website/content/museum/electronica-cip-03.md

---
title: Electronica CIP-03
categories:
- Computers
types:
- Home Computer
origins:
- Romania
years:
- '1988'
params:
  name: CIP-03
  company: /companies/electronica
  company_name: Electronica
  specs:
  - label: NAME
    value: CIP-03
  - label: MANUFACTURER
    value: Electronica
  - label: TYPE
    value: Home Computer
  - label: ORIGIN
    value: Romania
  - label: YEAR
    value: '1988'
  - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE
    value: Spectrum Basic interpreter
  - label: KEYBOARD
    value: Mechanical 40 keys
  - label: CPU
    value: MMN-80 an East European clone version of the Z80-A
  - label: SPEED
    value: 3.5 Mhz.
  - label: RAM
    value: 64 KB
  - label: ROM
    value: 16 KB (Spectrum O.S. and BASIC)
  - label: TEXT MODES
    value: 32 columns x 24 lines
  - label: GRAPHIC MODES
    value: 256 x 192 pixels
  - label: COLORS
    value: 16 (8 colours in normal or bright modes)
  - label: SOUND
    value: Beeper (10 octaves)
  - label: SIZE / WEIGHT
    value: 32.5 (W) x 28(D) x 5.5 (H) cm.
  - label: I/O PORTS
    value: Tape recorder, Expansion bus, Composite video, TV aerial, AC adaptor
  - label: POWER SUPPLY
    value: 'External power supply unit 5V 3A Central polarity: Plus'
  - label: PRICE
    value: 15000 lei (almost $500)
  tabs:
  - photos
  - hardware
  photos:
  - title: BLUE VERSION
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  - title: RED VERSION
    subtitle: ''
    text: The red version with the impressive power supply unit
    image: null
  - title: RED AND BLUE VERSIONS
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  - title: RIGHT SIDE
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: null
  - title: BACK SIDE
    subtitle: ''
    text: |-
      **(1)** Power supply jack\
      **(2)** Expansion/Bus connector\
      **(3)** Tape recorder DIN plug\
      **(4)** Composite video monitor DIN plug\
      **(5)** RF modulator output\
      **(6)** Reset switch
    image: null
  - title: KEYBOARD CLOSE-UP
    subtitle: ''
    text: Each key features the same functions as the original ZX-Spectrum
    image: null
  - title: UNCOVERED KEYBOARD
    subtitle: ''
    text: |-
      A true mechanical keyboard, much more convenient for quick typing than the original Spectrum one, even if key switches are real simple and so is the 'feeling'.

      Keys are covered with a transparent red (red version) or black (blue version) plastic cover.
    image: null
  - title: CIP MOTHERBOARD
    subtitle: ''
    text: |-
      About 20 standard chips (most 74-family) are here used in place of the Spectrum ULA custom chip.

