Dragon32 Trash to Treasure | When Wales made a Micro Computer (pt1)

[@paulcgburrows7267]

Just found this blast (Dragon 32) from the past I use to make this power board in Leicestershire Rosendale Road in Earl shilton the company I worked for was called flowtronics the owners name was Clive Walley a great place to work I was final test re tv rf modulater setup for tv on the 625 line my signature was on the under side signed as......... PcB ...... Happy days

[@thedysk1]

A really useful thing about the Dragon was that it could read tapes that you had save programming work onto from a BBC micro. So you could start working on a program at school, save to tape, load it into the Dragon at home. Continue to work on it at home then save it back to tape and test it the next day at school on the Beeb.

[@Jehannum2000]

You definitely could not do that. The Dragon and BBC Micro were completely different. BBC BASIC Microsoft BASIC. 6809 processor 6502 processor.

[@thedysk1]

@@Jehannum2000 I didn't say the basic would run. Just that it would load from tape, could be edited and save back to tape for loading back on the Beeb. When I was at school, in the early 80's, a friend had a Dragon32 and he did this on a regular basis.

[@Jehannum2000]

@@thedysk1 Ah, that could work if you saved it on the D32 as an ASCII file using CSAVE "",A and loaded it into a text editor on the BBC. If you used normal CSAVE, the tokenised BASIC commands would not have been interpreted correctly. So if it worked it means the Dragon and Beeb used the same frequency shift keying for cassettes, which I didn't know. I'm still a little sceptical they would recognise the same file protocol (header, title etc.) but maybe he used a program he'd written himself.

[@2thinkcritically]

@@Jehannum2000 I have no idea whether it would work or not. But the BBC Micro and the Dragon both used the same cassette I/O cable for standard mono cassette recorders (although the load and save lines were swapped). I knew about using ASCII save on the Dragon back when I used it, but had no idea why one would want to use a method to save a BASIC program that took minutes rather than seconds to complete. However, I seem to remember it saved in chunks and I have some vague recollection that the BBC did the same thing. I'd be genuinely interested to see if this would indeed work.

[@Jehannum2000]

@@2thinkcritically You're right, the ASCII saved in chunks. The cassette motor would stop and start as more data was buffered. The only thing I know of that used it was the Sprint BASIC compiler, which would compile on-the-fly as it loaded the program text (a clever way of using less RAM). The trouble was my Dragon's cassette motor control line never worked so I had to stop & start it manually by listening to the relay click!

[@garyburchgb]

My first computer, remember getting this with a bin bag full of tapes. Spent the day getting it going with a tape deck sat with my grandad.

[@pauldourish]

In the early 1980's, a friend and I used to attend meetings of a home-brew computer club in Glasgow that met on the campus of Strathclyde University. There we met a man named Duncan Smeed, who had a prototype computer based on the 6809 and which went on to become the Dragon-32. He'd been contracted by Dragon to work on the BIOS and systems software. He left an easter-egg in the code; there's a POKE that rewrites the CR/LF text string and puts his initials, DNS, at the end of every line of text.

[@MrCollie666]

He was also responsible for a technical book about the Dragon, "Inside the Dragon" I think it was called. The Dragon 32 was my first computer and where I learned the joys of 6809 assembly language :) Thanks to information from Mr. Smeed's book and some other publications on the Tandy CoCo it was possible to extend the Basic command set - I had some almost finished work along those lines adding commands to handle sprites and play sampled sound... fond memories.

[@Jehannum2000]

@@MrCollie666 Duncan Smeed's book was great. I still have it.

[@afroteddybear]

He's still at Strathclyde! The man is lecturing like a boss!

[@Jehannum2000]

@@afroteddybear That's great to hear.

[@carledwards9477]

I owned a Dragon 32 and when the Dragon 64 came out the dealership where I bought my original machine offered me an upgrade for free! Of course, I jumped at the offer and I still have my Dragon 64. I was too scared to power it on, but now that I have an idea of what I should check, I will begin the testing process starting at the power board. Many thanks for covering the machine that was part of my journey into the world of computers!

