The Vintage Amstrad CPC 464 computer is the first 8 -bit home computer produced by Amstrad, an English company. It was in production from 1984 to 1990. It is equipped with ZIOLO ZIOLO ZOLOGE and supports the CP/m operating system.
La sigla CPC sta per "Colour Personal Computer". Nonostante ciò, il computer Amstrad CPC 464 nella mia collezione ha il monitor Amstrad GT 65, che è monocromatico. Ho deciso di acquistarlo ad inizio 2022, così, ho partecipato ad un'asta su eBay. Gli offerenti erano pochi e sono riuscito ad accaparrarmelo a buon prezzo.
Unfortunately, during transport, the monitor suffered slight damage, due to the packaging made badly. The seller partially reimbursed me, making the purchase of this vintage computer even more convenient.
Technical characteristics of the AMSTRAD CPC 464
CPU: Zilog Z80, 4 MHZ
ROM: 32 KB
RAM: 64 KB
Graphics: Motorola MC6845
Text mode: 20x25 characters with 16 colors, 40x25 characters with 4 colors, 80x25 characters 2 colors
Graphics mode: 160×200 pixels at 16 colors, 320×200 pixels at 4 colors, 640×200 pixels at 2 colors
Audio: General Instruments is-3-8912
Keyboard: 74-key QWERTY, with arrow keys and numeric keypad; 6 keys recorder + tachometer reset
Software included in ROM: Locomotive Basic and AMSDOS
Built-in tape recorder
Expansion ports:
- 1 Printer
- 1 BUS port
- 1 Floppy Disk Port
- 1 RGB Video Output for Amstrad Monitor
- 1 Audio output for headphones or line
- 1 Joystick Port (Atari compatible)
Emulation
It is possible to emulate the Amstrad CPC 464, on a common Windows PC, through the Caprice Forever and Winape emulators. In this way, it is possible to try to start programs and games, as well as program the back computer, in a simple and comfortable way ... without even having it!
AMSTRAD CPC 464 power supply
The AMSTRAD CPC 464 power supply is located inside the Amstrad GT 65 monitor (or of the color monitor, depending on the model purchased). In any case, it is possible to power the 5V computer in continuous current.
Starting screen of the AMSTRAD CPC464
The vintage computer start screen is with yellow writings on a blue background. With the Amstrad GT65 monitor, being monochromatic, you can see with green writings on the background ... green!
CP/M operating system
The Amstrad CPC 464 supports the CP/M version 2.2 operating system. In order to load it, you need to have the Floppy Disk Drive connected to the computer, with the CP/m dischet. To start the CP/M, use a specific Amsdos command:
|CPM
Amsdos (abbreviation of Amstrad Disk Operating System) is an operating system integrated in the ROM of the AMSTRAD CPC464, which allows the computer to manage the floppy disk drive.
Here is the start screen of the CP/M version 2.2 with the list of files in the disk.
Papers
1. Amstrad CPC464 User Manual (ITA)
2. Amstrad CPC464 user's manual
3. Amstrad CPC464 service manual
4. Amstrad CPC464 disk system and CP/M manual
5. CP/M operating system manual
Collection entry date: 02/21/2022