Sinclair Computers Discussion

noreply@blogger.com (RWAP) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 07:58:00 +0000

An update to the DivIDE Plus Manual

I have now released an updated version of the DivIDE Plus manual which incorporates several pages of information about the MDOS3 firmware and how to use. The manual should also apply to the standard DivIDE.

The DivIDE Plus remains one of the best selling modern interfaces for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum - allowing instantaneous loading of games from compact flash card.

noreply@blogger.com (RWAP) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 07:55:00 +0000

At last - a real gem of a ZX80 on eBay - I would guess it is worth £250-£300 and wish it were mine - compare that to the standard of the some of the ZX80s listed on ebay.

noreply@blogger.com (RWAP) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:07:00 +0000

New ways of Keeping up to date with auctions on SellMyRetro.com

You can now get up to date listings of new auctions which have been added to the SellMyRetro.com vintage/retro electronics and computers trading website, through Twitter and Facebook.

This facility is as the result of an added enhancement to the Enuuk PHPAuction platform through the work of RWAP Services.

noreply@blogger.com (RWAP) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:02:00 +0000

Updates to the Sinclair QL Wiki

I have now re-launched the Sinclair QL Wiki with a new theme and added background information on even more software - I have a stack of software still to preserve and add details to the Wiki, but for anyone who was not aware of the wealth and quality of the games published for the Sinclair QL, it is worth a visit.

See the Sinclair QL Wiki for more information

noreply@blogger.com (RWAP) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:01:00 +0000

Sinclair ZX81 Graphics in 256 x192 pixels and even 320x240 pixels !!

I have been doing some research into hi-res graphics on the ZX81 and was amazed by the amount of software written to use this - it was not just limited to Rocket Man and Forty-Niner by Software Farm.

I have yet to find any written to use the hardware solutions - but have listed all that I know about at the Sinclair ZX80/ZX81 Forums

Does anyone know of any others

noreply@blogger.com (RWAP) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:58:00 +0000

Sinclair ZX Spectrum News
We have now arranged to take on marketing of two new products for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, both built in the Netherlands to a high standard, and fully compatible with the DivIDE Plus Compact Flash Interface. We have re-written the manuals to be more user friendly and these products will be listed for sale soon on our new retro computer website - SellMyRetro.com

ZX Spectrum PC Keyboard Interface
The first of these products is the PC Keyboard Interface. This allows you to connect a UK/US English or Spanish PS/2 keyboard to the Sinclair ZX Spectrum and this then replaces the Spectrum's own keyboard. You can even use a USB keyboard if you have an adaptor.

The PC Keyboard Interface works perfectly together with the following:

ZX Spectrum 16K / 48K / 48K+ / 128K / +2
DivIDE / DivIDE Plus
MB02 / MB02+IDE – solving compatibility issues at the moment (updated 14 dec 2008)
Kempston Mouse Turbo (first version)
ZX-MMC+

There are, however, known compatibility issues with the ZX Spectrum +2A / +2B / +3 - if you wish to use the PC Keyboard Interface with these computers, you will need to make some modifications inside your ZX Spectrum.

The interface even provides you additional function, including the ability to record macros which are retained for when you switch on the Spectrum.

ZX Spectrum K-Mouse 2008 Interface

The second product is the K-Mouse 2008 Interface. This enables you to connect a PS/2 mouse (or USB version with adaptor) to your ZX Spectrum for use with software - several games have been converted to work with the interface by Velesoft.

This interface also incorporates a Kempston compatible joystick interface, with automatic switching between the two types of control (you cannot use them both at the same time, but pressing a mouse button or moving the joystick diverts control to that peripheral).

You can even add a composite video connector to the interface to provide composite video for a standard Spectrum.

Keep your eyes on our new website sellmyretro.com for details of prices etc.

noreply@blogger.com (RWAP) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:22:00 +0000

We have started some more collaborative work to bring additional products to the market.

Sinclair ZX81 News

First of all, following our successful launch of replacement keyboard membranes for the Sinclair ZX81 is software for the Sinclair ZX81, which has mainly come about as a result of the ZX80/ZX81 forums.