[@RMCRetro]

You're welcome, thank you for watching it, there should be lots more to help you in part 2 soon

[@anumeon]

All male choirs are truly epic if utilized properly.. Darn that sounded powerful. Those Welsh sure know how to sing

[@darkstarnh]

First time I've instinctively stood to attention at the beginning of a KZbin vid! :)

[@sargieboi9315]

I bet there's a few videos on less reputable sites you've instinctively stood to attention on...

[@darkstarnh]

@@sargieboi9315 ??

[@Jamal_Tyrone]

@@sargieboi9315 LOL

[@colinjohnston8519]

Why? Did your sheep walk in?

[@darkstarnh]

@@colinjohnston8519 the usual sheep crap. Can we just get back to the computer and where it came from?

[@Xesh001]

One of my friends had one of these and eventually upgraded it to the 64K version! Between us we had many of the computers available at the time. I had an Acorn Electron myself, my parents had a BBC B, my other friends had: Amstrad CPC464 (later upgraded to CPC6128), ZX Spectrum, Einstein, Commodore 64 and VIC-20. I was able to experience a lot of what was available in the UK at the time. I ended up staying with the Acorn brand over the years with later models owned being the A3000 and the A3020. I still have my trusty Elk, and I'll be getting my parents' Beeb later in this month!

[@simonprice566]

It doesn't matter how old you get, the feeling you get when you think about your first computer you had is so good ! The Dragon 32 was my baby and I'll never forget the games, thank you for posting RMC

[@Lucasrainford]

I remember as a teen going in Dixons and all the computers and consoles were on display, C64, Colecovision, Intellivision, Atari etc. and right at the far end in the gloomy back was the Dragon 32. I was always intriguied about this machine. Great vid, looking forward to PT2 :)

[@djsquarewave]

Woah, neat! As an American I'd only ever heard of this machine as one of many conversion targets for games. Never seen what it actually looks like, and had no idea it was designed in Wales! Looking forward to seeing it live and breathe fire again. :)

[@alhartman66]

There was an American Version called the Tano Dragon 64. I own two of them.

[@Psychlist1972]

I love all these old computers. It's like looking under the hood of a classic car vs. a modern one: really easy for someone with basic skills to understand the whole circuit.

[@florkgagga]

One slight difference: classic cars, while comfy, are usually not so good to travel in (no headrest, loud...) . The ergonomics of some of these old comps is so great -today we are taking a few steps back in some aspects! I loved typing on my Schneider (Amstrad) and still wonder how the spectrum was even a contender (it was hugely popular where I live, and I played on it, too).

[@RetroRecollections]

Love the Trash to Treasure series, looking forward to seeing the Dragon breathe fire! :)

[@TheSaabClinicUK]

I can confirm the compatibility. I used to have a TRS-80 and I had loads of Dragon32 games which worked great !.

[@alanedwards8834]

Horace goes skiing, hungry Horace, saving basic programmes to tape, Dragon 32 our first family computer and my childhood! Thank you for the series.

[@Jef_Vermassen]

"Lets take it over to the lab" - I loved that. Great addition to the cave! Never heard of this machine which makes this Trash to Treasure episode even sweeter!

[@chrisg6597]

Be careful of the 7905's tab shorting to the heatsink. The Tab is the -ve in for the regulator, and no doubt the heatsink will be at 0v potential.

[@MrDuncl]

Looking at the hole in the heatsink it looks as if they originally planned to bolt the regulator down, using a Mica washer and Nylon screw or insert to insulate it. In fact here is a picture of one made like that. www.dragondata.co.uk/hardware/Drag%2032%20pippin.html If the regulator is touching the heatsink that could be the only problem.

[@AndyLundell]

I wish somebody could explain why they do it that way. Wouldn't it be so much easier for everybody if the tabs were at ground?

[@Psychlist1972]

@@AndyLundell I assume it's because that's the line that is heating up.

[@witeshade]

@@AndyLundell they do it for heat dissipation. by being able to clamp the regulator to an isolated heat sink, or put a mica insulator between them, you're able to dump out a massive amount of heat, allowing much higher performance from the single part. It may seem like an inconvenience, but it's actually a very beneficial tradeoff.

