Hello from London UK

twoangrybears · Post by **twoangrybears** » Thu Jul 25, 2019 8:03 pm

Hi everyone

Just a quick post to introduce myself and say hello.

The ZX81 was my first ever computer and I have never forgotten the sense of wonder I felt at playing Adventure Tape 1.

I soon moved on to the ZX Spectrum - and Level 9 adventures - then the Amstrad PCW where I finally got a chance to play Infocom adventures. (As you can tell, I loved what is now called Interactive Fiction more than anything else.) Then I took a different path in life and more of less ignored computers for a decade or more.

I've recently become interested in electronics and digital logic and this has revived my interest in the ZX81 as a machine simple enough that I might with some hard work potentially be able to understand from a low level up.

I have picked up a few untested and broken ZX81s on eBay over the last year and hope to open them up and see if I can get them working and then explore the amazing world of upgrades and enhancements this wonderful community of enthusiasts has developed in the years since I first touched that little keyboard. I have very little time and a lot to learn so my progress will be slow but I'm very excited by the prospect. Thank you to all of you for keeping the flame burning for these machines. I've spent a lot of time reading posts on the forum already and I'm thrilled to be here.

Lardo Boffin · Post by **Lardo Boffin** » Thu Jul 25, 2019 9:31 pm

Welcome on board! The zeddie is a great little computer.

McKlaud · Post by **McKlaud** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 6:43 am

HI,

It is good that you joined us.

Moggy · Post by **Moggy** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 3:09 pm

Welcome from me too.

There is a great deal of knowledge within these forums and some equally knowledgeable folk who will be more than happy to help you with any questions you may ask.

PS
If you need another ZX81 seek out Lardo Boffin he has about 10,000 of them in a big shed at the bottom of his garden!!

(sorry Lardo couldn't resist)

Lardo Boffin · Post by **Lardo Boffin** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 3:18 pm

Moggy wrote: ↑Fri Jul 26, 2019 3:09 pm
PS
If you need another ZX81 seek out Lardo Boffin he has about 10,000 of them in a big shed at the bottom of his garden!! (sorry Lardo couldn't resist)

Thats a slander - there are no more than 9000!

And I certainly don’t have another one arriving on Monday next week.

RetroTechie · Post by **RetroTechie** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 4:33 pm

Surely closer to 10k than 9k by the time people read this.

A very f***ing &@0!$% bloody hot welcome from the NL, twoangrybears! (heatwave here and all...)

twoangrybears wrote:I've recently become interested in electronics and digital logic and this has revived my interest in the ZX81 as a machine simple enough that I might with some hard work potentially be able to understand from a low level up.

Yes for the ZX81 that's certainly possible. Should take no more than a few weeks of your spare time. Or months if you really get into it.

The excellent ZX81 video tutorial should be a good start (tip: diagrams in it are better viewed in a monospaced font). Or check out my very own ULA-in-a-CPLD project which takes most of the black out of our 'beloved' (?) black box known as ULA.

You'll quickly find that the parts to be careful with are ULA, outer case, and (perhaps) circuit board itself. Everything else is expendable / easy to repair / mod / find replacements for. Also if you have multiple ZX81's, all you need is one working & you can swap IC's to make repairs of a 2nd, 3rd etc much easier. So you might want to invest in a solder pump, wick, and some IC sockets. (if you ever collect a # of ZX81's and at some point decide to thin your collection, it's a good idea to keep 2 or 3 working ones for that reason. And they don't take much space

).

twoangrybears · Post by **twoangrybears** » Sun Jul 28, 2019 1:13 pm

Thank you all for the very warm welcome!

RetroTechie thank you for the advice and links: my spare time is in very short supply so I'll multiply your estimates accordingly but I'm sure the information you've shared will speed things up

Hope things are cooling down in NL.

1024MAK · Post by **1024MAK** » Mon Oct 28, 2019 3:09 pm

Hello and welcome to our forum twoangrybears!

I hope you enjoy the forum

We are happy to help if you have any questions.

Mark

twoangrybears · Post by **twoangrybears** » Mon Oct 28, 2019 3:50 pm

Thanks for the welcome Mark.

I have not had a moment free since my last post and am unlikely to do so in the next couple of months. Hoping for a few hours over Christmas to continue to explore the ZX81 and this forum.

If only getting hold of a computer from childhood gave you as much time as you used to have when you first owned one...!

Happy New Year everyone (in case I don't get a chance to post before then)

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