History of computer hardware in Bulgaria
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{{More citations needed|date=October 2017}}
{{Expand Bulgarian|Производство на компютри в България|date=November 2020}}
{{History of computing}}
This article describes the history of computer hardware in Bulgaria. At its peak, Bulgaria supplied 40% of the computers in the socialist economic union COMECON.{{cite book |title= Кратки сведения за развитието на изчислителната техника в България |last= Боянов|first= Кирил |authorlink= :bg:Кирил Боянов|year= 2014|publisher=Годишник на секция „Информатика“,Том 7, Съюз на учените в България |pages= 23|url=http://zitbg.com/sites/default/files/2017-02/SUB-Informatics-2014-7-01-23.pdf |language=bg|accessdate= 15 November 2017}} The electronics industry employed 300,000 workers, and it generated 8 billion rubles a year. Since the democratic changes in 1989 and the subsequent chaotic political and economic conditions, the once blooming Bulgarian computer industry almost completely disintegrated.
Computer models
=Mainframes=
IZOT series and ES EVM series (abbreviation from Edinnaya Sistema Elektronno Vichislitelnih Machin, or Unified Computer System — created in 1969 by USSR, Bulgaria, Hungary, GDR, Poland and Czechoslovakia).
=Personal computers=
- IMKO, Pravetz-82/8M/8A/8E/8C — an 8-bit machine (Apple II clones), based on Bulgarian-made 6502 variants, Pravetz-16/16A/16H/286 (16-bit) — IBM PC clones based on i8088(V20)/286.
- IZOT 1030 — based on East German-made U880 (a Z80A clone), IZOT 1036C - IBM PC compatible based on i8086, IZOT 1037C - IBM PC/XT clone based on i8088.
For example, the Pravetz-8M featured two processors (primary: Bulgarian-made clone of 6502, designated SM630 at 1.018 MHz, secondary: Z80A at 4 MHz), 64 KB DRAM and 16 KB EPROM.
Production facilities
The largest computer factory was some {{convert|60|km|mi|abbr=on}} from Sofia, in Pravetz. Another big facility was the plant "Electronika" in Sofia. Smaller plants throughout the country produced monitors and peripherals, notably DZU (Diskovi Zapametyavashti Ustroistva — Disk Memory Devices) — Stara Zagora made hard disks for mainframes and personal computers.
See also
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- [http://bulgariancomputers.freeservers.com/ Bulgarian Computers]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20040505080335/http://www.geocities.com/todprog/spis/bulgarian_computers_v102_11102003.txt Bulgarian Computers Information File]