Hardware

Physical expansions to the Timex/Sinclair computers, including disk drives, modems, printers, RAM and more.

Disk Drive Systems and Mass Storage

Sinclair and Timex had no expectation that ZX81/TS1000 owners would use anything other than cassette storage with their computers. Their customers had different ideas.

Graphics

One of the most notable shortcomings of the ZX80, ZX81, TS1000 and TS1500 was the black-and-white, low resolution graphics. A number of solutions were available.

Interfacing

The dream of the 1980s, it seemed, was for your home computer to control all aspects of one’s home. Turn on the lights, control the furnace, adjust the window shades; the possibilities were endless.

Joysticks

Video games were, for many (especially those under 18), the raison d’être for computers. Sure, they let their parents buy the computer for “educational” use but they put it to more prosaic use, replacing the aging Atari 2600.

Keyboards

Solutions for correcting the shortcoming of the Sinclair keyboard were numerous and immediate: the first information about attaching a "real" keyboard appeared in the second issue of Syntax ZX80.

Miscellaneous Hardware

The breadth and depth of hardware accessories may be best represented by this section.

MODEMs and RS232 (serial) Interfaces

The 1980s was the decade when home computer users started to “get online” in earnest. Business users, academics and select others had accessed corporate mainframe computers from home but home computer users were limited in what they could access.

Power Supplies and Related Hardware

One of the most immediately obvious ways Sinclair cut costs was in its power supply and regulation circuitry, especially in the ZX81 and TS 1000.

Printers and Printer Interfaces

For a brief time, the Sinclair ZX Printer was the only option available to Sinclair owners and it was only available in England. The aftermarket provided a variety of interfaces to the two most common printer communication protocols, Centronics (parallel) and RS-232 (serial). These interfaces also connected to the expansion bus.

RAM Memory Expansion

While resourceful owners could accomplish a lot with the 1K or 2K of RAM built in to their computers, more serious uses required more RAM. A huge number of expansion RAM packs were produced for the Sinclair computers.

ROM Memory Expansion

The “operating system” of the ZX80, ZX81 and TS 1000 computers was contained in a special read-only memory (ROM) chip inside the computer. In all three, that chip was often in a socket, which made it easy to replace with another ROM.

Sound and Speech Interfaces

Timex Sinclair owners could expand their computer with aftermarket sound synthesizers (most based on the General Instruments AY-3-8910), speech synthesizers and speech recognition systems.

Spectrum Emulators

Despite the success of the Sinclair and Timex computers in the American market, the output of software came nowhere near to matching what was available in England. Enterprising users found ways to implement their own versions, as cartridges and internally.

Tape Storage Systems and Solutions

Loading and saving to tape could be very challenging for Sinclair owners. A number of vendors offered devices to help find the right volume level.

Video Interfaces

Pre-TS 2068 computers connected directly to the user’s television. It was a good solution and it worked for many. Some users, however, preferred to use a dedicated monitor and that required a direct video interface.