Details and downloads are available from our Sinclair ZX81 software page. This includes example programs showing how to achieve hi-resolution graphics on the Sinclair ZX81 - you need to make a very minor modification to your 16K (or larger) memory pack and install some HRG drivers from the internet. You can then achieve graphics such as shown here.

We have then started discussions on possible future projects for Sinclair ZX81 hardware, including an SD/MMC card reader, to allow you to load software instantaneously on the Sinclair ZX81, in a similar vein to the DivIDE Plus on the Sinclair ZX Spectrum. We are also considering a ZX81 AY interface, building on from our experience with the Zaxon AY Sound Interface for the ZX Spectrum.

At the moment, we are asking people to contact us to let us know of their interest in the projects and to help us prioritise - if you have any ideas / suggestions as to the best way to implement these projects, then we would love to hear from you.

Details appear on our Sinclair ZX81 Projects Page.

noreply@blogger.com (RWAP) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:19:00 +0000

Following a discussion on the ZX80/ZX81 forums - we have now set up a couple of additional pages for Sinclair ZX81 users.

1. A projects page - we have detailed some of the projects we are considering getting designed and built for users. We welcome your input and confirmation from people who might be interested. We need to guage the potential market for each project so that we can also keep costs down!

2. A Sinclair ZX81 Software page - this details some of the free software available for download for use with ZX81 emulators on your PC (with the author's permission).

noreply@blogger.com (RWAP) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 17:36:00 +0000

Now we are into 2010 where are RWAP Services?

We have been busy integrating new modifications to the Enuuk auction platform, and expanding our thoughts on the dedicated Enuuk Auction Platform user forums as well as sharing several free modifications to the software, which we hope will eventually be incorporated within the main release. We have released paid for modifications, including SEO improvements (such as Google Base, Google sitemap and Twitter submission) and enhancements to the messaging system used within Enuuk to allow users to message each other.

We have also moved our own auction website SellMyRetro.com - which concentrates on the retro and vintage computer / electronics market to a new even faster and more reliable server.

For the Sinclair fans out there, we have also now nearly sold all of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum DivIDE Plus hard disk interfaces which we had delivered before Christmas - at last count, there were 6 left.

Finally, we also reflected on our year for 2009 - again another profitable year for the business, with turnover increased to over £25,000 for the year, despite the world wide recession. This means that we remain a viable business looking forward, there to continue our support for the retro computing scene and bring plenty more exciting products to the market.

noreply@blogger.com (RWAP) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 10:52:00 +0000

With SellMyRetro and the Enuuk PHP Auction Platform starting to find their feet in the market place, we have now launched an unofficial Enuuk Auction Plaform forum for webmasters and developers to meet and discuss the Enuuk Auction Platform and share modifications.

noreply@blogger.com (RWAP) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 12:08:00 +0000

Taking account that SellMyRetro.com has only been in existence for a few weeks, we are pleased to see that we are getting over 100+ visitors per day.

We are currently in the process of persuading traders to open a webstore - there is a great advantage in having a free page advertising their own site on SellMyRetro.com, a site which is squarely aimed at users and collectors of retro electronics and computers, and therefore people eager to find out more information on these items of equipment and how they can buy more for their collection. For example, plenty of people are visiting the website looking for Atari 2600 games for example, and it would be great if, even if no items are listed on the site which they are interested in, they could quickly find out the other traders in Atari 2600 games.

Traders have to be mindful that any publicity is good publicity - they can have a free webstore and just link back to their own site, so that people interested in the Atari 2600 for example, can find traders who deal in that games console. If traders want to list items on the site for sale also, they can either list them as a standard auction, a reverse auction, or a fixed price item. Fixed price items even get included on Google Base - with no listing fees at present, what do you have to lose?

Come on - support the retro computing and electronics scene by signing up and joining SellMyRetro.com

noreply@blogger.com (RWAP) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 15:17:00 +0000

What a difference a host makes

As we have added more auction items to our website - sellmyretro.com, we had become increasingly disappointed with the performance of the site.