[@chrisg6597]

@@AndyLundell The reason is quite complex and requires knowledge of chip fabrication to understand it fully, however the tab is normally connected to the substrate of the chip. It was preferred at the time (and oprobably still is) to use P type substrates during the fabrication process. This P type substrate will in the case of the 78/79 series regulators be at the most -ve voltage of the device, 0v (GND) in the case of 78 series +ve regulators and -ve in, in the case of 79 series -ve regulators.

[@chriso8485]

My first full Retro Man Cave watch, love the high quality production. It reminds me of a TV programme from the 80s. All fits together beautifully

[@RMCRetro]

Thank you Chris!

[@heberdua]

Great video, can't wait to see the rest of the episodes. I also find it very cool that you now have a LAB !!! :)

[@RMCRetro]

"Lets take it to the lab" is my new favourite thing to say!

[@mikester1290]

I had one of these when I was younger and I loved it. Ive been waiting a long time for a proper review on one, last time I checked youtube there was basically nothing, so thanks for that, looking forward to the next episode!

[@TheVintageApplianceEmporium]

Love this video, thanks for making it! I’ve had a Dragon in my collection for many years and always enjoyed potching with it. I now live less than three miles away from where they made them! Although I’m currently writing this message from Brazil :-D

[@andy6576]

My first computer! Despite its quirks and obsession with the colour green, I absolutely LOVED it. A handful of legitimately great games (Chuckie Egg, Time Bandit, Cuthbert in the Jungle, Donkey King and many more).

[@Jehannum2000]

@@ct6502c You got used to it. Sort of.

[@rshort4296]

Same..! 😀 But don't forget Ring of Darkness and Return of the Ring.! ..and my dad was addicted to Cuthbert goes digging.

[@andy6576]

"Cuthbert goes digging"! A game that plays WAY better than the arcade game it rips off ("Space Panic"). Me and my dad played "Franklin's Tomb" (text adventure) quite a lot.

[@rshort4296]

@@andy6576 Yup, remember that one too. We were so easily pleased back in the day.

[@Doobie3010]

Funny,always remembered seeing "Dragon 32" on 8-bit game conversion lists when i owned speccys/C64`s,first time seeing the actual machine.Nice!

[@undergroundbass946fm]

Wow, the legendary Dragon 32. My Welsh neighbour's children had one and we spent many hours learning how to code on it and made a great Breakout clone, (no music). I thought it was a fantastic machine and I was quite jealous of the proper keyboard, (Spectrum 48k owner here). I can't wait for part two and I hope the machine turns out to be as good as my memory insists it was. Thank you for such entertaining videos and I can't wait for part two.

[@meson183]

The _DRAGON32_ Talk about memories. Let me mention this adventure game: _Madness and the Minotaur._ Me and my friend had loads of fun playing that. Awesome.

[@oldhedders]

Intrigued. Was dimly aware of this as a kid. It seemed impossibly sophisticated to us Spectrum-owning plebs. Looking forward to seeing it up and running!

[@spacedock873]

Great to see another Dragon 32! I had one as my first computer - my parents bought it for me for passing my O Levels. Went on the bus to Boots in Hull to collect it. Wanted it for the 6809 CPU - as you said, MUCH better than the Z80 or 6502. I was more interested in machine code programming than games. Many thanks for not falling into the trap of calling it a "CoCo clone" - you are absolutely correct in pointing out that they were both implementations of the reference design provided by Motorola in the 6883 datasheet. I note that the 6883 in your machine is actually a SN74LS783N which IIRC is a Texas Instruments version built under licence as a second source. The graphics were indeed very limited and garish thanks (?) entirely to the 6847 which was part of the reference design. I ended up selling mine to a cleaner at my University after I bought a Dragon 64. Amazingly the notification of the video being posted came through while I was sitting at my desk designing my own 6809 based computer as a fun project! Good luck with the restoration. Great that the transformer is present and working - they usually seem get lost or blow up! The 7905 is definitely suspect - let's just hope it hasn't taken all the RAM chips with it, but even if it has replacements can be obtained and you could take the opportunity to socket them. Looking forward to part 2.

[@dekeltal]

My first computer. Got it about 30 years ago as a birthday present. Spent hours programming it (and also quite a lot of time waiting for games to load through the cassette player...)

[@Rik_D]

I remember being on Holiday in Bridlington when i was a kid. Got chatting to some other Kid at the beach who happened to be into computers. He had a Dragon. The only person I ever met who had one, and I had another mate with a Tatung Einstein!

