Sinclair ZX80 vintage home computer. Collectors item.

[computerkid1416]

My Grandmother is giving me one of these :) I'm SOOOO excited

[blackcountryme]

Very cool, the first time iv seen one of these things, I like the white case,

Very Space 1999. Imagine having to put up with that screen blink ugh!

But i remember the excitement of having a computer, I can remember that moment ah well what if it was a Mattel Aquarius (I got a spec later)

[judgewest2000]

Congratulations on this video. Really enjoyable.

There's a lot of work that goes into these videos and it is appreciated.

[jonnno100]

steve, thanks for sharing this with us but you really need to check out the zx80 flicker free space invaders video. How they do it is very very clever and I, a programmer, can barely understand it but it really does work and is so impressive.

[SteveBenway]

@jonnno100 Thanks, and yes, I've seen that video... but only after I made this video :)

[maiki60fps]

The only way to make money from 48k rubber is to make the fools on ebay think it's never been opened - "sealed in the box"... then the prices skyrocket, believe me...

[mathowlett]

You're right, the 48k Spectrum is like the Sgt. Peppers LP. Everyone thinks it'll be worth money, but it's not because there are still zillions of them about !!

[madcapoperator]

would one of those little CRT portable tv's work well with a zx81? thinking of getting one for mine just because they're so cheap

[SteveBenway]

@madcapoperator Provided it has a manual analogue tuning dial, yes, most definitely.

[lawnboyspost1975]

I still have a 48k + in my loft, my Dad bought the kit to upgrade the rubber matt version and did it him self. Didn't Sinclair Use Magazine back in the day actually have a tip to keep your zx80 Cool by putting a pint of milk fresh from the fridge on the back half of the unit? Any how I'm sure I remember seeing a game for sale for it in a second hand shop in Bideford in Devon when I was about 10, I think the shop was called Scudders Emporium.

By the way did you see BBC's Micro Men?

[SteveBenway]

@lawnboyspost1975 Heh... pint of milk... I guess it does look kinda fridge coloured. Ironic that it's the milk keeping the ZX80 cool though.

Since making this vid (it was a while back), I've found that games were indeed possible on it, by "racing the beam" and fitting key inputs into the fraction of a second that the display isn't being drawn.

I did see Micro Men. Very entertaining :)

[wisteela]

Great vid.

Also, they could only do integer maths.

[MrLastkill3r]

Hey! You didn't mention the MK-14, which is even more rare!

[SteveBenway]

@MrLastkill3r I know... but I don't have one, and was trying just to mention the stuff I could show.

[MrLastkill3r]

@SteveBenway Ahh... now i understand ;P

[scroogeballs]

Benway is a sad little man. The reason why he plays with his computers is very simple, it is becaus his wife is ugly and playing games all day keeps his mind off the beast !! Yes Benway, it is true. It is time for you to leave YouTube because your boring and nobody wants you here. Deactivate you account and go away !!!!

[oncelostmain]

this computer made me programmer, my today profession

[bravotwozero007]

ah the memories,that was my first computer,seems ages ago now lol

[retrocomputerkidkris]

i got my zx81 for 20 and it works like a dream what i would do to get my hands on a zx80

[Cds56]

Those sinclair computers are tiny! 

[SteveBenway]

@Cds56 Yes, they are :)

[semco72057]

I have the Z-80 which is the second computer you put down and it was the first computer I owned. It don't work since the paper thin wiring which controls the keyboard is broken on it. Other than that it would work.

[lookbacktime]

I keep my Spectrum 128 for sentimental reasons.

[ForViewingOnly]

Hi Steve, do ZX80's have serial numbers on them? Moving on to the ZX81 now, what does it mean when a ZX81 has no serial number? Does that mean it was a kit built machine rather than factory built? Thanks.

[nookie077]

There is one of these, mint, going on Ebay with a buy it now price of £650. But! when I say mint, I mean MINT! With everything! Even the leaflets and instructions look like they were printed yesterday.

[DdlyHeadshot]

What about the UK101? That was available from '79, cost the same as the ZX80 and came in kit form like the cheap ZX80!

[SteveBenway]

@DdlyHeadshot Fascinating.

