--- title: TRIUMPH ADLER ALPHATRONIC PC categories: - Computers types: - Professional Computer origins: - Germany years: - '1983' cpus: - Zilog Z80 params: name: ALPHATRONIC PC image: /media/museum/photos/ta_alphatronic-pc_1s.jpg company: /companies/triumph-adler company_name: TRIUMPH ADLER specs: - label: NAME value: ALPHATRONIC PC - label: MANUFACTURER value: Triumph Adler - label: TYPE value: Professional Computer - label: ORIGIN value: Germany - label: YEAR value: '1983' - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE value: Microsoft Basic 5.11 - label: KEYBOARD value: Full-stroke keyboard, 6 function keys, arrow keys and separated numeric keypad, 85 keys - label: CPU value: Zilog Z80 - label: SPEED value: 4 MHz - label: RAM value: 64 KB (28 156 bytes free in Basic!) - label: ROM value: 32 KB - label: TEXT MODES value: 40 or 80 chars. x 24 lines - label: GRAPHIC MODES value: 80 x 72 / 160 x 72 dots - label: COLORS value: '8' - label: SOUND value: 1 voice, built-in speaker - label: SIZE / WEIGHT value: 40.5 (W) x 25.5 (D) x 7.3 (H) cm / 3,5 kg - label: I/O PORTS value: RGB video out, Tape interface, Serial RS232c/V24 port (from 300 to 9600 baud), Centronics/Parallel port, Disk-drive connector, Cartridge/Rompack slot - label: BUILT IN MEDIA value: optional one or two 5.25'' disk-drives (320 kb each) - label: OS value: CP/M 2.1 (then 2.2) with diskdrives - label: POWER SUPPLY value: Built-in power supply unit - label: PERIPHERALS value: 5''1/4 disk-drives, printers (DRH 80/1 and TRD-170) - label: PRICE value: |- 1500 DM (Germany, 83)\ £347 (U.K., 1984)\ $498 (USA, 1985) tabs: - photos - adverts - hardware forum_thread: 251 photos: - title: ALPHATRONIC PC subtitle: '' text: Thanks to Steve Buniak for this picture image: /media/museum/photos/ta_alphatronic-pc_1.jpg - title: ROYAL ALPHATRONIC PC subtitle: '' text: This model was sold in the USA by Royal image: null - title: REAR subtitle: '' text: Thanks to Steve Buniak for this picture image: /media/museum/photos/ta_alphatronic-pc_rear.jpg - title: LEFT SIDE subtitle: '' text: Thanks to Steve Buniak for this picture image: /media/museum/photos/ta_alphatronic-pc_l-side.jpg - title: ABOVE subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/triumph-adler_alphatronic-pc_2.jpg - title: UNDERNEATH subtitle: '' text: '' image: null adverts: - title: 'FRENCH ADVERT #1' subtitle: '' text: '"The family advice"' image: /media/museum/pubs/triumph-adler_alphatronic-pc_pub_1.jpg - title: 'FRENCH ADVERT #2' subtitle: '' text: The personal computer at the top of its form. image: /media/museum/pubs/triumph-adler_alphatronic-pc_pub_2.jpg - title: END OF LIFE subtitle: '' text: At the end of 1985, the entire stock of Alphatronic PC and peripherals is sold to brokers which sold them at 25% of the original price. image: /media/museum/pubs/triumphadler_alfatronicpc_pub_3.jpg - title: FRENCH AD (JUNE 1986) subtitle: '' text: In 1986, the Alphatronic PC was bargained in many broker shops for a low price. image: /media/museum/pubs/triumph-adler_alphatronic_pc_pub_alpax.jpg hardware: - title: TV ADAPTOR subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/ta_alphatronic-pc_tv-adaptor.jpg - title: EXTERNAL DISK DRIVE subtitle: '' text: Thanks to Steve Buniak for this picture image: /media/museum/hardware/ta_alphatronic-pc_disk-drive.jpg - title: F1 AND F2 DISK-DRIVES subtitle: '' text: These are 5''1/4 diskdrives (320kb each). F1 has the disk-controller built-in and can be connected directly to the computer, whereas F2 is a stand-alone disk-drive and has to be linked to F1 (thus the disk controller) to be used. image: /media/museum/hardware/triumph-adler_alphatronic-pc_disks_1.jpg oc_id: 241 source: url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230324214131/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=241 date: '2023-03-24' --- Triumph was originally Triumph-Adler - the merger company of the 2 typewriter manufacturers Triumph and Adler, to which Triumph (which also produced mechanical calculators and sewing-machines) was the bigger one. Later they got US-typewriter Royal merged into it and had the best years between 1975 and 1988, when they even build competiting machines to IBM System /34 and /36 ... but they did neither understand nor learn the business and ran out of the financial power. The technical part of TA is today a subsidary of Olivetti which tells it all about the downfall of TA. The operational part is a Holding in Nuremberg, which deals with offices, buildings and health-care. The Alphatronic was mainly sold in Germany and was intended as a 'hybrid' Business / Home machine. For Business it was sold as either a 'dumb' Terminal or as a stand-alone Word Processor 'package' (consisting of base unit, WP Cartridge and (Centronics) printer. For home the base unit had a 'built in' Basic ROM - it was also available with either a single or dual Floppy Disks (which included CP/M and Disk basic). It never sold very well in either market - it was much too expensive for home use. Thanks to its Z80 CPU, the Alphatronic PC can run CP/M and quite a few software packages available for it. There were two external disk-drives available: F1 and F2. F1 had the controller built-in. You had to have F1 to use F2, the second one. Sometimes, the Alphatronic PC was sold as a complete wordprocessing package with a daisy-wheel printer (Triumph-Adler TR-170) and a word-processing cartridge inserted into the ROM-pack slot (top left part of the case). Towards the end of it's life, the British Company, MATMOS sold off the final 'batch' or single & dual floppy packages together with a RGB-PAL convertor box. --- Contributors: Steeve Buniak