      **(1)** RF modulator. Produces TV aerial compatible signals\
      **(2)** System Reset switch\
      **(3)** Composite video monitor DIN plug\
      **(4)** Tape recorder DIN plug\
      **(5)** Keyboard connector\
      **(6)** MMN-80 processor (Z80-A clone)\
      **(7)** Expansion/Bus connector\
      **(8)** Power supply jack plug\
      **(9)** 16 KB EPROM holding the Spectrum BASIC interpreter\
      **(10)** 64 KB RAM chips (East European MMN 4164)
    image: null
  - title: 'MOTHERBOARD CLOSE-UP #1'
    subtitle: ''
    text: RF modulator area. All the chips used were produced in East European countries.
    image: null
  - title: 'MOTHERBOARD CLOSE-UP #2'
    subtitle: ''
    text: Processor and memory chips area
    image: null
  - title: USER MANUAL COVER
    subtitle: ''
    text: |-
      User manual explains all the Spectrum BASIC commands with many example programs, as well as major internal memory addresses meaning. Le BASIC interpreter is called S-BASIC.\
      'calculator pentru instruire' means 'computer for teaching'
    image: null
  hardware:
  - title: JOYSTICK INTERFACE
    subtitle: ''
    text: This joystick interface (only one joystick) was connected to the CIP expansion bus connector.
    image: null
  comments:
  - author: Ioan Rosca (Romania/Canada)
    date: Wednesday 8th December 2021
    text: 'Part 1/2: I started my internship at Electronica in 1983 and was tasked by the technical director Gavriliu (due to my background in mathematics) to fully elucidate analog colour processing (hence also the Telecolor decoder that was coming to market). I claim to have succeeded. Subsequently, I conceived the training courses for the technical repair staff and organised the training centre in Piatra Neamt. I then started redacting the Electronica magazine, with articles published in accordance to my vision on the explanation of electronics as a spiritual ferment. That’s why, when Gavriliu asked me (around 1987) to conceive a small boot for the CIP, I first appreciated the way the colour encoder was realised, as a combinational game of phasor trigonometry - a true lesson in the application of vectors. We were thrilled by how the syncrogenerator, starting from the clock and playing a subtle combinational game, made all the signals necessary to a TV broadcast compatible with existing
      sets. Finally, we stumbled on the part that simply fascinated us: the workings of the memory arbiter. We verified, incredulously at first, that it was able to use the inactive cycles of all instructions to squeeze the syncrogenerator signal that maintained spot movement and also refresh memory between the in-out CPU requests. It was real feast of ingenuity - if you were able to conceive this (I thought the schematics were borrowed from somewhere) - I congratulate you. You’ve afforded me wonderful moments. There was one big problem though. The external memory system was very sensitive to the poor quality of recording/playback heads found in regular cassette players (not everyone had access to that special Hungarian cassette player that miraculously handled the signal trains deposited on the tape, allowing the $ion of the short/unique synchronisation impulse after the long series of preparatory impulses). That was already a critical impediment to archiving/loading, but with the operating
      system placed on tape (as was requested, due to unresolved intellectual property issues), it was truly dramatic. That’s why we conceived a small “oscilloscope�, as part of the boot functions (among the others necessary for loading the operating system and copying), that gave a visual representation of the impulse train obtained from the cassette player - for optimal head adjustment. We focused our attention on the save/load routine, deciphering the realtime processing equations behind the Spectrum algorithm (using The Complete Spectrum ROM Disassembly - I still have it on my bookshelf, although I’m involved in completely different thing now - we had established the complete logical schematics of the Spectrum’s 16K Basic, in order to act without losing compatibility with existing games). With this occasion we saw the importance of using the Z80 in realtime (of course, in the absence of interrupts or masking them). We managed to make music by mixing threads of Fourrier decompositions,
      doubling/tripling densities on save/load (back then engineering was about making economies for the user - the spectacular effort of adding colour to the black-and-white signal, keeping in-band compatibility being a good example of this principle). Programming each subroutine dozens of times, managing to spare an octet each time, even using some sequences of the character table … aspics of code, $ing a “key� for commuting memory access (from 2k EPROM to the RAM where the BASIC could be loaded), we managed to stuff it all in 2k to our great delight… (we were young and playing creation). We also filed for a patent in March 1989 (I’ll try to check the result at the patent office). That covers the BOOT programming part.'
  - author: Ioan Rosca (Romania/Canada)
    date: Wednesday 8th December 2021
    text: 'Part 2/2: Regarding PN (Piatra Neamt) BASIC, it contained the turbo-load function, a subroutine for mirroring the keyboard for troubleshooting (the keys were not very reliable), the possibility to use function from the 2k EPROM but most importantly the commuting of instructions in the Romanian language (with the condition of adding a plastic mask over the keyboard) to avoid encumbering children with the English language, which was essential to precocious educational use of the product. Because - and this is the key aspect - we had decided with Gavriliu on a school implementation program, starting the programming of pedagogical modules with the arithmetics textbooks that were taught back then, written by my father. All these plans came to a halt after December 22nd 1989… It caught us in the middle of programming animation libraries for LED panels (another CIP real-time usecase) and writing the Service Manual for the CIP. This was a wonderful experience. We realised, following
      every aspect, interrupting every pin to simulate defects and deducing behaviour - from code to screen - that we have a jewel in front of us, a logical watch, a demonstration of beauty and intelligence, an x-ray of the mind’s game. The CIP was conceived to help users in intellectual operations. But it was made in a way such that understanding it was, in itself, a school for the intellect, an extremely instructive spectacle. The behaviour, although complex, was fully intelligible - which allows the conceptor’s conscience, I believe, to thrive in dignity / noblesse / light. That’s how I explain the lingering interest for the Spectrum. The new solutions, favourable to manufacturers, efficient as instruments, are closed off to the comprehension of internal mechanisms$ pragmatically superior, they are no longer a good source of learning, inspiration, joy of thinking coherently/creatively. After physically reducing us, technology/convenience, industrialised production, will also reduce
      us intellectually. The kind of lesson taught by the CIP schematics are no longer possible today. Perhaps no one is left to enjoy the elegance of the mind. I wanted back then to write a book, a sort of explanatory novel, on the spectacular and instructive adventure of a journey through the CIP, followed by one through the monitor. I held an after-class with students at the Petru Rares high-school in Piatra Neamt, using the Chromatic and the CIP to show them the why and how of reasoning, abstracting and mathematics. The rest is nostalgia…'
