TMAOne wrote:Congratulations ts_mike.
Thanks! I'm glad I got lucky with this one. There are some classic systems that emulate well, like the Commodore 64. The ZX81/TS1000, however, is not one of them. Despite the EXCELLENT simulation of the EOX emulator, the Sinclair's unique keyboard and hardware quirks add an "atmosphere" that is impossible to truly emulate.
Preventing the ubiquitous nemesis "RAM pack wobble" with "Stick-Tac" sounds like a great idea, if that's what that means--the stuff teachers use to hang up your kids' latest artwork? Is it called Blue-Tack now?
Yep. It's the same stuff! I got that tip from Ol' Uncle Clive himself, or actually the actor portraying him in the BBC Micro Men movie.
He mentioned the "engineering solution" in the movie to a Sinclair User reporter. Apparently, this trick was de rigueur for the British ZX-81 back then. It was even recommended on the inside of many program cassette labels. Since very little European software or periodicals ever made it to the states, the "secret" remained completely a European one. In the old days, I remember trying electrical tape with little success. I've heard that double sided foam tape also works well.
I use another solution. Every ZX81 or TS-1000 I own, I tin the pads of the interface on the motherboard. It gives them a tad more thickness, and a softer surface for the RAM pack contacts to bind to so they don't momentarily lose contact as easily. It seems to work very well. I also solder the power supply wires directly to the circuit board, and usually the SAVE and LOAD cables too. Those cheap %#+@& phone jacks are for the birds. Nothing spells frustration like typing in a brilliant program on that abysmal keyboard, and then having the power cord lose contact for the nanosecond it takes to erase it all. Grrr,...
Ian
Hmmm... that's one thing I never had a problem with... the phono jacks. Actually, I was probably one of the few people that didn't really have any problems with cassette loading or saving. I must have had a perfect tape recorder.
It was an older model--made in the late 70's. I used Radio Shack tapes for the most part. They certainly were mediocre tapes for audio, but I guess they hit the sweet spot for sinclair programs.