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Desert Island Retro

R.I.P Sir Clive Sinclair


eagle64
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"He was still working on his inventions last week "because that was what he loved doing", said Ms Sinclair." 

A sad day indeed :(  At least he was working on his passion projects right up to the end - RIP Clive.

[ Arcade Simulator ] Pre-alpha installer: http://arcadesimulator.net  |  Known Issues: https://tinyurl.com/yz4uom2e  |  Donation info: https://tinyurl.com/yzvgl4xo
[ Community Drive ] The drive: http://tinyurl.com/yckze665
[ Fruit Machine Database ] Initial google sheets (WIP): https://tinyurl.com/2c5znxzz
[ MFME Launch ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/MFMELaunch
[ Oasis ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/Oasis
[ Sound ROM Editor ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/SoundRomEditor

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I started off with a 48K ZX Spectrum - gave me an interest in BASIC and Assembler. A sad day indeed losing Sir Clive.

I spotted 'Everyone's a Wally above' - one of the few games I was well into - sadly it had a bug such that you could complete the game without doing all the tasks. Jet Set Willy had a bug too such that (without a 'poke') you could not collect the invisible icon.

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My first hands on experience of writing code on a real computer was on a friend's 48k+ Sinclair Spectrum (having learnt general basic from books in the library before that, and just 'pretending' to write and tweak stuff with pen and paper!).  And then my first computer was a 128k +2 (grey model, that still had the original Sinclair-designed internals).  I'm sat in my home office right now, and doing a quick count up - I have 14 Sinclair Spectrums in here in various states of disrepair, I will fix them all one day :slightly_smiling_face:  (and a +2a and a +3, but they don't count as were redesigned internally by Amstrad).

As a kid I remember enjoying Treasure Island Dizzy (and trying to find all the gold coins!) immensely - little did I know many years later I'd be working with Neil, who drew those very graphics... using a Sinclair Spectrum to create them and Sinclair Microdrive to save them!

Edited by johnparker007
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[ Arcade Simulator ] Pre-alpha installer: http://arcadesimulator.net  |  Known Issues: https://tinyurl.com/yz4uom2e  |  Donation info: https://tinyurl.com/yzvgl4xo
[ Community Drive ] The drive: http://tinyurl.com/yckze665
[ Fruit Machine Database ] Initial google sheets (WIP): https://tinyurl.com/2c5znxzz
[ MFME Launch ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/MFMELaunch
[ Oasis ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/Oasis
[ Sound ROM Editor ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/SoundRomEditor

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Was so busy yesterday with decorating and an early night as had to drop car off at silly o'clock that I only just found this out via this forum! Amazed it's not higher up the news?! Were it not for people like Clive we'd probably not have had the home computer revolution that we did. Lost far too much time in my younger years typing in code from books only to find it had typos in and trying to work out why things weren't working?

We had a ZX81 (I don't think I was old enough to use / remember that though!), another Speccy which ended up being 'upgraded' to 48K, which I still have and looks rather non-standard, along with printer and microdrive (not sure I ever got either working properly!) and I had a few 128k models, inc a couple of +2a models as my first one (with the James Bond games bundle) eventually conked out and just showed scrambled coloured lines. Probably an easy fix now but not for a 13 year old or however old I was at the time it broke!!

Aside from the obvious Dizzy titles, and the Fruit Machine Simulators (both Codemasters and a few others) I used to have a bit of an addiction to Tarzan Goes Ape, which was a vertical 'climbing' platformer. In fact while I put another coat of brilliant white on the walls before colouring, I'll have some Speccy tunes in the background.

RIP Clive.

 

Edited by slotsmagic

Currently owned digitals : T7 Encore, T7 Original, Astra iPub and Storm Street Casino.

MFME cabinets : Genesis cab DIY by No1Stoney, Interplay conversion and Vegas Strip conversion (both are works in progress!)

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Rip Sir Clive.

A man who came into and influenced my life from an 11 year old boy.

A chance meeting with a ZX81, as I didn't really want to go, but went with my mum to her friends house for the evening. My mums friend Beryl, said to a bored 11 year old me, go upstairs and ask Tony to look at this new computer thing he's got.

Over the next few hours, I genuinely don't think I had been that excited or captivated by anything so much in my short life up to the time.

That led to a ZX81 of my own, then a ZX Spectrum 48k later and my fascination with computing/electronics/gadgets and computer games still lives with me 40 years later.

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Wow RIP Clive Sinclair, sad news, what an interesting life he lived though.

Very fond memories of the iconic ZX Spectrum.  Horace goes Skiing and Cookie are two of the very first games I ever played on this outstanding micro at our next door neighbours house.  It wasn’t until 1984 after playing Manic Miner at another friends house when I became obsessed with this machine.

It’s one of those machines that’s very close to my heart, it defined my life in the 1980’s and beyond!!  Thank you Clive Sinclair ;)  

J

 

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I'm having a Mandela Effect about this. I actually thought he passed away a few years ago. The ZX Spectrum 48k and then the 128k were icons of my childhood.  Manic Miner was such a difficult game to complete. I think I got to something like screen 15 out of 20. It was The Warehouse that always tripped me up! Jet Set Willy had that bug where it would kill you as soon as you entered a room. Think it was above The Hallway.

