape recorder