  - author: Dan Mihai (United States)
    date: Sunday 5th December 2021
    text: 'Ioan, I read your posting earlier this year and I thought I’d reach out to share some of the history of this unique design, which I came up with back in 1986 while trying to find a better way to build a Sinclair Spectrum clone without an ASIC (“ULA� chip) that could be built using just discrete digital logic (gates and registers) in addition to the Z80-CPU. This is the only clone design that I am aware of which implements a “single master time base� concept (single 18.2 MHz quartz oscillator that runs, through dividers, the \~2.5 MHz CPU, the digital PAL color subcarrier modulator, and the display logic – aka “ULA� replacement – which avoided the original Sinclair design of putting the CPU in a Halt state to allow the ULA to push out the video frames when conflicting, resulting in a “pure sound� for games. Being totally synchronous and quite tolerant to low-quality analog and digital components, my design was chosen for production at Electronica, where I
      worked as the Project Manager / Technical Lead (on contract assignment from the ITCI research institute) with Calin Popescu (the manufacturing manager at Electronica) and Eugen Stefan (RF engineer) to get this design into manufacturing as a “gaming accessory to the Cromatic color TV� manufactured at Electronica that was being released to the market at that time. Some of the adaptations included: • Redesigning the PCB from a 4-layer board with a 25 mil resolution to a 2-layer board with a 50-mil resolution - to accommodate the “state of the art� (sic) manufacturing capability at Electronica (resulting in a 4x increase in size and weight relative to my original ZX-Spectrum+ prototype) • Replacing the original Sinclair 16K ROM ROM with a 2K Basic Interpreter / bootloader that I wrote to help Electronica avoid being sued for Copyright infringement by Sinclair (concern which was thrown out the window by Electronica starting with CIP-02 onwards – I think that the concept of
      “Intellectual Property� has not sunk into the Romanian culture until much, much later…) • My original design had a 64 KB memory with 4x 16K banks switchable through a hotkey, which allowed the user to pre-load up to 4 games from cassette tapes into the ZX-Spectrum+ memory, and then switch from one game to another while maintaining game state. Obviously the 64K RAM chips were too expensive for mass manufacturing, and I had to go back to a more "pedestrian" single 16K RAM bank like the original Sinclair (one game at a time) • The digital PAL color subcarrier modulator was implemented using a Finite State Machine (FSM) in a PROM with 16 phase shifts controlled by the RGB information from the video memory in real time (as a reminder the PAL color modulation standard requires carrier phase modulation with alternating phases in odd / even frames) - for which my ITCI colleague Marian Romascanu and I have been granted Romanian Patent 101742 with a priority date of 4 July 1988. I
      still have the original ZX-Spectrum+ prototype, a copy of the CIP-01 pre-production batch, and pictures of the various stages in the "productization" of this design as part of a technology transfer project from ITCI to Electronica - if anybody knows how I could post pictures to this forum, please LMk and I''''d be happy to do so.'
  - author: Ioan Rosca (Romania/Canada)
    date: Tuesday 9th February 2021
    text: 'Let''''s clarify a little more precisely the situation of these versions of CIP. I do not dispute the merit of the teams that designed the hard. We were able to appreciate it, we the team of young engineers from the Electronic Service Piatra Neamt, who studied it meticulously, in order to design the starting boot and the Service Book: http://www.ioanrosca.com/didactica/electronica/caiet_service_electronica_1990/index.htm It was a small creative gem, both in terms of decoder (where it exploits excellent color theory and trigonometric operations), and elsewhere (such as RF modulator, etc.). We especially like the way the video memory referee governs / mixes the access of the processor and of the sync generator, so that, using inactive touches, no interruptions occur, and the Z80 processor can be used real time, so perfect determinst (that''''s why the sound wasn''''t disturbed either) But regarding the 2k boot (and not 4k - as Adrian Stancescu''''s comment says), I specify that
      it was designed entirely by us at Piatra Neamt, together with a version of "Basic PN" (ie Piatra Neamt), perfectly compatible Spectrum (which forced us to an exhaustive analysis of the disassembly of the 16K) but which had some improvements (switching to Romanian instructions - so that the Roman puppies invited to use the computer not to be forced neocolonially to English, overturn the keyboard - in case of a key failure, optimize the load / save functions - so that it moves at turbo speeds) I designed the startup boot (with the main role of loading the operating system from the cassette) in only 2k of eprom memory, because CIP 1 did not have the 16K Basic system integrated in the ROM, so it had to be loaded from the audio cassettes . This formula was very flexible (the machine was not dedicated to an operating system) but it had delicate load issues, which led to the introduction of the 16k Basic ROM in later versions of CIP. The quality of the cassette players leaving much to be
      desired. forced, after long experiments, to incorporate in the 2k of the boot an "oscilloscope", usable in adjusting the playback heads, a copy editor - executed even without operating system, as well as for economy, load and save on turbo speeds - 150, 20 and 300$. I worked on more than 150 versions. I filed on March 27, 1989 an invention patent for this boot, placed in eprom. That''''s why I don''''t know how to interpret the statement: "and I programmed the super-optimized 4K Spectrum BIOS cassette loader + BASIC interpreter to go around the Sinclair Spectrum software copyright while still providing the ability to program in BASIC". I asked today the technical director of Electronics, eng. Mircea Gavriliu, which made this project possible, if there was any 4k boot, experimental. He does not remember such details. However, it is certain that CIP 1 came on the market with the boot designed by us in Piatra Neamt. I have a such a CIP in my house, and I also have the source code and
      all the proof of our work . Therefore, i hope that the author of the comment clarifies the issue, so that we are not left with the impression of an attempt to praise the work of others. 9 .02.2021 Ioan Rosca, electronics engineer, mathematician and architect of tele / informatics systems, designer of the boot for CIP 1'
  - author: Ioan Rosca (Romania/Canada)
    date: Tuesday 9th February 2021
