Yet another repro Spectrum

[Flojomojo]

http://www.specnext.com

 

How many of these does the world need, really? I don't get it. I suppose you have to be British to care.

[+eebuckeye]

They are different.. The Vega did not have a keyboard and the new portable one is just a portable. I'll be buying this even though I'm in the US.

[carlsson]

I saw something about this on Twitter. Is the project somehow related to the ZX-UNO, which was discussed here in another thread? I can see if 1+1 = 3, so to speak or if different cores have been developed.

[CatPix]

http://www.specnext.com

 

How many of these does the world need, really? I don't get it. I suppose you have to be British to care.

Well the Spectrum probably helped to boost the whole European computer industry.

UK, France, Spain, Germany... Western and Eastern Europe, everyone care about the Spectrum.

 

The ZX Spectrum is to Europe what the Atari 2600 is to the USA. Primitive, lots of limitation... But the flagship of a whole industry.

 

But the original model, and even the later ones come with the default of it's qualities.

Gum keyboard, readiness of use very limited (a barebone Spectrum come with RF, audio in and out, and... that's all) expandability come with huge costs as modules are pricey... and even the original unit cost lots today, with the average price hitting the 50E mark easily, unfortunately.

There is no surprise that there is a high demand for modern Spectrums, as the only real offers are the very expensive and quite not original Russian Pentagon computer.

Edited April 30, 2016 by CatPix

[Flojomojo]

Yeah, I understand intellectually, but not having been a part of it, I feel nothing.

 

It reminds me of how most people probably feel about Atari.

[jdgabbard]

I don't know, I got into a zx81 kick for a while. It's fun to play with different systems. Each one has something to offer. The zx81 and the Spectrum were so simple it is fun for people to recreate hardware equivalents of them. The older systems are wearing out. This is a way to keep them alive.

[JamesD]

Yeah, I understand intellectually, but not having been a part of it, I feel nothing.

 

It reminds me of how most people probably feel about Atari.

It's the same reason we love Atari 8 bits, C64s, Apples, TI-99/4As or TRS-80s.

It's what a lot of people had as kids.

There's that childhood nostalgia thing going for it.

 

I can't say I care for the Speccy command entry, the BASIC itself is a little different, and the screen color setup is far from ideal... but if you look at almost any other 8 bit they had their share of oddities.

 

My biggest complaint with this clone is that it lacks joystick ports that later Speccys had, and the keyboard is something Sinclair would have done to save money.

I'm not even sure it has an AY sound chip. Since it's probably FPGA based, you might be able to add the sound chip if it's not there. But you'd need an external joystick interface.

[Newsdee]

Reliable open-source implementations of FPGA code for the spectrum (including DivMMC and the AY sound chip) are out there for the MIST and ZXUno at least...

we'll probably see more of these clone systems as the barrier of entry to make them has been considerably lowered.

 

Watch out for the price though. If it's more than $150 you're probably better off with a MiST and it's much wider compatibility (or an emulator box).

[CatPix]

It's the same reason we love Atari 8 bits, C64s, Apples, TI-99/4As or TRS-80s.

It's what a lot of people had as kids.

There's that childhood nostalgia thing going for it.

 

I can't say I care for the Speccy command entry, the BASIC itself is a little different, and the screen color setup is far from ideal... but if you look at almost any other 8 bit they had their share of oddities.

 

My biggest complaint with this clone is that it lacks joystick ports that later Speccys had, and the keyboard is something Sinclair would have done to save money.

I'm not even sure it has an AY sound chip. Since it's probably FPGA based, you might be able to add the sound chip if it's not there. But you'd need an external joystick interface.

 

The original Spectrum doesn't have an AY chip. Add-ons and later, Amstrad Spectrums came with a build-in AY, RGB video out, and joysticks interface.

But it was a tad bit too late.

[Lost Dragon]

I'm British and the Sinclair ZX81 was my very 1st home micro and i loved it, but i never took to the ZX Spectrum.

 

Plenty of friends of mine had 1 at the time and it played host to far superior versions of:Chase HQ, R-Type, Super Hang On, Robocop, Wec Le Mans etc than those we saw on the C64 and it's faster CPU made it ideal for isometric and wireframe 3D games.....

 

I also understand it's importance to the UK industry etc, so it's understandable there is a lot of love for it.

 

However i am surprised at the sheer volume of books that seem to be appearing covering it in such depth as they feature the same key artists, coders etc telling same stories and now the amount of Retro hardware appearing based around it.

 

Still, must be a decent market for everything that's popping up i guess, it just appears in danger of being flooded to myself.

[Willsy]

I'm in. It's compatible at the hardware level. Can even accept some of the original hardware add-ons. It is faster, has more video modes and SD card storage. This will be perfect to get my children into programing and opening their minds up. Once they get a little man moving across the screen or a snake trailing around the screen they are hooked for life.

[TPA5]

 

And I immediately lose interest.

[JamesD]

 

The original Spectrum doesn't have an AY chip. Add-ons and later, Amstrad Spectrums came with a build-in AY, RGB video out, and joysticks interface.

But it was a tad bit too late.

So computers produced in the 80s were "too late" but this isn't?

 

 

I'm in. It's compatible at the hardware level. Can even accept some of the original hardware add-ons. It is faster, has more video modes and SD card storage. This will be perfect to get my children into programing and opening their minds up. Once they get a little man moving across the screen or a snake trailing around the screen they are hooked for life.

I can see the appeal but I think I'll just replace my DE1 FPGA dev board that burned up.

