Documentary - The Sinclair ZX80, ZX81, and Timex Sinclair 1000

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[jgrimsley]

The ZX81 was my first computer. I can remember losing hours of coding because the crappy card edge connector on the RAM expansion. A friend of mine and I spent weeks programming a Pacman clone (I use the term loosely. It was hackey and buggy) for it back in 1982. We gave everyone a copy of it at our ZX users croup. A few years ago, I was playing with a ZX emulator, and downloaded a ZIP file of a 100 programs. One of them was my Pacman clone. I was thrilled to see that it was passed around and survived.

[martinalexander]

Like many in the U.K. I wrote my first program in basic on a Sinclair. It was Battle Ships and took me months and months of design and hard thinking. As a result I got my first job at 16 as a computer operator. A career in programming analysis and management lead me to becoming a Director of Information in the NHS. All because of a £99 investment. Simply fantastic machine.

[bruceyboy]

My family couldn't afford much when I was young. I really wanted a computer for Christmas and the zx81 seemed the accessible choice. £50 was a shit load for my parents to pay. I opened my present on Christmas morning and was elated. Then my dad got up and opened a cupboard and pulled out another present. I instantly knew what it was. I pulled the wrapping paper off - it was a 16k ram pack. That cost them another 30 quid! I burst into tears because it was a lot of money for them.

40 years on and I've been working in software development my whole life and have developed software in a range of industries ranging from art to safety in nuclear systems

This is all because of that cheap and not very useful zx81 ☺

[coriscotupi]

I had a ZX81 back in the day. And then when I wanted a real keyboard, none was to be found commercially. So I ordered individual keyboard modules from a manufacturer - who found it very odd that an end user should want to build a keyboard from scratch. So they did this: they lent me a full design manual for their keyboards and told me to design the thing, printed circuit board layout and all, conditioning the sale to my proving that I knew what I was doing. I not only designed the PCB but also built it myself, from a blank double-sided fiberglass PCB. When I showed them my design (and the shiny new PCB for the future keyboard) they were so well impressed that they offered me a job (I declined because I was already working) and they even engraved every single "Run", "Dim", "For", "Print", etc, comand on all the keys.

I went straight from the ZX81 to an IBM 4341 mainframe at work, returning to microcomputers, as we called them on those days, only a few years later when I finally bought a 386 PC.

[ChrisJSetterington]

These machines made it possible for millions of children to get into computing in the UK. I was one of them. At the time I was 10 years old and made money delivering newspapers. I delivered enough newspapers to finally buy the 81 and learn basic. It's limitations meant you had to be 'creative' and not just go with the flow. I did it on my own without troubling my parents, although they did help me go to night-class to study Computer Science as it wasn't even in the school curriculum back then. I was qualified in Computer Science at the age of 12. Yes looking back they were "calculators you can plug into a TV", but at the time they were so much more than that and they helped to changed a lot of peoples paths in life. Enjoyed the video by the way, just had to add a point of view. Thanks!!

[davelister]

The ZX81 was my pathway into computers when I was 12, my father bought me one for Christmas with his redundancy money, he figured he'd give his kid a chance. Here I am approaching 50 and a computer engineer. Great move dad. I can't speak for other countries, but in the UK these are iconic computers, writ large in our childhood memories and brilliant because it meant ordinary people could finally afford a 'real' computer. Learning Z80 assembler, losing hours of work because you breathed too close to the RAM pack, listening to tapes screeching at high volume while you waited 15 minutes for a program to load, these are rights of passage into the world of computers that younger generations will never know.

Had to come here to pay my respects, as a tech enthusiast, to Sir Clive Sinclair, who died tonight at age 81. We lost a pioneer.

[alexander]

3:30 Putting the power jack into the wrong port will NOT fry something. The MIC and EAR port circuits each contain caps that will block DC power entirely. In fact, the actual ZX80 manual itself puts you at ease: "if you do get it in the wrong jack socket you won't damage your ZX-80 even if you switch on the power. It won't work until you get the plug in the right socket, though!)"

[GrantMeStrength]

In the UK, you have to remember that not everyone could afford a computer - the ZX81 made it possible for almost every one to have one. It moved computing from a niche nerd activity, to an household pastime. They were sold in Boots and WHSmith! They introduced an entire generation to computers, and their impact cannot be overstated.

[HighlandMike]

These machines helped to create a generation of future programmers. Absolute educational gold dust.

[richbuilds_com]

I made a successful career as a software developer starting out on a ZX81. Astonishingly capable machines all things considered - especially given a bit more RAM. You got a lot closer understanding about how computers *worked*. It's held me in good stead for nearly 40 years :-)

In the UK there were a plethora of add-ons (some even stacking on top of one another to get round the single expansion port - very arduino ;-) ).

You *could* get up to a decent coding speed on those keyboards, thanks to the 1 key-press keywords, but you'd never write a novel on it! (even though there were word processors written for it).

[absinthedude]

It would be easy to underestimate the impact these had in the UK, especially the ZX81. Disposable income was lower than in the USA at the time and the increased costs of the Commodore, Tandy and Apple computers were prohibitive even for "middle class" families. With the ZX81 most families could afford to buy one not only because it was cheap, but it hooked up to the regular TV and a standard cassette recorder which many households already had - or could buy much cheaper than the Commodore Datasette dedicated units. There were over 1.5 million sold, and the ZX81 was the beginning for a lot of programmers who would become important figures in the industry. The ZX81 in the UK came with a full manual and tutorial for Sinclair BASIC with the intention that owners would learn to program. Try programming a VIC-20 without investing in extra tutorial material! And even then the Commodore BASIC was full of pokes just to place a character at a specific point on the screen whereas SInclair basic had recognisable commands. The average 8 year old could knock up a simple game themselves with the '81. Everyone had a RAM pack after a few months too. For kids it was common to get the '81 for Christmas and a RAM pack for their birthday. Though there was even a full implementation of chess for the 1K machine! And 1K Breakout. Those after market keyboards and centronics interfaces for business printers were very popular in the UK and there were probably thousands of software titles available. There's still new software and hardware being made today in 2020. My original ZX81 is approaching it's 40th birthday (March 2021)...and now sports a modern 32K RAM pack with SD card slot.

[canaldapoeira]

Clones of these were the most popular home computer in Brazil. They where made by a company called "Microdigital Eletrônica". They where the "TK" family. There were many models, most of them were the same computer, but with a different case, keyboard, or more ram...

[DaveF.]

While you're not wrong about the criticism of their failings, I think it should be pointed out this is the context of their competitor products in the same price range. Of which there were none. You simply couldn't buy a computer as cheap as this. So, regardless of the limitations - these were absolutely the best machines in their class - and did help kick-start the home computer revolution in the UK.

BTW _ I really do hope you manage to do a thorough look at the BBC micro range of computers - these were, perhaps, the UK equivalent of the Apple II - and were ubiquitous in UK schools throughout the eighties. - they're amazing machines in terms of their capabilities and expansion potential and deserve much recognition.

[ianofliverpool]

You should remember Sinclair designed the ZX80 with introducing children from poor family`s during a bad recession to computing and it did that

[almerian]

Now to put all this in (a European) perspective.
Back in the 1970's and the early 1980's, computers were a new thing. Only a very limited part of the population had any idea what you could do with a computer. The idea of having something like that in your house was at first a dream to that small part of the population, and the others did not even think about it. 
Then came the time that you could build you own computer, this was very expensive and required knowledge. Then came some kit computers, even more expensive. Followed by the big three (Commodore PET, TRS-80, Apple II), these were also very expensive. Followed by the Atari 400/800 with revolutionary sound and colour graphics capabilities, equally expensive. There were others, also expensive.
Then came the Sinclair ZX80/81 offering capabilities equal to earlier kit computers and with BASIC and a proper manual at 1/20th to 1/10th of the price of other contemporary computers. Now that was a REVOLUTION. Sinclair put programmable computers in to the hands of curious ordinary people who could have never dreamed of owning one otherwise.
And it set an example and brought prices down across the line by opening up a huge market. Followed by the ZX Spectrum and VIC 20 and later the Commodore 64, cheaper and price reduced Atari's, Acorn Electron, MSX, Tandy's Coco and the Amstrad/Schneider CPC.

[dminalba]

The reason Timex went into a partnership with Sinclair to bring the Sinclair machines to North America was Timex's factory in Dundee, Scotland built the ZX80 & ZX81, Timex even built the ZX Spectrum in Dundee until Amstrad bought Sinclair in 1986 and the Amstrad Spectrums were built in the far east. Timex Dundee closed in 1993 but the legacy continues. The game studio Rockstar North formerly DMA design created Lemmings and GTA began in Dundee and The University of Abertay in Dundee has a thriving range of Interactive & Video Game degree courses which began in 1997.

[andresmchesini-remic]

My first computer was a Timex Sinclair 2068 my dad bought for $100 when I was about 6. He was an electronic engineer, and he even made a RAM expansion for it himself. It's a pitty he passed away almost 20 years ago and I cannot him about that, because I now realize he was quite a hacker back then. I guess I'll have to dig around old boxes in my mother's house and plug back in the old silver machine and go through his notes.... It'll bring back memories and i'll probably learn a few things. I remember the 2068 was so much better than all the other computers my friends had, even if it had chiclet keyboard, it had a very high resolution in monocrome, an extended color pallette, and it even had joysticks and sound. And the case design was beautiful. I hope you'll make a video about it soon.

[ELSTERLING]

I think the best way to sum up the ZX80 and its kin is 'proof of concept'. They served as demonstrations that computing could be brought down to a level where any old family could afford one. They handily showed that whilst the technology and fabrication wasn't there *yet* it wouldn't be long before cheap computers could be making their way in to the homes of people who wanted but couldn't afford one or could afford one but wouldn't try at their current price point. The result was enormous too, they basically started the huge microcomputer boom in the UK and Europe and created an entire generation of coders and gamers. As I recall in the mid to late 80s more households in the UK owned computers than any other country, though the competitors it attracted were global. The battle was fought between Amstrad, Acorn, Sinclair, Coleco, Commodore, BBC, Oric, Dragon, Orange, Tandy, TI, etc. and was so fierce that giants like Apple, Atari, IBM and Nintendo barely got a mention. Granted, Sinclair Research drowned in the very wave they created not long afterwards and Microsoft, Intel and the Big Blue eventually came around to affordable, gamer-friendly computing and took over...

[miniroll]

The ZX computers were what Ford Fiestas are to the car industry. Cheap, reliable, and often a first-time purchase. They're legendary here in the U.K.