Zx81
I've been playing Bob's virus, which is really, really bloody good. I've never been into the zeddy but after playing it i fancy a mess around on one.
What the main resource for the zeddy? Is there a Wos equivalent? A sort of one stop shop for stuff. I can see loads of sites but which one is the 'official' sort of home page?
cheers
What the main resource for the zeddy? Is there a Wos equivalent? A sort of one stop shop for stuff. I can see loads of sites but which one is the 'official' sort of home page?
cheers
Post edited by BiNMaN on
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ZX81 forums (based in the U.K.
http://www.rwapservices.co.uk/ZX80_ZX81/forums
The above forums were started after I and a few other ZX81 users asked for someone to start a forum to replace the (now gone) TS1000.us website. Rich Mellor was kind enough to start it, and the activity has been increasing ever since. There's always a hardware or software project going on!
Simon's ZX81 website:
http://www.zx81stuff.org.uk/
The above site has a very nice collection of software available for download.
German ZX81 forum
http://forum.tlienhard.com/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=2
The above site is fine for germans :razz: or anyone who doesn't mind Google Translate or instant translation via Google Chrome.
Sinclair newsgroup (I visit it via Google Groups (because I can't get used to newsreaders!)
http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sys.sinclair/topics?gvc=2&pli=1
Although it's not strictly a ZX81-only place, it's good enough to talk about the ZX81 or any other Sinclair computer.
There is a French website solely dedicated to the ZX81. It's very complete but I find it confusing to navigate.
There's a small Spanish page dedicated to the ZX81 but can't find the link right now.
And then you have the ZX81 section right here in the WOS Ftp, and a similar (same?) section at the old NVG ftp.
That's all I can remember for now. :)
seeing Bob's new virus game really opened my eyes to me missing out on a great little machine I wish I'd had one 'back in the day'
better save some pennies
If you do get a ZX81, the likelihood is that you'll need a new keyboard, again the RWAP site has them at ?10. They are more durable that the originals (not that the original keyboard didn't late, surprisingly it did), but it'll take you a while to get used to the touch-sensitive keyboard for sure.
Also, you'll need an old (pre-1995 at a guess) TV to use as new tellies don't pick up the signal from the ZX81 very well - unless you want to convert it to use SCART, which there are DIY solutions available. Again, this is another cost.
Finally, you'll need a working RAM Pack. Don't be fooled in thinking it's not working though, as there are some quirks. For instance, my official Sinclair RAM Pack doesn't like my Sinclair PSU that's rated at 1.2Amp, but works fine with the other Sinclair PSU at 0.7Amp??? But I have a Memotech RAM Pack which works with either. Fortunately I have 2 ZX81s, so it's no loss.
Finally, get yourself some double-sided sticky pads to keep the RAM Pack in place, and make sure that you have all four rubber feet on the bottom of the ZX81. The latter is available again from RWAP at (I think) a couple of quid.
The good news is that I've played Virus on both of my ZX81s (one has a plastic keyboard overlay to make it more tactile), and it plays great. It's a bit easier with anything close to a real keyboard (ie, emulation, keyboard overlay etc...) but you can get used to it. Alas, ZX81-compatible joystick interfaces don't come up very often. As a note, I've purchased two RWAP ZX81 keyboards, and they're really great.
All of this has got me thinking: is it worth doing a series on 'things to overcome when using your old computer again...' series in Micro Mart? Getting a good picture from modern TVs doesn't just afflict Sinclair machines, and of course nostalgia leads to frustration [at least when trying to use the real hardware] unless you have some good advice to start with.
Regards,
Shaun.
PS, here is a BASIC entry that'll tell you if your RAM Pack is working: