Clock Posted August 16, 2003 Share Posted August 16, 2003 We were starting to sort out the loft in our house the other day which is quite a museum for old computers and we found a gem...... A boxed un-built Sinclair ZX-80 We knew it was up there and I am now curious about if it would work still if I built it. Or should I leave it in component form which will of course be worth more money. I would imagine these are quite valuable now. But alas I never got to use one, in fact I'm not even sure what can be done with them. The ZX-81 was quite impressive for 1k. Has anyone ever used one of these? and do you still have/use one? How much is it worth? Should I build it? What do you guys think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic George 2K3 Posted August 16, 2003 Share Posted August 16, 2003 Haven't used a Sinclair ZX80 (only a Timex/Sinclair 1000 -- the American version of the Sinclair ZX81 -- with its built-in 2K memory and a 16K expansion pack), but according to one of Tim Hartnell's books on the Sinclair ZX81, the ZX80 doesn't do a very stable graphics display and it also doesn't have some of the commands of the Sinclair ZX81's BASIC (like INKEY$ for detecting real-time input instead of just using INPUT). All I can say is that it depends on whether you really want to use a ZX80 or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayhem Posted August 16, 2003 Share Posted August 16, 2003 White case I presume? I would definitely be interested in acquiring it if you should want to part with it And yes, it's worth more than £10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveW Posted August 17, 2003 Share Posted August 17, 2003 There's a kid I work with who doesn't believe that there was a time when you REALLY built a computer. I remember ads for the build-it-yourself ZX-80, before Timex started distributing Sinclair computers in America. You could get a real computer for under $100! But the phrase 'Some assembly required' doesn't begin to cover it.... I'm not sure I have the nerve or skill to do something like that nowadays. My soldering skills are lousy at best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clock Posted August 19, 2003 Author Share Posted August 19, 2003 It is indeed a white case and I think it cost us £150 at the time. But we got a ZX-81 soon afterwards so it never got built. ZX-81's in the UK only have 1k of ram....FEEL THE POWER. I used to have a chess program that worked in 1K!!! that always impressed me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spirantho Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 If you want to swap it for a fully working (and fully built!) ZX80 then let me know! I have one spare.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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