I'd never heard of the UK101 and had to go and google it to find out what it was.

Needless to say, I don't have one, and have never seen one in the flesh.

It's probably not quite aimed at exactly the same market sector, seeming more suited to your uber-nerd who also dabbles in electronics, where the ZX80 is more general-geek material, for someone who wants to learn how to program and have it made relatively easy.

[wisteela]

@SteveBenway I knew somebody who's dad built a UK101. Really upgraded and in a custom wooden casing made out of old kitchen units I think.

[mrkenolin]

I have one of these but it doesent have the blue keyboard but a zx81 style one. Anyone have any idea why?

[SteveBenway]

@mrkenolin The ones with the ZX81 style keyboard have got the upgraded ROM. This adds a set of commands that are available on the ZX81 that weren't originally on the ZX80, and hence not on the keyboard.

What the upgrade doesn't add though is "slow" mode, so you still get the screen shutting down whenever you press a key, or when it is running program code.

[pocketmego]

I've read about the screen flicker, but to see it....that is CRAZY!

[robertozube]

OK, 30 years on whats the difference in power between my i7 975 @4GB and 2 GTX 480's running in SLI and the ZX80?

[ObiWanBillKenobi]

When I was growing up here in Michigan, we had one of these ZX80s along with a silver TRS-80. If I remember correctly, I always thought the ZX80 was broken because it always blinked when I typed. Now I know why! Oh, the irony!

[26highstreet]

Ive got a zx79 it was an early prototype for the zx80, no not really, but do remember the zx81 and the smell of hot plastic once it had been on for more than 30 mins

[SteveBenway]

I've never noticed my ZX81s get hot, though the PSU certainly does.

48k Spectrums though... they'll leave scorch marks on your desk :D

[roundtr1p]

Really striking looks. I kinda want one lol. doubt id use it though.

[ppparadigm]

This was my first computer too! The sceen blanking when running a BASIC was a pain, however that was a limitation of BASIC. I had the two games - invaders and breakout! They showed that animation was possible in assembly language and the 8K ROM upgrade allowed the previously mentioned "slow mode". I had the 8K ROM and the 16K RAM module. Yes, the 16K RAM module was the same thing as sold for the ZX81.

[ScrewAttackEurope]

Did you ever watch "Micro Men" on BBC4 a few months ago Steve? About Sinclair's rise and fall with his computers.

[SteveBenway]

Yeah I did.

Very entertaining and a great representation of the computer industry in the 80s.

Very much a work of fiction in terms of the details of the individuals involved though.

When asked about the program, Curry said he wouldn't sue, purely because it was so entertaining.

[ScrewAttackEurope]

Really? are there any parts in it that were fictitious?

[SteveBenway]

Quite a lot apparently, though I don't know which exact scenes.

[ScrewAttackEurope]

Well I suppose there's some change for "dramatisation purposes"

Have you ever seen the movie "The Pirates of Silicon Valley" as well? Great movie, about the war in the 80's between Apple and Microsoft.

[SteveBenway]

It rings a bell, but I'm not sure. I'll have to keep an eye open for that one.

[ScrewAttackEurope]

You can pick it up for about three quid on DVD now, great film.

[ilovemimisomuch]

My dad bought one in the 80s and he's been saving it ever since. I used to think it was a toy when I was little

[Laxpowertoo]

Mine died and got hoyed in the bin....now its a collector item! Typical!

What are they worth these days?

[SteveBenway]

A boxed and sealed one sold just before christmas for £1500, but a more usual price is £150 - £300.

[strictlysega]

god i love this vid,, ive watched it at least 3 times now.. seem to get something new out of it every time,, as i just saw that sinclair vs acorn movie the other day... what was it called?.. micromen or something yeh?.. good movie..

[SteveBenway]

Yeah, Micromen. I saw that... very enjoyable.

Not to be taken too literally though, as it's more of a fictional drama than factual piece of work.

It's great for showing the 80s pretty much as they were though.

There's a piece on the ZX80 in this month's Retro Gamer magazine. I knew it was coming a couple of months back, as the writer contacted me looking for technical info. I didn't have it, but put him in touch with someone who did.

