Beta Disk Interface is a disk interface for

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

computers, developed by Technology Research Ltd. (

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

) in 1984 and released in 1985, with a price of £109.25 (or £249.75 with one disk drive). Beta 128 Disk Interface is a 1987 version, supporting

ZX Spectrum 128 The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

machines (due to different access point addresses). Beta Disk Interfaces were distributed with the TR-DOS operating system in ROM, also attributed to ''Technology Research Ltd.''. The interface was based on the WD1793 chip. Latest

firmware In computing Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computer, computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and the development of both computer hardware, h ...

version is 5.03 (1986). The Beta Disk Interface handles single- and double-sided, 40- or 80-track double-density

floppy disk A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, a diskette, or a disk) is a type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined with a ...

s, and up to four drives.

Clones

This interface was popular for its simplicity, and the Beta 128 Disk Interface was

cloned Cloning is the process of producing individual organisms with identical genomes, either by natural or artificial means. In nature, some organisms produce clones through asexual reproduction; this reproduction of an organism by itself without ...

all around the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. The first known USSR clones were ones produced by НПВО "Вариант" (''NPVO "Variant"'',

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

) in 1989. Beta 128 schematics are included in various Soviet/Russian ZX Spectrum clones, but some variants only support two drives. Phase correction of the drive data signal is also implemented differently.Рюмик С. Контроллер дисководов. Канал чтения / Радиолюбитель. Ваш компьютер, 1999, N4-8 Beta Disk 128C

Between 2018 and 2021, Beta Disk clones were produced in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, with the names such as Beta Disk 128C, 128X and 128 mini.

Operating systems support

* TR-DOS * iS-DOS *

CP/M CP/M, originally standing for Control Program/Monitor and later Control Program for Microcomputers, is a mass-market operating system created in 1974 for Intel 8080/Intel 8085, 85-based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Dig ...

(various hack versions) * DNA OS

References

External links

Virtual TR-DOS
{{Sinclair computers and clones ZX Spectrum Computer storage devices

Clones

Operating systems support

See also

References

External links