Hullo, I'm a 50 yr old ex spectrum owner making a zx80

[DoktorDoris]

A Cordial Hello to Everyone!

It’s a pleasure to join this community and dive into the fantastic discussions here. I’ve already learned so much from reading the posts and am excited to contribute.

I first encountered the Speccy as a kid when I received one for Christmas in 1982 at the age of eight. Like many, I mostly played games on it back then. I have fond memories of a WH Smith in Nottingham around 1984, where Speccys were set up for kids to play Jet Set Willy and Manic Miner. I remember the thrill of buying JSW, dealing with the code sheet to load it (not half as frustrating as the lens-lock mechanism that came with Elite), and diving into hours of gameplay.

Recently, my journey into electronics rekindled my love for vintage tech. It all started with model rockets—YouTube led me to a video of someone building them, and I was hooked. I learned about rockets and electronics, and eventually, my passion shifted fully to electronics. I’ve since built up a small lab with the usual tools: oscilloscope, function generator, bench supplies, and countless components. After building soldering practice kits galore, my curiosity moved to valves and even x-rays. This eventually led me to vintage technology—first fixing up a 1970s portable TV, then restoring a Teleng Colourstar pong console.

When I stumbled upon a ZX80 PCB on eBay, it was an instant buy. I’ve already fitted the basic components I had on hand and ordered the ceramic oscillator, RAM, CPU, and 74-series ICs I was missing. Progress is steady, and I can’t wait to see it come together.

Apologies for rambling on a bit! I’m sure I’ll soon have plenty of questions for the knowledgeable folks here.

Looking forward to learning and chatting with you all,
DoktorDoris

PS
Sorry to be a nuisance but the page about the ZX80 says the release price was £99.99 for the kit, I am fairly sure that was the price for the complete machine. the kit cost 20 pounds less.

[1024MAK]

Hello and welcome to our forum DoktorDoris!



I hope you enjoy this forum

Good luck with your ZX80 build

If you have any questions, please ask.

Mark

[Lardo Boffin]

Welcome!

A while back I rebuilt a ZX81 - https://www.sinclairzxworld.com/viewtop ... 533#p27533

Best of luck with the ‘80!

[DoktorDoris]

Bit of an update
I was so carried away by a tsunami of nostalgia I inadvertently just bought a zx81 on ebay. i am playing with the big boys now.

doris

[Gory-Glory]

Welcome DoktorDoris

[redgatemodels]

I first encountered the Speccy as a kid when I received one for Christmas in 1982 at the age of eight. Like many, I mostly played games on it back then. I have fond memories of a WH Smith in Nottingham around 1984, where Speccys were set up for kids to play Jet Set Willy and Manic Miner.

My memories of Smiffs in Notts go back a little earlier, I remember typing in games like the aeroplane one on the ZX81. The staff seemed to just let you stay for ever as long as you were not making a nuisance of yourself. That Christmas my own (well shared with my sister) ZX81 was under the tree

[redgatemodels]

You have me thinking now though, having built a Harlequin 128K speccy clone a ZX80 would be a nice build, my mate could 3D print a case for me ....

[Lardo Boffin]

Bit of an update
I was so carried away by a tsunami of nostalgia I inadvertently just bought a zx81 on ebay. i am playing with the big boys now.

doris

Be careful! That is a slippery slope!

[DoktorDoris]

thanks everyone, for your friendly greetings. It has been years since I've used a forum type website and I am looking forward to the social aspect. I stopped using FB etc, ages ago, as i was sick of learning what people, whom i generally only vaguely knew, had for lunch on a daily basis, and other similar bits of information.
in fact modern computers in general leave me cold i used to really care about them, and the internet. now i couldn't even tell you what the CPU is in my laptop. but computers of the past, lacking much of the layers and layers of abstraction between the user and the hardware, unlike modern devices, fascinate me. i can't wait to try and learn the rudiments of z80, and be excited by computing again.

doris

[stroebeljc]

thanks everyone, for your friendly greetings. It has been years since I've used a forum type website and I am looking forward to the social aspect. I stopped using FB etc, ages ago, as i was sick of learning what people, whom i generally only vaguely knew, had for lunch on a daily basis, and other similar bits of information.
in fact modern computers in general leave me cold i used to really care about them, and the internet. now i couldn't even tell you what the CPU is in my laptop. but computers of the past, lacking much of the layers and layers of abstraction between the user and the hardware, unlike modern devices, fascinate me. i can't wait to try and learn the rudiments of z80, and be excited by computing again.

doris

Well said!
Almost everyone on this site probably feels the same way.