It's fun to be contacted by magazines and tv shows though :D

[MarkTheMorose]

Hi, well I'd certainly like it if you did more videos like this, maybe you have already (I see a related video about the Jupiter Ace). I think I'm about the same age as yourself, and I remember the 'scene' just as you describe it: v. expensive business computers, nothing for Joe Public, then along come the ZX80 and 81. Beyond seeing the ZX80 in pictures I've not seen one operating, so thumbs up from me for showing one of the foundations of British home computing. Love seeing the obsucre ones!

[johny8888888]

I've seen 2 games for ZX80. One of them is SpaceInvaders (or clone, doesn't matter). They're somewhere on the Net.

[provito]

i got two ZX81 :)

[SteveBenway]

So do I. They're such fun :)

[jameshem]

my dad binned his last year without telling me. had been in the loft for ever - oh well

[2008Overkill]

Yep, I got out bid by just £1 lol :)

If it was mine I'd have to build it which would de-value it.

[2008Overkill]

There is a ZX80 on ebay today still in kit form, must be the only one in the world :) but it's at £350 at the moment so I don't think I'll be buying it, and if I did I'd want to put it together which would de-value it :-)

[phreakindee]

It ended up going for over 1500 pounts. Insane! Still sealed up in the polystyrene and everything.

[SteveBenway]

Blimey!

I've been known to pay daft money for the odd old computer, but.... blimey!

And that's gonna sit on a shelf, sealed in its box till the fall of civilisation... or something.

It'd be ironic if it didn't actually work.

I've never got this "keep it sealed in the box" thing. I like to use mine.

[HannuMikkola]

yep, it sold for getting on £2000.

It would be criminal to build it.

[RadiantSynergy]

That was so great. I got mine for 99 bucks and as I remember it had something damn hard to solder in it but not sure 20 yrs later what that was. It worked too! In 1989 or so I was at a flea market and a guy had a bucket full of sinclairs for ten bucks hah.

[SteveBenway]

It really stings a bit, remembering seeing "obsolete" computers and consoles being sold for pennies on flea markets back in the late 80s, and walking away from them, only for them to be worth hundreds now.

[2008Overkill]

My first computer was a ZX81 in kit form, it was the first time I had used a soldering iron but I put it together and it worked :) altho I blow it up later trying to connect a Casio VL-Tone to it to give it sound lol :)

I've now just started collecting Sinclair computers, I think I have 11 already :) I need a ZX80 tho if anyone has one ;)

[SteveBenway]

Damn... Casio VL-Tone... I remember some teen magazine I read had Vince Clark of Yazoo on the cover playing one, coz they were giving it away in a competition.

I couldn't afford one... which sucked.

And who was the band that used one for the percussion track in that song Da Da Da?

[Lachlant1984]

Can the unit priduce any kind of sound or animation at all? Is it possible for the unit to even produce simple auditory beeps?

[SteveBenway]

It can't produce sound. It has no audio circuitry at all. Animation... maybe... if the programmer is *really* good with machine code, and knows how to "chase the beam"

[kevin12567]

I just watched a video that popped up under "Related Videos"...It shows a version of Space Invaders running on a ZX80 - flicker free! Just search for "zx80 flicker free space invaders".

[SteveBenway]

Yeah, I've seen it.

It's very impressive.

But if you watch closely, you'll see that he isn't actually touching the keyboard while it plays, and that the base jumps about randomly while firing.

It may just be attract mode or it may be just a short repeating animation. Clever, whichever one it is.

[capricious71]

The Spectrum was wonderful. Computers were so much fun in those days. It seemed anyone could write a game and have it published.

The ZX81 had a great minimalist design.

[yamiharu84]

Is so slim... i love it :D.

[rudeydudey05]

ZX80 was great for learning BASIC, and as Steve said, hell of a great first computer. They were really popular with Uni Students of the day as they were cheap. I think the Acorn Atom was another option, but it was prone to over-heating, making the ZX80 a more reliable yet cheaper alternative if you were programming for many hours at a time. I still use mine, i love it, got bugger all SW for it tho.

[wubble78]

I liked what you said about why the ZX80 was important. My Grandad had one (kit), He called it the ice cream carton for some reason.