[@sargieboi9315]

The power 'Enters the Dragon'. Bravo

[@RMCRetro]

*takes a bow*

[@a500]

Looking forward to part II.

[@Commander64]

Me too, this thing looks cool!

[@PaulioBee]

It was around the six minute mark that I noticed some of the backing music reminds me of Depeche Mode's synth sound. All good!

[@NathanChisholm041]

He always has great music in his videos.

[@TheLemminkainen]

It was also sold as Finlux Dragon 32/64 here in Finland. It wasnt popular but quite many were sold.

[@RMCRetro]

Thank you I'll include that in part 3, it was also sold under other names which we'll explore in that episode

[@mrjsv4935]

Cool, didn't know this :) It's then another "Finnish" computer, like Salora Fellow & Manager ;)

[@TheLemminkainen]

@@mrjsv4935 yes but Salora converted manager for real in local use. Finnish kb and modded basic. www.tietokonemuseo.net/tietokoneita/dragon-32-64-finlux/ look

[@TheLemminkainen]

@@RMCRetro yeah thanx Iknow US Tano brand tried to sell these.

[@telbee]

@@RMCRetro Yep, I read that there was a "Farmfax" version...

[@TheRetroArchive]

This is timely and awesome as I literally pulled my Dragon (my first computer) out of the loft at the weekend. I was wondering about checking the power and giving it a once over before switching it on as it's not been used in decades.

[@hubzcaps]

dude awsome u still have one...

[@TheRetroArchive]

more! yeah it's my family's original first computer, remember being in Dixons at 5 years old with my Dad when we bought it. It's only in the KZbin days that I've learnt that the CoCo was designed to use NTSC artifacts to get more colour in high res mode. For us poor UK Dragon users high res meant black & white for games like Donkey King and Speed Racer.

[@ozzydio7233]

I've gotten your video recommended and I'm glad that the youtube algorithm worked in my favor. I love how dedicated you show off the hardware, and your calm voice and the overall serious style of your video is a nice change of pace on youtube nowadays!

[@RMCRetro]

Hey thank you, I'm glad you found the channel and hope you'll stick around!

[@ozzydio7233]

@@RMCRetro Just subbed, and I'm ready for part 2!

[@outtheredude]

The quarter of me that's Welsh felt a strong urge to join in with the anthem. Nice little early '80s machine that I read about in computer magazines and books from the library.

[@68000Mark]

Ah the computer that introduced me to 6809 assembly having already learnt z80 and 6502. I liked the 6809 as it had a 16 bit register D. Never had a Dragon 32 though, I used one at work on a "computer appreciation" course as an apprentice which was a laugh as I was already writing games in assembly on my 'Speccy.

[@fiatpandaman999]

first vid I have watched and I have to say exceptional production quality, really nice work and really enjoyed. Thanks

[@RMCRetro]

Thank you and welcome to The Cave!

[@LesNewell]

That brings back memories. I had a Dragon 32 and it was a hardware hacker's dream compared to the Sinclair and Commodore offerings. After wearing out two keyboards I ended up hacking in a keyboard from an industrial terminal. The keyboard had a different matrix so I had to write custom drivers for it that were kept in a home made 8K battery backed static ram module. That old MS basic was really easy to hook into to do things like that. The I/O port got used for all sorts of projects including running a home made scanner! OK, the scanner was black and white with really poor resolution but it did work. At one point I even had a mouse hooked to the I/O port.

[@Spitefire6]

Even in a KZbin video Old Land of My Fathers gives me goosebumps every time! You've just earned yourself a new sub from a proud Welshman! Loved the vid (regardless of the Welshness :P)

[@RMCRetro]

Hehe thank you!

[@aitchpea6011]

I went through a few years of 8-bit collecting in the mid 90s, and my first acquisition was one of these Welsh beauties. Never did much with it because I soon picked up an Electron (my childhood computer) and various accompanying addons and hardware, but I certainly had fun digging around in Microsoft BASIC on the Dragon in the meantime. Later came a Commodore 8032SK but soon after that I had to dispose of my beginnings of a collection to make room for a newly-made human.

