South American Sinclair Clones

Weak intellectual property laws and expensive imports of the real Sinclair machines prompted a number of companies in Brazil and Argentina to produce clones of the Sinclair ZX and Timex computers. The South Americans appear to have produced a wider range of clones than most. However, unlike their Russian counterparts the South American Sinclair clones were usually unadventurous copies of the European and North American originals, a few possessing a joystick interface or extra memory but with little else in the way of innovation.

Copying computers appears to have become something of an industry in Brazil: the main manufacturers of Sinclair clones in that country, Prológica and Microdigital, also produced clones of a variety of other popular computers such as the Apple II and TRS-80, as did other Brazilian computer manufacturers. Peripherals from Sinclair and third parties were also copied - Microdigital, for example, produced a virtually identical clone of Sinclair's ZX Printer, while another manufacturer produced a slimmed-down copy of MGT's Disciple disk drive interface, under the somewhat unoriginal name of Disciplus. Some of the South American computer manufacturers had diversified from fairly unlikely origins: Czerweny Electronica of Argentina, for instance, had previously specialised in making the motors for ceiling fans.

The South American Sinclair clones eventually died out by the late 1980s, displaced by the more advanced Japanese MSX computers.

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ZX80 clones

ZX81 clones

Name	Image	Date	Notes
Apply 300		1983	Modified ZX81 clone made by CDSE (Centro de Desenvolvimento de Systemas Electrônicos) of Brazil. Has the usual 3.25 MHz Z80A CPU, 8Kb ROM and 16Kb RAM, but can be expanded up to 48Kb RAM.
AS-1000		?	ZX81 clone produced by Engebras of Brazil. No other information available.
CP-200		1982	ZX81 clone in a long wedge-shaped case. Internally a close copy, with a 3.25 MHz Z80A CPU, 8Kb ROM and 16Kb RAM. Produced by Prológica of Brazil.
CZ 1000		1981	Clone of the ZX81 from Czerweny Electronica of Argentina. No other information available.
NE-Z8000		1982	ZX81 clone produced by Nova Electrônica/Prológica of Brazil. Has 2Kb RAM and 8Kb ROM.
Ringo R470		1981	Based on the 16Kb ZX81, with a 3.25Mhz Z80A CPU and 8Kb ROM, housed in a much larger case with a push-button keyboard. Not wholly compatible with the real ZX81. Produced by Ritas do Brasil.
TK83		1982	Close copy of the ZX81 in a similar case. Has a built-in joystick port, 8Kb ROM and 2Kb RAM (expandable to 64Kb). Produced by Microdigital of Brazil.

Timex/Sinclair clones

ZX Spectrum clones

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© Chris Owen 1994-2003