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SAM Coupé

The SAM Coupé (pronounced /sæm ku:peɪ/ from its original British English branding) is an 8-bit British home computer manufactured by Miles Gordon Technology (MGT), based in Swansea in the United Kingdom and released in December 1989.

Manufacturer

1989 (1989)

1992

12,000

SAM BASIC, CP/M via software

Zilog Z80B @ 6 MHz

256 KB/512 KB (4.5 MB max.)

UHF TV, composite or RGB monitor; 512 × 192 with 4 colors, 256 x 192 with 16 colors

Motorola MC 1377P, VGT-200 gate array custom ASIC graphic processor

Philips SAA1099 (6 channel, 8 octave, stereo, envelope and amplitude control); Beeper

Mouse, Light pen, Light gun, joystick

SCART, 64-pin Euroconnector, Mouse port, Light pen / Light gun port, 5-pin DIN stereo audio out, MIDI ports, 9-pin joystick port, 3.5 mm mono audio in/out

It was based on and designed to have a compatibility mode with the ZX Spectrum 48K with influences from the Loki project[1] and marketed as a logical upgrade from the Spectrum with increased memory, graphical and sound capabilities, native peripheral support (floppy disk, MIDI, joystick, light pen/light gun and a proprietary mouse).


The inclusion of support for higher graphical modes allowed for 80-column text presentation, providing a platform to support productivity and CP/M applications via additional software.


Being based on 8-bit technology at a time when 16-bit home computers were more prevalent, coupled with a lack of commercial software titles, led to it being a commercial failure.[2][3]


When MGT went into receivership in June 1990[4] two further attempts were made to restart the computer and brand, firstly under SAM Computers Limited[5] and then in November 1992 under West Coast Computers, a company spun from Format Publications which lasted until liquidation in 2005.[6]

Mode 1 — 256 × 192, non-linear , 1 bit per pixel with separate colour attributes for each 8×8 block of pixels = 6.75 KB (arranged to match the display of the ZX Spectrum for backwards compatibility)

framebuffer

Mode 2 — 256 × 192, linear framebuffer, 1 bit per pixel with separate colour attributes for each 8-wide block of pixels = 12 KB

Mode 3 — 512 × 192, linear framebuffer, 2 bits per pixel (4 colours) = 24 KB

Mode 4 — 256 × 192, linear framebuffer, 4 bits per pixel (16 colours) = 24 KB

List of SAM Coupé games

World of SAM

Quazar

Simcoupe emulator

SAM Coupé Pro-DOS [CP/M 2.2] Resource Pages

Spectrum Advanced Machine

SAM Coupé for MiSTer

SAM Coupé for MIST Board