Do you know what the first mass-produced personal computer was? How did the era of personal computers begin? Some may even remember their very first computer, which was a ZX Spectrum. It is he who is the progenitor of all modern computers. ZX Spectrum lasted on the market for more than 10 years, which is considered a great achievement in the computer world. Spectrum's life was eventful, with many interesting facts, myths and misconceptions.
To begin with, let's meet the man who is considered the creator of the ZX Spectrum. His name is Clive Marles Sinclair.
Clive Marles Sinclair was born in Surrey, near Richmond, on July 30, 1940. His father and grandfather were engineers. Clive himself followed in the same footsteps. Already in 1962, Sinclair created Sinclair Radionics, producing kits of parts for assembling radios and sound amplifiers. The company's reputation as a pioneer in consumer electronics is rapidly growing.
Since 1972, the company has been producing electronic watches, portable televisions and tools. In July 1979, Clive Sinclair resigns from Sinclair Radionics and establishes a new company, Sinclair Research Ltd. This is where the story of our ZX Spectrum begins.
The first Sinclair ZX80 product was produced in February 1980, it was the world's first computer priced under £100. Its dimensions were 218 × 170 × 50mm and it weighed 340 grams. The ZX 80 could not be called very successful, however, it began to sell quite well.
In 1981, the logical release of a new version followed - Sinclair ZX81. It was much cheaper than its predecessor and cost £69. Within two years, more than a million ZX81s were produced and Sinclair earned more than £400 million. After selling 10% of the company and giving 5% to his employees, he retained 85% of the shares, giving him the ability to make ambitious and unprofessional decisions.
ZX Spectrum 48
Riding the wave of success, Sinclair Research releases its most popular computer. This happens in 1982. "ZX Spectrum 48" had 16 KB of ROM, into which a dialect of the BASIC language, the so-called Sinclair BASIC, was flashed. This same ROM program provided basic I/O and user interface.
There were huge problems with the release of the ZX Spectrum. Sinclair's company received a huge number of orders, up to 40 thousand. The real possibility was to produce only 5000 ZX Spectrum per month. Sinclair constantly lied in interviews, announced the release of MicroDrive, which was supposed to add additional kilobytes to the Spectrum model with 16 kilobytes of RAM. The factories could not cope with the huge number of orders, huge queues appeared: 40,000 people waited from 4 to 5 months for their ZX Spectrum, and Sinclair periodically spoke publicly, assuring that the situation had been corrected and the problems were behind them.
Soon the truth emerged. Sinclair's reputation was badly damaged. Contrary to popular belief, Sinclair himself understood practically nothing about computer architecture, but he took part in the development of the keyboard for the ZX Spectrum. The result was a terrible and uncomfortable rubber keyboard, which everyone soon abandoned. An additional keyboard could be purchased for £40.
Despite the failures with the ZX Spectrum, Clive Sinclair remains an extremely popular figure in the UK. Mainly due to the prevalence of the ZX81, sales of which account for 40% of all computers sold in England. The company was forced to release a new version of Spectrum in order not to lose user confidence in this platform. Since June 1984, developers have been preparing the ZX Spectrum+, which was released in October of the same year.
It was a Spectrum with 48 KB of memory, an updated case and keyboard; a reset button appeared on the case. Quite quickly, the new model began to sell twice as much as the previous one; however, some sellers talked about a high percentage of breakdowns. On top of that, the ZX Spectrum+ came with the same terrible keyboard.
Investronica helped adapt the ZX Spectrum+ to the Spanish market after the Spanish government imposed a special tax on all computers with 64 KB or lower memory that did not support the Spanish language.
The new model contained 128 KB of RAM, three-channel audio via the AY-3-8912, MIDI compatibility, an RS-232 port, RGB monitor output, and 32 KB of ROM with an improved BASIC editor.
The car was first introduced and put on sale in September 1985 in Spain. In the UK, due to large numbers of unsold Spectrum+, sales were delayed until February 1986; the starting price was set at £179.95.
The Z80 processor has a 16-bit address bus, which means it can only directly address 64 KB of memory. To access the additional 80 KB of RAM, a memory bank switching technique was used, so the RAM was available in the form of eight pages plugged into the top of the address space. Switching between the new 16 KB ROM and the original 16 KB ROM at the bottom of the address space was performed in a similar manner.
To use the new sound capabilities in “Sinclair BASIC”, a PLAY instruction has appeared, to switch to the “Spectrum 48K” mode - SPECTRUM. The new instructions took the place of two existing "user-defined symbols", which caused compatibility problems with some older BASIC programs.
The release of the ZX Spectrum128 marks the end of the Sinclair Research story. It ends quite unexpectedly. In '82 and '83, Clive Sinclair's company made profits of £13.5 million, although he owned 85% of the company's shares. However, in the years 83-85, the ambitious Sir, confident in his genius, sponsored various projects such as an electric car, a flat-screen TV and a new computer model (Sinclair QL).