    text: 'Let''''s clarify a little more precisely the situation of these versions of CIP. I do not dispute the merit of the teams that designed the hard. We were able to appreciate it, we the team of young engineers from the Electronic Service Piatra Neamt, who studied it meticulously, in order to design the starting boot and the Service Book: http://www.ioanrosca.com/didactica/electronica/caiet_service_electronica_1990/index.htm It was a small creative gem, both in terms of decoder (where it exploits excellent color theory and trigonometric operations), and elsewhere (such as RF modulator, etc.). We especially like the way the video memory referee governs / mixes the access of the processor and of the sync generator, so that, using inactive touches, no interruptions occur, and the Z80 processor can be used real time, so perfect determinst (that''''s why the sound wasn''''t disturbed either) But regarding the 2k boot (and not 4k - as Adrian Stancescu''''s comment says), I specify that
      it was designed entirely by us at Piatra Neamt, together with a version of "Basic PN" (ie Piatra Neamt), perfectly compatible Spectrum (which forced us to an exhaustive analysis of the disassembly of the 16K) but which had some improvements (switching to Romanian instructions - so that the Roman puppies invited to use the computer not to be forced neocolonially to English, overturn the keyboard - in case of a key failure, optimize the load / save functions - so that it moves at turbo speeds) I designed the startup boot (with the main role of loading the operating system from the cassette) in only 2k of eprom memory, because CIP 1 did not have the 16K Basic system integrated in the ROM, so it had to be loaded from the audio cassettes . This formula was very flexible (the machine was not dedicated to an operating system) but it had delicate load issues, which led to the introduction of the 16k Basic ROM in later versions of CIP. The quality of the cassette players leaving much to be
      desired. forced, after long experiments, to incorporate in the 2k of the boot an "oscilloscope", usable in adjusting the playback heads, a copy editor - executed even without operating system, as well as for economy, load and save on turbo speeds - 150, 20 and 300$. I worked on more than 150 versions. I filed on March 27, 1989 an invention patent for this boot, placed in eprom. That''''s why I don''''t know how to interpret the statement: "and I programmed the super-optimized 4K Spectrum BIOS cassette loader + BASIC interpreter to go around the Sinclair Spectrum software copyright while still providing the ability to program in BASIC". I asked today the technical director of Electronics, eng. Mircea Gavriliu, which made this project possible, if there was any 4k boot, experimental. He does not remember such details. However, it is certain that CIP 1 came on the market with the boot designed by us in Piatra Neamt. I have a such a CIP in my house, and I also have the source code and
      all the proof of our work . Therefore, i hope that the author of the comment clarifies the issue, so that we are not left with the impression of an attempt to praise the work of others. 9 .02.2021 Ioan Rosca, electronics engineer, mathematician and architect of tele / informatics systems, designer of the boot for CIP 1'
  - author: Ioan Rosca (Romania/Canada)
    date: Tuesday 9th February 2021
    text: 'Let''''s clarify a little more precisely the situation of these versions of CIP. I do not dispute the merit of the teams that designed the hard. We were able to appreciate it, we the team of young engineers from the Electronic Service Piatra Neamt, who studied it meticulously, in order to design the starting boot and the Service Book: http://www.ioanrosca.com/didactica/electronica/caiet_service_electronica_1990/index.htm It was a small creative gem, both in terms of decoder (where it exploits excellent color theory and trigonometric operations), and elsewhere (such as RF modulator, etc.). We especially like the way the video memory referee governs / mixes the access of the processor and of the sync generator, so that, using inactive touches, no interruptions occur, and the Z80 processor can be used real time, so perfect determinst (that''''s why the sound wasn''''t disturbed either) But regarding the 2k boot (and not 4k - as Adrian Stancescu''''s comment says), I specify that
      it was designed entirely by us at Piatra Neamt, together with a version of "Basic PN" (ie Piatra Neamt), perfectly compatible Spectrum (which forced us to an exhaustive analysis of the disassembly of the 16K) but which had some improvements (switching to Romanian instructions - so that the Roman puppies invited to use the computer not to be forced neocolonially to English, overturn the keyboard - in case of a key failure, optimize the load / save functions - so that it moves at turbo speeds) I designed the startup boot (with the main role of loading the operating system from the cassette) in only 2k of eprom memory, because CIP 1 did not have the 16K Basic system integrated in the ROM, so it had to be loaded from the audio cassettes . This formula was very flexible (the machine was not dedicated to an operating system) but it had delicate load issues, which led to the introduction of the 16k Basic ROM in later versions of CIP. The quality of the cassette players leaving much to be
      desired. forced, after long experiments, to incorporate in the 2k of the boot an "oscilloscope", usable in adjusting the playback heads, a copy editor - executed even without operating system, as well as for economy, load and save on turbo speeds - 150, 20 and 300$. I worked on more than 150 versions. I filed on March 27, 1989 an invention patent for this boot, placed in eprom. That''''s why I don''''t know how to interpret the statement: "and I programmed the super-optimized 4K Spectrum BIOS cassette loader + BASIC interpreter to go around the Sinclair Spectrum software copyright while still providing the ability to program in BASIC". I asked today the technical director of Electronics, eng. Mircea Gavriliu, which made this project possible, if there was any 4k boot, experimental. He does not remember such details. However, it is certain that CIP 1 came on the market with the boot designed by us in Piatra Neamt. I have a such a CIP in my house, and I also have the source code and
      all the proof of our work . Therefore, i hope that the author of the comment clarifies the issue, so that we are not left with the impression of an attempt to praise the work of others. 9 .02.2021 Ioan Rosca, electronics engineer, mathematician and architect of tele / informatics systems, designer of the boot for CIP 1'
  - author: Iacobini Ariel (Romania)
    date: Saturday 30th June 2018
    text: Hello, I am the proud owner of 2 x Cip 03 blue and red version Romanian computers. I would like any original designs and drawings for this model to be able to restore them very close to the original / print new components, thank you, you can find me on facebook, Iacobini Ariel
  - author: Adrian Stancescu (Canada)
    date: Wednesday 1st November 2017
    text: I was 12 years at the time when a family friend lent me a CIP-03 for the summer of 92. It was the defining moment in my life where I knew that my future would involve computers in some shape of form. Many thanks to those involved in designing it and bringing it to market. It''s amazing that it even got approved for sale by the regime at the time. I''m glad to read your stories and send you all my gratitude.
  - author: Dan Mihai (United States)
    date: Friday 13rd January 2017
    text: |-
      Found this post while browsing around$ I am the original designer and the project manager (from the ITC side) of commercializing this design as CIP-01 at Electronica Pipera back in 1987$ Calin Popescu was the project manager from the Electronica Pipera''s side.