We looked at the worst performing areas of the Enuuk auction platform code and managed to shave about 70% off the time to generate some of the pages -essential now that we have added a wiki to each category - our skills from programming the Sinclair ZX81 and QL really showing off there on how to squeeze the last ounce of speed out of a system.

However, the pages were still terribly slow - we therefore took the plunge to try a different web hosting company and having looked at the competition and features provided, decided to use MagmaHost, which must be one of the best hosts around for running PHP based websites. Not only did the page loading times get slashed by around 90%, but we found the MagmaHost allow you to load additional PEAR packages. It also comes with Zend Optimiser and eAccelerator ready installed to truly drive the best out of the PHP interpreter.

Well worth the switch - we wish we had known about MagmaHost earlier.

noreply@blogger.com (RWAP) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:45:00 +0000

29 DivIDE Plus interfaces due to arrive Friday 27th November 2009

Well, the good news is that the next batch of interfaces have arrived, just in time to get them out before Christmas.

To celebrate this, we are selling some on our website - www.rwapsoftware.co.uk and some on our new auction website - www.sellmyretro.com

They will sell out fast, so if you want something fun to open on Christmas Day, get your order in now!

noreply@blogger.com (RWAP) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:12:00 +0000

Looks like Father Christmas will be busy again this year...

Dear Santa,
This year, I would like some retro computing equipment - in particular, a nice new DivIDE Plus compact flash / IDE interface for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, complete with through connector and pre-loaded firmware, all built into a nice case...

Anonymous Speccy User.

Thankfully, I recently got a call from a Mr Claus asking where we were with these interfaces and I could confidently tell him that the backlog had now been cleared and in fact we had shipped 19 interfaces only this week, with another 20 due in next week (week commencing 16th November 2009).

Looks like he will be placing an order or two via our website:
http://www.rwapsoftware.co.uk/spectrum/spectrum_storage.html

noreply@blogger.com (RWAP) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:48:00 +0000

SellMyRetro.com - a new website to bring collectors, traders and users of retro equipment together.

We are still working on a new website - Sell My Retro - which will provide a trading platform akin to the reknown auction site, ebay, but specifically aimed at users, traders and collectors of retro computers, calculators, video, audio and other electronics equipment.

We welcome comments on the new site - listed auctions are available to bid on now, but we are developing new features as the site develops.

The site has been based on the new Enuuk auction platform from well known auction software provider phpAuction. Although there have been issues with the early versions of Enuuk, we report and get bugs fixed and have also developed our own range of add-on modules which other Enuuk adopters may be interested in installing.

noreply@blogger.com (RWAP) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 05:53:00 +0000

We are continuing to rescue more software for the Sinclair QL and re-release some of it for sale onto the market, thanks to the Sinclair QL Wiki. The latest titles to be re-released are ones by Microdeal - The King (a version of the classic arcade game, Donkey Kong), QL Hopper (a Frogger clone), QL Flight Simulator and the rare Cuthbert in Space.

All games can be played on emulators and can be purchased from our RWAP Software website.

noreply@blogger.com (RWAP) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 05:24:00 +0000

Rare Sinclair ZX Spectrum and Sinclair QL Items now listed on ebay.

Over the weekend I have been busy sorting through my Sinclair stocks and listed some rare items on ebay - auctions all end on 3rd / 4th October 2009.

The items include the following ZX Spectrum ROM cartridges for use with the ZX Interface 2 or RAM Turbo interface with ROM slot, which are always a favourite amongst collectors:

TransAm Sinclair ROM cartridge by Ultimate Play the Game
Pssst Sinclair ROM cartridge by Ultimate Play the Game
Planetoids Sinclair ROM cartridge by Psion
Hungry Horace Sinclair ROM cartridge by Psion
Chess Sinclair ROM cartridge by Psion

I have also listed some more Ultimate Play the Games programs - some of which are very rare, in box box formats, or on the silver Sinclair label - as preferred by collectors:

Atic Atac
Cookie
Pssst
Jet Pac
Lunar Jetman
Alien 8
Knight Lore
Sabre Wulf
Pentagram
Cyberun
Martianoids
Gunfright
Nightshade

There are even some more silver sinclair label games, such as Bubble Buster and Stop the Train.

