Dubna 48K Explained

Type:Home computer
Cpu:MME 80A
Cpuspeed:1.875 MHz
Memory:48 KB
Os:Sinclair BASIC
Memory Card:Cassette tape
Display:SECAM TV or video monitor; text: 32×24 lines, 16 colours; graphics: 256×192, 16 colours; attributes: 32x24, two colours per area.
Aka:Дубна 48К
Sound:Beeper
Manufacturer:TENSOR instrument factory

The Dubna 48K (Дубна 48К) is a Soviet clone of the ZX Spectrum home computer launched in 1991.[1] [2] [3] [4] It was based on an analogue of the Zilog Z80 microprocessor. Its name comes from Dubna, a town near Moscow, where it was produced on the "TENSOR" instrument factory, and "48K" stands for 48 KBs of RAM.[5] [6]

Overview

According to the manual, this computer was intended for:

By the time this computer was released (1991), there were already much more powerful x86 CPUs and commercially available advanced operating systems, such as Unix, DOS and Windows. The Dubna 48K had only a built-in BASIC interpreter, and loaded its programs from a cassette recorder, so it couldn't run any of the modern operating systems. However, the Dubna 48K and many other Z80 clones, though outdated by that time, were introduced in high schools of the Soviet Union. Many of the games for the Z80-based machine were ported from games already available for Nintendo's 8-bit game console, marketed in Russia under the brand Dendy.[7]

The machine comes in two versions: in a metal case for the initial 1991 model, and in a plastic case for the 1992 model.

Included items

The Dubna 48K was shipped with the following units:

Additionally, there were some optional items:

The computer could also connect to a ZX Microdrive, but such device was never included.

Technical details

In culture

A device named Dubna 48K is referenced in the American film Jason Bourne (2016). In the film, rogue agent Nicky Parsons uses a "palm-sized authentication device" named Dubna 48K to get connected to the mainframe computer of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Parsons downloads all the files on the Agency's black operations. The Agency later finds out that the Dubna 48K unit was reportedly destroyed back in 1993, and its access to the mainframe was never revoked. The Agency did not know that it had actually survived its reported destruction. The film does not explain how a device from the 1990s could be still compatible with a mainframe computer of the 2010s. The film also does not point out that the real Dubna 48K was a Soviet home computer which was primarily used to play ports of video games. The video games available to the real Dubna 48K were released by Nintendo and were products of the third generation of video game consoles (8-bit era).[10]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Directory: /Vintage/Sinclair/82/Clones/Russia/Dubna-48K (ДУБНА-48K)/ . Kio's Sinclair ZX Computers Archive.
  2. Web site: Dubna 48k ROM . SPECCY4EVER.
  3. Teixeira . Luís . 2008 . Videojogos: Um (novo) média para a educação . Revista Portuguesa de Pedagogia . 42–3 . 37–53. 10.14195/1647-8614_42-3_3 . free .
  4. News: Fonseca . Pedro . April 29, 2007 . Os 25 anos do 'Speccy' . Portuguese . Diário de Notícias .
  5. Web site: Frolov . Sergei . Dubna 48K -- Дубна 48К -- Коллекция советской цифровой электроники . 2023-01-20 . Soviet Digital Electronics Museum.
  6. Web site: September 17, 2019 . На празднике профессий . On the holiday of professions . Официальный интернет-портал органов местного самоуправления городского округа Дубна Московской Области . Russian.
  7. Web site: Rodríguez . Jonathan . Dubna 48K, el clon soviético del ZX Spectrum . teknoPLOF! . 18 September 2015 . Spanish.
  8. Web site: Dubna 48K PSU photo . Kio's Sinclair ZX Computers Archive.
  9. Web site: Dubna 48K TV modulator photo . Kio's Sinclair ZX Computers Archive.
  10. Web site: Mission Impossible: The Ridiculous Tech Of Jason Bourne . Captain . Sean . . "Parsons connects through a palm-sized authentication device called Dubna 48K. The CIA notices the attack, and IDs the unit as one that was supposed to have been destroyed in 1993. “Sounds kind of careless of the CIA to not revoke its access, especially to parts of its network which carry details of top secret covert ops,” says security analyst Graham Cluley in an email. And how is a 23-year-old device still compatible? Small concerns compared to the fact that the real Dubna 48K was an underpowered Soviet PC used to play ports of 8-bit Nintendo games.".