The Speccy is 25 today

chub · Post by **chub** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 1:12 pm 0

Aah, the Speccy. It got me started in the whole games playing thing, and had an awful lot of use. The 48k rubber keys one was the best, although I also had a +2 in later years, but it just wasn't the same. There was a certain satisfaction about getting the cassette player tone control just right to be able to load anything, especially with games, erm, backed up onto C90s.

Great times.

Xstreme · Post by **Xstreme** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 1:21 pm 0

I've owned a fair few computers over the years but none hold quiet the same fond memories as the beloved speccy.
Correct about the design - it still looks a lovely bit of kit today. A timeless classic.

moosedude · Post by **moosedude** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 1:27 pm 0

chub wrote:Aah, the Speccy. It got me started in the whole games playing thing, and had an awful lot of use. The 48k rubber keys one was the best, although I also had a +2 in later years, but it just wasn't the same. There was a certain satisfaction about getting the cassette player tone control just right to be able to load anything, especially with games, erm, backed up onto C90s.

Great times.

That reminds me, there was a time when I knew what noise loading a certain game was suppose to make. Usually, it was a Burrrr Beep. Burrrrrrrrrrr Bleleleleleelelelesquellllllyyyyyyyyyyy..........

I miss listening to things load.

carolen · Post by **carolen** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 1:47 pm 0

moosedude wrote:That reminds me, there was a time when I knew what noise loading a certain game was suppose to make. Usually, it was a Burrrr Beep. Burrrrrrrrrrr Bleleleleleelelelesquellllllyyyyyyyyyyy..........

CSI:Miami enjoyed a bit of Sabre Wulf fairly recently

evilpaul · Post by **evilpaul** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 2:28 pm 0

juice wrote:I have seen one running with a CF adapter and a PSX LCD screen (behind Matthew's head - you may have to squint a bit):

Sticking them all together with a bit of duct tape is left as an exercise for the reader :)

haha.. i think i've actually got the divide interface in that picture. nice matt lent me his spare one while i wait for mine to be built =)

we also had a discusion about making a tiny, portable spectrum at breakpoint. i think the best idea was to have a little box with a usb adapter on the front for a keyboard and a cf card slot on the back. another suggestion was to make it entirely usb based, with something similar to a usb tv card inside to provide the picture to the host platform. this way you'd just need to plug the box into your pc/mac/whatever and away you'd go. how cool would that be? :D

oh, and there's a "how-to" on connecting up one of thse psone monitors to your speccy:
http://www.papayalabs.co.uk/hacks/psonelcd.php

evilpaul · Post by **evilpaul** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 2:33 pm 0

also... a lot of speccys were built in the timex factory in dundee. i was hoping to find out where the factory was so that i could take my speccys along ( oh dear.. i've just realised that i may actually have four of them! ) and snap a few pics of them outside their birthplace to commemorate the anniversary

of course.. i completely forgot about this plan until just now ;(

F-ZeroOne · Post by **F-ZeroOne** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 3:20 pm 0

It was, and is, and always will be, absolutely perfect.

Happy 25th birthday, Speccy!

Orava · Post by **Orava** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 3:33 pm 0

evilpaul wrote:also... a lot of speccys were built in the timex factory in dundee. i was hoping to find out where the factory was so that i could take my speccys along ( oh dear.. i've just realised that i may actually have four of them! ) and snap a few pics of them outside their birthplace to commemorate the anniversary

of course.. i completely forgot about this plan until just now ;(

It closed down in 1993, see:

http://heritage.scotsman.com/videos.cfm?vid=57

Isn't Timex the company that also makes those Mickey Mouse clocks?

Saint Sandy · Post by **Saint Sandy** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 3:43 pm 0

Is there not an address we can send a "cheers" to Uncle Clive to?

( Speccy 16k .... my first computer )

Alarm · Post by **Alarm** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 3:53 pm 0

Saint Sandy wrote:Is there not an address we can send a "cheers" to Uncle Clive to?

( Speccy 16k .... my first computer )

Although Sir Clive has access to email, his address is not public knowledge. Looking at http://www.sinclair-research.co.uk/ you could try writing to him (address listed as 'for enquiries') at:

Sinclair Research Ltd
1A Spring Gardens
Trafalgar Square
London
SW1AA 2BB

Whether he actually receives the letter is another matter...

evilpaul · Post by **evilpaul** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 3:56 pm 0

Orava wrote:It closed down in 1993, see:

http://heritage.scotsman.com/videos.cfm?vid=57

aye, it closed down in the middle of a war by all accounts ;(

i did wonder if i was likely to be lynched if i rocked up there with a couple of spectrums and a camera but, alas, i can't even find out where it actually was. i don't recognise the place from that video and i suspect that asking locals if they could tell me may well be another shortcut to getting lynched... ;D

chub · Post by **chub** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 3:58 pm 0

Extreme close-up!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... rum48k.jpg

Saint Sandy · Post by **Saint Sandy** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 3:59 pm 0

Trafalgar Square ?! crickey!

Well, I'm an optimist, and anyway recieving a reply letter to a letter of thanks isn't really that important, you know, it's just a "cheers Clive

" kind of thing

anyhoo ... cheers

TheDuke · Post by **TheDuke** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 4:20 pm 0

chub wrote:trol just right to be able to load anything, especially with games, erm, backed up onto C90s.

Great times.

Not when you'd made a note of the counter numbers between each game on a c90 tape, and the cassette player you took the counter numbers from died and the counter on your new player ran a touch faster or slower.

I still have my Speccy, all boxed and in immaculate condition.

And for the record, fanboy wars between (at our school - Homodore 64 and ZX Rectum) make all the PS3 / Wii / 360 bashing VERY tame.

rowan · Post by **rowan** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 4:38 pm 0

Stevo wrote:
20thCenturyBoy wrote:The C64 was a big beige turd. How can you not love something with a rainbow in the corner!
The rainbow was there to show the total amount of colours it used

Happy Birthday!

I think the point was that it was a "spectrum" rather than a "rainbow."