For Sinclair QL fans, I have also listed the following rare items:

CST Q+4 Expansion Module
CST Q-Pi Printer Module
Boxed Sandy 256K Expanderam
QL Hyperdrive by English Software

See my ebay listings now!

noreply@blogger.com (RWAP) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 05:21:00 +0000

What Software Titles were published for the Sinclair QL?

We are continuing to build on the list of software titles published for the Sinclair QL home computer and to incorporate details, with screenshots into the Sinclair QL Wiki

To date we have uploaded details on:

Arcade Games
This includes all of the software written by Janko Mrsic Flogel for the Sinclair QL
Alien Hijack - 3D Graphical Adventure by Chisoft.
Baron Rouge - game where you fly a small monoplane shooting enemy planes and air ships
BJ in 3D Land - platform game, follow up to BJ Returns, but this time in a 3D world
BJ Returns - platform game, follow up to QL Caverns
Citadel - arcade game - overhead flying - similar to Metropolis
Eagle - A scramble type clone - fast and furious
Hyperdrive - Formula 1 Car Racing Game
Karate - Beat em up - you need to beat your opponents in Karate
M-Cosmic - a Graphic Adventure game
M-Crunch - a game based on Pacman
M-Treasure - a platform game, very similar to QL Cavern
Match Point - a 3D Tennis Championship Game
Metropolis - arcade game - overhead flying - similar to Citadel
Pengi - A game set in the antarctic, where you play a penguin!
QL Bounder - platform game similar to the popular Manic Miner on the Sinclair ZX Spectrum
QL Meteor Storm - classic arcade game where you have to shoot up the meteors
QL Quboids - platform game based on Lode Runner Arcade game
Quazimodo - platform game - save Esmerelda from the tower
Spook - faithful implementation of Pacman
Vroom - Formula 1 Car Racing Game
Zapper a shoot 'em up similar to space invaders

Board Games
Psion Chess - The original chess program for the QL, written by Richard Lang and launched by Psion (designers of the QL Quill, Archive, Abacus and Easel software).
QL Reversi - A good implementation of the classic Othello Game.

Text Adventures
Dark Side of the Moon - Your mission here is to recapture a moonbase and mineral mine.
Horrorday - Comic adventure based on the best tradition of hammer horror movies
Lost Kingdom of Zkul - A realtime classic dungeons and dragons type adventure.
QL Pawn - Famous text adventure by Magnetic Scrolls.
Return to Eden - Text and Graphics adventure, which fills 3 disks - released before the Level 9 Adventure of the same name
The Prawn - Spoof text adventure based on QL Pawn.
West - A realtime text adventure where you play the role of a sheriff

Screenshots can be enlarged by clicking on them, and we can supply many of the software titles on disk or microdrive if you have an old version that will no longer load (or if you have moved onto an emulator).

Some of this software is still copy protected, so we would like to hear from anyone that has a working version without the copy protection, or is willing to work on the code to remove it.

We are also looking for the following software titles, which we can then re-release on the QL market:

Funfear - a text adventure by Martin Hopkins (Mert)
TechniQL by Talent (I have copies but with copy protection still intact)
PCB1 by Talent
WIMP by Talent
Strip Poker by Talent (I have copies but with copy protection still intact)
Toolset by Talent
The Lost Pharoah by Talent (I have copies but with copy protection still intact)
Type 22 by Talent (I have copies but with copy protection still intact)
Basic Ally by Talent
Cuthbert in Space by Microdeal
The King by Microdeal
Crazy Painter by Microdeal
Night Nurse by Microdeal
Hopper by Microdeal
Bridge by Microdeal

Can anyone help with these titles?

noreply@blogger.com (RWAP) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 05:08:00 +0000

Welcome News for fans of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum DivIDE Plus

We are pleased to say that we have now sourced a more reliable manufacturer for the DivIDE Plus interfaces, who can make them in bulk and have recently placed an order for 100 interfaces, as an initial batch. We expect the first ones to arrive in mid October, so keep your eye on our website, where we will publish details of availability and how to order:

ZX Spectrum DivIDE Plus order page

You will also note that we have made further improvements to the manual, with more details on some of the other firmware and also updated sections on ResiDOS.

