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If the 1980s could be defined by one computer system, what would it be?
The Commodore 64?
IBM PC?
Apple II?
While each of these do have their arguments, there is a huge contender which is almost completely ignored in America--
the Sinclair Spectrum.
If you looked into how many games today came from British and European developers,
you might be surprised.
This arguably would have not been the case at all if it weren't for the Spectrum.
In April 1982, Sir Clive Sinclair released the first computer in the Spectrum series, the ZX Spectrum,
in both 16 and 48K models.
It wasn't Sinclair's first machine, but it was the first that caught on to an extreme, especially in the U.K.,
largely due to its low price point when compared to competing machines
and its capability as a gaming device.
While it built on the hardware of previous machines, such as ZX81, it was the first to feature color graphics,
hence its name, the ZX Spectrum.
And yes, it is pronounced "Zed-Ecks."
I don't care where you're from, there's only one way to pronounce it.
Saying "Zee-Ecks" is like pronouncing Sega "Seega."
It's just wrong.
The little machine had very low specifications, and in some ways, it was not as advanced as other micros.
like the C64,
but its omnipresence and affordability, along with a great selection of games available from the start,
solidified its place in computing history.
There are quite a few models in the Spectrum family, starting with the original 16K and 48K machines.
Several different issues of these machines exist, but the majority of them work just the same.
These are the bare basic machines, with the 48K being more popular, and playing nearly all the games just fine.
Eventually, there were new models, such as the 128 and 128 Plus, which had new cases and some new hardware internally,
and this came with some compatibility issues. But the 128s were still quite supported.
You start running into more issues with some of the late models, like the Plus 2 and Plus 3,
which are actually made by Amstrad and not Sinclair.
There's also a rather unheard of NTSC version made for America by Timex.
Like the Timex Sinclair 2068.
These are almost completely incompatible, though, from what I hear,
and I don't really consider them part of the Sinclair family since they use some different hardware.
I got my 48K ZX Spectrum for the cost of... absolutely nothing.
Thanks to the generosity of a good friend on YouTube.
Mark, thank you. You are awesome.
"YEAH!"
As far as actual prices, though, I've seen them go for anywhere from 30 to 60 U.S. dollars.
Shipping, though, can be a pain, since you'll likely have to import it from the U.K.
You'll want to make sure that you get a few things in order to run it.
The main machine comes with no form of input, except its rubber-keyed keyboard.
You know, seriously, I love this squishy dead-fleshed Chiclet freak of a keyboard.
It's like fondling a zombie.
Anyways, you'll need something to get the programs into the machine's memory.
The most common method was by cassette tape.
Unlike Commodore machines, which use proprietary inputs,
you can use any old tape recorder with a mic and headphone jack.
The Specky came with a split mono cable for this purpose.
You can get a mono cable at places like Radio Shack.
Stereo ones didn't work for me, at least not well.
You will also need the power supply, since it's not built in.
It's a rather standard looking 9-volt AC adapter.
Next, you'll need the video cable.
You can just get one of these to plug straight into your, uh...
[record scratch]
Um.
Well, this is a problem.
If you're in Europe, you're probably fine. But see, here in America, we have what I like to call "normal" RF jacks.
They screw into your TV, turn to channel 2, 3 or 4, and that's it. You're ready to go.
This little punk is a UHF aerial lead, which I have never seen outside of European countries.
It also tunes to something like BBC2 or UHF channel 35, so you're pretty much out of luck in the U.S.
Maybe you can get it to work, but I never did.
What I did was do a simple mod on a Spectrum, where you desolder two wires and then solder in a new wire
which changes the RF output to using standard AV.
Trust me, it saves you a crap load of hassle.
And believe it or not, this is the simplest problem you'll have.
Remember that power supply you'll need?
Well, it demands a steady 9-volt current with a center negative end
and 1.5 amps from a 220-volt power source.
We just don't have that kind of juice here in the States,
so you'll need a voltage step-up converter with a three-pronged U.K. input.
Costs about $40.
You can also get a 120-volt AC adapter, but keep in mind the Specky is very specific in the type of power it likes.
Once you get it powered on, the fun begins.
At least, if you consider scrolling gray fuzz to be fun.
The problem is that every Spectrum is a 50-hertz PAL machine
Every American device uses a 60-hertz NTSC signal.
This means that your TV probably can't display it
even if you do the composite mod.
There are a few ways around this.
First is getting a multi-system TV that accepts PAL.
This is largely impossible, short of buying a new LCD TV that may or may not support a PAL signal.
My Magnavox HDTV accepts a 50hz signal,
and if you have an older CRT TV or microcomputer monitor with vertical hold adjustment, that works too,
but the image will still be in monochrome.
In order to get color, you'll need a PAL-to-NTSC converter box
These usually come from China and cost about $25.
They only convert the PAL signal to color. They don't mess with the 50hz signal.
You can also just use a capture device on a computer
Most of these accept a PAL signal just fine; however, the lag can be horrible,
like half a second, so do some research into on-screen response time.
You can also just use a projector with composite input.
All of those that I have used accept a PAL signal without any conversion needed.
But again, these solutions only work for composite signals, not for the unmodified RF.
You may notice that for what is predominantly a games machine, there are no joystick ports.
All you have is the keyboard,
which although rubber and great for programming BASIC, it isn't so great for many games.
It can be really awkward if you're used to playing with arrow keys
since many games are set up with movements spread out all over the keyboard.
So for a joystick, you'll need an expansion in the back.
There were several popular joystick interfaces such as Kempston, Protek, and Sinclair.
These mapped keyboard keys to joystick commands and lets you use a standard Atari-style joystick,
such as the excellent Competition Pro 5000, or even Genesis controllers.
I got this strange hack job from some guy in England that has all three popular interfaces in one
where you can switch between the three, depending on the game.
Most all games accept Kempston just fine, though.
Once you finally have all of this set up, you're ready to play,
but your Spectrum probably won't look that comfortable
In fact, it looks like it's in critical condition on life support
but this is the look of success, my friend.
There are an overwhelming number of amazing and addictive games for the Specky.
Thankfully, they're not too expensive either.
Almost all of the games came on cassette tape, and most of them work on the 48K.
The problem, though, can be narrowing down the staggering amount of games into a list of must haves.
Many of them are simple to learn and impossible to master.
Sort of like an in-between of 2600 and Commodore 64 games.
Earlier, I mentioned the Timex Sinclair machines.
There was separate software made for them, since they weren't totally compatible.
But the few games I've tried surprisingly seem to work just fine on a 48K.
Don't take this as law, though.
The graphics are unique among systems, with lots of very bright colors and the interesting color-bleed effect.
The sound effects mostly remind me of the PC speaker's capabilities,
so really creative techniques have to be invented for it.
Here are a few of my favorites.
At my last count,
there were approximately 17,000 different expansions and extras that you can add to the system
for more functionality.
Many of the modern ones also help with being able to run copies of games from your computer,
such as the DivIDE device,
which allows for use of compact flash cards and IDE devices.
Instead of extra devices, you could also just use an MP3 player or a cell phone, instead of tapes,
in conjunction with programs like Tape2Wav or even O.T.L.A.,
which compresses a game's load time into seconds instead of minutes.
There are also an abundance of highly accurate emulators like the spectacular Spectaculator.
So trying the games before you invest in them is extremely easy
and a great way to get some practice in before going pro.
So the question really comes down to whether or not the Spectrum 48K is worth buying or not.
As an American collector, I would say that it is a huge maybe.
The cost really isn't too much, even with all the shipping. There's thousands of great affordable games for it.
There's lots of add-ons and extras. I mean, it's just small and awesome and '80s and retro, but
the problem you really run into is convenience. Being lazy,
Ah, this is a hassle to set up and play every time, but it's still worth it in my opinion because
it's simple and I like it a lot.
I just-- I dunno why, but I really like this system.
So yeah, for me, it was worth it.
But if you live in NTSC Land, you might want to give it a second thought.
Maybe go with something more like the Commodore 64.