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Vintage Computers Any vintage computer systems, calculators, video games etc., but with an emphasis on 1980s and earlier equipment.

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Old 2nd Apr 2022, 9:05 am   #41
Slothie
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Default Re: "RAM Turbo" Spectrum Joystick + Cart interface - failed.

I am one of those weirdo's that preferred the Atari VCS type single button joystick given a choice, and still do... Along with it being the first type I used, I mainly liked to play "Star Raiders" on my 400, and while the stick was stiff it was very positive. It seemed to fit my hands well too, maybe that was just luck. My dad had a short phase of getting joysticks to try (I think his work collegues swapped them around) and I tried a lot of those fighter-craft sticks with "real microswitches" and generally found them too sloppy and clacky, although its fair to say there were a LOT of hastily rushed out and sold joysticks being made in the late 80s with little attention to actual design. There was one I think they called the "Quickshot" that was pretty good, owned by a friend but out of my budget, and some models of that seem to have a cult following these days. But I have always blamed my lack of success in video games on my own lack of practice than not having the right controls, because I rarely played games on the computer for more than a hour or two before my butterfly mind drifted to something different and I had to find something to read about it.
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Old 2nd Apr 2022, 10:38 am   #42
SiriusHardware
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Default Re: "RAM Turbo" Spectrum Joystick + Cart interface - failed.

The original Atari sticks were very precise with very limited movement which is what I like as well but they used dome contacts similar to those used in calculator keypads and the domes were prone to drifting around after a while so you'd have to take them apart, lift off the tape holding the domes down, reposition the domes and then put fresh tape on them. I see you can still buy them, or at least exact clones of them, today.
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Old 2nd Apr 2022, 12:41 pm   #43
Timbucus
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Default Re: "RAM Turbo" Spectrum Joystick + Cart interface - failed.

Quote:
Originally Posted by SiriusHardware View Post
Looks like the ultimate swiss-army Spectrum interface, I see a joystick interface, reset switch, you've mentioned serial and parallel - what's going on with the RF and audio connectors, are they just pass-throughs to carry the signals through to corresponding sockets on the rear face?
It mixed the Audio into the VHF signal and passed through the tape. The knob is to control speed as a slomo device. It used a custom Ferranti ULA to do all these things - I had one of the original prototype chips without the encapsulation which I kept safe for years and can no longer find. I am too afraid to plug this in and see if it works as I have not seen any around except one photostream on flikr.

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Old 2nd Apr 2022, 8:02 pm   #44
SiriusHardware
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Default Re: "RAM Turbo" Spectrum Joystick + Cart interface - failed.

Hm, so it somehow manages to add an audio subcarrier to what is already a UHF-RF signal on the way through. Would be interesting to know how it did that.

After suffering the mysterious failure of another interface which definitely previously worked myself I can understand you being risk-averse but to be honest that makes it the ZX Interface equivalent of Shrödinger's Cat. Until you plug it in and try it, you will never know whether it is alive or dead.

An interface which you don't know is working or not is in many ways worse than one which you definitely know is not working, because at least if you know it is dead then you won't ever try to depend on it working in the future.

G'wan, plug it in and see if it works. If it survives your tender ministrations it will probably keep on working for a hundred years or more.
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