      It all started when during several brainstorming discussions over quite a few satisfying games of Bridge with Cristi Hera (Pupu) and Virgil Vladescu (Bombone) - graduates of IPB Automatica / Calculatoare - about the weaknesses of the FCE''s HC-85 design, I had the idea of designing an alternate Spectrum clone hardware as a fully synchronous Finite State Machine (FSM) which ran everything (Z80A CPU, shared video memory controller, and later even the PAL encoder) from a single \~18 MHz crystal and with zero CPU WAIT states - a first for that time, and which made this design be the only Sinclair Spectrum clone generating "pure" sound tones. Initially I built this design "by hand" on a 25-mil 4-layer PCB encased in a manually assembled plastic enclosure slightly smaller than the original Spectrum - 8.75 cm wide x 5.5 cm deep x 1.6 cm tall (still have one of those in my personal computing museum, happy to share pictures with anyone who asks) and sold quite a few of these in the IPB dorms around 1985-1986 before pitching the idea of commercializing this design to my team leader at ITC, Riuric Bulgacov, in mid-1987.

      Riuric brilliantly positioned this as a potential "gaming accessory" to the just-released Cromatic color TV manufactured by Electronica Pipera to get it approved by the political administration of that time $ I am still amazed to this day that the project got approved by the administration, considering how strict they were in controlling the public''s access to electronic communications, typewriters, free speech, etc. Perhaps it was its classification as a "game accessory to the color TV" that made it fly under the radar?

