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Magazines:
Several modern magazines are available online, each covering a variety of different topics and areas of interest. Some are
'archive' sites for original publications, while some are independently written:
- Andy's ZX Spectrum Pages
Although not exclusively dedicated to any particular magazine (various other projects are featured), a complete archive of the cover-tapes supplied with
Crash, Sinclair User and Your Sinclair has been established and made available to download. A small number of cassette-inlays are missing or can be improved - please contact
Andrew Barker if you can help. Andrew is also closely involved
with the MIA, STP and
SDP projects.
- Alchemist News
A long-running Sinclair magazine, published in .pdf format from issue 33 onwards (previous issues may be downloaded in
.tap format for use with an
emulator) by former PD House, Alchemist Research. Maintained by
Andy Davis, a previous maintainer of this FAQ.
- Old-Computer-Mags
David Tolley maintains a large archive of popular computing magazines from the 1980s. Several Sinclair-specific
magazines are included, along with many multi-format publications. Each magazine is discussed in detail, with sample
pages, cover images, 'extras', etc. described. Very well designed, and easy to navigate.
- Classix Fanzine
A modern Sinclair magazine, published online by Alex Waddington.
- MicroHobby
An online archive of the Spanish language Sinclair magazine, hosted by speccy.org.
- QL Today
A modern Sinclair QL magazine published 6 times a year. A sample issue is available by mail. Subscriptions run to issue 6 of the year you join
(i.e. rates are adjusted if your subscription starts after issue 1 is mailed).
- Your Sinclair - A Celebration
Created by Chris Young,
Phillip Lake and
Matthew Garrett.
Games:
Many original Sinclair games have been remade for modern systems. In addition, there are a large number of 'fan' sites for particular game characters
& series, playing tips, etc. Several companies still develop and sell original software, and others often have stock of used titles available. See the
main FAQ page for details.
- ZX Software
This site contains an enormous amount of information about the collection of software and other materials owned by Tony Barnett,
who maintains this resource. Several thousand titles are listed, many with links to scans of the original cassette inlays, loading screen
images, and a wealth of information related to the game or title shown. Where distribution is permitted, these titles can be downloaded
directly. The site is fully searchable.
In addition to this, several original documents are available online, including copies of the ZX Interface I and Microdrive manual,
ZX Printer manual, etc. A brief description of several machines is given, with more to follow.
There is a section dedicated to ZX81 software, with similar information to that offered for the ZX Spectrum titles listed.
- RZX Archive
Contains a growing number of game snapshots that can be viewed with any emulator
that supports the .rzx format. You can watch these games from beginning to end to pick
up playing tips, to create maps, etc. Maintained by Daren Pearcy.
- Congraturations Archive
An online archive of game-endings, playable in a variety of different emulators. You can now see the final moments of those games you were never
previously able to complete. Maintained by Jamie Percival (aka 'Scribbler').
- Speccy Spoilers
Another game-endings archive, maintained by Jim Langmead.
- Devilish Games
A superb remake of Knight Lore, originally published by 'Ultimate Play The Game', has been released, and is available for download.
Control keys can be re-defined, and POKEs can be entered directly from the main menu. English and Spanish language versions are
included in the distribution package.
- Minion Soft
'Atic Atac' has been remade for modern PC compatibles (DirectX 7a is required) At around 4Mb in size, it may take a little while to
download if you have a slow connection. Graphically impressive, if a little fast, with atmospheric music. Other remakes are also available.
Contact Minion Soft.
- Sandwell Remakes
An updated version of Sabre Wulf, also originally published by 'Ultimate Play The Game', has been completed and released by
Sandwell Software for systems running
Microsoft Windows 9x, Me or 2000 - DirectX 7 is required. A remake of 'Highway Encounter' (Vortex) is in development, with several movie clips available
to preview. Unfortunately the 'KL Project' (Knight Lore) has been temporarily suspended.
- Icemark
Extremely well designed, with several different areas of interest.
Chris Wild has developed versions of the 'Lords of Midnight'
and 'Doomdark's Revenge' (both originally written by Mike Singleton and distributed by Beyond Software) for the PC.
Full documentation is available for each.
In addition to these, Chris maintains a repository of the data formats/specifications used in many of the most popular titles from the
early 1980s; The Hobbit, Ant Attack, Manic Miner, Atic Atac, etc. which contains some extremely interesting information provided by
several different individuals. Source code for some of the titles documented is available. Other items of interest include a large Sabre
Wulf map, developer utilites and a 'Sabre Man' adventure story.
