Dragon 32 Microcomputer

Dragon 32 Microcomputer Dragon 32 Microcomputer

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Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Dragon 32 microcomputer made by Dragon Data Ltd, 1982.

The 1982 Dragon 32 was an early British home computer. At the time, home computers had started becoming popular for playing video games. The Dragon 32 was produced by Dragon Data, a division of the Swansea based toy manufacturer Mettoy, to enter this new market. Designed in Cambridge, but manufactured in the South Wales steel town of Port Talbot, the Dragon logo reflected the mostly Welsh origins of the machine. The 32 in its name refers to it having 32 kilobytes of random access memory, a respectable size for the period. It featured colour graphics, sound and was largely compatible with the Tandy Colour Computer, which was technically very similar. Like many computers of the time, the Dragon’s advertising was designed to make computing seem like a family friendly activity. Although moderately successful at first, the crash of the home computer market in 1983 meant that the Dragon 32 was only in production for a short period.

Details

Category:
Computing & Data Processing
Object Number:
Y2005.55
Materials:
plastic (unidentified) and metal (unknown)
Measurements:
computer: 98 mm x 323 mm x 378 mm,
box: 156 mm x 490 mm x 432 mm,
type:
personal computer
credit:
Gift of Ann Bridge

Parts

Large collection of games tapes dating from 1982-1985 by various software houses

Large collection of games tapes dating from 1982-1985 by various software houses

Large collection of games tapes dating from 1982-1985 by various software houses.

Games on cassette tapes (see narrative and spreadsheet of software on 'h' drive under Archive Listings for listing).

Materials:
plastic (unidentified)
Object Number:
Y2005.55.3
type:
software
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum