Timex Sinclair 2068 Totally Explained

Everything about The Timex Sinclair 2068 totally explained

The Timex Sinclair 2068 (TS2068), released in November 1983, was Timex Sinclair's fourth and last home computer for the US market. It was also marketed in Portugal and Poland, as the Timex Computer 2068.
A variant of the machine was later sold in Poland under the name Unipolbrit Komputer 2086.

Technical specifications

The TS2068 was based on the ZX Spectrum and followed Timex's ZX81-based TS1000 and TS1500, and the Spectrum-based TS2048.
Like the TS2048 was announced as a 40K memory machine (16K RAM + 24K ROM), so the 2068 was announced as a 72K machine (48K RAM + 24K ROM).
The TS2068 was a more sophisticated device, significantly changed from its UK ancestor. Arguably one of the first Sinclair clones to significantly improve on the original design, it added a number of new features:

an AY-3-8912 sound chip, as later used by Sinclair in the ZX Spectrum+ 128K (but mapped to different I/O ports and thus incompatible)
twin joystick ports
a slightly better "chiclet keyboard" with plastic keycaps
a cartridge port to the right of the keyboard for ROM-based software
an improved ULA offering additional screen modes:
- The standard Sinclair 256×192 mode with a colour resolution of 32×24
- An "extended colour mode", 256×192 pixels with colour resolution of 32×192
- A monochrome 512×192 mode

Sinclair BASIC was extended with new keywords (STICK, SOUND, ON ERR, FREE, DELETE, RESET) to address the new hardware and the machine offered bank-switched memory, allowing ROM cartridges to be mapped in.
However, these changes made the machine incompatible with most Spectrum machine-code software, which is to say virtually all commercial titles; less than 10% would run successfully. In an attempt to remedy this, most computers shipped with a ROM-based Spectrum emulation cartridge. The emulation was sufficiently accurate that it was able to run the majority of software produced for the Spectrum.
Although Timex Computer Corporation folded in February 1984, the independent Portuguese division continued to sell the machine in Portugal as the Timex Computer 2068, and Poland until 1989, as the Unipolbrit Komputer 2086. (Although the Portuguese-made TC-2068 was also sold in Poland, only the UK2086 was actually made there). Timex of Portugal sold 2 versions of TC2068: the Silver TC2068 version came with a ZX Spectrum emulator cartridge and a Black TC2068 version sold with TimeWord word processing cartridge plus the Timex RS232 Interface to use TimeWord with a RS232 Printer. Strangely the black version came with a silver keyboard template with TimeWord commands to be used with the program. It can be removed because it isn't glued to the black keyboard template. It is worth noting that although the TS2068's main improvements over the original Spectrum were in areas that had come in for widespread criticism (graphics, sound, keyboard, instant load software cartridges and—to a lesser extent—the lack of joystick ports), it wasn't used as the basis for the Spectrum's successors. The ZX Spectrum+ (1984) changed the keyboard only, and even the ZX Spectrum+ 128K (announced in May 1985, but not released in the UK until February 1986) retained the original machine's graphical capabilities. However, unlike the UK models, the TS2068 wasn't burdened by the requirement of compatibility with previous models.

Differences between TS2068, TC2068 and UK2086

As Timex Corporation made the TS2068 even hardware incompatible with ZX Spectrum, Timex of Portugal made some changes in the TC2068:

Replaced the bus buffers with resistors like ZX Spectrum

Changed the I/O connector to be ZX Spectrum compatible (not requiring the Zebra Twister board).

Changed the cartridge slot top casing to accept bigger cartridges (ZX Spectrum emulator and Timeword cartridges won't fit in the TS2068 cartridge slot)

Instead of 15V, it uses 9V. UniPolbrit also made some changes to the TC2068 for their Komputer 2086:

Modified ROM

Replaced a joystick port with a parallel printer interface

Software List

Timex published 42 cartridges and cassettes to kick-start the launch of the TS2068. The software was varied, ranging from utilities and personal accounting programs, to educational titles, games, and a ZX Spectrum emulator.

Further Information

Get more info on 'Timex Sinclair 2068'.

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