What are your thoughts on the Sinclair Spectrum

[Ravenger]

I recently bought a refurbed rubber key spectrum, composite modded, and I've had a great time playing with it.
I also bought a SD card interface for instant game loading and a joystick port, and a tape emulator box for the authentic tape loading experience.

I've also got a set of almost mint manuals, and in some ways for me this is the most nostalgic part of the experience of using the hardware. Going back through the manuals, typing in examples on the 'dead flesh' keyboard using the keyword entry system. It takes me right back to those days of going round my friend's houses and typing in basic programs on their machines.

I also got a refurbed ZX81 with new ULA, composite mod and internal 32K ram, and that too has been a massive nostalgia trip.

The best thing about living through that home computing era was that every day brought new games and new hardware. You could see new genres of games being invented every day. The biggest thing holding back computer games back then were the arcades, as home computer games often tried to emulate them, with often poor results, while the best games were original and made innovative use of the hardware.

 

[jennidc]

Honestly I loved my 48k and +2 128k but I would emulate on a pc even the humble amiga emulated the spectrum well (zxam) a modern pc of the last 15 years or raspberry pi will easily run it better than og hardware. Invest in a usb competition Pro joystick and your good to go.

 

[Ravenger]

Honestly I loved my 48k and +2 128k but I would emulate on a pc even the humble amiga emulated the spectrum well (zxam) a modern pc of the last 15 years or raspberry pi will easily run it better than og hardware. Invest in a usb competition Pro joystick and your good to go.

Sorry I beg to differ. It's not remotely the same experience using an emulator. There's so many things about original retrocomputers that add to the whole experience of using them that you can't easily replicate using an emulator.

In particular the original 48k Spectrum, with the rubber keys, the dot crawl on screen, the interference noise when you use it and the original beep sounds coming from the internal speaker, even the smell of toasting electronics, all add to the experiend and nostalgia. Also PC keyboards are in a completely different layout and don't have the keywords on them.

The only recent device that has come anywhere near replicating the experience of using an original machine is TheC64 replica, which has the same form factor and keyboard layout of the original C64, though it has modern USB ports and HDMI output.
When playing games on that it feels very close to the original, but even that misses out key parts of the experience such as disk drive sounds when loading.

 

[petertr2000]

Daley Thompson's Decathlon (actually broke a joystick playing that),

Only one?

 

[petertr2000]

I’d be wary of an aged Spectrum, I say this because I remember a Christmas in the early 80’s being ruined by a non working Spectrum 48k, cue taking it back and trying nine(!) alternatives until we found one that worked!

Look out for failed capacitors, RAM chips and dry solder joints - these apply to most 80’s computers tbh but the Spectrum especially so - they didn’t have the best quality control in the production lines.

As said, use emulators to see how you like the games / experience and then decide which machine to buy in the flesh imo.

The latest of the rubber keyed variant of the Spectrum is now 35 years old, don’t be surprised to find it either fails to power up, does so but is faulty or just goes bang when you plug it in, many did when new!

My 128+2 Xmas present only - and I swear this is true - only worked if you held it upside down. (I have no idea what made my dad try this!)
Went back as soon as the shops opened!

Still have the fully boxed with receipt, completely unaltered original Sinclair 16 in the loft. Been there for 20 odd years now. Even have the Sinclair printer and boxes of the special paper for it

 

[Retro6]

I was never really a fan of the Sinclair Spectrum. Give me an Acorn computer any day. There is a good movie about Acorn and Sinclair's stuff called Micro Men. Sinclair's stuff never really had any appeal to me and all a bit cheap and nasty looking. The ZX80 was about the only one that looked OK