website/content/museum/didaktik-m.md

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

title	categories	types	origins	years	cpus	params
Didaktik M	Computers	Home Computer	Czechoslovakia	1990	Z80A	name image company company_name specs tabs photos links comments related oc_id source M /media/museum/photos/didaktik_m_system_1.jpg /companies/didaktik Didaktik label value NAME M label value MANUFACTURER Didaktik label value TYPE Home Computer label value ORIGIN Czechoslovakia label value YEAR 1990 label value BUILT IN LANGUAGE Basic label value KEYBOARD QWERTY mechanical keyboard\ with separated arrow keys\ and many functions per key just like the spectrum label value CPU Z80A label value SPEED 4 MHz label value RAM 64 KB (48 KB used), up to 128 KB label value VRAM 16 KB label value ROM Didaktik M ROM 91 label value TEXT MODES 32 x 22 label value GRAPHIC MODES 256 x 192 label value COLORS 8 label value SOUND Beeper, 1 voice, 5 octaves label value SIZE / WEIGHT Unknown label value I/O PORTS Expansion bus\ Sinclair Joystick port\ Kempston joystick port\ Video output label value POWER SUPPLY Unknown label value PRICE Approx. 100 € photos links title subtitle text image DIDAKTIK M Ditaktik M48 with its power supply unit **Jan Hlavaty's** experience:\ It was my first micro-computer. I bought it for 4000 CZK in 1996. It had an external power suply with same design as the main computer.\ Games and aplications were recorded on magnetic tapes. We could use any tape recorder and connect it to the right connector. I also had the Tesla SP-201T cassete tape-memory unit along with a dot-matrix printer which required carbon-paper for printing! Then I bought a regular Elta cassete player and then a floppy disk drive unit (3500,- CZK!).\ I played many ZX-spectrum compatible games. Many games were made in Czech Republic, the cost for one cassette game was about 350,- CZK.\ Restart of the system was done by pressing CAPS SHIFT + RESET buttons. Each key featured 3 to 4 specific commands which was switched with the SYMBOL SHIFT or CAPS SHIFT buttons. /media/museum/photos/didaktik_m_withpsu_1.jpg title subtitle text image THE BOX Thanks to Martin Kriz for the picture /media/museum/photos/didaktik_box.jpg title subtitle text image USER'S MANUAL Thanks to Martin Kriz for the picture /media/museum/photos/didaktik_doc.jpg title subtitle text image KEYBOARD CLOSE-UP /media/museum/photos/didaktik_m_keyboard_1.jpg title subtitle text image OPENED Thanks to Martin Kriz for the picture /media/museum/photos/didaktik_opened_1.jpg title subtitle text image MOTHERBOARD EXPLAINED **(1)** TV aerial RF modulator\ **(2)** TV aerial output plug\ **(3)** Composite monochrome monitor output plug\ **(4)** External power supply unit DIN plug\ **(5)** Tape recorder DIN plug\ **(6)** Z80A microprocessor labelled Zilog\ **(7)** Spectrum compatible I/O connector\ **(8)** 16 KB ROM chip holding Spectrum O.S. and BASIC interpreter\ **(9)** Russian version of the Spectrum ULA (specialised chipset)\ **(10)** Joystick connectors. Sinclair (right) or Kempston (left) compatible\ **(11)** 64 KB russian chips RAM bank /media/museum/photos/didaktik_m_inside_3.jpg title subtitle text image REAR CONNECTORS **(1)** Sinclair joystick type connector\ **(2)** Kempston joystick type connector\ **(3)** Spectrum compatible system bus connector\ **(4)** Tape recorder DIN plug\ **(5)** Power supply DIN plug\ **(6)** Monochrome composite video output plug\ **(7)** TV aerial output plug /media/museum/photos/didaktik_m_back_1.jpg title subtitle text image INSIDE The CPU and the ROM Thanks to Martin Kriz for the picture /media/museum/photos/didaktik_inside_1.jpg title subtitle text image INSIDE #2 Thanks to Martin Kriz for the picture /media/museum/photos/didaktik_inside_2.jpg title subtitle text image RUSSIAN ULA CHIPSET The russian version of the Sinclair Spectrum dedicated chipset. The original version was made by Ferranti in Italy. /media/museum/photos/didaktik_m_ula_1.jpg title subtitle text image RUSSIAN RAM CHIPS 64 KB russian RAM chips /media/museum/photos/didaktik_m_ramchips_1.jpg title url text Clube do TK90X http://www.tk90x.com.br Brazilian site dedicated to the TK90 and other Microdigital systems title url text Here, you can buy several Didaktik models and peripherals. http://www.kompaktservis.cz Site in Czech language. Try e-mail title url text Home Computer Museum http://www.homecomputer.de/pages/f_sinclair.html Stephan has a lot of Spectrum clones with wonderful pictures title url text Sinclair Nostalgia Products http://www.algonet.se/~rsm/zx/zxclones.html Impressive list of ZX Spectrum clones with useful infos title url text ZX Spectrum in the 21st Century http://tarjan.uw.hu/zxclones_en.htm Nice review of modern Spectrum clones author date text Miroslav Werner (Czech Republic) Saturday 19th February 2011 Its not true that it has better compatibility with Pentagon than in Spectrum, because of russian ULA. There was almost 100$ compatibility with Spectrum. Two design difference were slightly problematic, but do not cause leaning to russian clones which were even addressed differently etc:\ a) ULA - provide refresh for all adressing space - it means, all memory space have issue with wait states. Therefore, to bring better compatibility, CPU was running at slightly faster frequency, so approximatelly memory access timing was almost the same. This bring two results: exact timing demos wont work correctly, when uses attribute change to bring 8 colours per attribute, and writing to border was out of timing as well\ b) different copyright messages in ROM, different charmap (bold fonts) and corrected original bugs caused incompatibility only when tested by stupid games protection, this was not real issue.\ The most problematic part was the keybord. It was meant to be build as high-quality replacement for original membranne, however, it was a real disaster. It lasts about 2 or 3 years of everyday usage, then it starts to have contact problems, and, plastic parts came to colision with each other and with metal spring. author date text Udernik (Czech Republic) Sunday 18th March 2007 How great comp it was!! With 5.25" floppy, special monitor called I think Merkur and dot printer BT100 (1pin) it was impressive IT center :-) of 90´s in Czech Republic. author date text Martin (Earth) Friday 15th December 2006 Price in 1991 was about, if translated to euro, 100EUR. Was a very good clone of ZX Spectrum, almost 100% compatible, I did not see any game or application from ZX that could not work on DIDAKTIK M. I used it for long time. Keyboard was not so bad, needed a bit of training to get accustomed for it, but printed commands and letters on the keys faded away very soon with often using. But I have only good reminds about it... author date text Oliver Capcik (Earth) Tuesday 9th May 2006 My first computer... oh the emotions are coming. We used a tape player to run the games at the beginning. It took about 10 minutes to load one game! Imagine how wonderful it was to get a floppy drive that would run a game in three seconds. Playing Dizzy, the best game I've ever seen... author date text Linkman (Trenčín - Slovakia) Saturday 23rd April 2005 In this time it was very excellent gaming machine. author date text marian (Bratislava, Slovakia) Monday 7th April 2003 There was also a 3,5" FDD drive, called D80. /museum/didaktik-gama /museum/didaktik-kompakt /museum/microdigital-tk-90x /museum/microdigital-tk-95 /museum/robik /museum/spica-ines 459 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230130221000/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=459 2023-01-30

Little is known about this Slovak clone of the ZX Spectrum.

One of its particularity is that it has a separated reset button and two joystick ports (1 Kempston + 1 Sinclair). But both joystick ports have non-standard connectors.

The ULA (video chip) is different from the one used in the original Spectrum. It's a russian circuitry, and it results in the screen being square instead of rectangle. Because of these russian ICs, the Diaktik M was actually much more compatible with Russian Spectrum clones (like the Pentagons) than with original ZX Spectrum.

The Didaktik M seems to be sold as a 64 KB RAM computer but only 48 KB is available.

Two models of the Didaktik M were produced (90 & 91). The Didaktik Kompakt is in fact the same computer with a built-in floppy drive on the right side of the unit.

A 3 channel sound interface with ACB stereo called "Melodik" was also available, as well as a 3.5" external floppy drive called D80.

Didaktik M and Kompakt are still sold online here!

Richard reports to us:
There was external 5.25" floppy drive produced called Didaktik D40. I think it was able to take memory snapshots with a snapshot key located on the connector to the floppy. Later there was Didaktik M Kompakt produced which had 3.5" floppy integrated on the right side of the unit. I used this computer to play games, was fun.

Predseda (Czech Rep.) adds:
It has one of the most uncomfortable keyboards ever. Keys are unnacuratelly attached to the computer´s body and it makes their pressing really painful. Quick typing on its keyboard is really impossible, you must press each key separatelly and with special care.

and Petr adds:
It has 4MHz CPU, different from original Spectrum and must be braked - some instructions has another size of tact. RAM is 64 KB but only 48 KB is used. There is no difference between slow and fast memory. This computer is much more compatible with Russian Spectrum clones than with original ZX Spectrum.

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.