The SAM Coupé bootup screen

The SAM Coupé was an 8-bit British home computer that was first released in late 1989. A popular misconception is that it is a clone of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum computer although it has a compatible screen mode and features that allows for emulation since it was marketed as a logical upgrade to the Spectrum. Originally manufactured by Miles Gordon Technology, plc. (MGT) based in Swansea in the United Kingdom. Startup screen of the SAM Coupé computer; should come under fair use or better This work is copyrighted. ... 8-bit refers to the number of bits used in the data bus of a computer. ... The home computer is a consumer-friendly word for the second generation of microcomputers (the technical term that was previously used), entering the market in 1977 and becoming common during the 1980s. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... As a word, clone was first coined by J.B.S. Haldane as subject for theoretical replication of a frog, though the term clone is derived from κλων, the Greek word for twig. In horticulture, the spelling clon was used until the twentieth century. ... Sinclair Research Ltd was a home computer company founded by Clive Sinclair in Cambridge, England. ... The Sinclair ZX Spectrum was a small home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research. ... This article is about emulation in computer science. ... In computing, an upgrade is the process of replacing an older system with more recent hardware or software in order to bring the system up to date. ... Co-founded by Alan Miles and Bruce Gordon, MGT was a small British company, initially specialising in high-quality add-ons for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum home computer. ... Swansea (Welsh: Abertawe - aber river-mouth + river Tawe) is a city and county in South Wales, situated on the coast, immediately to the east of the Gower peninsula in the traditional county of Glamorgan. ...

Hardware Overview

The machine was based around a Z80B CPU clocked at 6 MHz, and contained an ASIC that is comparable to the Spectrum's ULA. The basic model had 256kiB of RAM, (upgradable internally to 512kiB and externally to 4.5MiB), and used tapes or 3.5" discs for storage. Six channel stereo sound with digital sample support was provided by a Philips SAA 1099. The ASIC included a horizontal sync triggered interrupt counter. The Zilog Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor designed and manufactured by Zilog from 1976 onwards. ... The central processing unit (CPU) is the part of a computer that interprets and carries out the instructions contained in the software. ... A megahertz (MHz) is one million (106) hertz, a measure of frequency. ... The acronym ASIC, depending on context, may stand for: application-specific integrated circuit ASIC programming language Australian Securities and Investments Commission This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... A Gate array is an approach to the design and manufacture of ASICs. ... A kilobyte (derived from the SI prefix kilo-) is a unit of information or computer storage equal to one thousand bytes. ... Look up Random access memory in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Different types of RAM. From top to bottom: DIP, SIPP, SIMM 30 pin, SIMM 72 pin, DIMM, RIMM RAM redirects here. ... This article is about a unit of data measurement. ... The Philips SAA 1099 sound generator was a 6-voice sound chip used by some 1980s devices, notably: The SAM Coupé British-made computer The Creative Music System (C/MS) and Game Blaster cards by Creative Labs, which were apparently the same hardware. ... The acronym ASIC, depending on context, may stand for: application-specific integrated circuit ASIC programming language Australian Securities and Investments Commission This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Four graphics modes were provided:

• Mode 4 - 256x192, linear framebuffer, 4 bits per pixel (16 colours)
• Mode 3 - 512x192, linear framebuffer, 2 bits per pixel (4 colours)
• Mode 2 - 256x192, linear framebuffer, 1 bit per pixel with separate attributes, similar to the ZX Spectrum
• Mode 1 - 256x192, separate attributes, non-linear framebuffer arranged to match the display of the ZX Spectrum

When in mode 1, the CPU speed would drop by about 10% compared to modes 3 and 4. The CPU ran fastest in mode 2. It wass also possible to switch the display off and gain a substantial CPU speed boost. The Sinclair ZX Spectrum was a small home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research. ... The Sinclair ZX Spectrum was a small home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research. ...

ZX Spectrum Compatibility

Emulation of the ZX Spectrum was limited to the 48K and was achieved by loading a copy of the ZX Spectrum ROM and switching to display mode 1, which mimicked the ZX Spectrum display mode and approximated that machines processor speed. ROM, Rom, or rom may refer to: Rom, a member of the Roma people (or Gypsy). ...

The ROM was not supplied with the machine and had to be obtained from a real ZX Spectrum.