      The design of what became CIP-01 had to be adjusted for the manufacturing capabilities available at Electronica-Pipera: 50-mil 2-layer PCB technology, injection-molded ABS plastic, and "consumer electronics-grade" connectors (rather large DIN jacks, etc.) which increased the size of the PCB by a factor of 4 yielding a size of the entire device of 31.5 cm wide x 28 cm deep x 6.5 cm tall. This was quite a bit larger than the original "hand-built" prototype, but it had the advantage of a larger and much more comfortable keyboard and (potentially) better cooling for the electronics.

      I still remember designing CIP-01''s first PCB layout on Electronica''s CORAL minicomputer while trying to cleverly route power and ground traces to minimize ground noise - quite a challenge in a 2-layer "consumer electronics-style" PCB layout compared with the original 4-layer "computer-style" PCB layout with dedicated power and ground planes.

      Eugen Stefan (Gene) from Electronica designed an RF modulator which was included in the box as well. Marian Romascanu from ITC designed a synchronous PAL encoder - conceptually based on the Apple II NTSC design - and I programmed the super-optimized 4K Spectrum BIOS cassette loader + BASIC interpreter to go around the Sinclair Spectrum software copyright while still providing the ability to program in BASIC. The Sinclair BIOS was loadable from a cassette tape (not sold by Electronica at that time to avoid copyright issues, but widely available from friends, family, and other "hobbyists") for full compatibility with all Spectrum games. I still have a CIP-01 preproduction prototype (white) in my personal technology museum, happy to share pictures of it as well. The entire commercialization project (concept to manufacturing) of the ITC-Electronica joint venture lasted about 12 months, which would qualify as a record even today.

      CIP-01 was available in consumer electronic stores everywhere in Romania starting with 1988, I still remember seeing it on display at Bucur-Obor $ right next to a Cromatic color TV.

      I''m quite happy to see that the product ended up selling well and helping a lot of young Romanian people acquire a passion for computers, learn how to develop software, and increase their market value in today''s high-tech global economy.
  - author: Zoltán (Cluj)
    date: Thursday 9th July 2015
    text: |-
      In order to make a DTP program for editing the high school’s newspaper we had to modify a CIP-01 (bought immediately after the Revolution) to house supplementary 64K RAM (128K per total). also a printer and a MIDI (Musical Instruments’ Digital Interconnection) interface has been added, in this manner the computer became a ‘powerful’ multimedia tool (for Romanian ZX-clone standards, of course).\
      Unfortunately I don’t have the computer anymore.
  - author: Cristina Oprea (Romania)
    date: Sunday 18th May 2014
    text: 'I have a CIP -03 from Electronica. Whoever is interested in buying it please contact me : chris1_chris@yahoo.com'
  - author: Victor Fomino (Bucharest, Romania)
    date: Wednesday 28th August 2013
    text: |-
      Together with Calin Popescu, I worked in the project for CIP (series) 03 computer (Sinclair clone).\
      Based on a designer sketch, I designed all the mechanics (keyboard, case and even a Joystick).\
      I wold like to get the mail adress of Calin Popescu.

