EG2000 Colour Genie computer
| |
| Manufacturer | EACA |
|---|---|
| Release date | August 1982; 41 years ago (1982-08) |
| Introductory price | £200 (equivalent to £892 in 2023) |
| Discontinued | 1983 |
| Operating system | 16 KB ROM containing LEVEL II BASIC |
| CPU | Zilog Z80, 2 MHz |
| Memory | 16 KB RAM, expandable to 32 KB |
| Display | PAL composite or RF out; 40×24 text, 16 colours; 160×96 graphics, 4 colours |
| Graphics | Motorola 6845 |
| Sound | AY-3-8910 |
| Input | 63-key typewriter style Keyboard with 4 programmable function keys |
| Power | 5V DC, +12V DC and -12V DC |
| Predecessor | Video Genie |
The EACA EG2000 Colour Genie was a computer produced by Hong Kong-based manufacturer EACA, and introduced in Germany in August 1982 by Trommeschläger Computer Service and Schmidtke Electronic.[1][2][3][4]
It followed their earlier Video Genie I and II computers and was released around the same time as the business-oriented Video Genie.[5]
The LEVEL II BASIC was compatible with the Video Genie I and II and the TRS-80, except for graphic and sound commands; most of the routines for Video Genie I BASIC commands were left over in the Colour Genie's BASIC ROM.[6][3] Programs were provided to load TRS-80 programs into the Colour Genie. Colour Genie disks could be read in a TRS-80 floppy disk drive and vice versa, editing the pdrive commands.
The original Video Genies had been based upon (and broadly compatible with) the then-current TRS-80 Model I. As the Colour Genie was descended from this architecture, it was incompatible with Tandy's newer TRS-80 Color Computer which – despite its name – was an entirely new and unrelated design based on an entirely different CPU, and thus incompatible with the TRS-80 Model I and derivatives such as the Color Genie.[7]
About 190 games were published for the system in English and German.[8][3][9]
A 80 column card was produced.
Modern emulators for this system exist.[10][11][12]
Z80 running at 2.2 MHz.[5] Usually using the NEC D780 (and unlicenced Japanese clone) or the SGS Z80 (a European second source for Zilog).
