New ZX80 boards

Any discussions related to the creation of new hardware or software for the ZX80 or ZX81
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1024MAK
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Re: New ZX80 boards

Post by 1024MAK »

Well, PokeMon's post has certainly generated plenty of interest...

Question is, are we going to have a joint venture between Lee Hart and PokeMon or are we going to have the two competing against one another? :?:

Which "modern" ZX80 board will be best? :?:
Do I buy some of each? :?:

Does anyone have a time machine I could have so that I can build and play with them all? :?:

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sirmorris
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Re: New ZX80 boards

Post by sirmorris »

I don't think it's healthy to pitch this as competition - however casually ;)

Bring 'em all on!
Lee Hart
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Joined: Fri Mar 19, 2010 11:00 pm

Re: New ZX80 boards

Post by Lee Hart »

sirmorris wrote:I don't think it's healthy to pitch this as competition - however casually ;)
I agree. It would be silly of us to make the same board. It would add nothing to the community, and there would be no advantage to buying one or the other. Sales of each board would be cut in half, meaning that both of us face higher costs to get boards made (which means a higher cost to buyers as well).

My hope is that we can collaborate. Add features, fix problems, improve the design. Share the work so we all end up with a better result. I don't know about PokeMon, but *TIME* is my biggest problem. Cooperating lets us get more done.

If people want one board that is as much like the original ZX80 as possible, then I would suggest we all get behind making just one board. I can help PokeMon with his, or he with mine (whichever people want the most).

Or if people want two distinctly different boards, then I suggest we figure out what features each one should have to make them the most useful.
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PokeMon
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Re: New ZX80 boards

Post by PokeMon »

Well, I am not planning to develop a new board, I already finished development and asked here for possible interests.
This is not really a community project with democratic decisions, where I ask people what they want and need and let them do a voting or something.
I just do the board as described for myself and some people discussed before.
Anyway this will go in production with pre-production prototype in next week.
From that on I won't do any design changes at all. ;)
Lee Hart
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Joined: Fri Mar 19, 2010 11:00 pm

Re: New ZX80 boards

Post by Lee Hart »

PokeMon wrote:Well, I am not planning to develop a new board, I already finished development...
This is not really a community project with democratic decisions... I just do the board as described for myself...
this will go in production... I won't do any design changes at all. ;)
Thanks PokeMon; I understand your position. It is finished, just the way you like it, so there won't be any changes. It should be perfect for people who want an exact copy of the ZX80.

I am at an earlier phase with my ZX80 legacy design, so it is still open for changes. I am trying to make a functional replacement, but not an exact copy. I want to keep the same size and basic design; but improve the ZX80 with more memory, expandability, better quality, and cheaper and easier to build. But I am a novice compared to many on this forum. I am hoping they can guide me and suggest improvements. I think the end result will be better if it is a combination of the best ideas from *many* people, and not just the work of one!
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