| Dragon 32 - 01 |
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. Two years later, the DRAGON 64 was launched which has the same characteristics except the added memory (64k RAM instead of 32k), a RS232c port and minor ROM changes. (www.old-computers.com) |
| Manufacturer | Dragon Data Ltd | Name | Dragon 32 |
| Type | Homecomputer | Origine | UK |
| Introduction Date | January 1982 | End of production | ??? |
| Built in Language | Microsoft Extended Basic; Basic Interpreter 1.0 (1982) | Keyboard | QWERTY Mechanical keyboard 53 keys |
| CPU | Motorola MC6809EP | Speed | 0.9 Mhz |
| Coprocessor | Motorola MC-6847 Video Display Generator | Amount of Ram | 32 Kb |
| Vram | ??? | Rom | 2 x 8K or 16K EPROM comprising Microsoft Extended BASIC |
| Text Modes | 32 x 16 | Graphic Modes | Several graphic modes, max : 256 x 192 (with 2 colors) |
| Colors | 8 | Sound | 1 voice, 5 octaves with the Basic; 4 voices, 7 octaves with machine code |
| Size / Weight | ??? | Built in Media | None |
| I/O Ports | TV connector, 2 analogue joystick ports, cassette port, Centronics parallel printer port, cartridge slot, composite monitor port | OS | ??? |
| Power Supply | External | Introduction Price | Dragon 32 : 455€(France, november 83); 211€(France, november 85) |
| Sold | ??? | Serial Number | 114153 DG |
| Other Extras | Boxed, Sealed, Manuals, Magazines, Boxed Datasette, Boxed Seikosha printer | Bought Where | Makro Eke |
| Bought When | ??? | Condition | Excellent |
| Price Paid | ??? | Specs of my Model | ??? |
| Setup Today | ??? |
Dragon 32-01: The first computer ever that made an intro into our family was a Dragon 32 (Makro – Eke, 1983 or 1984; price tag: about 11000 Bfr), I guess it was a reward for my oldest brothers good efforts at school. Actually he wanted to buy a Commodore 64 but because it was Christmas holiday they were all sold out. He didn’t want to wait and he decided to buy a Dragon (which I think it wasn’t a very good choice). Because I was much younger (about 10 years old) working, or better said playing, with this expensive machine was Taboo ! He bought a Supertech cassette player to store his data on, he even recorded data on it from TV computer programs such as Computer Club on WDR (still the best computer TV-program). He spent hours on typing over game-listings found in computer magazines, afterwards even more hours to find out what was wrong. The only game that really worked well was “Alien Lander”, in which you had a plane to land but first had to drill down (with bombs) the high-rise buildings. It never worked out to land the damned plane (I think it was also an error in the game). |