--- title: Amstrad CPC 5512 categories: - Computers types: - Home Computer origins: - U.S.A. years: - '1986' cpus: - Z80A params: name: CPC 5512 image: /media/museum/photos/5512_1.jpg company: /companies/amstrad company_name: Amstrad specs: - label: NAME value: CPC 5512 - label: MANUFACTURER value: Amstrad - label: TYPE value: Home Computer - label: ORIGIN value: U.S.A. - label: YEAR value: July 1986 - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE value: Basic - label: KEYBOARD value: Full-stroke keyboard (same as CPC-6128) - label: CPU value: Z80A - label: SPEED value: 4 Mhz - label: RAM value: 512 kb (42kb + 5 banks of 96kb) - label: ROM value: 48 kb - label: TEXT MODES value: 20x25 in 16 colors, 40x25 in 4 colors, 80x25 in 2 colors - label: GRAPHIC MODES value: 200x160 in 16 colors, 320x200 in 4 colors, 640x200 in 2 colors - label: COLORS value: '27' - label: SOUND value: 3 voices, 6 octaves + 1 channel for white noise - label: I/O PORTS value: 1 x joystick (Atari standard), Tape interface, Monitor, External FDD, Printer, Expansion port, Headphone/Sound output, FDD power in (5v DC), Power in (12v DC), MIDI port, RS232 - label: BUILT IN MEDIA value: 5''1/4 FDD - label: PRICE value: |- B&W : 760 (France, summer 86)\ Color : 990 (France, summer 86) tabs: - photos - hardware - software - emulators - links - docs - videos photos: - title: 5''1/4 DISK-DRIVE subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/5512_2.jpg hardware: - title: DDI-1 subtitle: Amstrad disk drive text: |- After a long wait for the first purchasers of CPC-464, the diskette drive was available one year after its announcement. It connected to the expansion connector of the computer and used a 3" Hitachi diskette drive. This choice may appear strange in the light of the growing success of the Sony 3,5" standard, but would prove highly reliable in use. The Amstrad operating system (AMSDOS) is stored in a 16 KB ROM. Two operating systems and one language were delivered with this unit :\ \- **AmsDOS** allowed Amstrad Basic to be used via additional file-management commands, but was not very practical to use.\ \- **CP/M 2.2** from Digital Research which gave access to an immense professional software library but required two floppy drives in order to function well.\ \- **Dr. LOGO** A popular language, especially in educational circles. It took advantage of the sound and graphic capabilities of the Amstrad. In spite of a prohibitive price due to a long period of (organized?) scarcity, Amstrad’s 3" floppy disks became the primary medium for numerous games and other programs and contributed to the big commercial success of the machine in Europe, until the announcement of the <$112$>CPC 664, the first model with an integrated disk drive. DDI-1 with interface for CPC-464 or CPC-664 : 1990fr (March 86)\ FD-1, second drive for CPC-464,664 and 6128 : 1590fr (March 86) image: /media/museum/hardware/fd_ddi_1.jpg - title: INSIDE DDI-1 CASE subtitle: '' text: |- **(1)** Read/Write magnetic head\ **(2)** As in any disk drive, 2 engines are required : the biggest one to spin the magnetic disc, and the second one (at the top) to move the read/write head\ **(3)** The DDI case contains its own power supply. The PSU is shown here surrounded by a thick metallic plate to prevent magnetic fields from damaging the disks\ **(4)** The power supply regulation part is located under the disk drive\ **(5)** Disk introduction slot and eject button. Disk storage capacity is of 169 Kb. for system floppy disks (which include an operating system), or 178 Kb. for data disks. image: /media/museum/hardware/fd_eclate.jpg - title: AMX MOUSE subtitle: '' text: |- For drawing and moving the cursor Could be used with the CPC-464,664 and 6128\ Cost 105 Euros in March 86. image: /media/museum/hardware/amstrad_amx_mouse.jpg - title: AMSTRAD LIGHT PEN subtitle: '' text: |- For all models with a colour monitor\ Sold with a drawing program: 44 Euros (March 86) image: /media/museum/hardware/amstrad_light_pen.jpg - title: DMP 2000 subtitle: Amstrad printer text: |- 90 Fonts, 20-100 characters /s\ 350 Euros (March 86) image: /media/museum/hardware/amstrad_dmp2000.jpg - title: AMSTRAD JOYSTICK subtitle: '' text: |- Classic joystick sold by Amstrad.