--- title: Gemini Challenger categories: - Computers types: - Professional Computer origins: - United Kingdom years: - '1985' cpus: - Motorola 68000 params: name: Challenger company: /companies/gemini company_name: Gemini specs: - label: NAME value: Challenger - label: MANUFACTURER value: Gemini - label: TYPE value: Professional Computer - label: ORIGIN value: United Kingdom - label: YEAR value: '1985' - label: END OF PRODUCTION value: '1987' - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE value: None - label: KEYBOARD value: Full stroke 101-key with numeric keypad and 16 function keys - label: CPU value: Motorola 68000 - label: SPEED value: 12 MHz - label: RAM value: 512 KB - label: ROM value: 16 KB - label: TEXT MODES value: 80 or 132 chars. x 25 lines - label: GRAPHIC MODES value: 768 x 576 - 16 to 16 million col. / 1024 x 1024 - 64 col. with optional video card - label: COLORS value: 16 up to 16 million - label: SOUND value: Unknown - label: SIZE / WEIGHT value: 19.25 (W) x 16 (D) x 5.75 (H) ins - label: I/O PORTS value: SCSI, Parallel, 2 x Serial RS232, 4 x 68K expansion slots - label: BUILT IN MEDIA value: 1 x 5.25'' 1.2 MB floppy disc drive, Hard disks from 20 to 70 MB - label: OS value: MBOS, Mirage, TDI P-system, CP/M 68k - label: POWER SUPPLY value: Built-in 100Watt switching power supply unit - label: PERIPHERALS value: SCSI peripherals, 68K bus cards - label: PRICE value: From £4750 to £9500 tabs: - photos photos: - title: BACK SIDE subtitle: '' text: |- **(1)** SCSI 50-pin connector\ **(2)** 2 x Serial RS232 DIN plugs\ **(3)** Power switch, mains plugs and fan\ **(4)** Configuration switches\ **(5)** Parallel printer connector\ **(6)** Reset switch\ **(7)** Housing for 4 x 64K bus cards image: null - title: PRICE LIST, NOV. 1985 subtitle: '' text: Thanks to **Henk Bekkers** image: null comments: - author: John B Hanson (UK/West Sussex) date: Monday 7th May 2012 text: I wrote a system for VETS on this system under Mirage. A also wrote a virtual terminal system which allowed multiple sessions on each terminal (Much like ALT+Fn keys in linux). It worked well, but operating system support was a bit of a problem sometimes. I also wrote SCSI drivers for Mirage to allow for an external SCSI drive. - author: Andy Allen (Greece) date: Tuesday 27th December 2011 text: |- I worked at T.D.I in Bristol in the early 80''s and ported the UCSD p-system to this machine. It was my favorite machine at the time, beautiful spec, construction, but sadly we never made a multi-user version. The graphics chip was great fun to program for (did the Turtle Graphics for UCSD as well). Always sad that this one wasn''t a success ...\ (but it couldn''t compete with the Stride/Pinnacle machines) - author: Pete Fenelon (UK) date: Thursday 24th April 2003 text: |- I remember the Mirage OS slightly. It had a very VAX/VMS-like user interface, not sure about the internals - and was used quite a bit for soft-realtime in process control industries in the UK. It also appeared on a number of other 68k-based machines. oc_id: 874 source: url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230603012929/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=874 date: '2023-06-03' --- Before the Challenger came out, Gemini products were based around the Z80 processor and the company's 80-bus architecture. They did well in applications where costumers wanted a highly-specialized product. At first sight, the Challenger looked like an ordinary PC-compatible computer. The monitor was a **Wyse WY-50** remote terminal finished as the same colours as the main box. However, the Challenger's main processor was a 12 MHz Motorola 68000 linked with 512 KB of RAM. This configuration made the Challenger a very high speed 16-bit system for the time. While designing the Challenger, Gemini designers also created a new 68000 proprietary bus called **68K**, which was originally a 16-bit bus but was later extended to 32-bit when the 68020 became available. Four 68K slots were available on the Challenger mainboard. They also designed an impressive graphic card based on the Hitachi HD63484 graphic processor and consisting in two piggy-back full length cards plugged into a 68K slot. Maximum resolution was 1024 x 1024 pixels with 16 million available colours. The Challenger was delivered with a wide range of operating systems:\ \- **MBOS** a business-based multi-user O.S.,\ \- **Mirage** Another multi-user O.S. but more esoteric,\ \- **TDI p-System**, the British version of UCSD p-System well known for its UCSD Pascal language,\ \- **CP/M 68k**, the 68000 version of the 8-bit O.S. which was never very popular.\ Each of these O.S. could cohabit into several partitions of a same hard disk. Despite it's advanced features, the Challenger never met success, neither as a businness machine as very few software were developped for it, nor as a development system as the 68K bus never was carried by other manufacturers. The last machine made by Gemini was a beautifully built IBM clone using a motherboard designed by British Aerospace. But it was too expensive and couldn't compete against far east production. Gemini finally disappeared about one year after the Challenger was launched.
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