[@NeverlandSystemZor]

Any computer with a name like "Dragon" sounds like fun to restore and play with! :D

[@dunebasher1971]

They were pretty awful computers! Essentially just a rebadged TRS-80 Colour Computer. Hopelessly underpowered for graphics and sound by the standards of the time, and it couldn't even do lower-case characters.

[@SuperJet_Spade]

The dragon will wake again. Also, the Dragon32 did remind me a bit of the TRS-80 just by looking at the keyboard.

[@TheRetroShed]

We love an underdog computer in the shed and the Dragon 32 is just such a machine! Remember seeing it in Boots for the first time as a kid!

[@bazza5699]

entering the dragon :) nice one i was really surprised it was so clean inside.. no dust. amazing.. neil you ever thought of getting a metal workers apron for when you're at the other desk..lol

[@RMCRetro]

Haha that could add some drama. Maybe a blacksmiths hammer on the desk and a hot furnace behind me also?

[@bazza5699]

@@RMCRetro yeah defo.. i was just thinking arghhhh you're jacket is gunna get ruined if your doing soldering or using chemicals..

[@RDJ134]

I never heard of this system, and got my attention. I love old home computers, specialy in the 80's there where a ton of now forgoten systems.

[@MegaManNeo]

I love how clean your particular unit is from inside. But also otherwise it makes a very clean look as far as internal arrangement goes.

[@Jamal_Tyrone]

My Auntie was the only person I knew who owned a Dragon 32 and she mostly played Space Invaders on it.

[@nikamota]

We always walked passed this computer in John Menzies..although we did have a little tickle of the keyboard.. So interesting to learn more about this machine and it's history.

[@GadgetUK164]

Lovely first part to the Dragon 32 there!

[@nordri9542]

Proud Dragoneer here. Great machine - so many fond memories.

[@charlesjmouse]

Another fine video, thank you. A couple of thoughts: -If your RAM does turn out to be damaged it might be worth replacing it with slightly more modern, and reliable, RAM that only requires 5v - a common conversion with Colecovision consoles if you need to look for info. -Some slight mods; Dual-boot ROM including Tandy's CoCo ROM as well as Dragon's and a bit of keyboard rewiring can give you full CoCo compatibility -Speaking of Coleco systems might I suggest trying to get hold of a Coleco ADAM? Such an interesting system and once you've worked around it's less compelling 'features' it's got some very interesting foibles and is actually a very capable 8 bit machine.

[@cyrixinstead4592]

My Dragon 32 had that exact same bulge in the logo sticker, same place and everything! Great machine BTW and bug diver is a fun little game, I converted it for fun to the VIC 20 and Commodore 16 in the past.

[@mikehibbett3301]

I worked for a small electronics company in Crawley, called CTM, who decided to distribute the Dragon. I spent my youth in that store playing on their TRS80, and ended up working there before heading to university. After the TRS80 I loved the Dragon 32, and customers loved it. But two issues hit us. Systems were delivered dead on arrival, which I had to repair. The issue was the PSU - the weight of the heatsink was not held well by the screws - you can see that in the video. When dropped by delivery people, the heatsink would cause PSU tracks to break. I became very efficient at spotting and fixing these issues. The next problem was supply - we had huge interest - but dragon could not supply. According to the owner of CTM, that was instrumental in killing the company. They closed while I was in my first year of university, in 1983. Very sad. I was allowed to play with their TRS80 on a saturday in a small store as a kid, I guess because it was a good advert for the TRS80. Spent all of my pocket money in that store too, but no regrets!

[@Charlie-Cat.]

Having a boring Thursday night. But after seeing Neil in action with his pro skills, it helps turn into a exciting evening for sure. 8^) Anthony..

[@sarcosis1]

Watching this in Wales. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 :)

[@kcharles8857]

First I've ever seen or heard of this system. Great Channel (National Anthem good too)

[@TheMalMeninga]

I always wanted one of these when I was a kid. Only ever saw it in magazines! Glad to see it here.

[@gmcnewlook]

A few years ago someone on eBay was selling new old stock of these, I know of a KZbinr who bought one (vwestlife) and demonstrated it

[@Retrobution]

Nice Welsh anthem at the start there! Brought a tear to my eye lol (as its used for a computer this time and not rugby haha!)

[@PaulDavies4]

I grew up with a Dragon32 as a kid, indeed these computers were made a couple of miles from my home, at Kenfig Industrial Estate, the building is now a chocolate factory. I remember wanting my mum to put a game on which played 10 green bottles (nursey rhyme), though she always wanted to play Frogger and watch me die at it!

[@troogroove9318]

This was my first computer, I still have it with some cartridge games one called cave hunter. I learnt to program on this and it started my career. Also don’t forget the later Dragon 64.

[@GeVeBeGaming]

You deserve so many more subs, keep it up. (always entertaining)

[@Swedemon]

Great channel! Never heard of this system, maybe its because I'm in the US or that its a few years before my hay day. I first gamed on the atari 5200 and fat mac.

[@dunebasher1971]

There was an attempt to sell the 64K version in the USA as the Tano Dragon. A company called California Digital ended up buying all the unsold stock, and it was possible to buy new-in-box Tano Dragons from them until they finally sold the last remaining unit in mid-2017.

[@jamesgillre]

Love the video, I still find it interesting to this day how Boots distributed alot of this hardware and software back in the day. I still remember the day my dad took me to Boots to choose a Super Nintendo Game for Christmas. I chose Exhaust heat!

[@stevethepocket]

"And so, upon entering the Dragon..." I see what you did there.

[@KevinJones-bt7ib]

Wow I remember a lad down the road had a dragon32, I never seen it just heard about it, and I remember thinking as a kid wow that sounds ace ha ha!!!

[@daishi5571]

I'm glad the common mistake of claiming it was a Coco clone wasn't made. A TV could be placed on the back of the case without issue. My PSU use to get rocket hot, so much so I drilled a few holes in it. My Dragon survived a very angry teenager (me) that frequently punched the keyboard, and once being thrown across the room at the wall by my mum. One tough system.

[@garym0630]

I remembered my parents buying the Dragon 32 in the mid 80's. Always remember them playing Jonny Reb. Also remember there being a space type game that had a very early type of speech synthesis.

[@Lorfarius]

I really love the lab setup! What a great idea.

[@gingermancymru]

Full on nostalgia trip. My first computer still have it. Think I spent all my pocket money at the time in Microdeal “cuthbert” games. A relative worked for them so ended up with a few freebies posters etc. The analogue joysticks were rubbish so upgraded to a quick shot.

[@rog2224]

When i was doing my comp sci degree in the early 80s, a friend and I considered a primitive VR system based around a small cluster 6809 based machines, running OS9 (not the Apple abomination) since it allowed multitasking and multiprocessors (with a little kludging IIRC - that wasn't my area, I was the maths bod) It never went anywhere, due to lack of funds, but I remember sketching it out on paper, with rough designs based around magnifying optics and using bits from a couple of Sinclair flat portable TVs, along with some ideas for mapping head position in 3d space... Fun times. I ended up as a database hack, and I have no idea when my partner in crime ended up - education, I think...

[@josephnealeUKscratchcards]

Nice video and can’t wait for part 2

[@rogerparish469]

I still have a large collection of Dragon Hardware and software (OS9 and FLEX operating systems) The hardwre includes prototype RGB Video boards for the 32 and 64.It is Still a system I play with today.It was rather underated and let down by its basic video display....but still fun.

[@Lucretia9000]

I had no idea these were from Wales! I remember seeing one in Tandy. A mechanical keyboard? That's mad for that time.

[@alhartman66]

I have two of the American Tano Dragon 64 Computers. I bought the second one because I lost the power supply to the first one, and since there aren't any on the used market, it was the only way to get one.

[@endersftd]

Yaaay a new trash to treasure!!! Man, those keycaps look almost exactly like those used on the Atari 800 (non-XL)

[@kb3wmh]

emptythevoid _ yeah, the keys are really similar. The case shape also kind of looks like an 800 (though much smaller)

[@NorthWay_no]

I have an untested Dragon 64 stashed away in a box somewhere; it was too cheap to pass on. Turned out to be an even better deal than I thought as it came with 50 original tapes!

[@gmcnewlook]

Vwestlife demonstrated one of these a few years back nice to see another channel showing this

[@binkman853]

Great content - Thanks! Look forward to the next one.