He entrusted the construction of the car to a company that specialized in assembling washing machines. Nobody bought cars. Nothing worked with the flat-screen TV either. The new computer lagged behind its competitors in quality, power and price. In 1985, to avoid bankruptcy, Clive managed to persuade the Dixons brand to enter into a deal with him for £10 million.
Around the same time, his wife left him. Reason: a banal betrayal that had been going on for several months. Apparently, it was here that Sinclair felt that it was time to leave the computer business. There is an opinion that Sinclair went bankrupt, but in fact this is not the case. Sinclair managed to leave quite gracefully and profitably. In 1986, the situation is improving and it seems that the company is about to get back on its feet. However, on April 7th, Sir Clive Sinclair unexpectedly left the computer industry. When the company is sold, Clive receives £5 million in cash.
All rights to Spectrum computers have been transferred to Amstrad, which successfully continues to develop the Spectrum line. Finally, a new comfortable keyboard was created, which replaced the mutant from Sinclair. Amstrad has released the ZX Spectrum +2. The machine had a gray body with a spring-loaded keyboard, two joystick ports, and a built-in cassette recorder called a "Datacorder" (as in the Amstrad CPC 464), but otherwise the machine was completely identical to the ZX Spectrum 128.
The production price was reduced, bringing retail prices down to £139-£149. The new keyboard did not have BASIC keyword labels, with the exception of LOAD, CODE and RUN, which were needed to run programs, but this was not a big problem since the +2 had a menu system similar to the menu in the ZX Spectrum 128 , where you could switch between the old BASIC 48K and BASIC 128K with a set of keywords letter by letter.
ZX Spectrum +3
The ZX Spectrum +3 looked similar to the +2 model, but contained a 3-inch floppy disk drive instead of a tape recorder. The body was black. The model was released in 1987 with an initial price of £249, which later dropped to £199.
It was the first Spectrum capable of running the CP/M operating system without additional hardware. In “+3” 2 more 16 KB ROMs appeared, in the form of one 32 KB chip. Half of this volume was occupied by the second part of the reorganized 128 ROM, the second half by the disk operating system +3DOS, which was essentially a modified version of AMSDOS.
To make it possible to use other operating systems, the memory bank switching mechanism was changed so that RAM could be mapped to the entire 64 KB of address space. These drastic changes resulted in a number of incompatibilities, with some 48K games and a few 128K games no longer working on the new machine.
The ZX Spectrum +3 was the last official Spectrum model to go into production; production of the model continued until December 1990. Although Spectrum sales accounted for a third of all home computer sales at the time, Amstrad discontinued production in an attempt to convert consumers to the CPC line.
In 1987, the ZX Spectrum +2A was released. It was made to make the line of cars more homogeneous. The body still had the inscription “ZX Spectrum +2”, but the body color returned to black, like the first models.
The +2A was based on the +3, with a 4.1 ROM model and a motherboard that had a significantly reduced number of chips - most of them were integrated into an ASIC chip.
The disc drive and equipment for it from the “+3” model were replaced with a cassette drive, as in the original “+2”. Amstrad originally planned to introduce a disk interface, but this never materialized. As with the ZX Spectrum +3, some 48K games and a few 128K games were not compatible with this model.
Devices for ZX Spectrum computers
The ZX Printer is a printing device developed by Sinclair Research Ltd for use with the Sinclair ZX81 and ZX Spectrum computers, and released in November 1981. In the USA, the device was produced by Timex Corporation under the name TS 2040 Personal Printer, in Portugal - under the name Timex Printer.
The ZX Microdrive is a high-speed storage device released in 1983 by Sinclair Research for the ZX Spectrum computer. Also used for Sinclair QL and One Per Desk computers.
The device is a replaceable cartridge with a looped, “endless” magnetic tape. When working with this device, you get the impression that you are working with a disk drive. Up to eight microdrives can be connected simultaneously. The capacity of one microdrive is approximately 100 Kilobytes.
Kempston Interface
Kempston Interface is an external device for the ZX Spectrum computer, developed by Kempston Micro Electronics and released in 1983 - an interface for connecting a joystick. The interface connected to the ZX Spectrum system connector and allowed the use of Atari-compatible joysticks with a DE-9 connector, which had become the de facto standard. The device retailed for £15.00.
The Times of Knightly Fun by Sir Sinclair
What did Clive Sinclair do after leaving business? 5 million was more than enough for him to lead a wild life. The end of the 90s for Sir Sinclair can be called the Time of Knightly Fun. He was repeatedly (about 10 times) found in the company of young actresses, models and strippers aged 20-22. However, all relationships ended very quickly, there was no talk of any love.
In 2004, Sinclair distinguished himself by inventing the bicycle. He shows the world his own folding bicycle, A-bike. The uniqueness of the bike is that it folds easily and fits into a backpack. It is worth noting that this invention did not bring any dividends.
