Schneider Euro PC
The Schneider Euro PC was an MS-DOS -based home computer of the Schneider Computer Division and was marketed from 1988. The brand name was registered to the Schneider Rundfunkwerke Türkheim AG.
It was published after the success of the Schneider CPC series in order to offer an inexpensive complete system in the emerging market for home PCs . If the CPC series was sold under license from the English manufacturer Amstrad , the Schneider Euro PC was an in-house production. The Euro PC used a Siemens 8088 processor (the clock rate of which could be set to 4.77, 7.15 or 9.54 MHz in the BIOS or during operation using a key combination), had 512 KB RAM (expandable to 640 with a plug-in card KB) and was shipped with MS-DOS 3.3 and Microsoft Works 1.0.
As with the CPC and many other home computers of its time, the computer circuit board of the Euro PC was built into the keyboard housing. An amber monochrome monitor with a 12-inch screen diagonal (MM12) and a color monitor with a 14-inch screen diagonal (CM14) were available for the system. The Euro PC had a graphics chip that - to match the selected monitor - could be switched between Hercules monochrome with a relatively high resolution of 720 × 348 pixels and CGA . With the CGA emulators customary at the time, games that were designed for CGA adapters could still be run in Hercules mode.
The external power supply was unusual for a PC . A 3½-inch floppy disk drive (720 KB) was installed as mass storage . An external 3½-inch floppy disk drive with a capacity of 720 KB (FD720), a 5¼-inch floppy disk drive with 360 KB (FD360) and a 20 MB hard disk (XT attachment, similar to IDE / ATA ) were available as accessories . This could not be replaced by any other model because the drive geometry was permanently programmed into the BIOS. However, it was possible to operate other hard drives with a corresponding controller in the expansion slot.
The device was from 1988 u. a. sold through large mail order houses at a price of 1,800 DM (according to other sources 1,600 DM).
The broad and highly competitive PC market actually left little room for other devices in this sector, but the model was still sold in considerable numbers thanks to its very low price and slim, home computer-like appearance.
In addition to the Euro PC there was also the Euro PC II , the 768 KB RAM and a mathematical 8087 - coprocessor could be expanded to EUR XT , the euro AT having an Intel 80286 processor (manufactured by Siemens) 1 MB RAM and an EGA graphic with 640 × 480 pixels resolution, and the Euro SX .
Schneider Euro PC and Euro PC II can be extended with an 8-bit ISA card half the overall length. In this way, for. B. a VGA card can be retrofitted. Various 16-bit ISA cards are also suitable for this, which, depending on the type, can also be operated in 8-bit slots (e.g. VGA card Trident TVGA9000i).
| Euro PC | Euro PC II | Euro XT | Euro AT | Euro SX | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | 8088 | 8088 | 8088 | 80286 | 80386SX |
| CPU clock frequency | 9.54 MHz | 9.54 MHz | 9.54 MHz | 12 MHz | 20 MHz |
| switchable to | 7.17 / 4.77 MHz | 7.17 / 4.77 MHz | 7.17 / 4.77 MHz | 6 MHz | |
| Wait state | - | - | - | 0 | |
| Co-processor (optional) | - | 8087 | 8087 | 80287 | 80387SX |
| Main memory | |||||
| RAM standard | 512 KB | 512 KB * or 768 KB | 640 KB main memory + 128 KB RAM disk | 1 MB | |
| expandable on the motherboard up | - | 768 KB * | - | - | |
| expandable in the system up to | - | - | - | 16 MB | |
| ROME | 32 KB BIOS with setup | 32 KB BIOS with setup | 32 KB BIOS with setup | 64 KB Phoenix -BIOS with setup | |
| Floppy disk drive | 1 × 3.5 in | 1 × 3.5 in | 1 × 3.5 in | 1 × 3.5 in | 1 × 3.5 in |
| capacity | 720 KB | 720 KB | 720 KB | 1.44 MB | 1.44 MB |
| Hard disk drive | optional external (HD20) | optional external (HD20) | internally | internal (Seagate ST-142A) | internally |
| capacity | - | - | 21 MB | 42 MB | |
| Data transfer rate | - | - | 157 KB / sec | 664 KB / sec | |