\ It includes another joystick plug to add a second joystick. Cost 23 Euros in March 86 image: /media/museum/hardware/amstrad_joystick.jpg - title: MP1 / MP2 ADAPTOR subtitle: Amstrad Scart adaptors text: |- Enabled the use of an Amstrad with a Peritel (scart) TV. MP1 for CPC-464: 60 Euros (March 86)\ MP2 for CPC-664 and 6128: 75 Euros (March 86) image: /media/museum/hardware/amstrad_scart_adaptator.jpg - title: AMSTRAD RS-232C INTERFACE subtitle: '' text: |- Self-explanatory I think... For the CPC-464, 664 and 6128\ 90 Euros in March 86 image: /media/museum/hardware/amstrad_cpc464_rs232.jpg - title: VOCAL SYNTHESIZER subtitle: '' text: |- And your CPC talks! For CPC-464, 664 and 6128\ 60 Euros (March 86) image: /media/museum/hardware/amstrad_vocal_synth.jpg - title: TECHNI-MUSIQUE MUSICAL SYNTHESIZER subtitle: '' text: |- Musical synthesizer with 12 stereo channels\ A 4-octave piano keyboard was optional\ Application delivered on disk Price : 150 Euros (France, October 1987) image: /media/museum/hardware/amstrad_musical_synth.jpg screenshots: - title: GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/5512_gui.jpg - title: LOADING SCREEN subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_1942-title.gif - title: SCREENSHOT subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_1942.gif - title: LOADING SCREEN subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_1943-title.gif - title: LOADING SCREEN subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_addams-family_title.gif - title: SCREENSHOTS subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_addams-family.gif - title: SCREENSHOT subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_airwolf.gif - title: LOADING SCREEN subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_alien-highway2_title.gif - title: SCREENSHOT subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_alien-highway2-encounter.gif - title: LOADING SCREEN subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_apb.png - title: SCREENSHOT subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_apb2.png - title: LOADING SCREEN subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_arabian-nights_title.png - title: SCREENSHOT subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_arabian-nights.png - title: SCREENSHOT subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_beyondicepalace.png - title: LOADING SCREEN subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_bombjack-title.png - title: SCREENSHOT subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_bombjack.png - title: SCREENSHOT subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_boulderdash.png - title: SCREENSHOT subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_bountybob-strikesback.png - title: LOADING SCREEN subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_brucelee_title.png - title: SCREENSHOT subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_brucelee.png - title: LOADING SCREEN subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_bubblebobble.png - title: SCREENSHOT subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_bubblebobble2.png - title: LOADING SCREEN subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_catch23.png - title: SCREENSHOT subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_catch23_2.png - title: LOADING SCREEN subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_cauldron_t.png - title: SCREENSHOT subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_cauldron.png - title: SCREENSHOT subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_chuckie-egg.png - title: LOADING SCREEN subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_commando_t.png - title: SCREENSHOT subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_commando.png - title: SCREENSHOT subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_fruityfranck.png - title: SCREENSHOT subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_5axe.gif - title: LOADING SCREEN subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_mgt_t.png - title: SCREENSHOT subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/amstrad_cpc_ss_mgt.png emulators: - title: Arnimedes