Timex Sinclair 2050

{{Short description|Computer modem for Timex Sinclair computers}}

The Timex Sinclair 2050 (TS2050){{Cite web |last=Red |first=Johnny |date=2001 |title=Timex Peripherals |url=https://timex.comboios.info/tcper.html |access-date=2022-11-27 |website=Timex Computer World}}{{Cite web |last=Red |first=Johnny |date=2001 |title=Timex Sinclair 2050 Telecommunications Modem |url=http://timex.comboios.info/ts2050.html |access-date=2022-11-26 |website=Timex Computer World}}{{Cite journal |date=July 1984 |title=Hardware Review - Westridge 2050 Modem |url=https://archive.org/details/SyntaxMagazine/Syntax%20v5n7/page/n4-5?view=theater |journal=Syntax |volume=5 |issue=7 |pages=4}}{{Cite web |last=Woodworth |first=Bruce |date=2020 |title=Timex Sinclair 2050 Modem |url=http://woodworths.com/Timex/Timex_Sinclair_2050_Modem.html |access-date=2022-11-26 |website=Woodworth's}}{{Cite web |date=2004 |title=comp.sys.sinclair FAQ - Peripherals |url=https://worldofspectrum.org/faq/reference/peripherals.htm |access-date=2022-11-26 |website=worldofspectrum.org}} was a computer modem built by Westridge Communications for Timex Sinclair, a joint venture between Sinclair Research and Timex Corporation.{{Cite book |url=https://ia802909.us.archive.org/35/items/sinclair-research/Sinclair_Press_Releases.pdf |title=TIMEX CORPORATION TO MANUFACTURE AND MARKET THE FIRST PERSONAL COMPUTER PRICED UNDER $100 |publisher=RUDER FINN & ROTMAN, INC. |year=1982}}{{Cite web |title=TIMEX COMPUTER CORPORATION :: Texas (US) :: OpenCorporates |url=https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_tx/0005686106 |website=opencorporates.com}}{{Cite news |date=February 23, 1984 |title=Timex Abandons Line Of Low-Cost Home Computers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K0dSAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22Timex+Sinclair%22&pg=PA17&article_id=5483,7099739 |work=Toledo Blade}}

Initially sold under the Timex Sinclair label and with a Timex designed case, it was then labeled Westridge 2050,{{Cite news |last=Woods |first=Tim |date=1985 |title=A REVIEW OF THE MTERM II |url=https://archive.org/details/TimeDesigns/Time%20Designs%20v1%20n2/page/12/mode/2up |work=Time Designs Magazine |pages=12 |volume=1 |issue=2}} as Timex exited the computer market when the modem started manufacture. A lot of people bought the modem board and made a custom casing.

The device supports all the Timex Sinclair machines,{{Cite news |date=January 23, 1984 |title=Communications - Multiplexers/Modems: Timex Computer Corp. TS2050 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dRR9VQBwdSIC&dq=timex+2050+modem+-wiki&pg=PA57 |work=Computerworld |pages=57}} coming with a cassette containing modem control software for T/S 1000 and T/S 1500 on side A and for T/S 2068 on side B.{{Cite web |date=2013-12-09 |title=Timex Sinclair 2068 Official and Unofficial Peripherals |url=http://timexsinclair.org/peripherals/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131209161522/http://timexsinclair.org/peripherals/ |archive-date=2013-12-09 |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=Unofficial Timex Sinclair 2068 Site}}

It was based on the Intel 8251 USART chip and very slow (300 bit/s). A magazine published a way to modify the modem to convert it to a serial port, allowing users to connect faster modems. At least two bulletin board systems based on the T/S 2068 computer and TS2050 modem existed as of 1988.{{cite news |author=Netsel, Tom |date=October 1988 |title=Closet Computers |url=https://archive.org/stream/1988-10-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_101_1988_Oct#page/n15/mode/2up |accessdate=November 10, 2013 |work=Compute! |pages=14}}