website/content/museum/iptvt-traian-vuia-polytechnical-institute-microtim.md

title, categories, types, origins, years, cpus, params

title	categories	types	origins	years	cpus	params
IPTVT (TRAIAN VUIA POLYTECHNICAL INSTITUTE) MicroTim	Computers	Home Computer	Romania	1986	Z80 clone	name image company company_name specs tabs forum_thread photos links oc_id source MicroTim /media/museum/photos/timisoara_microtim_1.jpg /companies/iptvt-traian-vuia-polytechnical-institute IPTVT (TRAIAN VUIA POLYTECHNICAL INSTITUTE) label value NAME MicroTim label value MANUFACTURER IPTVT (Traian Vuia Polytechnical Institute) label value TYPE Home Computer label value ORIGIN Romania label value YEAR 1986 label value END OF PRODUCTION early 90 label value BUILT IN LANGUAGE Basic label value KEYBOARD Strange keyboard. 40 keys. Functions & statements labeled next to the keys label value CPU Z80 clone label value SPEED 2 MHz, later improved to 3.5 MHz in the TimS label value RAM 32, 64 or 128 KB label value ROM 16+4 KB BIOS, later improved to 32+4 label value TEXT MODES 32 columns x 24 lines label value GRAPHIC MODES None, text mode only label value COLORS 8 label value SOUND 1 voice label value I/O PORTS Power in, parallel port, serial port, cassette interface, RGB video output, RF TV output, expansion port label value POWER SUPPLY External power supply label value PRICE About 18,000 lei ($900) photos links 609 title subtitle text image MICROTIM Note that the keyboard of this model is slightly different from the one pictured on the main page (larger spacebar for example). Thanks to the [HomeComputer.de museum](http://www.homecomputer.de/) for this picture /media/museum/photos/timisoara_microtim_2.jpg title subtitle text image BEIGE VERSION /media/museum/photos/microtim_system_1.jpg title subtitle text image BOTTOM LABEL Thanks to **Daniel Ioan** /media/museum/photos/iptvt_microtim_label_1.jpg title subtitle text image REAR /media/museum/photos/timisoara_microtim_rear.jpg title subtitle text image INSIDE Thanks to **Daniel Ioan** /media/museum/photos/iptvt_microtim_inside_1.jpg title url text HomeComputer Museum http://www.homecomputer.de/ Stefan has very intersting pages dedicated to east-european home computers title url text IONICOL http://www.ionicol.com/ These guys sometimes sell east-european computers! title url text ThinkingDeep.com http://www.thinkingdeep.com/site_en/history.html A nice Romanian computing history... 622 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230528144537/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=622 2023-05-28

The MicroTim is a Romanian unlicenced ZX Spectrum clone. It is one of the first models made at the factory in Timisoara, western Romania in the early 1980s. MicroTim stands for "Micro" and "TIMisoara". It was designed at Polytehnica University from Timisoara (former TUT - Technical University of Timisoara, former IPTVT - "Traian Vuia" Polytechnical Institute), but its large scale fabrication started and continued at the Fabrica de Memorii Timisoara (the Computer Memory Factory).

When the ZX Spectrum appeared in the early 80's, three unlicenced Romanian clones were developped almost independently. These were developped in three main university centres from Timisoara, called initially microTim, and then TimS (from TIMisoara and Spectrum), Cluj-Napoca called Prae (which means "beginning" in latin) and Bucharest called aMIC (translated as "aSMALL"). These were developped using a combination of the "black box" principle and illegally obtained desings. The "Black Box " approach was widely developped and used in Eastern Block for developping electronic devices. The same principle was used in Eastern Germany to make the best PC in the east called "Robotron". Unformally, "Black Box" means replacing a chip or a groups of chips that I do not know (or do not have) with another group that has same input and output signals.

The Cluj group dissapeared quite quickly, but Timisoara and Bucharest continued making spectrum based computers until early 1990s. Timisoara choose to further integrate and extend the model (as Sinclar did). The main designer behind TimS is eng. Dumitru Panescu who reached quite a mastery skill in integrating spectrum designs. His last prototype of TimS (it was never produced) integrated all spectrum firmware into one computer including a CP/M option. At start-up the user would select by pressing a key what does he or she wants to use.

It has an original & small keyboard (40 keys) with statements and functions labeled next to the keys, like on the ZX Spectrum. The system is powered by an external power supply.

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Further information from Adrian Dragodan:
The prototype was called SpecTim. AFAIK, it was never industrially produced. TIM-S was the first production model, dual speed (3.5 and 6 Mhz) were available, using a Z80B.
It had a flat, sensorial keyboard (In the later models it was a normal kbd, all the ones produced and labeled DataTIM were TIM-S's with normal keyboard).
MicroTIM was the later, cost-reduced version. First issues had a numeric keypad, but the keyboard was really lousy, hardly usable for editing. The latest issues of Microtim included a better keyboard.
Differences btw TIM-S and MicroTIM:
- Reduced number of IC's: TIM-S: about 80, MicroTIM: about 50
- TIM-S: 6 Mhz mode, 80 KB RAM, 16 KB ROM
- Microtim: only 3.5 Mhz, 64 KB RAM, 16 KB ROM
- In both models the ROM was copied into RAM, so it was possible to load other ROM from tape
- In TIM-S, the video memory was doubled.
About the cases, there were MicroTIM's with numerical keypad. All used that same case, except some versions of M-TIM+, that had a separated keyboard and internal PSU.

M-TIM+ was not functionally different from earlier M-Tim's and my M-Tims+ have the case of M-TIM.

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.