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Mein gott. My first computer was an ORIGINAL SINCLAIR ZX81. All it had was 1K of ram to start off with and no colours or sound. I got an infamous 16K ram pack not long after I got it I think. The ram pack was infamous in that it had a tendency to wobble on the back of the computer while typing in a program. If it did the computer would crash, and you'd have to start typing in your program all over again.

The keyboard was infamous in itself in that the keys held not only letters, numbers etc, it also held the words you used to program in Basic with. Very odd but then again in 1981, I didn't really know any different.

Most people who started with a ZX81 usually went onto the ZX Spectrum. However, a friend of my fathers had bought a new Welsh computer ie it was made in Wales by I guess Welsh people, and I'm Welsh as well ... although I was born in England ... oh you get the picture ...

Anyway this computer was called the "Dragon 32" and so it was decreed that I would get it as well. Luckily a friend of mine had known he was getting a Dragon 32 for Christmas himself, and in the months leading up to the great day, when I went over to his place, and we were left on our own devices, he would retrieve it from its hiding place and we'd play around with it before his parents got home .

So by the time I got it I could program it. Oh, and I've still got both (well sort of ... had to replace a few bits, and I had to replace the entire Dragon 32 after a while ... dodgy connections inside it) ... but they both still work.

In fact, several months ago I programmed (using a D32 emulator) a program to recreate Allen Greenfields Cipher of the UFOnauts in Dragon 32 Basic (which was a Microsoft O/S) ... even though I hadn't programmed anything on it much for 20 years or so.

Greatest fun with the Dragon 32?? Blinking full screen colours at certain rates to create a strobe effect. In a darkened room jumping around to this and some music ... who needs one of those nightclub things

ZX81 at wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZX81

Dragon 32:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_32/64

(wikipedia entries above, since I'm having a few problems uploading pictures on their own ... for some strange reason)

<blockquote data-quote="paraschtick" data-source="post: 70292" data-attributes="member: 1386">Mein gott. My first computer was an ORIGINAL SINCLAIR ZX81. All it had was 1K of ram to start off with and no colours or sound. I got an infamous 16K ram pack not long after I got it I think. The ram pack was infamous in that it had a tendency to wobble on the back of the computer while typing in a program. If it did the computer would crash, and you&#039;d have to start typing in your program all over again.&nbsp;The keyboard was infamous in itself in that the keys held not only letters, numbers etc, it also held the words you used to program in Basic with. Very odd but then again in 1981, I didn&#039;t really know any different.&nbsp;Most people who started with a ZX81 usually went onto the ZX Spectrum. However, a friend of my fathers had bought a new Welsh computer ie it was made in Wales by I guess Welsh people, and I&#039;m Welsh as well ... although I was born in England ... oh you get the picture <img src="/forum/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/biggrin.png"&nbsp; class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":D" title="Big Grin&nbsp; &nbsp; :D" data-shortname=":D" /> ...&nbsp;Anyway this computer was called the &quot;Dragon 32&quot; and so it was decreed that I would get it as well. Luckily a friend of mine had known he was getting a Dragon 32 for Christmas himself, and in the months leading up to the great day, when I went over to his place, and we were left on our own devices, he would retrieve it from its hiding place and we&#039;d play around with it before his parents got home <img src="/forum/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/biggrin.png"&nbsp; class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":D" title="Big Grin&nbsp; &nbsp; :D" data-shortname=":D" />.&nbsp;So by the time I got it I could program it. Oh, and I&#039;ve still got both (well sort of ... had to replace a few bits, and I had to replace the entire Dragon 32 after a while ... dodgy connections inside it) ... but they both still work. &nbsp;In fact, several months ago I programmed (using a D32 emulator) a program to recreate Allen Greenfields Cipher of the UFOnauts in Dragon 32 Basic (which was a Microsoft O/S) ... even though I hadn&#039;t programmed anything on it much for 20 years or so.&nbsp;Greatest fun with the Dragon 32?? Blinking full screen colours at certain rates to create a strobe effect. In a darkened room jumping around to this and some music ... who needs one of those nightclub things <img src="/forum/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/biggrin.png"&nbsp; class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":D" title="Big Grin&nbsp; &nbsp; :D" data-shortname=":D" />&nbsp;ZX81 at wikipedia:&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZX81" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZX81</a>&nbsp;Dragon 32:&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_32/64" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_32/64</a>&nbsp;(wikipedia entries above, since I&#039;m having a few problems uploading pictures on their own ... for some strange reason)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="paraschtick, post: 70292, member: 1386"] Mein gott. My first computer was an ORIGINAL SINCLAIR ZX81. All it had was 1K of ram to start off with and no colours or sound. I got an infamous 16K ram pack not long after I got it I think. The ram pack was infamous in that it had a tendency to wobble on the back of the computer while typing in a program. If it did the computer would crash, and you'd have to start typing in your program all over again. The keyboard was infamous in itself in that the keys held not only letters, numbers etc, it also held the words you used to program in Basic with. Very odd but then again in 1981, I didn't really know any different. Most people who started with a ZX81 usually went onto the ZX Spectrum. However, a friend of my fathers had bought a new Welsh computer ie it was made in Wales by I guess Welsh people, and I'm Welsh as well ... although I was born in England ... oh you get the picture :D ... Anyway this computer was called the "Dragon 32" and so it was decreed that I would get it as well. Luckily a friend of mine had known he was getting a Dragon 32 for Christmas himself, and in the months leading up to the great day, when I went over to his place, and we were left on our own devices, he would retrieve it from its hiding place and we'd play around with it before his parents got home :D. So by the time I got it I could program it. Oh, and I've still got both (well sort of ... had to replace a few bits, and I had to replace the entire Dragon 32 after a while ... dodgy connections inside it) ... but they both still work. In fact, several months ago I programmed (using a D32 emulator) a program to recreate Allen Greenfields Cipher of the UFOnauts in Dragon 32 Basic (which was a Microsoft O/S) ... even though I hadn't programmed anything on it much for 20 years or so. Greatest fun with the Dragon 32?? Blinking full screen colours at certain rates to create a strobe effect. In a darkened room jumping around to this and some music ... who needs one of those nightclub things :D ZX81 at wikipedia: [U][COLOR=#ff4400][URL]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZX81[/URL][/COLOR][/U] Dragon 32: [URL]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_32/64[/URL] (wikipedia entries above, since I'm having a few problems uploading pictures on their own ... for some strange reason) [/QUOTE]

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