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2 minutes ago, Johnnyafc said:

Bet that was brilliant to go see , big fan of of Mr Biffo , Ashens and digitiser etc

It was... less games based more "funny stuff" than the first one, but great all the same.....  at the first one I sat next to ashens waiting for a train and was chatting away without realising who the hell he was...  it wasn't till I got home I realised (I had been at work earlier in the the day and Hatch end is a bugger to get to lol)

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8 hours ago, johnparker007 said:

My first hands on experience of writing code on a real computer was on a friend's 48k+ Sinclair Spectrum (having learnt general basic from books in the library before that, and just 'pretending' to write and tweak stuff with pen and paper!).  And then my first computer was a 128k +2 (grey model, that still had the original Sinclair-designed internals).  I'm sat in my home office right now, and doing a quick count up - I have 14 Sinclair Spectrums in here in various states of disrepair, I will fix them all one day :slightly_smiling_face:  (and a +2a and a +3, but they don't count as were redesigned internally by Amstrad).

As a kid I remember enjoying Treasure Island Dizzy (and trying to find all the gold coins!) immensely - little did I know many years later I'd be working with Neil, who drew those very graphics... using a Sinclair Spectrum to create them and Sinclair Microdrive to save them!

Man I loved dizzy!!!!! That egg and me went through some times!!! That and spellbound!!! 

living the dream

 

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1 hour ago, eagle64 said:

It was... less games based more "funny stuff" than the first one, but great all the same.....  at the first one I sat next to ashens waiting for a train and was chatting away without realising who the hell he was...  it wasn't till I got home I realised (I had been at work earlier in the the day and Hatch end is a bugger to get to lol)

Brilliant , shame it was too far away for me to travel and the wife would t of gone or got the humour I’ve seen some of the clips on you tube with Beanus etc Ashens is great that’s when he had hair too 🤣 have your ordered his action figures 

 

Edited by Johnnyafc
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1 hour ago, woodsy said:

Man I loved dizzy!!!!! That egg and me went through some times!!! That and spellbound!!! 

Fantasy World Dizzy and Magic Land Dizzy were great games. One of them you had to go up into the trees and find the hidden coins. These Code Masters games had better graphics on the 128k Spectrum.

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1 hour ago, woodsy said:

Man I loved dizzy!!!!! That egg and me went through some times!!! That and spellbound!!! 

Dizzy drove me crazy. One of those stupid games where you had to die constantly to find out how to do it, like when you fell down a hole but unless you move to the side you die on a spike that you don't know is there until you fall down a hole. 

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5 minutes ago, logopolis said:

Fantasy World Dizzy and Magic Land Dizzy were great games. One of them you had to go up into the trees and find the hidden coins. These Code Masters games had better graphics on the 128k Spectrum.

 

3 minutes ago, Boulderdash said:

Dizzy drove me crazy. One of those stupid games where you had to die constantly to find out how to do it, like when you fell down a hole but unless you move to the side you die on a spike that you don't know is there until you fall down a hole. 

Humptydumpty on acid!

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living the dream

 

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So since I've been decorating and dehoarding the past 10 days or so, it seemed a shame not to dig this out. I recognise what I think is a DK Tronics logo under where the microdrive is mounted, so wonder if this is some kind of 3rd party case? Unfortunately I can't ask dad anything anymore, but all mum can recall is that she thinks it was a 32k that was upgraded by dad to 48k?

Anyway I really ought to try get it running again. Pretty convinced that we stopped using it and replaced with a 128k +2a because this one just showed a mix of coloured blocks when fired up. Won't do anything in the short term but just thought I'd share a pic of the first Speccy I remember and the one I spent far too much time playing and coding on in my younger years :)

IMG_20210923_162850.jpg

IMG_20210923_162957.jpg

Edited by slotsmagic
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Currently owned digitals : T7 Encore, T7 Original, Astra iPub and Storm Street Casino.

MFME cabinets : Genesis cab DIY by No1Stoney, Interplay conversion and Vegas Strip conversion (both are works in progress!)

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5 hours ago, slotsmagic said:

So since I've been decorating and dehoarding the past 10 days or so, it seemed a shame not to dig this out. I recognise what I think is a DK Tronics logo under where the microdrive is mounted, so wonder if this is some kind of 3rd party case? Unfortunately I can't ask dad anything anymore, but all mum can recall is that she thinks it was a 32k that was upgraded by dad to 48k?

Anyway I really ought to try get it running again. Pretty convinced that we stopped using it and replaced with a 128k +2a because this one just showed a mix of coloured blocks when fired up. Won't do anything in the short term but just thought I'd share a pic of the first Speccy I remember and the one I spent far too much time playing and coding on in my younger years :)

IMG_20210923_162850.jpg

IMG_20210923_162957.jpg

DK Tronics keyboard... could be used with spectrum (replaces those horrid rubber keys) or zx81 (those horrid membrane keys)....  I had one for the zx81, but it never worked so swapped it for a 16k ram pack and a tape recorder

48k-sinclair-spectrum-dk-tronics-case_360_2090536cfa3d9c4afa778503f123fe89.jpg

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