π«π· Thomson MO5 "Platini": Part 1
22Let's have a look at the special edition version of the Thomson MO5 (a 6809-powered computer), released in honour of French footballer Michel Platini. I believe he had just captained France as the European Champions, hence the tie-in.
The MO5 retains the same internals as the original, rubber-keyed MO5 (i.e. 48KBytes of RAM), but we get a nice mechanical keyboard and some extra peripherals in a carry bag, including a cassette recorder (LEP), light pen (crayon optique) and sound/joystick interface. Interestingly the joysticks use a DIN plug (like Soviet/post Soviet machines) instead of DE9.
Certainly the mechanical keyboard is a nice improvement over the original rubber keyboard (similar to the Sinclair ZX Spectrum). The cassette recorder is a model MK50-050.
The cassette recorder, also known as a LEP or "Lecteurs Enregistreurs de Programmes", is AC powered with a 12V regulator. I tried adding an auxiliary input so I can load software via my computer, but it's not working well at the moment. I think I'll also convert it from AC to DC power.
To be continued.