Changes
472
,== Description ==
The reason [[Amstrad|Amstrad]] released a special version for the spanish market was a law ([[RD 1250/1985|RD 1250/1985]]) that said that every computer with up to 64KB should adhere to some rules - namely, have extra keys for the spanish language, and the video hardware had to be able to display spanish characters; otherwise an extra import tax would be leviedon computers with 64K or less RAM.
So Amstrad soldered in an extra 8KB which was not, however, usable by the machine since it was not connected to anything else.
=== 1. CPC464 with British Keyboard ===
Before the law was special taxes were invented (in ie. until September 1985), the normal CPC464 with 64K RAM, english keyboard, and english CPC464 ROM (40009) may have been sold in spain.
=== 2. CPC472 with British Keyboard ===
Faked 72K RAM to bypass the law'''Import Tax on models with 64K or less RAM'''. These units included a '''CPC664''' ROM (40022) (that is, not '''CPC464''' ROM), thus supporting [[Locomotive BASIC]] 1.1 - the spanish manual claimed that the extra 8K would be required for BASIC 1.1 - this was total nonsense, but it "explained" why users didn't have access to the extra memory: it was "reserved" for BASIC.
=== 3. CPC472 with Spanish Keyboard ===
After the another law was changed (now including also computers with more than 64K)added '''Spanish Keyboard Requirement''', the remaining CPC472 units were was fitted with spanish keyboard, and spanish CPC464 ROM (40037). But still including the 72K daughterboard.
=== 4. CPC464 with Spanish Keyboard ===
== The Daughterboard ==
The two logic chips for address decoding (not connected, and non-functional, too) are more or less hidden under the robbon cable. Looking under it reveals a 74LS08 (Quad 2-Input NAND), and a 74LS32 (Quad 2-Input OR), as seen on Miguel Angel's photos. However, on Kevin Thacker's webpage, the second chip is listed as 74LS136 (Open-collector Quad 2-Input XOR) - so, it seems the daughterboards were randomly fitted with whatever cheaply available chips (possibly including damaged chips - ''can somebody verify that?'').
== Spanish Laws ==
Hypothesis & Facts compiled by deepfb.
=== 64K RAM Limit ===
1. Some Spanish companies may have lobbyed for a tariff on imported computers, calculators and other electronic machines during the first half of the eighties (*). As a result, the Spanish Government passed an Act (Real Decreto 1215/1985, dated on 17th of July, 1985) that established a tariff on headings 84.52 (calculator and accounting machines, cash registers, etc.) and 84.53 ("automatic machines for data processing", including computers) imported from foreing countries.
2. Foreing computer manufacturers lobbyed themselves as a response, and forced the Government to move to an equidistant position: the tariff would be charged only on "micro-computers", that is, "automatic machines for data processing with less than 64 KB of memory". The lobbying movement was so effective that the Spanish Ministro de Economía (equivalent to the head of the British Departments of Commerce and Treasury), Carlos Solchaga, gave up his summer vacation and travelled to Mallorca, were the king was having his holidays, to have the new law signed (Real Decreto 1558/1985, dated on 28th of August, 1985). The urgency of the trip gives an idea of how powerful were foreign computer manufacturers at that time.
3. The tariff charged on imported computers lasted one month only, from the 25th of July to the 3rd of September, 1985. The amount of the tariff per unit ranged from 15,000 to 300,000 pesetas (90 to 1,800 euro at current prices), depending on the type and the value of each particular model. From the 3rd of September, 1985, only computers with less than 64 KB of RAM were charged with the 15,000ptas./90€ tariff, leaving tax-exempt the rest.
4. Amstrad España ([[Indescomp]]) wasn't fully satisfied by the tariff discount, and started selling their allegedly 72 KB model (Amstrad CPC 472) on September 1985 to avoid the tariff. My guess is that Amstrad UK was aware of this movement (maybe not his engineers, but at least the sales department), since the computers should arrive at Spain with the legend "72 KB RAM computer" labelled anyplace.
5. Spain joined the EEC on 1st of January, 1986. The Government had to align his tariffs policy with that of the EEC, and as a result it has to remove the charges on the heading 84.53 (EEC Comission Decision 1985/80908, dated on 15th of November, 1985). There was no point in marketing the CPC 472 model from then on.
* (*) One of them may have been Eurohard, the Spanish company that bought the rights on the Dragon range of computers to Dragon Data at the end of 1984. Eurohard was manufacturing and selling 32 KB and 64 KB computers at that time -the Dragon 32, Dragon 64 & Dragon 200 models-, and developing a MSX-1 compatible computer with no more than 64 KB of RAM.
=== Keyboard Layout ===
Making the spanish keyboard compulsory for every home computer is not related at all with the marketing of the 472 model. The confusion of 72K RAM and Spanish Keyboard comes from the coincidence in time of the Acts setting the new tariffs (RD 1215/1985 and RD 1558/1985) and the Acts that made compulsory the inclusion of the Ñ key (RD 1250/1985 and RD 2707/1985).
When spain became an EEC member, only the 64K import tax was dropped. The obligation of marketing computers with a spanish keyboard is still valid. Making compulsory to sell a particular, language-specific keyboard can be seen as an anti-free trade regulation, but at the end the EEC allowed this kind of national regulations in order to preserve the cultural heritage of each country.
== More Pictures ==
