Help on Identifying Hardware.

Discussions about Sinclair ZX80 and ZX81 Hardware
ginger_colin
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Joined: Mon Jul 31, 2017 5:25 pm

Help on Identifying Hardware.

Post by ginger_colin »

I have aquired some ZX-81's and Hardware that I know nothing about.
I have the following that I am unsure of what they are and the web is limited as I cannot find many mentions of them.
Any help or advice on the following from you experts would be most welcome.

1 : William Stuart Systems MK 3 Synthesiser Expansion Board
2 : ZX81 High Resolution Graphics G007 Expansion Board
3 : 2 x Maplin GA90X Expansion Boards for the ZX-81
4: 2 x Maplin Voice Expansion Boards with Speaker Plug attached to them. 1 is the Maplin ZX81 Voice GB18U

Also 3 x 16k Expansion, 2 x ZX-81 regular and one ZX 81 housed in the DKtronics Case, the one with the numeric keypad also in the large case.

I have powered up the ZX-81s to the flashin K in the lower left corner, not done anything else with them or the boards.

The reason is, I purchased them in a bulk lot, I do not now very much about Sinclair hardware.
sirmorris
Posts: 2811
Joined: Thu May 08, 2008 5:45 pm

Re: Help on Identifying Hardware.

Post by sirmorris »

That is a good haul, someone was obviously a real enthusiast back in the day :D I expect you will get an honest appraisal of the rarity (or otherwise) of your items and a feel for the price they might bring from the people here. Photos would be most welcome. They would allow people to have a better idea about the condition of the items.

If anyone on the forum was interested in any of the boards do you think you might offer it here first? For a fair price naturally! I know of some forums where people just drop by to get an idea about their booty and then go and flog it on eBay without a second thought :cry:
ginger_colin
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Jul 31, 2017 5:25 pm

Re: Help on Identifying Hardware.

Post by ginger_colin »

Thank you for the prompt reply.

I have listed them on ebay as a 7 day auction that gives me the flexibility to pull them and also promote the items , however I always take the same approach that I do with my main selling brand of the "it that should not be mentioned brand of 64k computer".. :D . If any of the collectors come with information rarity and a guide fair price I will always sell to the collectors market. I have 100's of repeat and loyal customers throughout the world with my other brand. I will take the same approach and ask your advice on them.

One of the reasons to come to the specialist board is to get the advice and also to see if anyone is interested in the items. I would rather sell an item to someone who knows what it is, is going to use it and will be happy to pay a fair market price.

I do this and ask for advice as some of my items in the past have been snapped up by sinclair dealers and sold on to the end users for a huge profit.

I hope you can see that I am being upfront and open and I am looking for advice on the items with a view to selling them as they came in a large collection of other items.

I hope I have not broken any posting rules. Thanks again.
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mrtinb
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Re: Help on Identifying Hardware.

Post by mrtinb »

Martin
https://zx.rtin.be
ZX81, Lambda 8300, Commodore 64, Mac G4 Cube
sirmorris
Posts: 2811
Joined: Thu May 08, 2008 5:45 pm

Re: Help on Identifying Hardware.

Post by sirmorris »

Nice kit! The 'mk2' voice card is not, though. It's a sound card using a SN76489.
ginger_colin
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Jul 31, 2017 5:25 pm

Re: Help on Identifying Hardware.

Post by ginger_colin »

Thanks you sirmorris for the information.
You will probably all notice i not a zx-81 man sorry.

I will update.
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gammaray
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Location: Texas

Re: Help on Identifying Hardware.

Post by gammaray »

I am interested in the DKtronics keyboard and main-board. Did not see them listed...
5-TS1000,UK ZX81<-Sheelagh, US ZX81, 2-TS1500/KDLX , 3-TS2040 printer, 2-TS2020 cassette decks, ZXPAND+AY, ZeddyNET, ZXBlast, UDG, ZX8CCB, AERCO, BUILDS/REPAIRS ZX Spectrum, ZX80 Minstrel, ZXMAX48 v1 v2, 2-TS-2068, ROM, 16kRAM
sirmorris
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Joined: Thu May 08, 2008 5:45 pm

Re: Help on Identifying Hardware.

Post by sirmorris »

ginger_colin wrote: Mon Jul 31, 2017 10:15 pm Thanks you sirmorris for the information.
You will probably all notice i not a zx-81 man sorry.

I will update.
I hope it helps. That's a really nice haul - all from one person? I wonder if they were associated with Maplin.
ginger_colin
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Jul 31, 2017 5:25 pm

Re: Help on Identifying Hardware.

Post by ginger_colin »

Yes all from one previous owner. Along with a boxed 128K toastrack.
Also some other brands in the collection.
It was a total clearout of everything they wanted and it all had to go no splits so hence ended up with me.
Thank you to everyone who as pointed things out or guided me in the direction for information, I am amazed at how much interest there as been in the dktonics housing the zx-81.
I have been testing them :D :D :D :D , thats what I have been telling my wife, she was amazed to see one of the little ZX81's working. She though they were desk calculators from a distance at first.
I only owned a ZX-81 for around 4 weeks in the 80's and I am amazed how these units have lasted so well, along with the fact that some of them were home built and some factory built.

I will be going through the software collection I have and see if any ZX81 games are in it, I will then put any that are up in this forum only for users to have a look.

Thanks again all.
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1024MAK
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Re: Help on Identifying Hardware.

Post by 1024MAK »

I've got two Maplin GA90X Expansion Boards. I thought I posted about it, but can't find anything at the moment :oops:

I also have the Maplin extension board. That's what my GA90X plugs into (it having a "male card edge" rather than it's own female socket).

Maybe a picture will demonstrate what I mean more clearly...
IMG_5061.JPG
Maplin ZX81 cards
(984.02 KiB) Downloaded 399 times
Note that the GA90X Expansion Board can be configured for one of two address ranges at the time of construction, hence why I can have both working in the same system without problems (as each of mine uses a different address range).

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