TZXDuino for ZX81

[Alleged_Geek]

Hi all,

reading this thread with interest; I also bought a TZXDuino on ebay (not the enclosed one as shown earlier) but a slightly different version on a PCB. Although it worked flawlessly and was a pretty good price (I think I paid about £17 for it) I didnt like the fact that there were components on both the component side and the solder side of the PCB which made it awkward to sit on any surface so I decided to design my own version of it which can be seen on my blog

alleged-geek.blogspot.com

https://alleged-geek.blogspot.com/2021/ ... epair.html

although this was for my Acorn Electron (I know... hang my head in shame)

I have also built one for my ZX81 which also works flawlessly.

The PCB gerber files for it can be found on my github site (which you can upload to JLPCB or any other PCB manufacturer for a very good price)

https://github.com/Alleged-Geek/TZX-Duino

Please feel free to download the files and if you require any help at all with the population and programming the Adruino nano then please feel free to give me a shout.

Best regards,

Alleged Geek

I have just updated my Github to include pictures of the PCB layout, schematic and a parts list. The parts list will give you the correct components used on the PCB and I am sure that you could cut the costs down even futher with a little bit of searching online.

[patters]

I bought this assembled design some time ago off eBay new for around £25. It has a built-in LM386 audio amplifier which I notice many of the newer ones seem to lack. It has a minimalist 3d printed shell to hold the PCB but I like its prototype feel. The screen and Arduino are mounted on simple brass stand-offs. It can be powered via USB, or via a dedicated power jack. The button labels are simply printed on the PCB.

[Ravenger]

I've got one of these - or at least a similar device, if not that exact model - and use it for both my ZX81 and Spectrum, and it's a great little device, and very reliable at loading.
The only thing is I wish it supported saving.

It's a pity the ZX81 loading bars don't work with a modern composite mod, due to the primitive way the video signal was handled, as I feel I'm missing part of the experience. Of course on the Spectrum you get the whole loading experience, which instantly takes me back to those times when I was around my schoolmates houses playing on their speccys.