This was the beginning and end of the invention stories of the legendary Clive Sinclair. Sinclair has been into poker lately. His games were shown on TV a couple of times and his winnings amounted to £25,000.
In conclusion, here are the main myths and misconceptions regarding Clive Sinclair and the ZX Spectrum:
– Sinclair did not invent Spectrum; he had little understanding of PC architecture at all.
- a wild fallacy, Sinclair made millions from Spectrum.
- another misconception, there were more advanced IBM computers, but they were much more expensive.
– every two years an improved modification of the Spectrum was released.
– Sinclair didn’t go bankrupt, he sold Sinclair Research for 5 million and left the business.
Today, when everyone has a phone in their pocket, whose capabilities are not much inferior to a computer, it is difficult to imagine that in the 80s, a computer was an 8-bit system with 48 kilobytes of RAM and a 3.5-MHz processor. To work with it, you needed a TV, but the picture resolution was ridiculous by today’s standards, even for phones, 256x192 pixels. However, these were very exciting games, where the lack of spectacular graphics was more than compensated for by the imagination of the players. Game file sizes ranged from 6 to 40 kilobytes, and programmers had to literally save every byte. We invite everyone who remembers those times to return to them for a minute and pay tribute to the games of that era, already gone forever.
Games were then distributed using tape cassettes; there were simply no legal ways to buy a game in the USSR. To work with a computer, you needed a TV and a cassette recorder. Of course, there were only a few branded ZX Spectrum computers in the country, and only those who had the opportunity to buy them abroad. Everyone else bought (or assembled themselves, depending on their skills) computers assembled from a similar component base. Conceptual diagrams called “Leningrad” or “Pentagon”, created by craftsmen, were circulating around.
The process of mastering games deserves a special mention. At first there were no localizations at all. Documentation for games, of course, too. Everything, from the game genre to the controls, had to be mastered at random. By the way, most game genres were created back then. There were no mice or touchpads in those days either. To control games, either a keyboard or a joystick was used. Sometimes a very worthy game was abandoned simply because it was impossible to understand what exactly needed to be done according to its scenario.
Elite
Opening the top ten legendary games is, of course, Elite. The game was invented by Cambridge University students David Braben and Ian Bell in 1982, and its first versions were released in 1984. Porting for the ZX Spectrum occurred in 1985. The genre was a space simulator with elements of economic strategy. The game had complete freedom of player action in a world with 8 galaxies, each of which contained 256 star systems. The game featured 3D wireframe graphics for the first time. This means that the objects were three-dimensional, but were depicted as transparent polygonal figures. The player could travel between star systems, fighting pirates and reselling goods for profit. The resources received can be spent on improving the ship's systems: protection, weapons and various devices, for example, a docking computer or a hyperdrive device for traveling between galaxies. It is believed that the goal of the game was to achieve Elite status, which can be reached by starting with Harmless and going through Mostly Harmless, Poor, Average, Above Average, Competent, Dangerous, Deadly. At the same time, there were branches in the game, depending on the player’s behavior: if he began to rob oncoming merchants, the attitude towards him in the star systems changed and, accordingly, his status changed. The controls involved a completely three-dimensional world, so it was quite complex. You can evaluate the flight from one orbital station to another using this video:
SimCity
It's hard to believe, but the famous city management simulator SimCity also existed for the ZX Spectrum, where it appeared in 1989. The map was very small, of all city communications only roads and power lines were accessible, but the game even had analytics elements with crime levels, environmental pollution, and so on. There was no relief as a class - the entire map was a smooth surface, like a table, on which only lakes made life difficult for the user. But you could play it and get great pleasure from economic success!
Nether Earth
You might be surprised, but Nether Earth is a real-time strategy game. It appeared in 1987, 5 years before Dune II, considered the founder of the genre. The plot of the game is simple - a landing force of a race of Insignians robots lands on Earth, who create their own bases and factories for the production of components for robots. The player is given an original tool - an invulnerable but unarmed flying module, with which the game is controlled. You can create new robots and control them manually. Capturing bases or factories can only be done by robots. They can be given tasks for autonomous actions related to patrolling, military operations or the capture of factories and bases. The game has tactical nuclear charges capable of destroying bases and factories. Due to the lack of game balance and a very small map (4 bases with sets of factories), the winning strategy is calculated quite quickly and consists of a forced march with the most armed robot. It looks like this:
Barbarian
What did all progressive humanity spend before the release of Mortal Kombat in 1992? The correct answer is games like Barbarian from 1987. It could be played either alone (with a computer character) or together (preferably with joysticks). The battle took place on three levels: head, chest, legs. You could use tackles, blocks and kicks. The trademark was a roundhouse kick, in which it was possible, with a successful combination of circumstances, to end the fight with one blow, blowing off the enemy’s head. In this case, the dwarf, who was dragging the body away at the end of the battle, also comically kicked the fallen head.
