Can You Build A Brand New ZX80/81 From 100% New Parts?

Retro where i can buy a zx80 or zx81 kit?

The resistance of your body, and fhe meter leads, should not be a factor unless there are resistors in the megohms, or only a few ohms - which is unlikely for this computer.

pity you didn't replace the keyboard

Good morning Where can I find the complete kit? Thank you

hopefully the new parts will get rid of the flickering

I hope that was antistatic foam those IC’s arrived in!

Hi, I know this is an old video but I'm about to embark on building this same PCB. How did you get the keyboard working? It's one thing I don't see any pictures of or its not documented anywhere. Were there dome key switches underneath the keyboard overlay or did the overlay come with some sort of conductive layer on the other side? Great video by the way!

Just FAKE retro enthusiasts this people bored and tired with old sinclair 8 bit started to new boards

My ZX81 died a very long time ago when I soldered the 16k RAM pack permanently to the mainboard. Has anyone simulated a ZX81 using an FPGA or a processor like the RP2040 or the ESP32 series? The Z80 instruction set is pretty clunky but should be able to be emulated on a chip like the ESP32 very easily... I'm not a big retro enthusiast though, my intrigue is more along the lines of not having the money to buy a Memotech or Spectravideo when they came out, I would have loved to test my programming creativity on them back then and even now, I'd willingly trade some productive new designing time for a quality slice of the past on those pcs.

Hi! Thanks for the video, it inspired me to make my own. I ordered the PCB and the ICs and 3D printed a case. But I'm a little unsure on how/where to obtain the keyboard cover/overlay. I think yours came with your set, but was hoping you could help.

Cheers,
Aaron

Hey can i still buy the pcb and the parts from somewhere?

That's how we did it when they came out

I'd want to upgrade the keyboard. I have many memories of being frustrated with using the membrane keyboard to want to have to go through it again!

I bought the ZXpand SD card adapter for my ZX81 a few years ago. It was'nt cheap but it's an awesome bit of kit that is no longer available. :(

I had lots of fun playing 3D Monster Maze on my ZX81 as a kid. I also started teaching myself machine code on it.

Nothing with that keyboard should ever be resurrected from the dead.

Bị nghiện bài này từ thời Bảo Thy, ko ngờ lại có ngày được nghe idol mới trong lòng mình Đức Phúc cover lại. Cảm ơn em ĐP vì đã cover lại lắng đọng cảm xúc như vậy

where to buy the kit?

Great video, thanks for sharing. I just finished a upgrade of my ZX81, and I always wanted a ZX80, but the prices on ebay are just insane. Where did you get this kit from? This looks like a winter project for me. Cheers.

My LCD doesn't like "ceramic 6.5", my LCD only likes quartz. Wilco with 6.55 ... + 47pF works at 5V, if it gets 200pF it only works at 4.3V for my ICs. haha

Out of interest, why don't you use one of the many mnemonics for resistor colour bands so you can read the values straight off the component? Genuine question, not being funny. I was taught "Bye Bye Rosie, Off You Go; Birmingham Via Great Western". This, coupled with remembering the third band is the no. of zeros, makes it a doddle - though I have to say I can't read 4-band resistors, I'm not sure how they go.

Where can I get the motherboard/keyboard?

Is it still possible to get a zx81 or a spectrum I wouldnt mind diving back into the Assembly language world again thanks

personally, id replace the membrane buttons with something more reliable

Hope you had some luck with your original zx81😀🤞

Is this available as a kit?

I have a new in box Clive Sinclair ZX-81 kit (un-assembled) purchased in 1977 then never got around to building (my Kim-1 took up all of my time) if anyone wants it. Box was opened in 1977 and the contents audited for completeness. The box has not been opened again in at least 40 years, it includes a few books and some software.

Lovely!! My very first computer was the successor to this, the ZX Spectrum! Is it possible to assemble a Spectrum in the same manner ? Make a brand new one?

I think you just found my next project!

No sorry about that; I am out of building PC’s now.

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Come on.....a toddler can assemble a board like that and get it in working order....I litterally did that when I was 7 y/o

Can you find the square root of .25 and below, on mine it was rubbish and I got a refund. The 16k of memory arrived six week’s later and it was described as more memory than you will need. A few things have changed since then.

I would not in a million years build a Sinclair with an original style membrane keyboard.
Taking the trouble to build it from the ground up means you could throw the cheapest mechanical switches and keycaps on the thing and still be far superior to most of the low-cost keyboards of the 80's hands down.

Why in the hell do y'all say zed?

I have also soldered a harlequin spectrum like two years ago or something. Since all parts were delivered as kit it worked from first try. Then I got a minstrel zx80 or zx81, I think 80 cause I think no ula. But only ics were in the package so had to source all the rest and ofc it don't start up. Will have to troubleshoot some day. My channel with soldering video is 'linux fish'. :D

My very first computer, a zx81. I still remember when I first saw that wonderful blinking "K"

nice z81/80 kit, truly a gem of time.

The fact all the right parts weren't provided is a bit shit tbh and I'd end up just throwing it all across the room in disgust. Someone should be checking the right parts are included with the kit.

My first computer was a ZX-81. I built a custom aluminium case for it and external keyboard with these tiny odd little clicky keys, and even built a joystick using a small box, a bolt, a grommet and some metal strips. Worked a treat. Also had an amber monitor.

Case modding before cases were a thing.

So many good memories.

So if the extra RAM slows the startup does it slow down anything else or does everything else run at full speed ? I seem to remember 3D monster maze running faster back in the day but my memory is not reliable.

that PCB clip is so cool

That capacitor calculator website is from DiodeGoneWild! Cool to see it being used. Also, pretty nice device, and good job on the construction of it!

I still have my original one. No idea whether it works though.

The glorious days of the ZX81. It was my first computer and I got the infamous wobbly ram pack too. Having spent a fair amount of time typing in a large listing (Frogger 16K I think) from a magazine I lost everything when the ram pack got nudged. Talk about heart failure.

Where do I buy the kit like you have?

Don't solder components with the legs splayed as it makes it difficult to remove them in the future if needed, and also make it easier for solder bridges to form. Instead, insert the component, turn the board over and grab a component lead with a pair of pliers to hold the part tight and then solder.