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The Sinclair ZX80 |
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away . . . .
(It has just struck
me that a lot of people won't even recognise that plagiarised
quote -
the film is getting on for 40 years old!)
Well, OK, at the beginning of the 1980s in the UK, computers were still very much a
business tool and "home" computers were almost unheard of. What
changed all that was the
ZX80 from Science of Cambridge Ltd.,
otherwise known as
Sinclair Research. This tiny machine, based
around the Zilog
Z80
processor, brought home computing to the world. It was released
in the UK in 1979 and was available either as a self build
kit for £79.95 or preassembled for £99.95.
|
Specifications |
| Processor |
Zilog
Z80A (or NEC 780-C a Z80A
clone) |
| Clock Speed |
3.25 MHz |
| ROM |
4 KBytes |
| RAM - fitted |
1 KBytes |
| RAM - maximum |
16 KBytes (external expansion) |
| Display |
24 lines of 32 characters per line |
| Colours |
Monochrome |
| Sound |
None |
| I/O Capability |
Z80 Bus, RF Out (TV),
Cassette
Interface |
| Data Storage |
Cassette Tape |
| Built in languages |
Sinclair BASIC See how Sinclair
BASIC compared against competitor machines of the time
when running PCW Benchmark tests
here. |
| Launch price (kit / built) |
£79.95 / £99.95 |
I never actually owned a ZX80 but reading about them whetted
my appetite for computing and led me to buy my first computer,
also from Sinclair Research, the ZX81.
Tony Barnett has converted the ZX80 Operating Manual to
PDF, it is available
here.
Circuit diagram for the Z80, downloaded from
F.J. Kraan's website,
is available here.
As befits its place
in computing history, there is a wealth of information available
on the internet which describes the ZX80. Check out the sites
below for more information :-
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