Renegade
A classic Street Fighting game for the ZX Spectrum, released in 1987. You can play alone or in pairs. According to Wikipedia, this game introduced the basic laws of the beat "em up genre: 4-way movement, the "arm-leg-grab-jump" system, varying degrees of opponents' endurance. The game has the ability to finish off a lying opponent.
Commando
The ZX Spectrum couldn't do without a tactical simulator. At a time when there were no Counter Strike, Metal Gear Solid and Call of Duty, we played Commando. Even then it was clear that the key to victory was maneuver and fire support. Therefore, the character had to continuously move and shoot, abundantly covering everything with grenades. The dynamics in the game are very high even at the first levels, a hitch of 1-2 seconds leads to the inevitable death of the character. See for yourself:
Combat Lynx
Probably, the list of legendary games for the ZX Spectrum would be incomplete without the game Combat Lynx, which is a vivid example of how complex such games could be in terms of scenario and functions. I don’t even know by what miracle my friends and I were able to master it without any documentation. We are talking about controlling a combat helicopter that is capable of carrying a good dozen types of weapons, including mines. Deliver reinforcements to the bases and evacuate the wounded. The game had a three-dimensional terrain, which made it difficult not only to pilot a helicopter (you can easily get into a hill), but also to shoot at ground targets. Aiming was carried out along the crosshair of the sight, projected onto the surface, which also varied depending on the terrain. And if at the initial levels everything was relatively easy, then further maintaining 4 bases, delivering new soldiers there and shooting tanks scurrying here and there, becomes more and more difficult. I couldn’t find any video games for the ZX Spectrum, these are video games for Amstrad computers. The game graphics here are slightly different, they are a little more spectacular, but the gameplay looks exactly the same.
Saboteur
I don’t even know what influenced the popularity of this game more - the difficulty of the task for a saboteur or the fact that the game’s creator, Clive Townsend, chose a ninja warrior as an infiltrator. In the 80s of the last century, the world experienced another surge of interest in Japanese saboteurs, dressed in all black and dashingly throwing shurikens. So, the player’s task in Saboteur is to infiltrate the territory of a guarded facility, steal a floppy disk with data, plant a bomb and manage to evacuate by helicopter. And all this in a limited period of time. How “easy” this task is can be seen in the 30-minute walkthrough video on the highest difficulty level.
Robocop
The film "RoboCop" was one of the brightest science-fiction films of the 80s, so playing with this character was certainly doomed to success. I remember we found the graphics to be very impressive, the character animation very close to what was seen in the film, and the added challenge was that ammo tended to run out and had to be conserved. Inside the game there was a puzzle task with an identikit, which also added variety to the usual street fighting. Still, how little we needed in those years to be happy...
Lode Runner
In conclusion, I would like to remember something extremely simple and fascinating. And the first game that comes to mind is Lode Runner. In the era of arcade games like Pacman, Arkanoid or Space Invaders, this particular game looked easy and difficult at the same time. And you could play it for hours, unlike half the games on this list. You can see this by watching the full video below:
The development of the computer market in the 70s was in its early stages. The industry was still far from making this product mass-produced. Therefore, for the most part, computers were complex devices designed to perform any large-scale tasks. But by the end of the decade, people were asking the question: “Why not use these machines as an entertainment tool?” Their voices were heard, and some manufacturers began producing special kits for self-assembly of a gaming system. However, the disadvantages of this approach significantly outweighed its few advantages. Firstly, such sets were very difficult to find on sale. Secondly, even if this was possible, their cost was beyond reasonable limits. For the money that was asked for the set, it was quite possible to buy a good used car. And thirdly, there was frankly little software for such sets. Why would a user spend several thousand dollars on a computer that does not have a single cool application? In short, to develop the idea of creating a device for recreation and entertainment, a different approach was needed. One of them was proposed by the British company Sinclair Research, headed by Clive Sinclair.
Clive Sinclair
The company's idea was to create the most simple and accessible computer that would combine ease of learning and programming and, of course, a low price. This was supposed to solve the main problem of the above-mentioned PC building kits - the lack of a software base. Ease of operation would allow users to write numerous applications themselves. This is exactly the path that Sinclair Research took when developing its ZX Spectrum computer. However, before we begin to tell the story of the legend, we will pay a little attention to the history of Sinclair Research itself.
History of Sinclair Research
Clive Sinclair created a company called Sinclair Radionics in 1961. At first he had no partners - he developed his business alone. Clive was engaged in selling radio components by mail (Sinclair Radionics even produced several successful radio designs). At the same time, Sinclair tried to launch several innovative devices. For example, in 1970, a vinyl record player with an unusual design was introduced. Instead of the traditional round record support, it used a triangular structure with weights mounted on the tops. According to Sinclair, this reduced vibrations transmitted from the support to the playback head, and also prevented contamination of the vinyl record itself. However, almost no one showed interest in the development, and the device never reached store shelves. More precisely, to the post office counter of Sinclair himself.
