Hello from London UK

Introduce yourself to your fellow forum members - what was your journey into the Sinclair world?
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twoangrybears
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri May 17, 2019 3:29 pm

Hello from London UK

Post by twoangrybears »

Hi everyone

Just a quick post to introduce myself and say hello.

The ZX81 was my first ever computer and I have never forgotten the sense of wonder I felt at playing Adventure Tape 1.

I soon moved on to the ZX Spectrum - and Level 9 adventures - then the Amstrad PCW where I finally got a chance to play Infocom adventures. (As you can tell, I loved what is now called Interactive Fiction more than anything else.) Then I took a different path in life and more of less ignored computers for a decade or more.

I've recently become interested in electronics and digital logic and this has revived my interest in the ZX81 as a machine simple enough that I might with some hard work potentially be able to understand from a low level up.

I have picked up a few untested and broken ZX81s on eBay over the last year and hope to open them up and see if I can get them working and then explore the amazing world of upgrades and enhancements this wonderful community of enthusiasts has developed in the years since I first touched that little keyboard. I have very little time and a lot to learn so my progress will be slow but I'm very excited by the prospect. Thank you to all of you for keeping the flame burning for these machines. I've spent a lot of time reading posts on the forum already and I'm thrilled to be here.
Lardo Boffin
Posts: 2160
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2016 2:42 am

Re: Hello from London UK

Post by Lardo Boffin »

Welcome on board! The zeddie is a great little computer. :D
ZX80
ZX81 iss 1 (bugged ROM, kludge fix, normal, rebuilt)
TS 1000 iss 3, ZXPand AY and +, ZX8-CCB, ZX-KDLX & ChromaSCART
Tatung 81 + Wespi
TS 1500 & 2000
Spectrum 16k (iss 1 s/n 862)
Spectrum 48ks plus a DIVMMC future and SPECTRA
McKlaud
Posts: 337
Joined: Tue Dec 19, 2017 10:02 pm
Location: St Albans, UK

Re: Hello from London UK

Post by McKlaud »

HI,

It is good that you joined us.
Claudius
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Moggy
Posts: 3231
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 2:00 pm

Re: Hello from London UK

Post by Moggy »

Welcome from me too.

There is a great deal of knowledge within these forums and some equally knowledgeable folk who will be more than happy to help you with any questions you may ask.

PS
If you need another ZX81 seek out Lardo Boffin he has about 10,000 of them in a big shed at the bottom of his garden!! :lol: (sorry Lardo couldn't resist)
Lardo Boffin
Posts: 2160
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2016 2:42 am

Re: Hello from London UK

Post by Lardo Boffin »

Moggy wrote: Fri Jul 26, 2019 3:09 pm
PS
If you need another ZX81 seek out Lardo Boffin he has about 10,000 of them in a big shed at the bottom of his garden!! :lol: (sorry Lardo couldn't resist)
Thats a slander - there are no more than 9000! :? And I certainly don’t have another one arriving on Monday next week. 8-)
ZX80
ZX81 iss 1 (bugged ROM, kludge fix, normal, rebuilt)
TS 1000 iss 3, ZXPand AY and +, ZX8-CCB, ZX-KDLX & ChromaSCART
Tatung 81 + Wespi
TS 1500 & 2000
Spectrum 16k (iss 1 s/n 862)
Spectrum 48ks plus a DIVMMC future and SPECTRA
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RetroTechie
Posts: 379
Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2011 12:16 am
Location: Hengelo, NL
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Re: Hello from London UK

Post by RetroTechie »

Surely closer to 10k than 9k by the time people read this. :lol:

A very f***ing &@0!$% bloody hot welcome from the NL, twoangrybears! (heatwave here and all...)
twoangrybears wrote:I've recently become interested in electronics and digital logic and this has revived my interest in the ZX81 as a machine simple enough that I might with some hard work potentially be able to understand from a low level up.
Yes for the ZX81 that's certainly possible. Should take no more than a few weeks of your spare time. Or months if you really get into it. :mrgreen: The excellent ZX81 video tutorial should be a good start (tip: diagrams in it are better viewed in a monospaced font). Or check out my very own ULA-in-a-CPLD project which takes most of the black out of our 'beloved' (?) black box known as ULA.

You'll quickly find that the parts to be careful with are ULA, outer case, and (perhaps) circuit board itself. Everything else is expendable / easy to repair / mod / find replacements for. Also if you have multiple ZX81's, all you need is one working & you can swap IC's to make repairs of a 2nd, 3rd etc much easier. So you might want to invest in a solder pump, wick, and some IC sockets. (if you ever collect a # of ZX81's and at some point decide to thin your collection, it's a good idea to keep 2 or 3 working ones for that reason. And they don't take much space :D ).
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twoangrybears
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri May 17, 2019 3:29 pm

Re: Hello from London UK

Post by twoangrybears »

Thank you all for the very warm welcome!

RetroTechie thank you for the advice and links: my spare time is in very short supply so I'll multiply your estimates accordingly but I'm sure the information you've shared will speed things up :) Hope things are cooling down in NL.
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1024MAK
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Joined: Mon Sep 26, 2011 10:56 am
Location: Looking forward to summer in Somerset, UK...

Re: Hello from London UK

Post by 1024MAK »

Hello and welcome to our forum twoangrybears!

:D :D :D

I hope you enjoy the forum :D

We are happy to help if you have any questions.

Mark
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There are four lights!
Step up to red alert. Sir, are you absolutely sure? It does mean changing the bulb :!:
Looking forward to summer later in the year.
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twoangrybears
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Joined: Fri May 17, 2019 3:29 pm

Re: Hello from London UK

Post by twoangrybears »

Thanks for the welcome Mark.

I have not had a moment free since my last post and am unlikely to do so in the next couple of months. Hoping for a few hours over Christmas to continue to explore the ZX81 and this forum.

If only getting hold of a computer from childhood gave you as much time as you used to have when you first owned one...!

Happy New Year everyone (in case I don't get a chance to post before then) ;)
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