Editing Hobbit (computer)

{{Short description|Soviet/Russian 8-bit home computer, based on the Sinclair ZX Spectrum hardware architecture}}
{{Infobox information appliance
| image = Hobbit computer no background.png
| type = [[Home computer]]
| release date = {{Start date and age|1990}}
| discontinued = 1993
| cpu = clone of [[Zilog Z80]]
| CPUspeed = 3.5 [[MHz]]
| os = [[Sinclair BASIC]], [[Logo (programming language)|Logo]], [[CP/M]], [[Forth (programming language)|Forth]]
| memory = 64 [[kilobyte|KB]]
| memory card = external 5.25-inch drives
| display = Composite video out, EGA monitor
| connectivity = Joystick ports, Centronics, RS-232, audio in/out, system bus extension
| sound = Beeper
| aka = Хоббит (Russian)
}}
'''Hobbit''' (''Russian:'' '''''Хоббит''''') is a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]]/[[Russia]]n 8-[[bit]] [[home computer]], based on the [[ZX Spectrum]] hardware architecture.
Besides [[Sinclair BASIC]] it also featured [[CP/M]], [[Forth (programming language)|Forth]] or [[Logo (programming language)|LOGO]] modes, with the Forth or LOGO operating environment residing in an on-board [[Read-only memory|ROM]] chip.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Pomfret |first=Keith |date=September 1990 |title=Hardware Rage Hard! |pages=37 |work=Your Sinclair |url=https://archive.org/details/your-sinclair-57/page/n35/mode/2up}}</ref>

==Overview==
{{Commons category|Hobbit computer}}
''Hobbit'' was invented by '''Dmitry Mikhailov''' ''(Russian: '''Дмитрий Михайлов''')'' (all R&D) and '''Mikhail Osetinskii''' ''(Russian: '''Михаил Осетинский''')'' (management) in [[Leningrad]], Russia in the late 1980s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Khachaturov |first=Vassilii |date=2007-04-05 |title=Hobbit |url=http://www.tarunz.org/~vassilii/Hobbit/ |access-date=2023-02-15 |website=Vassilii Khachaturov|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070405100610/http://www.tarunz.org/~vassilii/Hobbit/ |archive-date=2007-04-05 }}</ref> The original circuit layout was designed on a home-made computer (built in 1979 using ASMP of three [[KR580VM80A|KR580]] chips – Soviet [[Intel 8080]] clones), also created by Dmitry Mikhailov. The computer was manufactured by the [[joint venture]] ''InterCompex''.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Pomfret |first=Keith |date=January 1991 |title=Hardware Rage Hard! |pages=73 |work=Your Sinclair |url=https://archive.org/details/your-sinclair-61/page/n71/mode/2up}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-08-24 |title=Документация на Z80-совместимый компьют р "Хоббит" |url=http://zxdimsla.chat.ru/ZXHOBBIT/title.htm |access-date=2022-12-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070824135830/http://zxdimsla.chat.ru/ZXHOBBIT/title.htm |archive-date=2007-08-24 }}</ref>

''Hobbit'' was [[marketing|marketed]] in the former Soviet Union as a low-cost personal computer solution for basic educational and office needs, in addition to its obvious use as a home computer. Schools would use it on the classrooms, interconnecting several machines and forming a 56K [[baud]] [[Computer network|network]]. It was possible to use another Hobbit or a [[IBM PC compatible]] with a special Hobbit [[Network card|network adapter card]] by InterCompex as a [[master–slave (technology)|master]] host on the network.

The ''Hobbit'' was also briefly marketed in the [[United Kingdom|U.K.]], targeted mainly at the existing ''ZX Spectrum'' fans wanting a more advanced computer compatible with the familiar architecture. It was mentioned on [[Your Sinclair]] September 1990<ref name=":0" /> and January 1991<ref name=":1" /> issues; [[Crash (magazine)|Crash]] April 1992<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 1992 |title=Feature: Euro software! |pages=31–33 |work=Crash |url=https://www.crashonline.org.uk/98/euro.htm}}</ref> issue, and on [[Sinclair User]] August<ref>{{Cite news |first= |date=August 1992 |title=Feature: The Hobbit |pages=19 |work=Sinclair User |issue=126 |url=https://archive.org/details/Sinclair_User_126}}</ref> and September 1992<ref>{{Cite news |last=Specman |date=September 1992 |title=Feature: The Hobbit – Tested |pages=23 |work=Sinclair User |url=https://archive.org/details/sinclair-user-magazine-127/page/n21/mode/2up}}</ref> issues, highlighting the available [[Forth (programming language)|Forth]] language and [[CP/M]] operating system.

Domestic models often did not include the TV output, the internal speaker or both. The AY8910 chip for the domestic models was sold separately as an external extension module, hanging off the same [[Computer bus|extension bus]] as the optional external disk drive.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Walgenbach |first=Stefan |title=Hobbit Personal Computer |url=http://www.homecomputer.de/pages/MachineInfo/Hobbit_Personal_Computer.html |website=HMC: The Home Computer Museum}}</ref>

Another extension was the SME (Screen and Memory Extension) board. This featured 32&nbsp;KB of [[cache memory]], some of which could be dedicated to a video text [[data buffer|buffer]] in [[Color Graphics Adapter|CGA]] mode (only supported by drivers in the Forth or the CP/M environments; no known programs using the Sinclair-based BASIC mode used this feature). SME worked at astonishing speed – one machine code command made an output of an entire display line. SME was capable of rendering several dozens of windows per second, and its capabilities were fully utilized only in the Forth environment.

==Technical details==
Source:<ref>{{cite web |last=Slabihoud |first=Stephan |date=2013 |title=Sinclair – Nachbauten/Modelle |url=http://8bit-museum.de/heimcomputer/sinclair/sinclair-modellenachbauten/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213201152/http://8bit-museum.de/heimcomputer/sinclair/sinclair-modellenachbauten/ |archive-date=2013-12-13 |website=8Bit-Museum.de |language=German}}</ref>

* [[Z80A]] at 3.5&nbsp;MHz
* 64K RAM
* Disk drives: external 2 × [[5.25"|5.25-inch]] drives (up to 4 connectable) or internal [[3.5"|3.5-inch]] drive
* Connections: [[joystick]] (2 × Sinclair, 1 × [[Kempston]]), [[Centronics]], [[RS-232]], audio in/out (for cassette recorder), system bus extension
* 74-key keyboard (33 keys freely programmable)
* Video output: [[Composite video]] TV out,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Arn |first=Lift |title=Sinclair Clones |url=http://www.interface1.net/zx/clones/hobbit.html |website=Sinclair Nostalgia Products}}</ref> [[Enhanced Graphics Adapter|EGA]] monitor
* Operating system: built in [[disassembler]], [[CP/M]] clone called "Beta", system language switchable between English and Russian

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Sinclair computers and clones}}

{{List of Soviet computer systems}}

[[Category:Computer-related introductions in 1990]]
[[Category:ZX Spectrum clones]]
[[Category:Soviet Union–United Kingdom relations]]
[[Category:Z80-based home computers]]
[[Category:Soviet computer systems]]