url: http://www.arnimedes.de/ platform: MS DOS text: CPC emulator for DOS - title: CaPriCe32 url: http://www.caprice32.cybercube.com/ platform: Windows text: 32 bit Amstrad CPC Emulator - title: No Cash Amstrad CPC Emulator (NO$CPC) url: http://www.work.de/nocash/cpc.htm platform: Windows text: For Windows and MS-DOS - title: WinAPE32 url: http://winape.emuunlim.com/ platform: Windows text: Fast, accurate CPC/+ emulation - title: Arnold url: http://www.bannister.org/software/arnold.htm platform: Apple text: Arnold/MacOS is an Amstrad CPC/CPC+/KC Compact Emulator for the Macintosh. - title: CPC ++ url: http://bricerive.free.fr/cpc platform: Apple text: Emulator for MAC OS - title: CPC ++ url: http://bricerive.free.fr/cpc platform: Unix / Linux text: Emulator for Linux and SunOS. - title: XCPC url: http://XCPC.EMUUNLIM.COM platform: Unix / Linux text: CPC emulator for any UNIX platform with X-Window - title: Ami-CPC url: http://www.chez.com/deplanque/ platform: Amiga OS text: '' - title: C-ONE url: http://c64upgra.de/c-one/ platform: Other platform text: Hardware emulator (re-configurable computer) - title: DreamCPC url: http://www.consolevision.com/dreamcast/emus/amstrad/ platform: Other platform text: CPC emulator for Dreamcast - title: PocketCaprice url: http://www.pocketcult.com platform: Other platform text: Pocket PC/PDA emulator for Windows Mobile 2003 or Windows Mobile 5 operating system - title: Arnold (amstad 128k v3 emulator) url: http://arnold.emuunlim.com/ platform: Multiplatform text: Emulates CPC 464, 644, 6128, 464+, 6128+, and KC Compact. - title: CPCE url: http://cpce.emuunlim.com/ platform: Multiplatform text: Amstrad CPC emulator for DOS, DPMI and WIN32 - title: MESS url: http://www.mess.org/ platform: Multiplatform text: MESS emulates a lot of Amstrad computers (available for many OS) ! links: - title: Amstrad Computer Manuals url: http://www.instruction-manuals.co.uk/category/computer/amstrad.htm text: '' - title: Amstrad CPC 464 664 6128 Basic programming tutorial and games. The Basic Idea url: http://www.sean.co.uk/books/amstrad/index.shtm text: '' - title: Amstrad.cpc.free.fr url: http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/ text: Excellent site full of info - title: Amstrad.DK url: http://www.amstrad.dk/ text: 464, 664, 6128 emulation, games and demos. Nice site. - title: Amstrad's Home Page url: http://web.ukonline.co.uk/cliff.lawson/index.htm text: '' - title: CPC/IP The TCP/IP Stack for the Amstrad CPCs url: http://www.nenie.org/cpcip/ text: '' - title: CPCWIKI url: http://www.cpcwiki.eu text: The biggest Amstrad CPC site and community - title: CPCwiki url: http://www.cpcwiki.com/index.php/Main_Page text: This site hopes to evolve into an encyclopaedia on all things Amstrad CPC related. - title: DDDS Ltd Home Page url: http://www.diskdoctor.co.uk/ text: '' - title: FutureOS - THE operating system for the CPC url: http://www.FutureOS.de text: FutureOS is a very fast OS for Amstrad CPC 6128 and 6128+. - title: Generic and Amstrad CPC based Programs written in Turbo Pascal 3 url: http://turpas3.angelfire.com/ text: Turbo Pascal programs written on a CPC. - title: Good Old Games url: http://speccy.altervista.org/ text: Many games with screenshot comparisons, download and magazines - title: Les Sucres en Morceaux url: http://scampin.chez-alice.fr/cpc/index.html text: Demomaking and gfx - title: Phenix Informatique url: http://phenixinformatique.free.fr/ text: History, games, links, emulators, contacts (French) - title: SymbOS Amstrad CPC Multitasking Operating System url: http://www.symbos.de/ text: A multitasking OS for the CPC 6128 with a Windows-like GUI - title: The Unofficial Amstrad WWW Resource url: http://andercheran.aiind.upv.es/~amstrad/ text: collection of documentations dedicated to the Amstrad CPC (CPC464, CPC664 and CPC6128), Amstrad Plus (464+,6128+ and GX4000 console), and VEB Mikroelectronic KC Compact - title: Tricky's Amstrad CPC page url: http://www.trickynz.com/Amstrad%20CPC.html text: Old mags and Amsoft catalogues for download - title: Web Wiz CAPTCHA url: http://www.webwizcaptcha.com text: '' docs: - title: AMSTRAD CPC FIRMWARE MANUAL url: http://www.cantrell.org.uk/david/tech/cpc/cpc-firmware/ cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/amstrad_cpc_firmware-guide.jpg text: |- [**AMSTRAD CPC FIRMWARE MANUAL**](http://www.cantrell.org.uk/david/tech/cpc/cpc-firmware/)written by Bob Taylor and Thomas Defoe  compiled/archived by David Cantrell / John Kavanagh\  type of document : PDF\  source : [Dave's Free Press](http://www.cantrell.org.uk/david/) - title: TEACH YOURSELF AMSTRAD BASIC - A TUTORIAL GUIDE - PART 1 url: http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/article.php?sid=23 cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/amstrad_cpc_teach-yourself-amstrad-basic_1.jpg text: |- [**TEACH YOURSELF AMSTRAD BASIC - A TUTORIAL GUIDE - PART 1**](http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/article.php?sid=23)written by Amstrad  compiled/archived by Charles Da Silva\  type of document : PDF\  source : [Amstrad.CPC](http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/) - title: TEACH YOURSELF AMSTRAD BASIC - A TUTORIAL GUIDE - PART 2 url: http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/article.php?sid=23 cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/amstrad_cpc_teach-yourself-amstrad-basic_1.jpg text: |- [**TEACH YOURSELF AMSTRAD BASIC - A TUTORIAL GUIDE - PART 2**](http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/article.php?sid=23)written by Amstrad  compiled/archived by Charles Da Silva\  type of document : PDF\  source : [Amstrad.CPC](http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/) - title: DMP2000 PRINTER - MANUEL UTILISATEUR (FRENCH MANUAL) url: http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/article.php?sid=23 cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/amstrad_dmp2000_manuel-utilisateur.jpg text: |- [**DMP2000 PRINTER - MANUEL UTILISATEUR (FRENCH MANUAL)**](http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/article.php?sid=23)written by Amstrad  compiled/archived by Charles Da Silva\  type of document : PDF\  source : [Amstrad.CPC](http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/) - title: DMP2160 PRINTER - GUIDE DE L'UTILISATEUR (FRENCH MANUAL) url: http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/article.php?sid=23 cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/amstrad_dmp2160_manuel-utilisateur.jpg text: |- [**DMP2160 PRINTER - GUIDE DE L'UTILISATEUR (FRENCH MANUAL)**](http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/article.php?sid=23)written by Amstrad  compiled/archived by Charles Da Silva\  type of document : PDF\  source : [Amstrad.CPC](http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/) - title: AMSTRAD DDI-1 DISK DRIVE - MANUEL DE L'UTILISATEUR (FRENCH MANUAL) url: http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/article.php?sid=23 cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/amstrad_ddi-1_user-manual.jpg text: |- [**AMSTRAD DDI-1 DISK DRIVE - MANUEL DE L'UTILISATEUR (FRENCH MANUAL)**](http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/article.php?sid=23)written by Amstrad  compiled/archived by Charles Da Silva\  type of document : PDF\  source : [Amstrad.CPC](http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/) - title: AMSTRAD MP2F PERITEL ADAPTER - MANUEL UTILISATEUR (FRENCH MANUAL) url: http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/article.php?sid=23 cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/amstrad_mp2f.jpg text: |- [**AMSTRAD MP2F PERITEL ADAPTER - MANUEL UTILISATEUR (FRENCH MANUAL)**](http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/article.php?sid=23)written by Amstrad  compiled/archived by Charles Da Silva\  type of document : PDF\  source : [Amstrad.CPC](http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/) - title: AMX MOUSE - GUIDE DE L'UTILISATEUR (USER MANUAL) url: http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/article.php?sid=23 cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/amstrad_amx-mouse.jpg text: |- [**AMX MOUSE - GUIDE DE L'UTILISATEUR (USER MANUAL)**](http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/article.php?sid=23)written by Cygnet Computer Consultants Limited  compiled/archived by Charles Da Silva\  type of document : PDF\  source : [Amstrad.CPC](http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/) - title: AMSTRAD LP-1 LIGHT PEN - INSTRUCTIONS POUR L'UTILISATEUR (FRENCH MANUAL) url: http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/article.php?sid=23 cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/amstrad_lp1_lightpen.jpg text: |- [**AMSTRAD LP-1 LIGHT PEN - INSTRUCTIONS POUR L'UTILISATEUR (FRENCH MANUAL)**](http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/article.php?sid=23)written by Amstrad  compiled/archived by Charles Da Silva\  type of document : PDF\  source : [Amstrad.CPC](http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/) - title: MARK 2 LIGHT PEN - USER MANUAL url: http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/article.php?sid=23 cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/amstrad_mark2-light-pen.jpg text: |- [**MARK 2 LIGHT PEN - USER MANUAL**](http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/article.php?sid=23)written by Electric Studio Products  compiled/archived by Charles Da Silva\  type of document : PDF\  source : [Amstrad.CPC](http://amstrad.cpc.free.fr/) videos: - title: Amstrad CPC - French commercial url: http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=1649912029980987973&hl=fr text: 'Length: 29 s' comments: - author: Frédéric date: Wednesday 12th December 2018 text: |- If I remember correctly, the aim of the joke was to tell Amstrad not letting their users down and to push them making a better machine. The disclaimer about the article being a joke was (said to be) forgotten/lost in the final layout, and got published the week after as en erratum. This satiric newspaper was mostly source-code oriented (typos included !) and the news part contained lots of provocations towards computer firms (along with random dark/absurd humor illustrations) which made them go to court quite often.\ They also ran a weekly programming challenge ("Les deulignes" meaning the twolines) praising short theme-free programs (utility, joke, fun, tips) which respected the rule of being programmed in BASIC and were 2 lines long. Lines could contain several statements. An example of joke-program featured that I remember :\ 10 cls : print "How to keep an idiot busy for hours ?" : print "Press any key to figure out..."\ 20 while inkey$$"" : wend : goto 10 - author: Lisa White (US) date: Saturday 30th December 2006 text: Does anyone know how to get service in the US for a old amstrd pc? related: - /museum/amstrad-464-6128-plus - /museum/amstrad-cpc-464 - /museum/amstrad-cpc-6128 - /museum/amstrad-cpc-664 - /museum/schneider-germany-cpc-464 oc_id: 522 source: url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230603113715/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=522 date: '2023-06-03' --- This one was very similar to the 6128 except that the disk drive is a 5 1/4" one !! No more cursed 3" disks that were so hard to find in 85 because nobody else was using them. The keyboard was exactly the same as the 6128. But if you look at the connections you can see MIDI plugs and a RS232 connector ! Alan Sugar tries to implement some real standards at last... Clearly, Amstrad wanted to prepare for the 16/32 bit battle, declared with the soon-to-be-launched Atari 520ST, but with an old Z80!! A lost cause from the start... The RAM is not really 512k, but rather like its brother the 6128, there were several banks used as virtual RAM disks : 5 banks of 94 k each + the initial 42 k . There were new BASIC instructions: CIRCLE, PAINT, SCROLL, CLOCK, MUSIC, etc. and many others to control communication with the RS232 connector. The 5512 had its own internal clock that would keep time even after the computer was switched off. Wow!\ But most impressive was the GUI. Yes, there was a real Graphical User Interface like Windows !! But it was slow, the Z80 could not perform miracles.\ Of course it was fully compatible with the other CPCs. **OK, IT'S A JOKE ! Hebdogiciel (a very well known French newspaper/magazine in the 80's) made this joke on the first page of N°138 in June 85. AMSTRAD took them to court asking for 100 million francs in damages, arguing that this joke stopped the sales of the 6128 for one week, which may have been true...**