Timex/Sinclair 1000 or Sinclair ZX-81.
I think Stewart at Zebra Systems still has the "Ins
and Outs of the ZX-81" book at
http://www.zebrasystems.com
When I worked for him, he took a trip in the late 80's
to visit the Timex factory in Portugal, and brought
back lots of pictures.
One picture was of a big-iron computer that you could
plug a defective ZX-81/TS-1000/TS-1500/etc.. into, and
it could buzz out the logic board through the bus
connector and tell you what was wrong with the board,
so a determination could be easily made as to whether
or not the board could be re-worked or not.
I thought that was incredible!
Wish you guys had one of those....
Stewart also still has ZX-81 kits for anyone who wants
to build one themselves. I think he sells them for
about $50.00US.
I built one in a little over an hour in 1988, and
surprisingly... Worked the first time, with no
problems I could determine. I still have it in my
collection, and it's still working nicely.
I think if I spot a Jupiter Ace on eBay, I'd like to
get one. Just for play.
Still got my eye out for a ZX-80. When they came out,
I remember going to the Trenton Computer Festival, and
having to decide between getting a ZX-80 or a Disk
Drive for my TRS-80 Model I (1981 I think...).
I bought the disk drive, which didn't work. I wish I'd
have bought the ZX-80.
Regards,
Al
Received on Sun Feb 27 2005 - 13:35:59 GMT