yann64andClaude Opus 5.5
3eeabe9649
6,654 pages: 1,289 machines, 702 software, 460 companies, 64 history, 17 articles, 59 fun. 4,336 media files so far; references to files not downloaded yet are left out. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01YDRjtmAiNpo5mK5N3d7QwZ
114 lines
4.2 KiB
Markdown
114 lines
4.2 KiB
Markdown
---
|
|
title: Dataman Designs Menta
|
|
categories:
|
|
- Computers
|
|
types:
|
|
- Professional Computer
|
|
origins:
|
|
- United Kingdom
|
|
years:
|
|
- '1981'
|
|
cpus:
|
|
- NEC D780C
|
|
params:
|
|
name: Menta
|
|
image: /media/museum/photos/dataman-designs_menta_1_s.jpg
|
|
logo: /media/museum/logos/menta_logo.gif
|
|
company: /companies/dataman-designs
|
|
company_name: Dataman Designs
|
|
specs:
|
|
- label: NAME
|
|
value: Menta
|
|
- label: MANUFACTURER
|
|
value: Dataman Designs
|
|
- label: TYPE
|
|
value: Professional Computer
|
|
- label: ORIGIN
|
|
value: United Kingdom
|
|
- label: YEAR
|
|
value: '1981'
|
|
- label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE
|
|
value: Z80 monitor
|
|
- label: KEYBOARD
|
|
value: Flat membrane keyboard, 40 keys
|
|
- label: CPU
|
|
value: NEC D780C (Z80A clone)
|
|
- label: SPEED
|
|
value: Unknown
|
|
- label: RAM
|
|
value: 1 KB
|
|
- label: GRAPHIC MODES
|
|
value: none
|
|
- label: COLORS
|
|
value: 'No'
|
|
- label: SOUND
|
|
value: None
|
|
- label: SIZE / WEIGHT
|
|
value: Unknown
|
|
- label: I/O PORTS
|
|
value: RF TV video output, 24 input/ouput lines, tape interface
|
|
- label: BUILT IN MEDIA
|
|
value: None
|
|
- label: POWER SUPPLY
|
|
value: External power supply (9V DC tip positive)
|
|
- label: PRICE
|
|
value: 1950 FF (France, Sept.. 1982)
|
|
tabs:
|
|
- photos
|
|
- adverts
|
|
photos:
|
|
- title: MENTA
|
|
subtitle: ''
|
|
text: Thanks to Callum for this picture
|
|
image: /media/museum/photos/dataman-designs_menta_1_m.jpg
|
|
- title: ELECTRONIC BOARD
|
|
subtitle: ''
|
|
text: Thanks to Callum for this picture
|
|
image: /media/museum/photos/dataman-designs_menta_inside_m.jpg
|
|
- title: KEYBOARD
|
|
subtitle: ''
|
|
text: Thanks to Callum for this picture
|
|
image: /media/museum/photos/dataman-designs_menta_keyboard.jpg
|
|
- title: CPU
|
|
subtitle: ''
|
|
text: Thanks to Callum for this picture
|
|
image: /media/museum/photos/dataman-designs_manta_cpu.jpg
|
|
adverts:
|
|
- title: MENTA & SOFTY ADVERT (FRANCE, SEPT. 82)
|
|
subtitle: ''
|
|
text: ''
|
|
image: /media/museum/pubs/dataman-designs_menta_pub_1.jpg
|
|
comments:
|
|
- author: smalc (uk)
|
|
date: Wednesday 16th November 2011
|
|
text: sandy white talks of programming with one of these... .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v$MTQv0Yz7eSw
|
|
- author: Colin Camper (UK)
|
|
date: Friday 24th December 2010
|
|
text: I used to have one of these. It displayed a memory in HEX on the TV. You could step through your programs and see what happened to the memory on the display. It could print a hex dump via the serial port (A DIL header). The same header was used for saving/loading programs to tape.
|
|
- author: PeriSoft (USA)
|
|
date: Sunday 20th April 2008
|
|
text: That's got to be one of the ugliest computers I've ever seen.
|
|
oc_id: 1277
|
|
source:
|
|
url: https://web.archive.org/web/20220930090953/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=1277
|
|
date: '2022-09-30'
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
Designed by Barry Savage, the Menta looks like a Sinclair ZX-80 or ZX-81 clone, but it's not. It's rather a development tool and initiation machine based on a Z80A processor. The concept is to help you understand how a Z80A works.
|
|
|
|
The system itself is very similar to a Sinclair ZX-80 with its flat membrane keyboard. But when you look closer, you notice that the keybord is not quite usual like a QWERTY one for example. It's an hexadecimal one with numbers from 0 to 9 and letters from A to F. All the other keys are marked with Z80 machine language functions and instructions.
|
|
|
|
Apparently, there is no other language available than the built-in Z80 monitor. It enables you to directly program the Z80A microprocessor via the dedicated keyboard.
|
|
|
|
There is a RF TV video output to use any television as main display. A tape interface is here to save your work on magnetic tapes. There are even communication possibilities through a 24 i/o line connector.
|
|
|
|
The Menta is very rare and was only advertised in specialised magazines, next to EPROM programmers.
|
|
|
|
Indeed the Menta is very similar to its brother: Softy, an E-PROM programmer which used the same plastic case, almost same keyboard and had an E-PROM socket at the left part of the keyboard.
|
|
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
**Contributors :** Callum
|
|
|
|
<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>
|