Then I won't be stuck with a crappy 80s keyboard.

 

 

Screen Shot 2016-05-02 at 11.31.35 AM.png

 

And I immediately lose interest.

Not even if they license the Coleco name?

 

[TPA5]

Not even if they license the Coleco name?

 

 

[jdgabbard]

Screen Shot 2016-05-02 at 11.31.35 AM.png

 

And I immediately lose interest.

Haha, it's not all bad. I funded a singleboard computer a while back. I went with a high end package. I haven't received it, but other have received theirs. Mine is scheduled to ship sometime this month. So it's not a big deal. But I have waited for right at a year.

[JamesD]

Just for the record, I think the machine looks really nice.
But typing on that keyboard? Not supporting games that take advantage of the +2 +3 dual joystick ports?
That's a bit of a no-go for me. And the HDMI via Pi has me scratching my head. I've seen HDMI cores for FPGAs.

[CrazyChris]

Looks really nice! However, I am waiting on the MEGA65.

 

http://mega65.org/

[JamesD]

Haha, it's not all bad. I funded a singleboard computer a while back. I went with a high end package. I haven't received it, but other have received theirs. Mine is scheduled to ship sometime this month. So it's not a big deal. But I have waited for right at a year.

I've supported several crowdfunding efforts. An all in one Android computer, Wasteland 2, CHIP computer, some other 64 bit android board, and a mid evil period game that's still in development.

I haven't gotten burned yet but I avoid sites besides kickstarter.

 

I'm not too worried about getting burned on this, I just don't think it's quite what I'd want for a speccy clone.

It does look like something Clive would have come up with. But that's not a compliment when it comes to the keyboard.

 

[CatPix]

So computers produced in the 80s were "too late" but this isn't?

 

Well yeah? There wasn't any "retrogaming craze" in the 80's.

The Spectrum was a nice but ageing platform, and the Amstrad Spectrum came with some compatibility issues as well.

"I'm gonna buy a Spectrum today in 1986, in case I want to play with one again in 2016" said no one ever.

 

Today people are interested in going back to the past, and more avec even interested to discover it with more than emulation.

 

Saying that this kind of projects are too late is equivalent of saying to Albert that his homebrew production is useless because it's "too late".

 

Those Spectrums aren't made like the 1982 models, with 64 Ko of RAM mounted in, but 48K only connected to avoid fiscal issues and to save by buying defective RAM chips.

They do'nt come barebone and asks you to provide your own expansions.

They have SD card loading and HDMI output. They are retrogaming-made machines, not reproductions.

[jdgabbard]

I've supported several crowdfunding efforts. An all in one Android computer, Wasteland 2, CHIP computer, some other 64 bit android board, and a mid evil period game that's still in development.

I haven't gotten burned yet but I avoid sites besides kickstarter.

 

I'm not too worried about getting burned on this, I just don't think it's quite what I'd want for a speccy clone.

It does look like something Clive would have come up with. But that's not a compliment when it comes to the keyboard.

 

Yeah, the SBC I recently funded was the CHIP. I ordered the pocketCHIP, so that's why I'm still waiting.

[Toast King]

This would appear to be a prototype of what it will be.

 

[JamesD]

 

Well yeah? There wasn't any "retrogaming craze" in the 80's.

The Spectrum was a nice but ageing platform, and the Amstrad Spectrum came with some compatibility issues as well.

"I'm gonna buy a Spectrum today in 1986, in case I want to play with one again in 2016" said no one ever.

 

Today people are interested in going back to the past, and more avec even interested to discover it with more than emulation.

 

Saying that this kind of projects are too late is equivalent of saying to Albert that his homebrew production is useless because it's "too late".

 

Those Spectrums aren't made like the 1982 models, with 64 Ko of RAM mounted in, but 48K only connected to avoid fiscal issues and to save by buying defective RAM chips.

They do'nt come barebone and asks you to provide your own expansions.

They have SD card loading and HDMI output. They are retrogaming-made machines, not reproductions.

I was implying it was ridiculous to say machines from the 80s were too late.

People were still using the speccy in the latter half of the 80s. The gaming wasn't retro, it was NEW.

The AY, 128K and dual joystick were added in 86. That's 6 years before the most popular 8 bits exited the market.

 

[carlsson]

To be honest, I don't know how many Spectrum 128 games were released, or 48K games with optional AY support so to some part it was breathing life into a fading format. I can't speak for other countries, but in Sweden the Spectrum likely was the 2nd biggest selling home computer between 1982-85, and then rapidly dropped in sales in the later years. Even Beckman who was the Sinclair agent shifted into Atari ST and other systems around then, which they likely wouldn't have done if the Speccy line still was deemed commercially successful.

 

I saw something about improvements but didn't bother to read into it. Does the Specnext support the Spectrum SE definition created a couple of years ago, with added colours etc? At least a few emulators and a handful of software has been made according to that definition, and if an improved mode should be promoted, it makes sense picking up something that already may have a following.

[JamesD]

There are plenty of games that support the AY chip now.
I don't know how many supported it back in the day.
Here is a partial list of 48K games that support the AY chip
http://zxspectrum48.i-demo.pl/48K_AY_games.html

There are also 128K only games but I didn't find a nice list like that.
Here is a thread on the top 10 128K games.
http://www.worldofspectrum.org/forums/discussion/48313/

Edited May 3, 2016 by JamesD

[JamesD]

http://www.retrogamer.net/blog_post/the-spectrum-next-is-coming/