5 ms·

The Spectrum, along with the C64, NES, SNES, etc is still on my to-do list of catching up with computing/gaming history by devving some games for the platforms

The Spectrum, along with the C64, NES, SNES, etc is still on my to-do list of catching up with computing/gaming history by devving some games for the platforms that started it all ;")

Levitating 3mo ago
Depending on your country you might be able to buy a ZX spectrum for a reasonable price. Their through-hole circuit boards are very repairable and there's a some videos on YouTube explaining how to properly troubleshoot them. I've personally had a lot of fun repairing one I bought on catawiki.
- TacticalCoder 3mo ago
  > Depending on your country you might be able to buy a ZX spectrum for a reasonable price. Bought one at a garage sale for 5 EUR. I'm pretty sure it does not work. Haven't tried it: I still have a good old CRT TV so I could. But when people talk about coding for these 8-bit machines, they usually mean they'll target an emulator.
- Steve44 3mo ago
  I understand there is an common fault where something, perhaps a capacitor, has failed over the years and if you plug it in something major gets fried. If you do get one, investigate that before attempting to power it up.
utopcell 3mo ago
The Retro Games TheSpectrum is not a bad starting point [1], it's very close to the original and you can use HDMI video output and USB power. [1] https://retrogames.biz/products/thespectrum/ https://retrogames.biz/products/thespectrum/
- bzzzt 3mo ago
  It's a Spectrum-like keyboard on an emulator running on a Raspberry Pi like CPU. Nothing like the original imo.
  - utopcell 3mo ago
    For sure, nothing like the original, but it's a cheap, quick way to get you started.
    - bzzzt 3mo ago
      Why not just load an emulator then?
      - utopcell 3mo ago
        TheSpectrum is great at capturing the original look&feel. The keyboard feels identical to the original. An emulator captures the software aspect well, but that's not all the speccy was.
aa-jv 3mo ago
You will find the 10-line Basic Programming Competition quite useful in your endeavours, I'd wager: https://gkanold.wixsite.com/homeputerium/rules-2026 https://gkanold.wixsite.com/homeputerium/rules-2026 Some seriously great stuff in there - take the time to go through the archives, set up emulators for the winning systems, and study the results. Its one great resource for the budding 8-bit coder .. And if you're looking for modern hardware that will get you into the scene, the ZX Spectrum Next is pretty badass - has many cores for other systems available as well, so you're not just limited to Spectrum things .. https://www.specnext.com/ https://www.specnext.com/

The Spectrum, along with the C64, NES, SNES, etc is still on my to-do list of catching up with computing/gaming history by devving some games for the platforms that started it all ;")

Levitating 3mo ago

Depending on your country you might be able to buy a ZX spectrum for a reasonable price. Their through-hole circuit boards are very repairable and there's a some videos on YouTube explaining how to properly troubleshoot them. I've personally had a lot of fun repairing one I bought on catawiki.

TacticalCoder 3mo ago
> Depending on your country you might be able to buy a ZX spectrum for a reasonable price. Bought one at a garage sale for 5 EUR. I'm pretty sure it does not work. Haven't tried it: I still have a good old CRT TV so I could. But when people talk about coding for these 8-bit machines, they usually mean they'll target an emulator.
Steve44 3mo ago
I understand there is an common fault where something, perhaps a capacitor, has failed over the years and if you plug it in something major gets fried. If you do get one, investigate that before attempting to power it up.

utopcell 3mo ago

The Retro Games TheSpectrum is not a bad starting point [1], it's very close to the original and you can use HDMI video output and USB power. [1] https://retrogames.biz/products/thespectrum/ https://retrogames.biz/products/thespectrum/

bzzzt 3mo ago
It's a Spectrum-like keyboard on an emulator running on a Raspberry Pi like CPU. Nothing like the original imo.
- utopcell 3mo ago
  For sure, nothing like the original, but it's a cheap, quick way to get you started.
  - bzzzt 3mo ago
    Why not just load an emulator then?
    - utopcell 3mo ago
      TheSpectrum is great at capturing the original look&feel. The keyboard feels identical to the original. An emulator captures the software aspect well, but that's not all the speccy was.

aa-jv 3mo ago

You will find the 10-line Basic Programming Competition quite useful in your endeavours, I'd wager: https://gkanold.wixsite.com/homeputerium/rules-2026 https://gkanold.wixsite.com/homeputerium/rules-2026 Some seriously great stuff in there - take the time to go through the archives, set up emulators for the winning systems, and study the results. Its one great resource for the budding 8-bit coder .. And if you're looking for modern hardware that will get you into the scene, the ZX Spectrum Next is pretty badass - has many cores for other systems available as well, so you're not just limited to Spectrum things .. https://www.specnext.com/ https://www.specnext.com/