      Thanks
  - author: injineru (Germany)
    date: Tuesday 12th March 2013
    text: I had this also but it was a CIP (without number). I used to play a lot on it but my dad always told me to make some programming because that is the future :) Oh the memories...
  - author: Cristian (Berlin)
    date: Saturday 9th February 2013
    text: |-
      Hi there,

      I have a CIP-03 and intend to use it in a presentation at the university. I also have a CGA to VGA converter (http://www.ebay.de/itm/250921932635), but I have no idea how to connect it to this jack: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/OV8LprJxKpL-obTwA7ml9PSsYGzlsMif53eYzYbzzpQ?feat$directlink

      The Ring around is the Ground, but then I have the R/G/B plus the HS and VS.

      Does anyone have an idea about this?
  - author: Calin
    date: Sunday 12th September 2010
    text: My first computer, bought in Mai 1990. It was CIP 02 version and BASIC should be loaded from tape. My first programs and algorithms were tested using it
  - author: Adrian (Constanta)
    date: Wednesday 7th February 2007
    text: Yes, I still have this one! I had it first in '92 - '93, I think. I was just hypnotised by it ... hours and hours of loading and playing old games. We only had one TV at that time, and me and my brother were fighting with our parents for it. Those were the good times!
  - author: Adrian Toma (Earth)
    date: Monday 20th March 2006
    text: 'CIP03: My first computer... I was i kid in school (13 years old) when i bought this amazing computer. I remember i was loading 30kb in only 20 minutes. Unfortunaly, sometimes, i was getting "Tape Error Loading" ... so reload... Anyway, i was loving it ... THIS made me decide my future career in IT.'
  oc_id: 700
  source:
    url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230323143454/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=700
    date: '2023-03-23'
---

Few information about this computer, a Romanian [Sinclair ZX-Spectrum](/museum/sinclair-zx-spectrum/) clone made from 1988 by Electronica CIE and sold only in Romania in blue or red case colour version. In fact, the colors only differed on the keyboard marquee, the case color being the same. On the red version the background of the keys is darker than on the blue version.

The CIP-03 had a built-in Spectrum compatible BASIC interpreter in ROM. But instead of the original Sinclair copyright text at boot, it shows simply a "BASIC S" string on the center of the bottom line on the screen.

The computer had no joystick interface built in, it could been however purchased separately (in contrast, other romanian Spectrum clones had built-in joystick port.) The keyboard had switches instead of the membrane of the original ZX Spectrum. Though it had a clumsy feeling while typing, it did not wear out easily. The computer had an internal speaker of about 0.5 watts which gave a very loud noise while loading programs, and there were no way to control the volume...

Apparently the CIP-03 is the most common of all Romanian ZX Spectrum clones.

There was another version called **CIP-02** which had only 2 KB ROM containing a copy utility program. The advantage was that the RAM available for copying was 60 KB, more than enough for copying a full 48k program.

The BASIC interpreter was available on cassette tape and needed to be loaded each time the computer was powered on (but not reseted as the 0-16 KB area was protected from interrupts).

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Contributors: Szász Eduárd István (info)

**Calin Popescu**, the designer of the CIP-03 sent us this line:\
I was the engineer who led the entire process - from design to manufacture - of this Spectrum clone at Electronica Bucuresti. I think we manufactured about 15000 units until I left Romania in 1993. The production continued for a while after that but I do not have more info. I do have own one protptype.

**Geroge Sauciuc** from Romania adds:\
The CIP-03 was used in public schools, for informatics classes. this mashine was delivery with tape recorder, external power supply unit, and with one programs tape (all Romanian programs because at this period, all programs must be made in Romania).

**Liviu A. Stefanescu** reports:\
I am the RF designer ( electrical schematics final version after few revisions, PCB prototyping, several pilot runs, volume production) of the UHF modulator used in the HC models 85 and later. The UHF modulator was transforming the video composite signal into a TV channel signal specific to the standard D/K, usually one of the channels 25..30 , manufactured by I. Electronica was similar to the one used for computers HC85 and later HC models produced by ICE-Pipera. The modulator was a stand alone module that was being added on the Main board as needed. Some versions were not delivered with TV modulator.

<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>