A new machine has joined the collection: a Sinclair ZX80. It comes with its power supply, the A Course in BASIC Programming manual, the "Important" leaflet that came in the box, and a newspaper advert offering the machine for £99.95.
// HISTORY
Clive Sinclair's company, then called Science of Cambridge, launched the ZX80 in February 1980. It cost £79.95 as a kit or £99.95 ready-built, which made it the first computer sold in the UK for under £100. Designer Jim Westwood kept the chip count low by having the Z80 CPU generate the TV picture itself.
The ZX80 sold about 50,000 units, which was a big success for such a small company. It was replaced in 1981 by the ZX81, which was cheaper and fixed the display flicker. That was followed in 1982 by the ZX Spectrum.
// SPECS
CPU ........ Z80A @ 3.25 MHz
RAM ........ 1K (expandable to 16K)
ROM ........ 4K, integer-only Sinclair BASIC
DISPLAY .... TV out, 32x24 text, black and white
STORAGE .... cassette
KEYBOARD ... 40-key membrane, single-keystroke BASIC keywords
// HOW IT WAS USED
For many British buyers the ZX80 was their first chance to own a computer, and they mostly used it to learn BASIC. Because the CPU drew the screen, the display blanked whenever a program ran or a key was pressed, so animation was almost impossible. People still managed to write games for it, and it taught a whole generation to program in 1K.
// WHAT'S NEXT
Here's the plan before it gets switched on:
[ ] inspect the case and the membrane keyboard
[ ] check the power supply output
[ ] power up and check the TV picture
[ ] scan the manual and the advert
Progress updates will be posted here. For more vintage machines, see the hardware section.