[mariosonic190]

Is it possible to use a ZX81 16k memory expansion with a ZX80?

[SteveBenway]

I'm about 99% sure it is possible.

[jazzman1701]

it is possible! but only up to 16k...

[Lachlant1984]

I've never used any Sinclair gear before, so I don't know much about them? Why do I get the feeling that computers such as the Spectrum were made in the UK? Did the Spectrum have the screen blanking issues the ZX80 had?

[SteveBenway]

They were indeed made in the uk. They were sold in the US as Timex computers, though I don't know if they made it to Australia or not.

The Spectrum was more advanced than the ZX80, and had none of the blanking issues. That was fixed by the time the ZX81 was designed.

[rudeydudey05]

I really want one.

[snorisnurlesson]

Thank you for your interesting film. I bought a ZX80 in 1980 and like others I paid my £99 and waited for months for delivery. Computers were rare even in schools and colleges, my college had a PDP11 which ran programmes on punch tape, so the ZX80 was unbelievable, a real computer at home!

[mtssvnsn]

I had one of those.

Brilliantly simple design, its basically only one little circuit board sandwiched between the two halves of the casing.

The keyboard is just a sheet of plastic with metal surface under, that is pressed down on connection points on the motherboard.

The board has a ROM chip, a Z80 cpu, two chips for the 1k memory, one rf modulator (under the hump), a voltage regulator with a little bent plate for cooling.

And a dozen or so standard 74LS logic chips.

[mtssvnsn]

Thats it, the ROM is the only custom component, the rest is right out of a electronics catalogue.

I still have a copy of the service manual circuit diagram, it looks like it was hand drawn =)

The ZX81 was pretty much the same thing, but they had splurged on a custom chip that replaced all the little 74LS chips.

And the keyboard used a separate sheet of sandwiched plastic membranes (like in a remote control) instead of pressing down on the motherboard.

[mtssvnsn]

And the ROM was updated with newer software, better basic, including the SLOW command that stopped the screen from flickering when computing.

AND most important they had connected an I/O pin from the custom chip back to one of the interrupt pins on the Z80.

This made the SLOW, non flickering mode possible by only allowing other computing during video blanking.

Now you could have a loop wait for input, AND have it display some text requesting the input AT THE SAME TIME!

[mtssvnsn]

In the FAST mode no text could be displayed while the computer worked.

The newer ROM was available as an upgrade foe ZX80, BUT since it dint have the interrupt line, SLOW didnt work.

I got the ZX80 just before the ZX81 was released, and boy was I envious on those having option to display text while running programs. =)

I also had the ZX81 ROM upgrade, and an extra 16k wobbly flaky crash prone memory upgrade, for about 200 euro in todays value.

Fortunately I could soon upgrade to a spectrum.

[madcapoperator]

My dad had a ZX80 (or 81 cant remember) and told me of the good ol' days of loading games off of tapes taking up to 5 or 6 minutes most of the time. Not being an old man (kidding ;)) I wouldnt know about that stuff, but floppy disks on an amiga took quite a while to load stuff.

Anyways interesting vid and computer! To think it was the only real choice for the working classes in 1980.

[lostmtkid]

My first computer was a Sinclair ZX80 (in 1980 when I was the ripe old age of 5). I remember that my dad paid a small fortune for it at the time (plus a hefty sum to have it shipped/delivered to Blackfoot, Idaho; USA) It was a complete oddity at the time and all of my dad's friends (and my friends) had to check it out. My dad wrote alot of programs that involved solving various mathematical equations and a shell game that involved finding the asterisk within three simulated shells.

[pjcnet]

Yes, I'm old. I actually had a ZX80 and waiting months for it to arrive from Sinclair. It was amazing in it's day. About 9 months later I upgraded from the 1KB of memory to 16KB of memory. I had a circuit board that allowed the machine to act similar to a ZX81 that could run "SLOW" mode, which allowed screen output while processing before actually getting a ZX81. The ZX80 was truly the first ever feasible home computer & it's a shame the Sinclair C5 bankrupted Clive Sincair after the Spectrum.