- FishyFish Maps
Includes extremely high-quality maps (made from actual game screens) for several popular titles, including Sabre Wulf, Pyjamarama,
JetSet Willy II, Knight Lore, etc. Maintained by FishyFish, author of the
Professional Coat Getting Simulator remake for Microsoft Windows 9x systems (original by
Russell Tayler), and the comp.sys.sinclair "tribute" version of Manic Miner.
- Ultimate-Wurlde
Created and maintained by Rob Uttley, this large and very detailed
site is dedicated to 'Ultimate Play The Game' (aka 'ACG'), one of the leading game developers during the 1980s. A complete index/softography
is available, as are many rare company interviews, cassette inlay scans and screenshots from classic titles such as Sabre Wulf, Knight Lore, Atic Atac,
Lunar Jetman, etc. Distribution of these titles is prohibited, so you will not find any software available for download from this site. Please respect the
copyright holders request, and do not distribute these titles.
- Starglider Radio
Appreciating the BEEPer and AY since 1982! Starglider Radio sends MP3 streams
of your favourite Spectrum game tunes into your favourite MP3 player, although
WinAmp is recommended. Run by long-time
CSS regular Starglider.
History & General interest:
These sites offer content that does not fit one of the above categories - they either focus on a particular
theme, or cover a wide range of topics that will be of interest to users of all types:
- The Sinclair Story
The full text of "The Sinclair Story" is being made available online, courtesy of
Chris Millard, with the permission of Rodney Dale (the original author). This site is currently in development, and is not
yet available.
- Classic 8-Bit Computers
This was previously a very large site with a wealth of user manuals, technical guides and general documentation for a wide variety of machines and peripherals, but has now been discontinued due to a lack of time on the part of the maintainer, Pete Robinson. All the Spectrum-related documents previously found there can now be found on World of Spectrum.
- ZX Specticle
This site is extremely well presented, and includes a wealth of interesting information. Several interviews with industry figures are
provided (Jonathan Smith, Mike Follin, etc.) and a very good emulators is provided, as are details of many current remakes.
ZX Specticle is maintained by Darren McCowan.
- RetroSpec
One of the largest collection of remade games from the 1980s. Development of many classic games is complete, and development status of
titles in progress is provided. Well designed and easy to navigate. The remakes are of very high quality.
- Sinclair Memorabilia
The International Vintage Electronics Museum, located in Hove (UK) and operated by Enrico Tedeschi
contains a very large Sinclair Memorabilia section, with details of every Sinclair product ever made listed in chronological order, many with photographs.
Several items in the museum are original prototypes donated by Sir Clive Sinclair himself.
Enrico is also the author of Sinclair Archeology, a reference book which
traces Sinclair through history and includes dozens of original advertisements not available elsewhere. Every single Sinclair product ever made is
illustrated, and technical details or assembly instructions for many are reproduced.
- The Timex/Sinclair Showcase
This site includes an extensive links section, and provides details of many original Timex/Sinclair systems distributed (primarily) in the US and Portugal, various
peripherals and unofficial 'clones' available.
Recently updated to include details of many Timex magazines, user group newsletters and Timex software. Several of the items listed include sample
scans and are not documented anywhere else. Cover images are provided for virtually all of the official Timex software titles released. Maintained by Jack
Boatwright, who also hosts a mirror of this FAQ.
- Timex/Sinclair Information Page
A large reference site for the Timex/Sinclair range of computers released in the US. Includes details of many popular peripherals. See the
newsgroups page for more information about the Timex TS2068 Mailing List, which is archived at this site.
- Timex Computer World
One of the largest and most comprehensive Timex-oriented sites available, with details of virtually every system developed, particularly Timex (Portugal).
Large, high-quality photographs of each system are provided, as are comprehensive software lists and technical specifications. Several prototype
models are described in detail, as are numerous 'clones'. Many original Timex software titles are available to download, along with cover images and instructions.
Maintained by Johnny Red. Available in Portugese and English languages.
- Demotopia
Contains a very large number of Demos and Music files that show what can be accomplished using the modest hardware available on the ZX Spectrum. A current Demo parties
calendar is maintained, with many entries from those previously completed being available to download.