The unfortunate fate of the unusual player was repeated by the Neoteric 60 Hi-Fi amplifier. At that time, competition in this segment was extremely high, and Sinclair tried to conquer the market with the help of unusual products, which was the Neoteric 60. However, the company was unlucky again - Hi-Fi -the amplifier sold very poorly.
Amplifier Neoteric 60
It may seem that the first decade of the company was marked exclusively by failed projects. However, the financial statements say otherwise: by 1971 the firm's annual turnover was £560,000 with a net profit of £90,000. At the same time, the company's staff was replenished with 50 new employees. Things were looking up.
The 1970s can easily be called the “calculator era” of Sinclair. At this time, the company released two models of pocket calculators. One of them became the first commercially successful product. This could not even be prevented by a large number of device shortcomings, including their unreliability. The second model was intended for a more serious market, but never gained a foothold in it. Initially, it was created simply as a device with an expanded set of functions, but Sinclair attempted to turn the gadget into an office computer, and this attempt failed miserably.
Sinclair calculator
Computer ZX80
In the second half of the 70s, Sinclair Research began developing an inexpensive household computer. Engineer Jim Westwood was responsible for the project. In 1980, the process of creating the device was completed. The ZX80 appeared. It was the world's first computer whose cost did not exceed hundreds of pounds. The ZX80 was also available for sale as a kit for self-assembly. This version actually cost £79.95.
The developers managed to achieve such a low price by simplifying the element base and using fairly primitive components. The then popular Zilog Z80 with a frequency of 3.25 MHz was used as the central processor. To be more precise, it is a clone of this “stone” produced by NEC. The crystal had several advantages. Not only was it low cost, but (due to its internal architecture) it required fewer logic chips. The amount of RAM was only 1 KB, but this was enough to run the programs the user needed. Plus, it was possible to install an additional 16 KB of RAM in the form of expansion cards. The ROM size was 4 KB, and the Sinclair BASIC programming language was already built into it. And to store written programs, ordinary tape recorders and audio cassettes were used.
This is what the ZX80 looked like
Interestingly, the ZX80 did not have a video controller. The image was formed with minimal participation of hardware - the operation was performed primarily through the software part. The main and very significant drawback of this approach was that the ZX80 was able to show a picture only in those moments when it was not busy executing the program. The screen would simply go blank before displaying the new graphics. By the way, the ZX80 specifications did not provide for the use of any special monitor; the screen was an ordinary TV, which was also a plus for ordinary users.
As for the “exterior” of the ZX80, the computer’s appearance was more reminiscent of a game console than a computer. It was a small white plastic box with a membrane keyboard on it, which had no symbols, only commands. The user simply pressed the register button and selected the appropriate BASIC command. This greatly simplified the process of writing programs.
Despite its shortcomings, the ZX80 became extremely successful. Of course, the cost of the gadget also played a major role in this. Already in the first months after the release, a queue formed to purchase the ZX80 and there was a shortage of devices, which Sinclair Research did not expect.
Computer ZX81
In 1981, the next generation of the computer, called the ZX81, was introduced. The price has been reduced even further, with the DIY kit now available for the ridiculous price of £49.95. The finished computer was slightly more expensive at £69.99, which was still cheaper than the equivalent ZX80 version. By the way, the ZX81 became the first Sinclair device that was sold not only by mail, but also through retail chains. As for the technical characteristics, the “heart” of the computer was the same NEC Z80 processor with a frequency of 3.25 MHz. The amount of RAM remained the same (1 KB), which caused particular dissatisfaction among users. Such a modest number of “brains” greatly limited the possibilities for creating new applications. Expansion cards that increased the RAM capacity to 16 KB could solve the problem, but the cost of some of them was comparable to the price of the ZX81 itself. The ROM capacity has increased to 8 KB, and the built-in Sinclair BASIC language has acquired support for floating point arithmetic.
ZX81 received a black body
Interestingly, the ZX81 again did not receive a video controller. To somehow compensate for its absence, Sinclair came up with two operating modes: slow and fast. In fast mode, the ZX81 performed the same as its predecessor, the ZX80. That is, while the program was running, the image disappeared from the screen. In slow mode, the screen did not go dark, but it took about 4 times longer to process the program code. Externally, the ZX81 was not much different from the ZX80. The plastic case of the computer became black, and the membrane keyboard, which received a slightly different key configuration, remained white for convenience.
As you already understood, the ZX81 received only minor changes. But even this was enough for the computer to sell 8 times more than the ZX80.
ZX Spectrum
The launch of the third generation of the ZX computer was planned for 1982. As they say, you quickly get used to good things, so even though the ZX81 offered decent functionality at a more than modest price, users expected new and innovative features from the computer with the working title ZX82. The main difference between the next generation computer was supposed to be support for color images, since the ZX80 and ZX81 only worked with monochrome images. This step was largely influenced by the widespread use of color televisions. In this regard, the name ZX82 was replaced by the saying ZX Spectrum.