| medium access time | - | - | 68 ms | 28 ms | |
| Interleave | - | - | - | 1: 1 | |
| Video adapter | Hercules , CGA | Hercules, CGA | Hercules, CGA | EGA , compatible with CGA and Hercules | |
| Video memory | 64 KB | 64 KB | 64 KB | 256 KB RAM, 32 KB EGA BIOS | |
| Graphic modes | |||||
| 720 × 348, monochrome | 720 × 348, monochrome | 720 × 348, monochrome | 720 × 348, monochrome | ||
| CGA | 320 × 200, 4 colors, 16 colors | 320 × 200, 4 colors, 16 colors | 320 × 200, 4 colors, 16 colors | 320 × 200, 4 colors | |
| 640 × 200, 2 colors, 4 colors | 640 × 200, 2 colors, 4 colors | 640 × 200, 2 colors, 4 colors | 640 × 200 monochrome | ||
| EGA | - | - | - | 640 × 350, 16 out of 64 colors | |
| Schneider HI-RES graphic | - | - | - | 640 × 480, 16 out of 64 colors | |
| - | - | - | 752 × 420, 16 out of 64 colors | ||
| - | - | - | 800 × 600, 16 out of 64 colors | ||
| Text (16 colors) | 40 characters × 25 lines | 40 characters × 25 lines | 40 characters × 25 lines | 40 characters × 25 lines | |
| 80 characters × 25 lines | 80 characters × 25 lines | 80 characters × 25 lines | 80 characters × 25 lines | ||
| 80 characters × 21 to 43 lines | |||||
| 100 characters × 37 to 75 lines | |||||
| 120 characters × 21 to 43 lines | |||||
| 132 characters × 21 to 32 lines | |||||
| Graphics extension (optional) | EGA / VGA from other providers | EGA / VGA from other providers | EGA, VGA, SVGA with EURO-VGA card | VGA, SVGA with EURO-VGA card | |
| Interfaces | |||||
| Serial ( RS-232 ) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Parallel | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Bus mouse / joystick switchable | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| external floppy disk drive | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| external hard drive | 1 | 1 | - | - | |
| Expansion slots | |||||
| total | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | |
| of which 8 bits | 1 (for short card) | 1 (for short card) | 2 | 1 | |
| of which 16 bits | 1 | ||||
| Schneider Expansion Port | 1 | 1 | |||
| optional drive extensions | |||||
| FD1200T | - | - | - | 5.25-inch 1.2MB floppy disk drive | |
| FD360 | 5.25-inch 360 KB floppy disk drive | 5.25-inch 360 KB floppy disk drive | 5.25-inch 360 KB floppy disk drive | 5.25-inch 360 KB floppy disk drive | |
| FD720 | 3.5 inch floppy disk drive with 720 KB | 3.5 inch floppy disk drive with 720 KB | 3.5 inch floppy disk drive with 720 KB | 3.5 inch floppy disk drive with 720 KB | |
| HD 20 | 20 MB hard drive | 21 MB hard drive | |||
| STS40 | Tape drive with 40 MB capacity | ||||
| keyboard | 86 keys, QWERTY | 86 keys, QWERTY | MF2 compatible, 102 keys, QWERTZ | MF2 compatible, 102 keys, QWERTZ | |
| Software equipment (scope of delivery) | MS-DOS 3.3, GW-BASIC , MS-WORKS | MS-DOS 3.3, GW-BASIC, MS-WORKS | MS-DOS 3.3, GW-BASIC | MS-DOS 3.3, GW-BASIC | |
| System monitors | MM12 (Hercules, amber), CM14 (CGA) | MM12 (Hercules, amber), CM14 (CGA) | MM12 (Hercules, amber), CM14 (CGA) | MM12 (Hercules, EGA monochrome), CM14 (CGA), EM14 (EGA, CGA), MS14 ( Multiscan , all modes) |
Web links
- Description and picture of the Schneider Euro PC
- Schneider Euro PC in the Ebenthal Computer Museum
Individual evidence
- ↑ Information on the EURO PC trademark (DPMA). (No longer available online.) Brand Inside, archived from the original on November 29, 2014 ; Retrieved November 20, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Michael Starr, Craig Chapple: VINTROPEDIA - Vintage Computer and Retro Console Price Guide 2009 . Lulu.com, July 9, 2008, ISBN 978-1-4092-1277-5 , p. 61 Overview of the features (accessed November 20, 2014).
- ↑ Monochrome XT Art - Retro. Retrieved November 20, 2014 .
- ↑ Computer Museum Munich, Amstrad / Schneider. computermuseum-muenchen.de, accessed on November 20, 2014 .
- ↑ Schneider Euro PC. classiccomputer.de, accessed on November 20, 2014 .
- ↑ Tailor. Computermuseum Mannheim, accessed on November 20, 2014 .