- LensKey v1.0
Created by Simon Owen. This is a tiny emulator of the LensLok hardware device used briefly as a form of copyright protection for titles such as Elite,
Tomahawk, etc. during the mid 1980s
- Lil Old Sinclair Computer Technical Information Repository
Contains HTML and downloadable versions of the ZX Spectrum 48K Service Manuals, component diagrams for various machines (including the ZX81, 128K ZX Spectrum, etc.)
Maintained by Dan Crow, this site also contains contact information for those in need of spare parts or repair services.
- Sinclair QL Home Page
One of the largest and most popular QL-related sites. Provides a lot of information about current QL software and Hardware developments,
details of the various different ROM versions available and a history of the QL and a list of available software for use on a real QL or via
one of several emulators. This site contains a very comprehensive list of QL links.
- SpecChums
Maintained by Daren Pearcy, this site is home to the
comp.sys.sinclair 'rogues gallery' - where newsgroup regulars can post their
photographs and provide a short 'bio'.
- Speccy Intro
John Garner
has a large site with many sections covering his Sinclair interests. A lot of technical information is available, including details of various mice,
Joystick interfaces, etc. A very comprehensive links to further reference information is included.
- The Type Fantastic (TTFn)
Maintained by Jim Grimwood, this site is an index and (growing) archive of the nearly 3000 type-in and reader-submitted programs from
the popular computing magazines of the 1980s.
- ZX-Team
Maintained by Peter Liebert-Adelt, this is one of the
largest and most active ZX80 and ZX81 (plus several other variants) sites available. Details of ongoing hardware projects are
provided, and many original user guides and manuals have been reproduced. The ZX-Team Magazine is one of the longest-running, with many
back-issues having been archived online. The site is available in both English and German languages.
See the User Groups section of this FAQ for more information.
Development Projects:
The Sinclair development community is very active, with many upgraded and expanded versions of the original software and firmware
having been produced. Full ROM disassemblies have been produced, allowing you to creative control of how your original hardware or
emulator behaves. The following represtents a small selection of completed or ongoing development projects - you will find details of
many more related projects by following links from these sites:
- +3e ROM v1.11
Garry Lancaster has developed a replacement ROM for use with the
ZX Spectrum +3 or (black) ZX Spectrum +2A. Many enhancements are included, including BASIC extensions for managing hard disks, support for partition
sizes of up to 16Mb (via a suitable IDE Interface - diagrams are available to download), direct access to .z80
snapshot files, and an improved editor. The ROMs can be dowloaded for use with many common emulators
or purchased as ready-made replacements for your original ROMs. Both the ROM and site are available in
English and Spanish.
- SE Basic v0.80a
The aim of the SE Basic Project is to create a universal Open Source update to Sinclair Basic to fix the bugs, improve the editor, and resolve hardware conflicts
between various versions of the ZX Spectrum, while maintaining compatibility with the majority of Spectrum software and allowing for platform independence.
- SEA Change ROM
An adaptation of the original ZX Spectrum ROM, this version offers many enhancements and bug-fixes. Also available at this site are complete
assembly listings (with very detailed comments) for many original Sinclair ROM files. The SEA Change ROM was written by
Geoff Wearmouth.
- ZXVGS Operating System v0.31
Designed and developed by Jarek Adamski, this replacement Operating System
offers a large number of enhancements over the Sinclair original. Visit the ZXVGS pages of his site, available
in Polish and
English languages, for more information.
Hardware Projects:
Many people still produce hardware expansions and countless more describe the various modifications that can be performed on original Sinclair
hardware (at your own risk!) Please see the following sites for details of these projects:
- Peters Plus (Sprinter)
The Sprinter is a modern system, built around the Zilog Z84C15 CPU and the Altera PLD. The design allows for multiple systems to
be simulated, including the ZX Spectrum. Several different system configurations can be enabled directly, with user-defined configurations
also being available if required.
The Sprinter is available as a complete system with case, etc. or as a board that can be fitted to your own
case. For a full review of the Sprinter, and an interview with the designers, please read the second issue of
ZXF magazine. Several forums, introductory, FAQ and reference
documents are available from the Peters Plus
web site.
- ZX Spectrum SE
Based on a design by Andrew Owen, this is a full replacement for the original ZX Spectrum, initially designed around
Timex TC2048 hardware, and fully compatible with the
ZXVGS Operating System. ResiDOS, by Garry
Lancaster can also be used - future versions of this system will support this natively. Although based on the Timex TC2048, any Spectrum hardware can
be adapted to a ZX Spectrum SE - contact Jarek Adamski for details.
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