What did the QL come with ?

edited November 2014 in Sinclair Miscellaneous
Just wondering this. :)

What was actually 'in the box' so to speak for a QL ?

Obviously the machine itself and power / tv lead.

Blank carts ? Demo carts ? I'd assume something was 'in da box' with the basic (no pun intended) machine even without shop 'packages' / 'extras'

Any games included ?

What manuals were included too ? Was it a single one or were there two like with the speccy ie the thin 'starter' and the 'main' manual ? :)
Post edited by spider on

Comments

  • edited September 2014
    Here's the user's guide:
    ftp://ftp.worldofspectrum.org/pub/sinclair/hardware-info/QL_UsersGuide.pdf

    It suggests (a) the QL (b) the user guide (unbound, so they can update it!) (c) a PSU (d) two wallets with the utility software in one, four blank microdrive cartridges in the other (e) three plastic feet. Plus a TV aerial lead and a network cable.

    I bet the feet went missing immediately. I wonder if it came with a kettle lead for the PSU?
  • edited September 2014
    No games - it came with the Psion business software suite - Easel, Archive, Abacus & ... errrmm ... (looks up article) ... Quill (not the adventure writing utility, but a word processor). There's some interesting QL articles here:

    http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~jg27paw4/ql_user.htm
  • fogfog
    edited September 2014
    no kettle lead, but the psu does have an odd connector to the QL :)
  • edited September 2014
    fog wrote: »
    no kettle lead, but the psu does have an odd connector to the QL :)

    And no plug. Well, that was the 1980s.

    It also came with a dongle in the cartridge port if you got the early version, but I doubt you'd find a mention of that in the manual.
  • edited September 2014
    For a manual you got a big hefty ring binder. Oh and don't forget the plastic feet to raise the machine you wanted. (which also helped with cooling)
  • edited September 2014
    Wot no Make-a-Chip?!
    The comp.sys.sinclair crap games competition 2015
    "Let's not be childish. Let's play Spectrum games."
  • edited September 2014
    My QL came with the Psion Office suite (Quill, Archive, Abacus and Easel) along with a games Microdrive (Pirate, Zfred, Gun, Breakout and Hunt) along with 3 blank microdrives.
  • edited September 2014
    Thanks all. :) Interesting to learn as I know nothing about them at all :o

    I very vaguely (I was probably only 8 to 10) remember seeing them 'back then' in Boots / WHSmiths in the usual line up of speccy / c64 / Oric (I think) / etc etc plugged in with screens etc on display but never tried one.

    I do now its been mentioned remember reading something about the dongle to 'fix' the very early machines.

    More research is needed. I've just noted some kind of 3.5" 'replacement' so you can use a single or dual floppy for the microdives too.
  • edited September 2014
    Buyer remorse :lol:
  • edited September 2014
    If you want to know anything about the QL, feel free to ask on the QL Forums - www.qlforum.co.uk

    Lots of info on the QL Wiki too - www.rwapadventures.com/ql_wiki
    and the Sinclair QL Homepage - http://www.dilwyn.me.uk/

    The QL is a great machine - the main problems with microdrive units can be fixed easily - cartridges are a little more difficult as you may need to replace the felt pads on them before any of the pad gets inside the mechanism and jams the tape.

    As for expansion options - finding a second hand disk interface / memory expansion is not easy - the only currently available SD card solution is the QL-SD (when Paul in Germany manages to find time to make some more) - that can be fitted inside the QL case to replace one of the two microdrive units - however, you also need extra memory to use it really.
    Supporting Sinclairs since 1986 !

    www.rwapsoftware.co.uk
    www.sellmyretro.com
  • edited September 2014
    Thanks. :)

    Yes I've had an hour reading around that and a few other links I found.

    If I can find a few things I may try to port some of my games over.

    Andy wonders which emulator is best to try. Any thoughts ? :)
  • edited September 2014
    I used the QLayW emulator for the screenshots in the Psion article. It was reasonably easy to set up and get working, even though I'd never used a QL before.
  • edited September 2014
    rwap wrote: »
    As for expansion options - finding a second hand disk interface / memory expansion is not easy - the only currently available SD card solution is the QL-SD (when Paul in Germany manages to find time to make some more) - that can be fitted inside the QL case to replace one of the two microdrive units - however, you also need extra memory to use it really.

    What the...I didn't know about that! Add me to a list if there is one rich ;)
  • edited September 2014
    The qlsd is a superb device too :) quick piccy of mine

    sd2.jpg

    sd3.jpg
  • edited September 2014
    beanz wrote: »
    Buyer remorse :lol:

    That was exactly what I was going to say! :lol:
  • edited September 2014
    spider wrote: »
    Thanks. :)

    Yes I've had an hour reading around that and a few other links I found.

    If I can find a few things I may try to port some of my games over.

    Andy wonders which emulator is best to try. Any thoughts ? :)

    My favourite for games is q-emulator, mainly because of its compatability with original QLs and ease of accessing QL disks, and storing the information on the PC -
    http://www.terdina.net/ql/q-emulator.html
    Supporting Sinclairs since 1986 !

    www.rwapsoftware.co.uk
    www.sellmyretro.com
  • edited September 2014
    beanz wrote: »
    What the...I didn't know about that! Add me to a list if there is one rich ;)

    Well, I am not the seller, but you can add a keyword watch on SellMyRetro.com for QL-SD as the seller always lists them on there
    Supporting Sinclairs since 1986 !

    www.rwapsoftware.co.uk
    www.sellmyretro.com
  • edited September 2014
    rwap wrote: »
    Well, I am not the seller, but you can add a keyword watch on SellMyRetro.com for QL-SD as the seller always lists them on there

    Thanks
  • edited September 2014
    Mine, one of the very first (I claim to be the first person to order a QL as I did it at the launch), of course game with an EPROM "dongle" hanging out of the back.

    I suspect they all game with forms to join QLub the Psion-run owners club.

    Simon
  • edited November 2014
    rwap wrote: »
    Well, I am not the seller, but you can add a keyword watch on SellMyRetro.com for QL-SD as the seller always lists them on there

    Got one last week and installed this weekend, nice bit of kit!
  • edited November 2014
    I had a QL back in the day (bought in the late 80s for 5 quid from a school fete). I think it may have been missing its dongle - the BASIC interpreter had terrible bugs, I did try to write a 68K assembler in SuperBASIC but the machine would actually lock up solid if you tried to write anything of more than trivial size and complexity. (It was either that or it may have had faulty RAM, unfortunately I lost the machine years ago...)

    It came with everything else though - the 4 Psion applications in a wallet. I was given a 300 baud acoustic coupler by a friend at school and wrote a simple terminal emulator for the machine and used it to connect to bulletin boards. (Slowly!)
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