---
title: Telenova Compis
categories:
- Computers
types:
- Professional Computer
origins:
- Sweden
years:
- '1985'
cpus:
- Intel 80186
params:
  name: Compis
  image: /media/museum/photos/compis_telenova.jpg
  company: /companies/telenova
  company_name: Telenova
  specs:
  - label: NAME
    value: Compis
  - label: MANUFACTURER
    value: Telenova
  - label: TYPE
    value: Professional Computer
  - label: ORIGIN
    value: Sweden
  - label: YEAR
    value: '1985'
  - label: KEYBOARD
    value: Full-stroke separate keyboard with editing and numeric keypads. Built-in speaker and setup data's
  - label: CPU
    value: Intel 80186
  - label: SPEED
    value: 8 Mhz
  - label: CO-PROCESSOR
    value: 82720 (Graphic), 8087(arithmetic coprocessor),
  - label: RAM
    value: 128 kb or 256 kb, expandable to 768 kb
  - label: ROM
    value: Unknown
  - label: TEXT MODES
    value: 50 x 25, 80 x 25
  - label: GRAPHIC MODES
    value: 640 x 400 (color), 1280 x 800 (monochrome)
  - label: COLORS
    value: Monochrom
  - label: SOUND
    value: No sound...
  - label: I/O PORTS
    value: 2 x RS232C, Monitor, Tape-recorder, Keyboard, 2 x iSBX-bus, Centronics, Analogue In/Out, Network socket, Graphic expansion slot, floppy disk, light pen
  - label: BUILT IN MEDIA
    value: Two 5.25'' disk-drives, optional 10 Mb / 60 Mb external hard-disk
  - label: OS
    value: CP/M86, UCSD-p, MS-DOS
  - label: POWER SUPPLY
    value: Power supply unit is located in the monitor
  tabs:
  - photos
  - links
  forum_thread: 362
  photos:
  - title: THE TELENOVA AND ITS PERIPHERALS
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/photos/telenova2.jpg
  links:
  - title: Another Compis page
    url: http://www.compis.nu/
    text: Page in swedish with some technical information to download and Compis' links
  - title: Compis Info!
    url: http://compisinfo.googlepages.com/
    text: Preservation of COMPIS with docs, firmware, gallery and software
  - title: Compis_Lever
    url: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/compis_lever/
    text: Yahoo group !
  - title: Hogia's PC Museum
    url: http://www.hogia.se/pcmuseum/datorer75-84/datorer75-84-sida.htm
    text: This museum has a nice page about the Compis (swedish).
  - title: Telenova Compis page
    url: http://WWW.DF.LTH.SE/~pi/compis/
    text: Page in Swedish with some information, online docs and software.
  - title: Telenova Compis' page
    url: http://www.abc80.net/old/ver1/compis/
    text: A page dedicated to the Compis with software, tools and documentation to download (in swedish).
  oc_id: 358
  source:
    url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230608090713/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=358
    date: '2023-06-08'
---

The Telenova Compis computer was designed to be used in swedish schools. It featured a 80186 cpu and used CP/M 86.

The name "compis" would be a synthesis of the word Computer and the swedish word "kompis", meaning Buddy or mate. It was also a shorting for 'computer i skolan' (computer in school).\
The Compis was called **Scandis** in Norway.

There was a small speaker in the keyboard. On the later models (Compis II) the network identity and other setup-data of the computer were also stored in the keyboard.\
Compis II was also capable of running MD-DOS. Some models only had one floppy drive. It had amber monochrome display while the first model had green on black.

Svenska Datorer AB (Swedish Computers AB) went bankrupt shortly after beginning the production of the compis. Further production was taken over by the state-owned Televerket´s company TeleNova that invested large amounts of money in the project.

The following languages were available on disk : Comal, Pascal, Fortran, Cobol.

---

**Henrik Erlandsson's** memories:\
This was the computer I grew up with in college in Sweden. Like the Microbee from my high school years, it could be networked. I used that feature to program (in the excellent Pascal compiler, where you could insert assembler code) to my knowledge the first networked Tetris clone, called Fetris. (This was in 1986).\
People competing against each other in the computer room caused a lot of loud screams and I remember it actually got some non-nerds hooked on these computers.

There was an excellent word processing package for the Compis which most of the students used for homework assignments. It used the special word processing shortcut keys placed around the arrow keys to great effect.\
The computers were networked to a server with a 10 MB (Winchester?) harddisk, of which each student was allotted a 200kb workspace. Wow! :)

<table> <tr> <td></td> <td>We need more info about this computer ! If you designed, used, or have more info about this system, please send us pictures or anything you might find useful.</td> <td></td> </tr> </table>