In terms of ROI, the best £69.95 I ever spent (I still have the receipt from WH Smith). It wasn’t the first computer I ever used, but it’s the first one I ever owned at age 9 and it led me down the path that’ll be familiar to many here...
I’m glad I still have it, and the Spectrum and Amiga’s that followed.
Incredibly, the ZX81 hardware and software scene is still alive. You can get parts for it quite easily, including keyboard membranes, molex connectors for the membranes, replacement jack sockets. SellmyRetro is a good place to start [1]. The composite video out is a simple and worthwhile modification.
The ZXPand+ interface [2] is an expansion unit that has a 32k RAM upgrade, SDCard slot, AY sound, hi-res support and a 9-pin joystick interface.
The zx-key is a replacement keyboard, and David Stephenson tells a great story about its creation [3].
And games too [4]. I always loved the design of the cassette covers, and cronosoft guys have done a great job reproducing them. I reminded how good an imagination you needed playing these games back in 1981!
[1] https://www.sellmyretro.com/category/retro-computers/sinclai...
[2] http://www.rwapsoftware.co.uk/zx812.html
[3] http://www.zx81keyboardadventure.com/search/label/ZXKey
[4] https://cronosoft.fwscart.com/SINCLAIR_ZX81/cat5357733_41194...
Incredibly, the ZX81 hardware and software scene is still alive. You can get parts for it quite easily, including keyboard membranes, molex connectors for the membranes, replacement jack sockets. SellmyRetro is a good place to start [1]. The composite video out is a simple and worthwhile modification.
The ZXPand+ interface [2] is an expansion unit that has a 32k RAM upgrade, SDCard slot, AY sound, hi-res support and a 9-pin joystick interface.
The zx-key is a replacement keyboard, and David Stephenson tells a great story about its creation [3].
And games too [4]. I always loved the design of the cassette covers, and cronosoft guys have done a great job reproducing them. I reminded how good an imagination you needed playing these games back in 1981!
[1] https://www.sellmyretro.com/category/retro-computers/sinclai... [2] http://www.rwapsoftware.co.uk/zx812.html [3] http://www.zx81keyboardadventure.com/search/label/ZXKey [4] https://cronosoft.fwscart.com/SINCLAIR_ZX81/cat5357733_41194...