Sinclair ZX80 / ZX81 / Z88 Forums

New to this forum but not new to ZX80/81. Many moons ago I bought a ZX80 when it first came out. Not long after I sold it to my supervisor (E-Systems/Raytheon) and bought a XZ81. I outgrew the 81 and moved on to PCs and whatnot. But while the 81 had my attention I did a couple cool things with it. I built the circuit card into a Bud box and added memory and I/O ports. I used it to control a rotating mirror to track comet Halley for a camera. I'd haul the ZX81, the rotating mirror, a small TV, camera, and a small 12 volt battery out to the boonies to photograph the comet. Didn't really get it perfected to get good shots though. Another thing I did was to write a game for my son called "Mr. Dot". Basically, I interfaced a Magnavox game controller to the ZX81 that allowed my son to draw on the screen like an etch-a-sketch.

Fast forward to now, I want to get Mr. Dot up and running so my grandson can play. So I hooked up the ZX81 to a TV only to find that TVs are now picky. Eventually did find a TV that works sort of OK. I could not find a cassette copy of Mr. Dot though. I did find my original ZX81 binder with a MR. Dot listing but not sure if it is the latest. Now I need to find a good cassette recorder. Any recommendations??
Has anyone tried using a smartphone to record and load programs?

Thanks,
John

Hi, if you use any modern player probably you'll need an amplifier between the player and the ZX81. Any speaker with headphones output will do the trick.. remember to use mono cables..
If on Android you can try https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... layzxtapes
It's primarily for ZX Spectrum but will load .P files for ZX81.. if you have Stereo cables try the invert channel option.
In my case I use a Sony voice recorder with the ZX80, with an amplifier to load. For the ZX81 I use a ZXPAND+ that loads from SD card.. I'm only nostalgic with the good part

Welcome and good luck with Mr Dot, sounds cool!

There are a number of improved video options these days:

ZX8-CCB
ZXVid
vLA81 (ULA replacement with composite out)
Mark’s transistor composite mod
Chroma81
A composite mod board from ZXRenew

And doubtless others!

Thanks! I ordered a ZXvid and plan to mount it in the Bud box with the ZX81 and add another RCA jack for that composite output.