[@robertdutcher8081]

Great video as always :)

[@coryengel]

Nice! It Would make make a nice change of tone if when go “go to the lab” you exchange the jacket for a lab coat. Or maybe roll up your sleeves since it’s time to get to work.

[@RMCRetro]

We could lose the jacket I like that idea. A lab coat might be a bit dramatic. Maybe an RMC branded apron lol thanks for the idea

[@stephenvalente3296]

I had one of these. Software wasn’t always easy to find compared to the Spectrum & C64. Think I took mine apart in the end to see what was in there and shocked at how empty the case actually was!

[@RetroGG-74]

Love your content sir !

[@Skaera75b]

Another great video, thank you. I've always been fond of this little gem. I'll give you a thumbs up, and my Cat gives you a paws up. That's a ten.

[@ItsCrapContent]

Love this and hope you get it up and running.... X

[@BazzaHSpeccymad]

Always thought these were/are great looking machines. Great vid as ever

[@Jehannum2000]

My first and only microcomputer was a Dragon 32. Its the only machine I had so I did learn a lot about it.

[@zxkim8136]

Nice one Neil it's a nice looking machine and they could have made it better especially with the video output. Looking forward to part 2 mate ....😀😀😀 Kim 😁😁😁

[@RMCRetro]

Cheers Kim!

[@pulsemyne7488]

Not the only computer made in Wales. There was also the SAM coupe in 1989. I actually still own one and it still works. Very interesting machine.

[@RMCRetro]

Good spot well done and yes a very interesting machine that's very expensive to collect now. I'll be sure to give it a mention before the series is out

[@Lurker1979]

The product design of the Dragon32 kind of reminds me of an Apple II.

[@gregster29]

The Dragon 32 is on computer that I've always overlooked. I look forward to seeing how your T2T works out.

[@organiccold]

Nice found Neil. Hope the second part comes quickly :p

[@TheSmart-CasualGamer]

Hang on, I thought these were made in Swansea, not Port Talbot. They still make computer electronics in Swansea, mostly satellite stuff, so I wasn't too surprised, but Port Talbot was a little bit of a shock.

[@davidlewis1787]

My best mate had one and his geeky brother didn’t play games but write obscure programs. I think he grew up to be either an accountant or a serial killer

[@grrarg9319]

I spent hours typing in games like "Across the Ravine", and "Treasure Island" on my Dragon 32.... ahh the memories :)

[@bombtwenty3867]

Was that from one of those Basic program Books? I owned one for the BBC with the same games if I recall, also had an adventure program Crypt of Gabon? and a 3d game maze game

[@JippyUK]

Loved Part 1 of this. Reminds me of my childhood, can't wait to see whether you are able to resurrect this one from the grave. On a side note what was the music you had playing when you lift the cover off the machine. It's from a game... can't remember which one. Until next time Tony Hart

[@RMCRetro]

Here you go: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gJLbfqydltqVl5I - I'd missed that one out in the description so have added it now. Thanks Jipstick

[@mrb3991]

Wow i had ones of these, my first computer was the commodore vic 20 then then Dragon 32 , great video thanks

[@NathanChisholm041]

Very cool indeed! Can you start leaving links to the music you use? It's always really cool sounding electronic music. Cheers

[@RMCRetro]

Thank you, tracks are in the description. I source them from a library I pay for rights to use so I can't link them but a quick youtube search might help you using the titles in the description.

[@NathanChisholm041]

@@RMCRetro Thanks mate I'll check it out!

[@Breakfast_of_Champions]

I really wish someone would make a final and definitive 8-bit machine with the 6809, accelerated graphics, SID+YM sound, OS-9... one can only dream 🤤

[@colorcomputerstore457]

Oh, you mean the CoCo 3 with audio via a Game Master Cartridge or mini multipak with PSG sound and running off a Gime-X. Yep. That's what you want.

[@Breakfast_of_Champions]

@@colorcomputerstore457 Yep CoCo or Trash-80 style but with sound and gfx and memory. The 6809 and NitrOS-9 are very fancy but as 8-bit stuff still totally workable by hobbyists and amateurs.

[@Richiecandylover]

Just gonna pick up my Dragon computer with my paracetamol today! 🤣🤣 I only think of a pharmacy when I think boots 🤣🤣