On the hardware side, the ZX Spectrum has undergone several key changes. The central processor was still the Zilog Z80A, but its frequency was increased to 3.5 MHz. The volume of RAM and ROM increased to 16 KB each, and the amount of RAM could even be equal to 48 KB. Spectrum really learned how to work with color images thanks to the advent of a graphics controller. The video mode supported a resolution of 256x192 pixels and 8 colors with two brightness levels. One-bit audio output was also provided through the built-in speaker. In fact, it was an ordinary “squeaker” that beeped rhythmically in games. The appearance of the ZX Spectrum was slightly different from the design of the ZX80 and ZX81. The new computer received a different keyboard: the membrane was replaced by full rubber keys.
Entering and loading programs was carried out from a cassette recorder, which was connected to the computer. Some tapes even had some sort of digital protection. For example, a serial number was supplied with the game, which allowed it to be launched.
Spectrum turned out to be as successful as its predecessors. Starting prices for the computers continued to be affordable, with versions with 16 KB and 48 KB of RAM priced at £125 and £175 respectively. And a little later they were reduced to 99.95 and 129.95 pounds.
Subsequently, the ZX Spectrum received several updates. In June 1984, the ZX Spectrum+ computer went on sale. It differed from the regular version by the mandatory presence of 48 KB of RAM, as well as a new keyboard, which received an additional reset button. Despite such minor changes, the ZX Spectrum+ outsold the original model. However, some sellers complained about the unreliability of the device, claiming that the percentage of faulty computers reached as much as 30%.
ZX Spectrum+ computer
ZX Spectrum+ computer
The ZX Spectrum 128, which appeared in 1986, was developed jointly with the Spanish company Investronica. The fact is that the Spanish government imposed a high tax on all imported computers with 64 KB of RAM and below that do not support the Spanish language. The entire European market was important to Sinclair, so together with Investronica the company began adapting Spectrum for Spain. The computer received support for 128 KB of RAM, 32 KB of ROM with an improved BASIC editor, three-channel audio via the AY-3-8910 standard, RGB monitor output and MIDI compatibility.
Also in 1986, all rights to the Spectrum brand and computers were transferred to Amstrad. New models received various suffixes: +2, +3, +2A, +2B. In terms of hardware, Amstrad computers received only minor modifications. For example, the ZX Spectrum +2 had a built-in Datacoder cassette recorder. And in the ZX Spectrum +3 the tape recorder was replaced with a floppy drive. Plus, this model was the first Spectrum that could run the CP/M operating system without additional equipment. She has become, perhaps, the most controversial in the entire line. Thus, the ZX Spectrum +3 RAM was mapped to 64 KB of address space, which led to incompatibility of some games written for the original ZX Spectrum.
Computer ZX Spectrum +2
About accessories for ZX Spectrum
However, it was not only the low cost that contributed to the growing popularity of the ZX Spectrum. A huge number of different “gadgets” were released for the computer, which significantly expanded the functionality of this computer. One of these devices was the ZX Printer, compatible not only with the Spectrum, but also with the ZX80 and ZX81. The device was connected to the computer using a system connector and used spark printing technology. This type of printing used special black paper coated with aluminum. The print head consisted of two closely spaced needles that moved across the width of the page. To print characters, tension was created between the needles, and they burned through the paper in the right place. In total, the line contained 32 characters. The very idea of printing at home was truly revolutionary, but it was not possible to fully implement it in the ZX Printer due to the unreliability of the device. Plus, spark printing technology also did not show its best side: the print quality quickly decreased, and the paper surface was fragile.
Another interesting accessory was a loopback magnetic tape ROM module called the ZX Microdrive. The volume of such a device was 16 KB. It allowed you to quickly load or save a previously written program. However, the ZX Microdrive never received proper distribution. Users preferred to use time-tested, albeit slower, audio cassettes.
ZX Microdrive ROM module
Cassette for ZX Spectrum
Sinclair also presented expansion cards ZX Interface 1 and ZX Interface 2. Initially, the first was developed as a network interface for organizing a local network in schools. However, before the product was released, support for simultaneous operation of up to 8 ZX Microdrive devices was added, and subsequently the interface was used primarily to connect these ROM modules. As for the ZX Interface 2, this expansion card had connectors for connecting two joysticks (yes, Sinclair even produced a game joystick for the ZX Spectrum), a ROM cartridge connector and a ZX Printer connection interface. But due to the high cost, the device did not sell well, and a year later it disappeared from store shelves.
This is what ZX Interface 1 looked like
In addition, many accessories from third-party manufacturers could be found on sale. For example, devices such as a speech synthesizer (Currah Microspeech), game joysticks, additional digital keyboards, and even a graphics tablet and drum kit (Cheetah SpecDrum) were produced specifically for Spectrum. Impressive!
