Author
| MSX in 1980s Russia
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MäSäXi
msx addict
Posts: 418 |  Posted: February 17 2005, 12:12 |
This is another thing I always wanted to know something more about.
So, MSX did exist in Russia, but "availability" was limited to schools, etc...
And people couldnīt buy MSX because it was so expensive, right?
And thatīs the reason MSX was not traded to Russia (except for schools, etc) ?
But, as I know, same situation was with Sinclair Spectrum and other computers too, of course.
But there was a way to get Spectrum in Russia, to make clone of it by YOURSELF!
Russian Pentagon machines were spectrum clones.
Check this link
So, thatīs why I am VERY interested to know was there homemade MSX CLONES in Russia?
Sounds like there could have been.
Please help, our russian MSX friends.  |
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cax
msx professional
Posts: 1011 | Posted: February 17 2005, 13:04 |
Never heard about MSX clones.
Most home-made computers and school classes were based on local micro-electronics element base, so there was no close Z80 analog.
But there were some computers that used case and keyboard layout very similar to Yamaha MSX, for example, УКНЦ (UKNC)
http://www.rk86.com/frolov/uknc_ru.htm
It also had a (very buggy) Basic (like most school computers in 80's), cartridge-based 5.25" floppy drive for teacher's computer and the same network topology as in Yamaha MSX classroom networks.
OS used was mostly RT-11 (if I am not mistaken it's a PDP clone).
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cax
msx professional
Posts: 1011 | Posted: February 17 2005, 15:51 |
Quote:
| And people couldnīt buy MSX because it was so expensive, right?
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Well, if you could buy a trip to Japan and buy MSX machine there - then the only problem was a price. In fact, no MSX machine was sold at any place in USSR.
Quote:
| And thatīs the reason MSX was not traded to Russia (except for schools, etc) ?
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And what's the reason 99% of consumer tape recorders, TVs, record players and other electronic appliances were produced locally ?
I think political reasons played here the most important role.
It's a miracle we had imported MSX computers in schools...
It's still a riddle for me.
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snout
msx legend
Posts: 4991 | Posted: February 17 2005, 16:04 |
Afaik Japan was the only country that did not care about the "don't trade with them communists"-attitude in those days.
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poke-1,170
msx professional
Posts: 856 | Posted: February 17 2005, 17:24 |
yeah,the didaktik gama is another clone of the spectrum...Listen to the new airwaves show this month, where you can hear the pentagon too.
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HansO
msx addict
Posts: 375 | Posted: February 17 2005, 18:55 |
Quote:
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OS used was mostly RT-11 (if I am not mistaken it's a PDP clone).
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RT-11 was indeed a PDP-11 only operating system. Much of CP/M was modelled after that very popular machine. PDP stands for Programmable Data Processor. DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation) did not dare call a PDP a computer, it was so cheap compared to the IBM dinosours of the 60ties. And yes, the Russians copied the PDP-11 without permission, no way in those days computers from the USA were sold to USSR. DEC employees were trained to discover buyers trying to smuggle hardware! |
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poke-1,170
msx professional
Posts: 856 | Posted: February 17 2005, 19:15 |
read christian wursters :" computers" by taschen verlag
Great book about the history of computers,with shitloads of cool pages of huge mainframes,pdp's etc...
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HansO
msx addict
Posts: 375 | Posted: February 17 2005, 19:19 |
Fun book indeed.
I was a DEC employee in the PDP-11 era papertape, teletypes, real computers |
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poke-1,170
msx professional
Posts: 856 | Posted: February 17 2005, 20:01 |
cool Yeah a dad of a friend of mine worked for rank xerox...Told me they had harddisks back in the days that were actually huge cylinders...
Wonder if u can actually still get a PDP console,just the small models
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Jazzy
msx addict
Posts: 411 | Posted: February 17 2005, 21:30 |
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poke-1,170
msx professional
Posts: 856 | Posted: February 17 2005, 22:15 |
aah right...I meant the 70's stuff actually..still a lot of scrapmetal for a measily 53 bucks  |
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dhau
msx master
Posts: 1047 | Posted: February 18 2005, 17:24 |
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cax
msx professional
Posts: 1011 | Posted: February 19 2005, 19:30 |
to dhau:
> "Why MSX didn't took off in early nineties - zx.pk.ru/showthread.php?t=242"
Hmm... on the link you gave I saw just a number of conversations about MSX, but nothing that can answer the question "Why" above. Can you please give a direct link to the mentioned message/article ?
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dhau
msx master
Posts: 1047 | Posted: February 20 2005, 05:26 |
It is right there - because V9938 and i8055 wasn't cloned by russian chip makers, nor they where emulated using available discrete logic like ULA from Spectrum. Impossible to clone at reasonable price. The only two import chips in speccy clones are Z80 and AY. In MSX you also need VDP and PPU.
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