I still have my ZX81 along with 16k ram and also a 16 I/O port which I used to read a punch tape, was able to edit the reading and produce a fresh tape.
Occasionally, I found loading and saving files to and from the ZX81 a problem, especially when interference was present. Don't let people use a Vacuum cleaner near the room at that time! The Printer paper was expensive and poor quality. Let us remember, the ZX81 was a good start for people to become interested in computing and the reason why it took-off.
After writing many programs for the ZX81 computer, I decided to purchase a 'BBC B' Computer as it had more memory, more functions and a good disc-drive.
I wrote a lot of software (written in BBC BASIC) to supplement textbooks and notes for students studying on City & Guilds and BTEC courses.
A great advantage of using computers in schools and colleges is the ability to give every student a different question. There is always a limitation on the number of questions given in the text book, occasionally the answers are wrong. Using computers, it is possible to give every student a different question and afterwards an immediate correct answer. In this way students cannot copy from one another, and also, provision is made for the ‘high fliers’, and more time can be spent helping those much slower to learn.
I found that my students were so excited using my software that they wouldn't take their break and I couldn't leave them unattended in the classroom; (Not ideal for me!)
A list of my Education Software can be seen on my Website.
Later, I started using 'Z BASIC' and converted my software to run on all versions of Windows 95 to Windows XP inclusive. Here, the screen size is smaller and the graphics origin is inverted. Also, the VDU Commands are not available.
I still have my home built ZX81, Printer, keyboard and RAM-pack. I still have a few rolls of printer paper, but it may have dried up a little over the years.
Okay, own up.... Who had a Sinclair ZX81 and what was the first thing you programmed on it...? ?
Hello from Croatia !
I'm the one, too ! At the time, I think 1982, my father had some old car (yellow Renault 4) and after he had sold it, he bought me ZX81, 2x16k RAM and BI-PAK ZON X-81 sound generator from some guy in Zagreb. I was 12 then, a bit too young to keep it alive'n'kicking for a long time ? Anyway, my destiny has been sealed from that moment. Today I am a collector of the Sinclair computers, peripherals and software. It is really amazing what an industry it was !
I too built my ZX81 from a kit. Bought the RAM pack and the thermal printer.
As for programming, I joined a ship in 1983 and the Second Officer had brought his ZX81 and a RAM pack along with him. We spent a few interesting hours/days writing a program to calculate the Great Circle Distance and Initial Bearing between any two points in the world. This was in part a navigational type calculation, but you would not normally go that distance as a pure great circle, my interest, as Radio Officer, was related to HF radio communication. We had two problems, one the wobbly RAM pack and the other the unreliability of saving and then reloading the program using a cassette recorder. There was a third problem in that on a least one occasion the Steward had unplugged the ZX81 in order to Hoover the carpet..... Luckily we were not developing anything to do with life support.
I still have the ZX81 plus RAM pack and printer. I also have both PSUs, although the larger one has a terminal block to facilitate using it to power my pcb drill.
