--- title: Dragon Data Ltd Dragon 64 categories: - Computers types: - Home Computer origins: - United Kingdom years: - '1983' cpus: - Motorola MC6809EP params: name: Dragon 64 image: /media/museum/photos/dragon_64_system_s2.jpg logo: /media/museum/logos/dragon_64_logo_s2.gif company: /companies/dragon-data-ltd company_name: Dragon Data Ltd specs: - label: NAME value: Dragon 64 - label: MANUFACTURER value: Dragon Data Ltd - label: TYPE value: Home Computer - label: ORIGIN value: United Kingdom - label: YEAR value: Summer 1983 - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE value: Microsoft Extended Basic - label: KEYBOARD value: |- QWERTY Mechanical keyboard\ 53 keys - label: CPU value: Motorola MC6809EP - label: SPEED value: 0,9 Mhz - label: CO-PROCESSOR value: Motorola MC-6847 Video Display Generator - label: RAM value: 64 kb - label: ROM value: 32 kb - label: TEXT MODES value: 32 x 28 and 51 x 16 under OS9 - label: GRAPHIC MODES value: 'Several graphic modes, max : 256 x 192 (with 2 colors)' - label: COLORS value: '8' - label: SOUND value: |- 1 voice, 5 octaves with the Basic\ 4 voices, 7 octaves with machine code - label: I/O PORTS value: TV connector, 2 analogue joystick ports, cassette port, Centronics parallel printer port, cartridge slot, composite monitor port, serial connector - label: BUILT IN MEDIA value: None - label: OS value: OS9 - label: POWER SUPPLY value: External AC transformer. Built-in power regulation - label: PERIPHERALS value: Single or dual FDd unit - label: PRICE value: 608 (France, december 84) tabs: - photos - adverts - hardware - software - links photos: - title: LARGE VIEW subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/dragon_64_system_s1.jpg - title: LEFT & RIGHT SIDES subtitle: '' text: |- The cartridge slot is located on the right side.\ On the right side, one see, from left to right\ • TV aerial output,\ • Reset switch,\ • Four DIN sockets:\     Left joystick,\     Tape recorder I/O,\     Right joystick,\     Serial interface\ • Printer connector. image: /media/museum/photos/dragon_64_sides_s1.jpg - title: REAR SIDE subtitle: '' text: |- The rear connectors, from left to right:\ • External transformer DB9 connector,\ • On/Off switch,\ • RGB video DIN socket. image: /media/museum/photos/dragon_64_rearside_s1.jpg - title: DRAGON LABEL subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/dragon_64_label_s1.jpg - title: OPENED subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/dragon_64_opened_s1.jpg - title: MAINBOARD subtitle: '' text: |- The motherboard was quite different from the Dragon 32's. It was re-designed to make room for the second serial port, additional memory and power regulation which was a separated board on the Dragon 64. **(1)** Power regulation circuitry\ **(2)** Two 16 KB EPROMs hold the Microsoft Extended Basic and I/O routines\ **(3)** 74783 chipset (6883 equivalent) Synchronous Address Multiplexer (SAM). Provides system clocks to CPU and video, RAM refresh and I/O addresses decoding\ **(4)** 6809 microprocessor, probably the best 8-bit CPU ever made\ **(5)** 8x4164 chips hold 64 KB of RAM of which 45 KB is available for Basic programs\ **(6)** 6551 ACIA (Asyncronous Communications Interface Adaptor) in charge of Serial RS232 interface\ **(7)** 2x6821 PIA (Peripheral Interface Adaptor) manage several peripherals (keyboard, tape rec., Parallel port,...) and I/O\ **(8)** 6847 video chip in charge of text and graphics display modes. Display quality is the weak point of Dragon 64\ **(9)** UHF modulator for T.V. aerial signals image: /media/museum/photos/dragon_64_mainboard_s1.jpg - title: DRAGON 64 WITH SOFTWARE subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/dragon_dragon64_situation_2.jpg - title: DRAGON 64 WITH DISK-DRIVE subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/dragon_dragon64_situation_1.jpg adverts: - title: LAST SALES subtitle: '' text: In July 1985, California Digital sold the Tano at $99. The price would decrease down to $35 while stock last. image: /media/museum/pubs/dragon_64_pub_s1.jpg - title: UK ADVERT (PART 1), JULY 1984 subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/pubs/gec-dragon64_uk-pub_july-84_1.jpg - title: UK ADVERT (PART 2), JULY 1984 subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/pubs/gec-dragon64_uk-pub_july-84_2.jpg hardware: - title: FDD CONTROLLER CARTRIDGE subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/dragon_64_fdcart_s1.jpg - title: 5'' DISK-DRIVE subtitle: '' text: '186k, Single Side, Operating system: OS9' image: /media/museum/hardware/dragon_diskdrive.jpg - title: THE DRAGON 32/64 DUAL 5.25'' DISK-DRIVE subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/dragon_64_doublefd_1.jpg - title: INSIDE F.D. UNIT subtitle: '' text: |- The disk drive option is provided in 2 parts: the floppy drive unit, and an interface cartridge connected to the computer. Each formated disk can hold 180 Kb. Data are stored on 40 concentric tracks, each one made of 18 sectors of 256 bytes each. **(1)** One or two disk drives can be mounted in the case.