Just a small issue here is that we have probably have orders for at least 50 interfaces already, so we can see us placing an order for a further 100 interfaces quite soon!!

Please don't forget that we can also supply the AY-Magic sound interfaces which work perfectly with the DivIDE Plus - see our Sinclair ZX Spectrum AY Magic sound interface page

Just a reminder - the DivIDE Plus interface works with all ZX Spectrums (although there is an issue with the Portuguese ZX Spectrum+2 which apparently may be rectified by running a wire from the Z80 to the rear expansion port on the Spectrum). It enables the ZX Spectrum to load games instantly from Compact Flash card, or a hard disk. It has a wide range of firmwares available, to give plenty of options for loading and saving files, and has a through connector to allow you to connect to other peripherals.

The AY Magic Sound interface allows standard 16K and 48K ZX Spectrums (rubber key and Spectrum+ versions) to play the AY sounds and music developed for the built in AY controller included in the later 128K version computers, which is included in some of the later games developed for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum .

noreply@blogger.com (RWAP) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:48:00 +0000

New for September 2009 has been the re-release (by popular demand) of an old QL arcade game, Pengi, which was written by Jochen Merz and previously released on the Gigasoft label.

In this colourful game, you control a small Penguin (Pengi) as he tries to survive the antarctic climate. Faced with deadly snobees all around, the only way to survive is by pushing ice blocks onto the snobees and squashing them, before they touch Pengi. You can also collect diamonds to gain additional points.

Now available to buy once again, this increases the range of arcade games still available commercially from RWAP Software - purchase QL Pengi

noreply@blogger.com (RWAP) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:36:00 +0000

Missing software for the Sinclair QL?

We have now amassed a large library of software titles for the Sinclair QL - much of it is unsuitable for second hand sales, as we only have the cartridges, with no manual or box.

However, we have started to preserve as much of the software as we can by storing it on our PC (with regular backups to the internet), and are updating the Sinclair QL Computer Wiki with details as we go.

We will then be able to make fresh working copies (on microdrive, disk or suitable for use with emulators) for those who can prove that they own the original software. We are also looking for the original copyright holders to contact us, so that we can hopefully bring some of this software back to the Sinclair QL market, either as commercial programs or as public domain.

The ones we have converted and tested to date are listed on the RWAP Software pages.

noreply@blogger.com (RWAP) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:16:00 +0000

Sinclair QL Hackers Journal Saved

We have agreed with Tim Swenson, the author of the QL Hacker's Journal to make it available from our Adventure website

The QL Hacker's Journal is a publication dedicated to supporting QL programmers and is edited and published by Tim Swenson as a service to the QL Community. 34 issues in all were produced over the years.

Direct link to the webpage

noreply@blogger.com (RWAP) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:12:00 +0000

Has anyone ever seen one of these before - a clear Sinclair ZX Microdrive Cartridge, so that you can see the workings.

On ebay - 7th August 2009 to 17th August 2009.

I guess it was produced for promotion material to show the inner workings of the microdrive, although from memory, I don't remember a picture of one - just hand drawn diagrams....

Interesting!

noreply@blogger.com (RWAP) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 17:31:00 +0000

Replacement Sinclair ZX Spectrum faceplates (keyboard escutcheons) are now available - these metal plates go around the rubber keyboard mat to make your Spectrum look brand new and are as close to the original as we can get.

Details appear on our Sinclair discussion forum, including pictures.

Order them from the RWAP Software ZX Spectrum website.

noreply@blogger.com (RWAP) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:54:00 +0000

We now have some samples of the new Sinclair ZX Spectrum faceplates - see teh RWAP Software forums for more details and pictures