[SteveBenway]

It's always nice to hear from people who're actually familiar with these machines from actual use, when they were still contemporary.

I was aware of the ZX80 when it was out, but still in school, and unable to afford one.

A chap who used to program the ZX80 in machine code, emailed me a while back, with all kinds of technical info, much of it over my head, but very interesting.

I agree entirely about the C5. It'd be fascinating to know what Sinclair might have done otherwise.

[SteveBenway]

It's been brought to my attention by a chap called Peter, who watched this video via my weblog, that the ZX80 can in fact play games.

There were a few "commercial" games available via mailorder in computer magazines of the day.

The trick was to program entirely in machine code, and code the video signal timing manually. It's rather over my head, but sounds like "chasing the beam", as on the Atari 2600.

[musicmumbler]

Never had a ZX80 (can remember plunging store display ZX81s into endless goto loops though!), but I recall reading that there was a 'battleships' type memory game that made a virtue of the disappearing graphics.

The length of time your demo machine took to complete that loop in Basic is a pretty scary reminder of how far these things have come. Especially since the video was running (ever so slightly faster!) in Flash Actionscript, another interpreted language.

[holabaloosers]

nice

[bellinivernon]

Muy bueno ! Gracias ,desde argentina,en el sur .

[SteveBenway]

No hay de qué. Me alegro de que te gusta el vídeo.

I hope google translated that correctly. :)

[lettersfromtheleft]

Cool vid. I much prefer people talking about old consoles/computers than reading about them on Wikipedia or some such.

Especially when the person knows what the heck they're talking about.

If you do decide to do a video on the NEO-GEO, I think you'll be surprised to learn just how close the home console was to the arcade units. That's one of the reasons the darn games were so expensive.

[SteveBenway]

Thanks :)

From what I know of the NeoGeo, the games for the home console were the exact games from the arcade machines, as opposed to home conversions. The only differences were minor, such as not having to drop a coin in the slot, etc.

I've been running the idea of doing NeoGeo and C64GS vids through my head a little, and I think I can do them justice, so now it's just a matter of finding the time.

Watch this space :D

[DeanoTheLegend87]

Looking forward to that.

Do you still have your Binatone system?

[SteveBenway]

Yeah, but it's in the loft.

The video output is very dodgy, so I tend to ignore it, and don't include it in any of my vids.

[MarkWillsUK]

After Clive Sinclair sold the rights to the Sinclair name to Amstrad, he formed Cambridge Computers and formed a team of top notch engineers that went on to create the absolutely superb and ground-breaking Z88 laptop computer. Check it out. What an amazing machine!

Mark

[DeanoTheLegend87]

I can relate to what you said near the beginning, people saying NES' will be worth something in 30-40 years time.

Could you possibly show us your NeoGeo or C64 GS?

[SteveBenway]

I'm considering doing other systems, and since I don't have many games for those two, I guess they'd be prime candiates.

I'll have to do a bit of reserch though, as I don't know as much about those, right off the top of my head. At least, not enough to ramble on for several minutes.

[mariosonic190]

Congratulations on acquiring a ZX80! Those things are a nightmare to come across these days. I've read in Retro Gamer that you can pay £200 and above for a mint system. I've also heard that the ZX80 can load programmes from a cassette drive, but nothing bigger than 16K.

[SteveBenway]

Thanks :D

Retro Gamer's price guide is off by a mile on most systems, though not by too far on the ZX80. I've actually put together a price guide on my website.

You're right about the 16k limit, but that's when using a 16k expansion. Mine only has 1k.

[mariosonic190]

OK. Just to let you know, in 1975, MOS Technology, later bought out by Commodore, launched the KIM-1, which was a bit similar to the MK14. Ever heard of the KIM-1?

[SteveBenway]

I have.

I saw one encased in a perspex box, looking kinda like Orac from Blake's 7, for sale on ebay a couple of years ago.

It sold for £300

[chris019s]

Good video and very interesting.

[playablemovies]

it is actually pretty thin which was uncommon for computers in the 80's

[SteveBenway]

Yeah, the keyboard end is especially thin.

I was surprised to find though, that it's overall footprint is actually larger than the ZX81.