The 128K model's memory map was incompatible with the Coupé's memory model and the machine featured an entirely different sound generator. It was possible to convert games by hacking the 128K code. The term compatibility has the following meanings: In telecommunication, the capability of two or more items or components of equipment or material to exist or function in the same system or environment without mutual interference. ... A hack in progress in Lobby 7 at MIT. Hack is a term in the slang of the technology culture which has come into existence over the past few decades. ...

Because the Coupé didn't run at exactly the same speed as the Spectrum even in emulation mode, many anti-piracy tape loaders would not work on the Coupé hardware. This lead to the development by MGT of a special hardware interface called The Messenger which could capture the state of a connected ZX Spectrum to SAM Coupé disc for playback later without the Spectrum connected. Hardware is equipment such as fasteners, keys, locks, hinges, wire, chains, plumbing supplies, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts, especially when they are made of metal. ... Andrew sucks ...

Software Capabilities

Unfortunately the machine was underpowered and simply couldn't blit the screen around fast enough for multicolour scrolling graphics. Bit blit (bitblt, blitting etc. ... 2D computer graphics is the computer-based generation of digital images—mostly from two-dimensional models (such as 2D geometric models, text, and digital images) and by techniques specific to them. ...

All system memory was shared between the video output and the CPU, unlike on the ZX Spectrum which had large areas in which the screen could never be located. This incurred large speed penalties for all operations as the CPU was forced to wait for the ASIC when reading or writing to memory. Whereas the Spectrum display was 6912 bytes in size, the SAM's was 24kiB. The Sinclair ZX Spectrum was a small home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research. ... The acronym ASIC, depending on context, may stand for: application-specific integrated circuit ASIC programming language Australian Securities and Investments Commission This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... This article refers to the unit of binary information. ...

As a result the SAM Coupé's CPU ran only around 14% faster than that of the ZX Spectrum yet was expected to do four times as much work to produce the same amount of movement on the display.

Commercial Fortunes

MGT, Miles Gordon Technology, who launched the machine, went into receivership in June 1990, and the assets were mainly bought by a new company founded by Miles and Gordon called Sam Computers Ltd. The price of the SAM with floppy disk drive was brought down to under £200 and new games and hardware were released. SamCo survived until 1992, and the remaining assets then were purchased by West Coast Computers. Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay their creditors. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A floppy disk is a data storage device that comprises a circular piece of thin, flexible (hence floppy) magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic wallet. ... The pound sterling, which strictly speaking refers to basic currency unit of sterling, now the pound, can generally refer to the currency of the United Kingdom (UK). ... 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Notable Software

The SAM Coupé was particularly notable for the wide array of disk based magazines that originated for it, include FRED and the official SamCo Newsdisk. FRED was a disk based magazine for the SAM Coupé. Categories: Computer and video game stubs ...

Several famous computer games were ported to the Sam, notably Manic Miner, Prince of Persia, and Lemmings. An unofficial but arcade perfect port of Defender surfaced late in the machine's lifespan. A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ... Manic Miner is a platform game written by Matthew Smith and released by Bug-Byte in 1983 (later re-released by Software Projects Ltd). ... Puccinis opera Turandot (1926) opens as the Prince of Persia is led to the executioners block, having failed to guess the riddles. ... If you are looking for the warm-blooded rodent, view Lemming. ... For the 1980s arcade game Defender, see Defender (arcade game). ...

External links

• SAM Coupe Scrapbook (http://www.mono.org/~unc/Coupe/)
• SAM Coupé.co.uk (http://www.sskardon.fsnet.co.uk/)
• SAM Coupé overview at Planet Sinclair (http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/sinclair/computers/clones/samcoupe.htm)
• SAM Coupé FTP archive (ftp://ftp.nvg.ntnu.no/pub/sam-coupe/)
• Quazar : Hardware, Software, Magazines and Repairs for the Sam Coupe (http://www.samcoupe.com/)
• SimCoupé - A SAM Coupé Emulator (http://www.simcoupe.org/)
• Spectrum Advanced Machine Website (http://sam.speccy.cz/)
• Dan's Coupe Pages, including FRED Magazine catalogue (http://www.podboy.demon.co.uk/coupe/)