The Sinclair ZX Spectrum

Released in 1982, the first version ZX Spectrum shown here was available in 16KByte (£125) and 48KByte (£175) models and brought colour and sound to the ZX range. The introduction of colour provided a viable platform for games, most of which were originally written by the growing army of hobbyists, which led to an explosion in the machines popularity. The keyboard featured tactile keys, the rubberised keys were a great improvement over the ZX80/ZX81 membrane keyboards but retained the same multifunction keyboard layout as the earlier machines.

The ZX Spectrum eventually went through various incarnations, both before and after the sale of Sinclair's computer business to Amstrad in 1986. This page describes the model that I bought in 1982 - a 48KByte Version 1, For details of the later models, please follow the links below.

Specifications - Version 1
Processor	Zilog Z80A
Clock Speed	3.54 MHz
ROM	16 KBytes	The Complete Spectrum ROM Disassembly
RAM - fitted	16/48 KBytes
RAM - maximum	48 KBytes
Display	22 lines of 32 characters per line  256 x 192 pixel resolution
Colours	16
Sound	1 Channel, 5 Octaves
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.

ZX Spectrum Introduction Manual, from World of Spectrum, .

ZS Spectrum BASIC Programming Manual

There is a wealth of information available on the internet which describes the various models of the ZX Spectrum. Check out the sites below for more information :-