Brand: Timex Computer Corporation
Model: 2068
Country of origin: United States / Argentina
Made in: Korea
Launch date: November 1983
Price: $199.95
Dimensions: 373 × 190 × 39 mm
(feet adds 3 mm; keys adds 3.5 mm)
Weight: 1211 g
Box dimensions: 406 × 316 × 105 mm
Only three months after its launch date, Timex Computer Corporation withdrew from the home computer market. The remaining stock was then sold in Argentina.
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For the North American market, the ZX Spectrum 48K got reworked, adding radio frequency shiedling, a General Instruments AY-3-8912 3-channel sound chip, dual joystick ports, SCLD (Semi Custom Logic Device, the 2068’s “ULA”) with new graphics modes (high colour graphics, 2 screen buffers, 64 column text mode/mono graphics), monitor output, different edge connector, new BASIC commands and a cartridge bay. This all lead to incompatibilities with the original ZX Spectrum, ultimately leading to the failure of the machine.
A 2068 will run on 9 volts, but the colour circuitry requires 15 volts. Downside is that the voltage regulator will start to buzz over the speaker at this voltage.
After Timex Computer Corp. withdrew from the US market 1984, unsold stock was moved to Argentina.
Error messages on T/S 2086 (Spectrum messages for reference):
14.112 MHz crystal
3.528 MHz cpu clock
15.750 kHz line frequency
59.65909 Hz frame frequency