NTSC Spectrums?
Being in the U.S., I missed the whole ZX Spectrum thing in Europe in the 80's. I've never seen an actual ZX Spectrum. I know that in the states there was the "Timex Sinclair 1000" and the "Timex Sinclair 2068", the latter being akin to the later Spectrum 128, but with some extra graphics modes and, I think, less compatibility with the ZX line.
Is there such thing as a NTSC ZX Spectrum that I could run here in the states?
Thanks.
There's always emulation...but it's nice to have the real hardware.
blakespot
[ This Message was edited by: blakespot on 2004-11-05 18:47 ]
Is there such thing as a NTSC ZX Spectrum that I could run here in the states?
Thanks.
There's always emulation...but it's nice to have the real hardware.
blakespot
[ This Message was edited by: blakespot on 2004-11-05 18:47 ]
Post edited by blakespot on
Comments
Ill see if I can dig up a link for you.
I know the TS2068 was marketed here, and it is an NTSC machine. But it requires an "emulation cartridge" that Timex put out to achieve "near 100% compatibility" with ZX apps. Not sure just how solid it is. Or how elusive that cartridge is. I see none on eBay right now. Hmmm.
The ZX Spectrum seems like an impressive machine. I spent that era on TI-99/4A and Apple //c - but the Spectrum sounds like it might have been more fun. I have a number of old machines and would love to add a Spectrum to the lot. Perhaps I will have to make do with emualtion... :(
blakespot
Your best bet if you're serious is to buy a Speccy from Europe and have it shipped over (minus the power supply to save weight). Next get yourself an AC adaptor or compatible power supply (the Sega Genesis power supply is an almost perfect match for the 48k, 128k and grey 128k+2.)
Then all you need is either a multisystem TV or a multisystem video recorder and you're all set.
And once I actually have some money I swear I really am going to buy a multisystem TV. :D
[ This Message was edited by: Malcolm Hope on 2004-11-05 22:59 ]
The cases for the TS-2000 with speaker holes were recycled for the TS-1500 - a ZX81 with 16K RAM on board but no speaker.
My problem is the opposite as I have just acquired a USA TS-1500 (mint) and a Canadian
TS-1000 (brand new). The French/English box is printed by Timex Markham, Ontario. The machine is supposed to be made in Portugal but it says "Made in France" on the back.
Apparently, modern European TVs can display a 60 HZ TV picture and using the video socket output an NTSC picture in B/W.
My question is does the TS-1000 display cyan/black or white/black. The Mess emulator uses cyan/black which leads me to believe that some models do. I will never find out about the French-made model on a UK TV.
Would a Genesis PS work fine for this unit too? Just plug in and go? If not what about a US-Euro voltage converter box?
Thanks.
blakespot
In fact I remember reading somwhere that these machines were sold with a fake FCC certificate cos Sinclair could'nt be arsed to get one.
Anyway I think your best bet would be with a pal machine and either a ntsc/pal converter or wiring it up to your amiga monitor, cos these are very easy to find. Someone else'll have to tell you about the RGB stuff, cos I dont really know. As for the power supply, if you want to use the original psu you'll need a converter obviously, but a replacent psu with the correct jack and rating (9v 500mA I think) will work fine. For a long time I used an Atari Jaguar PSU on my 48K speccy.
As for the compatability of the 128K models, it's a bit complex, but basicly the 128+ (the model on the front page) and the grey +2 are near 100% backward compatible with the 16/48k machines, you'll struggle to find 16/38k software that wont run on these machines. The later versions (the black +2a and the +3) are less compatible with some older software refusing to run cos of hardware differences, but even so the compatability is high.
It's good to hear from a new Spectrum convert, there aren't many Americans into the speccy, there's a few USA residents on these boards, but most of them discovered the Spectrum whilst in Europe I think.
If you don't mind me asking, what drew you to the Spectrum? I suppose if you spend enough time on the emulation scene you're bound to come accross it, with such a large web presence coming from this side of the Atlantic. There are games on the system that are unlike any you'll find on any other platform.
I use a multisystem tv but recently just got a tv tuner card for my pc.
The nice thing about it it has support for worldwide formats (NTSC, Pal...)
Has Composite, S-video, coax inputs.
I have yet to try it with the speccy but seems like it would work like a dream. And only cost $30.00
Basically, set it up for PAL system and tune in the speccy :)
You can also record, playback, pause real time tv burn to dvd and burn old VHS or beta movies etc...
t
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TsPage
[ This Message was edited by: thomas3120 on 2004-11-06 02:16 ]
My Arcade Cabinetl
Thanks for the info - Seems I might do best finding a 128+ or grey +2 and finding a proper rated USA PSU.
I had seen reference to Spectrum games, etc. over the years. I always knew it was around but did not know the progression of the line, etc. What got me much better versed is having found "Retro Gamer" magazine a few months ago. I now subscribe and have all but 2 issues. It's highly Spectrum-centric above the other platforms. Heh, then I found the "Hey Hey 16K" song/video that got me more interested. Seems the machine had interesting capabilities. I would like to see it run, but know that emulation does not fit the bill, for me anyway.
Check the past 5-10 articlecs on my site ByteCellar to see my recent Spectrum musings.
So the Spectrum was heavily tape-based. I understand there is a PC app that will feed a simulated tape from .TAP files to the Spectrum via audio card, yes? Is this how most real-hardware Spec users go?
Thanks.
blakespot
Probably - but TZX files are preferred since they are a more accurate tape format.
Many emulators will do this - Spin and Spectaculator in particular.
blakespot
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If you are wondering how well the emulators emulate the machine, well I would say the Speccy emulation authors have come very close indeed to emulating the machine perfectly. They are also very easy to use so you could have a Speccy game up and running in no time at all and see it in action as it would appear on a real speccy (very very close anyway).
As for which emulators, I would recommend Spectaculator, Spin, Emuzwin for Windows machines. Fuse is available on non-Windows machines. And RealSpectrum (even though a Windows version is available) is the perfect emulator for DOS.
Of course, if you do manage to get your hands on a Speccy nothing like it! You may even get a taste of the chuntey effect! Blimey! :)
Bytes:Chuntey - Spectrum tech blog.
I do have a P3 733 PC running '98SE, but my primary machine is my dual G5 2.5 Mac. I have "zxsp" for the Mac to emulate a ZX Spectrum. I downloaded a couple of .TAP files and can't get them to load though. Hmmm.
Any sense of what the most solid emulator for OS X is? Tnx.
blakespot
ftp://ftp.worldofspectrum.org/pub/sinclair/emulators/mac/osx/Fuse-0.7.0.1.dmg
But ur 98SE machine is quite capable of running the emulators I mentioned. And the don't take very long to download and run either, so maybe if nothing else works you could try that as an option. Good luck!
Bytes:Chuntey - Spectrum tech blog.
Just to confirm that Sinclair Research export some NTSC Speccys to America. I have 2 of them here in Chile, where, i think, you can still find one with a lot of lucky and patience for about US$50.
Don't forget the fine latinamerican NTSC speccy clones, the Timex Computer 2048 and the Microdigital TK90 (never have in my hand the argentinian clone), both with standard joystick port (kempston) and sound via TV.
Finally, its important to mention that the original PSU of this machines was for 220V electric net.