The PicoZX - A Handheld Classic Computer Emulator

Maybe you grew up in the US like me and didn't have any experience with the UK-based Sinclair product line. Or maybe you lived on the other side of the pond and have vivid memories cutting your teeth on Sinclair BASIC while straining your neck in front of your TV. Regardless of which of these people you were, I think you'll love this project - it's called the PicoZX, and it's a handheld classic computer emulator created by a talented maker named Peter Misenko (aka Bobricius).

In this video, I'll walk you through this really neat device and show you how to build one from start to finish. We'll then load it up with a couple of emulators and see what we can do with it.

Thank you to PCBWay for sponsoring this video and providing the PCBs to build this amazing device. Check out the links below, and order yourself a set so you can build your own classic handheld computer.

🔩 Common Parts (used for both versions)

🔩 "Slim" Version Parts (in addition to the common parts above)

🔩 "Full" Version Parts (in addition to the common parts above)

⛓️ Links Mentioned

[PeteSlater]

I grew up in the UK using a Sinclair Spectrum. It was a wonderful time to be a kid and I learned a lot of stuff I do in my day job on those machines.

Nice to see Sir Clive's technology still being enjoyed 40 years later.

[RichUK]

Magnificent! My dads cousin (rather wealthy) gave us his old ZX48k when I was about 7 (1984) as he bought an upgraded/molded version or similar. He soon moved onto a C64 and then Amiga...he also kept us in games...I miss David.

The So the 48k was my first computer, and I loved it. Truly, a masterpiece of engineering making so putting affordable.

sir Clive was way ahead of his time. People laughed at the C5 but today we see Renault Twizzy and Citroen Ami electric micro cars driving around (in Europe at least) people laughed at his electric bike...but they are literally everywhere now. The man was a good 40 years ahead of the rest.

Oh...I'm totally building one of these.

[A]

I grew up in Spain and was lucky enough to have a Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48K in my adolescence, which not only introduced me to the world of microcomputers until today, it literally changed my life (for the better!). Videos like this make me feel very good about the legacy and excellence of that British product that should never be forgotten.

[keiichicom]

This brings back memories; I had a zx81 with the "wobbly" 16k memory expansion pack.

[randy]

Good heavens. This is neat stuff. An MSX build with regular keys would be an instant buy for me. Thank you for making this video.

[drbitboya]

Sweet work, thanks!

My dad had several Timex-Sinclair 2068s. He ported the 1967 ASME Steam Tables from Fortran to Basic, and set them up to help General Electric Field Service Engineers analyze performance tests on steam turbines, so they could give preliminary results on the day of the test instead of the customer waiting for the data to be brought back to headquarters for analysis. The TS2068 had a 5-byte floating-point representation. It was better than 4-byte single precision, but not 8-byte double precision, so there was a convergence problem with one of the lookups that we eventually solved by replacing a successive substitution iteration with Newton-Raphson. After he retired he configured a TS2068, running off the his Ford van's battery, to display a trend of windspeed from an analog anemometer when he went windsurfing at Canadian Hole in Avon, NC, USA.

[paisleyboxers]

This is fantastic, I can see how much work you've put into this, thank you!

[crouchypony]

Speccy owners will love the upgraded keyboard

[bamsegod]

Well worth the 3 week wait between videos. Amazing work Ken, love your channel

[SockyNoob]

The Spectrum honestly makes the most sense as a handheld compared to other vintage computers.

[bobbus_]

Fantastic video. As an Englishman, I appreciate your use of "zed ex" and not "zee ex"!

[otopico]

I love this project. I also l, ove your low key piano while doing the assembly as it reminds me of Mr. Rogers, which is always a good thing.

[sanpedro]

My first computer! i was about 5 and played in on a black and white telly :) Id start the tape whilst my tea was ready and when id finished eating the game would (hopefully) be loaded. If i remember right to load a game you pressed J, held symbolshift, pressed P, held symbolshift then P again 🕹⌨

[darren]

Thankyou for calling it a "ZED-X" Spectrum and not a "ZEE-X" Spectrum as others have in the past.

[sergiodeoliveira]

Sinclair computers were also extremely popular in Brazil during the 80s when the Brazilian government forced a closed market where computer imports were prohibited (to try and jumpstart a Brazilian self sufficient computer industry). A company by the name of Microdigital built several models (TK80, TK85 were ZX81 clones and the TK90X and TK95 were Spectrum clones). The ROMs were slightly modified to acommodate Brazilan characters with accents, etc., but still fairly backwards compatible with Spectrum software. The TK90X was my first computer.

[phillai]

Great video Ken. 👍
This looks absolutely amazing!! 😎

[firsteerr]

the memories of playing flinger twister to input code comes flooding back

[jasonviande]

That... is awesome. Subbing to your channel now.

I had a Timex Sinclair 2068 when I was a 17 (in '94 I think) and it was okay. It disappeared when I moved the first time, which is a bummer. Didn't really have much software of any kind, but it was technically my first computer.

[rayerdinc]

Thank you for the video and what an amzing project I will look in to plus your video Sir, showing how to solder smc without hi-tech has given food for thought has that part did put me off at the start of the video. Thank you.

[elektronkim]

My ZX-Spectrum experience in the 80's helped me in an exam with "X^2+2*x+2" questions as I had been exploring plots of those for a week.