About the software
But, of course, it’s not the huge number of different peripherals that made people love the ZX Spectrum. The computer was relatively easy to program. In the first half of the 80s, this caused a real boom in the software industry. Both full-fledged companies and individual programmers were involved in writing programs. The development of the Western software market for the ZX Spectrum can be divided into three stages.
During the first stage, which lasted from 1982 to 1984, the market experienced quantitative growth. There were no large companies yet, and the creation of applications was carried out by small firms or single writers. Moreover, about 80% of the software were games! The first video entertainment was quite primitive: the graphic design was not very good, and neither was the plot. Interestingly, piracy began to flourish already at that time.
The third stage covered the years 1988-1993. This period marked the decline of the ZX Spectrum as a gaming platform. The computer was becoming obsolete, and users were switching to other systems. Developers also switched from Spectrum to more modern platforms. Nevertheless, many interesting games were released during these years. For example, over time a demo version of the legendary Doom was released. The computer's performance was not enough for the shooter to work quickly, so the "spectrum" variation used interlaced scanning, which removed every even line of pixels, which increased the speed of rendering scenes.
ZX Spectrum in Russia
The stages listed above do not apply to the post-Soviet space, since many computers (more precisely, their clones) came to the USSR only in the second half of the 80s. And unlike Western Europe, where, along with the ZX Spectrum, other computers (the same Atari and Commodore) sold well, in the country of the Soviets the Sinclair device was the sole sales leader. Why? The reason, first of all, lies in the low cost of the Spectrum: the computer was not subject to duties, so it was available to many Soviet citizens. Atari and Commodore computers traveled a long way before hitting the shelves of Soviet stores, and their prices were significantly higher. In addition, it turned out that most of the Spectrum parts, if necessary, could be replaced with domestic ones, which made the computer repairable. By and large, the only irreplaceable component of the system was the Z80 processor.
Domestic clone of ZX Spectrum
The software market also lagged behind the European one in its development. In the late 80s and early 90s, the vast majority of programs were imported from abroad, mainly through Poland. Naturally, there was no question of any copyrights - almost all the software was pirated. The percentage of licensed products was extremely small.
At first, the main occupation of programmers was transferring games from cassettes to disks. This operation involved hacking the cassette loader, transferring all the data from the cassette to disk, and writing a disk loader. But gradually the emphasis shifted towards writing your own applications. The peak of development of Spectrum game development in Russia occurred in 1995. At this time, the largest number of games were created, and many foreign projects were localized. In subsequent years, the domestic software market for the ZX Spectrum experienced a decline, and as a result, by 2001-2002, only enthusiasts remained among computer users.
Conclusion
The ZX Spectrum is rightfully considered a legendary computer, especially for the entire post-Soviet space. Spectrum left a huge mark on the history of the IT industry, and in Russia it became the first home computer for many. You could even say that the ZX Spectrum era brought up the first generation of domestic IT specialists. Unfortunately, at one time Sinclair decided not to release a successor to Spectrum, focusing on other types of research activities. Nevertheless, the memory of the ZX Spectrum is still alive. To this day you can find enthusiasts experimenting with this truly iconic computer.
Do you know what the first mass-produced personal computer was? How did the era of personal computers begin? Some may even remember their very first computer, which was a ZX Spectrum. It is he who is the progenitor of all modern computers. ZX Spectrum lasted on the market for more than 10 years. We will tell you about the history of the Spectrum, rich, with many interesting facts, myths and misconceptions.
To begin with, let's talk about the person who is considered the creator of the ZX Spectrum. This Clive Sinclair(Clive Marles Sinclair) 
Clive Marles Sinclair was born in Surrey, near Richmond, on July 30, 1940. His father and grandfather were engineers. Clive himself followed in the same footsteps. Already in 1962, Sinclair created Sinclair Radionics, producing kits of parts for assembling radios and sound amplifiers. The company's reputation as a pioneer in consumer electronics is rapidly growing. Since 1972, the company has been producing electronic watches, portable televisions and tools. In July 1979, Clive Sinclair resigns from Sinclair Radionics and establishes a new company, Sinclair Research Ltd. This is where the story of our ZX Spectrum begins. First product Sinclair ZX80 produced in February 1980, it was the first computer in the world to cost under £100. Its dimensions were 218 X 170 X 50mm and it weighed 340 grams. The ZX 80 could not be called very successful, however, it began to sell quite well. 
In 1981, the logical release of a new version followed - Sinclair ZX81. It was much cheaper than its predecessor and cost £69. Within two years, more than a million ZX81s were produced and Sinclair earned more than £400 million. After selling 10% of the company and giving 5% to his employees, he retained 85% of the shares, giving him the ability to make ambitious and unprofessional decisions.
At the request of a few habrapeople, I am giving a telegram regarding the state of affairs of zx-specurum these days. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to write about absolutely everything, so I’ll give a brief overview of modern hardware and emulators on which you can virtually touch this hardware.
I will write for an ordinary habra person, not a spektrumist :), so for more detailed information, use the links at the end of the article.