\ **(2)** Interface cartridge that fits into the Dragon expansion connector.\ **(3)** First disk drive.\ **(4)** Magnetic heads and its mechanisms.\ **(5)** Disk rotation motors.\ **(6)** Power supply.\ **(7)** Connector for the cartridge flat cable. image: /media/museum/hardware/dragon_32_insidefd_1.jpg - title: DRAGON JOYSTICKS subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/dragon_joysticks.jpg - title: 'DRAGON JOYSTICK #2' subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/dragon_64_joystick_s1.jpg - title: LIGHT PEN subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/dragon_lightpen.jpg - title: DUST COVER subtitle: '' text: Beautiful, no ?! image: /media/museum/hardware/dragons-data_dragon32_dustcover_1.jpg screenshots: - title: BONKA subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/dragon_bonka.jpg - title: COSMIC ZAP subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/dragon_cosmiczap.jpg - title: FROGGER subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/dragon_frogger.jpg - title: KATERPILLAR ATTACK subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/dragon_katerpillar_attack.jpg - title: LEGGIT subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/software/dragon_leggit.jpg links: - title: Dragon & Tandy CoCo Resources url: http://www.burgins.com/dragon.html text: '' - title: Dragon, The Archive url: http://www.dragondata.co.uk/ text: Nice and complete Dragon dedicated site - title: Graham's Dragon Page url: http://www.grempc.demon.co.uk/dragon/ text: Information, articles and links related to the Dragon - title: Home of On-A-Stick Productions Inc. or jon's home page url: http://www.onastick.clara.net/ text: '' - title: The DRAGON Archive url: http://www.dragon-archive.co.uk/ text: A site dedicated to the Dragon series of computers. Includes software archive, history of the dragon and much more. comments: - author: Hugh (England) date: Tuesday 20th December 2011 text: |- Chuck, I had a Dragon 64 and also a clutch of TRS80 cartridges. About a third of them workied ok on the Dragon, but the others would start but not do anything. It was much much better than the Dragon 32. - author: Chuck (Vermont, USA) date: Thursday 8th December 2011 text: Just out of curiosity, was the cartridge slot on the dragon, compatible with the TRS80 Color Computer''s cartridge? - author: Aegis (Finland) date: Wednesday 26th October 2005 text: Well, found this oldie outta my room somewhere, but the power source is broken. Damn, i'd like to see this baby working but well, seems like no. related: - /museum/dragon-data-ltd-dragon-200 - /museum/dragon-data-ltd-dragon-32 oc_id: 503 source: url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230603203658/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=503 date: '2023-06-03' --- The Dragon 64, launched in 83, was exactly the same computer as the [Dragon 32](/museum/dragon-data-ltd-dragon-32/), except that it had 64k RAM instead of 32k, an OS9 operating system and a RS232C connector. The Extended Basic has been modified to provide RS232 I/O calls, to remove the USR bug present in the Dragon 32 ROM and to add calls allowing the additional interpreter to be invoked.\ This second interpreter was the same Extended Basic re-compiled to run from a higher memory address and stored in a EPROM. When invoked, the machine was switched into 64k RAM mode and the interpreter copied from EPROM to RAM giving an extra 16K BASIC workspace. *(Source : [Jon's Dragon Home Page](http://www.onastick.clara.net/))* The Dragon 64 was sold in various European countries. A slightly modified version was also manufactured and sold in the US by TANO (Technical Associates of New Orleans) from August 1983. They sold the machine under the TANO name for a few months but couldn't compete with the agressive price policy from Commodore, Atari and T.I. All the unsold machine were eventually sold off to a discount store called California Digital. In 85 Eurohard, a spanish manufacturer, acquired Dragons Data. Then the Dragon 200 replaced the 64 with some minor changes: power-on lights, auto-repeat keyboard... They also also had plans for a 128k Dragon and a MSX Dragon.