Other The 'Random Crap I'm Too Nostalgic To Throw Away' Thread

Nope. Used LibraryThing to start on the books a few years ago - using the CueCat, in fact - but haven't kept that up to date. It's all just in my noggin!

 

Disappointingly, no! Mind you, the previous owner of the shell the ZXpand lives in had the same problem: there's still Velcro stuck to it...

 

Next to come down from the shelves is the Cambridge Computers Z88, a handy-dandy portable which runs from four AA batteries. Comes with Pipedream installed, which forumites of a certain vintage will remember well. Also has a copy of BBC BASIC on there, which to anyone familiar with Sinclair's failure to grab the BBC Micro contract may come as a shock.



As you might expect from a Sinclair device, albeit one which couldn't have his name on the front because it came after Sinclair Computers was acquired by Amstrad, it has an... innovative keyboard. Which is to say it's a single rubber mat, marketed as a "silent-type" selling point. To be fair, it's entirely usable - I'm touch-typing this on it and it's a million miles better than the Spectrum and a galaxy away from the flat ZX81 or ZX80 keyboards.



This one's upgraded: there are two 128kB RAM cartridges in there, plus a 128kB SSD. Yes, this thing has solid-state storage. Trouble is, it's an EPROM - not an EEPROM or flash ROM. Which means, for those who don't know, the only way to erase the SSD is to put it under a strong ultra-violet lamp for twenty minutes. Which wipes the whole thing.

I actually use this thing from time-to-time, though. It's really great for taking notes on the go, and there are no distractions like you'd get from a modern laptop. The semi-multi-tasking operating system is neat, too, and it's got a RS232 connection so I can hook it up to a USB-RS232 cable and transfer stuff - like this - onto the desktop quickly and easily.

 

Nah, they slide into one of three bays at the bottom. From memory, only the third can accept an EPROM - the others are for ROMs or RAM packs.

Stock, it uses its own "import/export" format - which is raw serial, 9600 baud. There's an add-on called PC Link that adds support for smarter protocols, and I've one of them too:



(Glamour shot from when I wrote about the thing a while back.)

 

I was *going* to say "surprisingly, no," 'cos I bought a second one for £26 a while back to steal the 128kB RAM pack and plastic protective cover for mine. Turns out "a while back" is July 2013, and now the cheapest one on FleaBay is £200 delivered. Christ. That said, a look at sold listings shows some going for as little as £36, so I think it's just a case of waiting for less-greedy sellers.

Ooh, and I apparently missed out on a 512kB RAM cart for the thing, £33 plus postage. That'd have been a nice upgrade.

I'm thinking you're converting an arcade board of one flavour or another - CPS1, maybe?

 

Aye, I was thinking all twelve were going into something - which'd be a hell of a modified Amiga!

 

Oh, I forgot to say: if you do pick one up, try to find one with a bundled RS232 cable. 'cos... Well, remember when Sinclair finally added joystick ports to the Spectrum, but it was wired up completely different to the Atari standard everyone used at the time - so you had to buy the execrable SJS-1 instead of a proper microswitched stick?

That, but serial. The "serial" port's a DB9, like you'd expect, but it's not wired like any other RS232 DB9. You either use Cambridge Computers' specific cable, or you'll have to wire one up yourself. The USB-RS232 adapter I'm using has its own posh gold-plated DB9 on the end... which then goes into a DB9-DB25 gender-bender, then into the DB25 on the end of the Z88's RS232 cable, which terminates in a specially-wired DB9 to plug into the Z88 itself. Looks daft, works a treat.

 

Got a newsletter to write this arvo, so naturally it's time to ignore that and pull something else off the shelf. Well, desk.



Once upon a time there was a company called Next Thing Co. which saw how successful the Raspberry Pi was and decided to get in on the action. The result: The CHIP, a single-board computer based on the Allwinner R8. Tiny thing, but surprisingly capable - limited ports, but made up for with plenty of GPIO which could be used to add HDMI, VGA, stuff like that.

Raised a couple of million on Kickstarter, came up with a couple of upgraded models, and launched the pictured Pocket CHIP - an all-in-one cyberdeck which has a CHIP in the back. Comes with custom UI on top of Debian, resistive touch-screen display, and a keyboard even Sinclair never thought to try: metal domes laminated on top of the mainboard PCB.

Those holes at the bottom left and right? Stick a pen or a pencil through 'em, it stands up on your desk. Neat.



Sadly, Next Thing Co. bit off more than it could chew. The company disappeared in 2018, and after that the only way to pick one up was through the company's Chinese contract manufacturer who still had a warehouse filled with the damn things.

Despite that keyboard, it's a great form factor - and having the GPIO up there is fantastic for quick prototyping or debug work, too. I'd kill for the same thing again but with something like a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 in the back - although hopefully the DevTerm I've got coming next month (fingers crossed) will scratch that itch...