What is spectrum for you? Probably this is the warm tube sound of loading from a tape recorder, Manic Miner and Elite. Perhaps it's TR-DOS, 128kb of memory and an AY music chip. Or maybe it's Scorpion-256, ATM Turbo or even Profi.
In any case, all this is hopelessly outdated, littered with dust on the cabinets, and probably doesn’t even work, but, nevertheless, a few words about the “classic ex-USSR Spectrum”:
CPU: Z80, 3.5 MHz. Turbo possible up to less than 7 MHz
RAM: from 48Kb to 1Mb
Sound: beeper, AY chip (synthesized 3-channel sound)
Tape: There is
FDD: 720kb floppy disk (by default TR-DOS only supports 640kb)
HDD: connection possible, the most complete software support in the is-dos system
Although the small size of video memory allows a 3MHz processor to handle graphics output more easily, the results often fall short of expectations.
Graphics bells and whistles
In addition to the long-known modes " hardware multicolor", 512x256 And Gigascreen, there are also:
384x304- the screen area expands to 384x304 pixels, the rest remains the same (attributes per 8x8 square). Due to the complexity of implementation on Spectrum clones other than Pentagon and the terrible addressing of video memory (the extended area is divided into 9 blocks scattered across memory), it did not receive distribution. speccy.info/384x304
16 colors per pixel- as the name suggests, gives spektrumists what they could only dream of before - each dot on the screen has its own color. However, the size of video memory increases 4 times, and in addition, on a real Spectrum the processor slows down (therefore it is usually used only in turbo mode). However, the mode is promising, there are several games and a demo. speccy.info/16col
256 colors per 2 pixels- “upgrade” mode 16col. Two adjacent dots are doubled, and a 128x192 mode with 256 colors is obtained. Hardware support is experimental, and without a changeable palette it is of little use.
Flash-Color- by mixing INK and PAPER, about 46 different colors are achieved. However, since all the same attributes are used (per block of 8x8 pixels), in reality it doesn’t look very good. speccy.info/Flash_color
16col+palette+gigascreen
Programmable palette- the very bells and whistles that regimes vitally need 16col And 256col. There are several possible solutions; one of them is realddp.narod.ru/zx/pal444
Sound bells and whistles
Besides Covox, Sound Drive, DMA Ultrasound And General Sound, released back in the Stone Age :), the following devices were invented:
TS (Turbo Sound)- is another AY sound processor, expanding the number of audio channels to six. www.nedopc.com/TURBOSOUND/ts.php
TSFM (Turbo Sound FM)- “upgrade” of Turbo Sound mode. In addition to 6 channels of AY sound, a 6-channel sound chip is added (FM synthesis, similar to the chip used in the Sega Mega Drive). www.nedopc.com/TURBOSOUND/ts-fm.php
Neo GS- updated version of the board General Sound. Like General Sound, is essentially a separate computer with its own processor ( Z80 at 12MHz for G.S., 24MHz for NGS), memory (from 128Kb to 2Mb) and sound module: 4 (8 for NGS) audio channel playing samples from memory. IN Neo GS In addition, there is an SD/MMC reader, a hardware mp3 decoder and a DMA data exchange mode with Spectrum memory. Neo GS can also be used as an accelerator for calculations - arbitrary code can be loaded into the device memory (into regular G.S. too, but unlike NGS, in the usual G.S. there was no DMA - hence the very slow speed of information exchange between Spectrum and G.S.). www.nedopc.com/gs/ngs.php
ZX Evolution
ZX Evolution or PentEvo- This is the most modern Spectrum. Unlike other (not so modern) Spectrums, Penteve has everything on board that a modern person needs - a built-in PS/2 keyboard and mouse controller, disk drive and hard drive controllers, SD card reader, RS232 (aka COM port).
There is also a very important feature - there is a scandabler on board, which allows you to connect Penteva to almost any VGA monitor (even LCD); so now you don’t need to buy TV tuners, EGA monitors and TVs.
It’s impossible not to mention the presence of an FPGA on the board; this allows you to change the computer configuration without a soldering iron (not on the fly, as was possible in Sprinter, but also quite good).
ZXMC (ZX_Multi_Card)- a very multifunctional device. Allows you to connect a regular PC keyboard and mouse to the Spectrum. It has an RS232 port on board, better known as a COM port (allowing you to connect, for example, a modem), and a real time clock (RTC). zx.pk.ru/showthread.php?t=609
Emulators
All emulators below are designed to emulate a modern Spectrum, and not the good old black box with rubber keys :)Win32
Unreal Speccy- an emulator that supports the maximum amount of new hardware (including Neo GS). zx.pk.ru/showthread.php?t=1512 , dlcorp.ucoz.ru/forum/23
Unreal Speccy PPC- port for PocketPC (old version, no new versions). Despite the problems (sometimes the drive turns off), there is no better option for PocketPC. Development is currently stopped.