In 2021, Neil Cohen sent a few TS 2068 computers in various states of repair. One computer had a home-brew RGB converter built inside and around the composite video output jack. Here’s what it looked like when I opened the case. I extracted the board, disconnected it and traced the circuit as best I could. […]
An RGB Converter for the TS 2068 in the Wild Read More »
In late 1983, an employee at an energy company submitted a request for improved performance maps for a gas compressor. The employee felt that the existing maps were inaccurate and prevented him from doing his job correctly. Keith Watson, a shift supervisor at the time, saw an opportunity to use his Timex/Sinclair 2068 to generate
Plotting Compressor Performance with the T/S 2068 Read More »
by George Green It’s been 39 years since I wrote the adventure game “The Trident” and submitted it to Timex for inclusion in their software collection. Back then, I had played all of the Adventure International games by Scott Adams, Zork, the Original (Colossal Cave) Adventure with all its various enhancements, to name just a
“The Trident” Adventure Game for the Timex 1000 Read More »
Without Clive Sinclair’s vision, none of this would exist. I am deeply in debt to his intellect, vision and inventions. Home computing pioneer Sir Clive Sinclair dies aged 81
RIP Sir Clive Sinclair, 1940-2021 Read More »
Daniel Roy’s interest in computers started in high school, where he encountered his first computer. It had a video camera attached to it and he had his photo taken. It was enough to get him hooked. Years later, he received a Sinclair ZX81 as a Christmas gift from his wife. Working late into the evenings,
Designing a Video Interface with No Prior Experience Read More »
Timex had several companies to work with in 1983 when they designed the replacement for the Spectrum ULA in the Timex Sinclair 2068. We know that Timex eventually selected NCR to make the SCLD in the 2068 that replaced the ZX Spectrum’s ULA. According to Rex Naden, VLSI Technology actively encouraged Timex to consider their
VLSI Technology SCLD Engineering Samples Read More »
I recently purchased a Timex/Sinclair 2068 that had an 8-pin DIN socket on the back. I figured it might be a connection for an RGB monitor and, as it turns out, I was right. This circuit looked nothing like the other RGB designs I’ve seen. Most of those use transistors to generate the sync signals;
DIY RGB Monitor Connection for T/S 2068 Read More »
The Sinclair ZX81/TS1000 keyboard was widely acknowledged as one of the more challenging aspects of using the computer. As a result, many commercial keyboard replacements were available in the UK and US. A number of the replacements available in the US were imported from the UK, like the dk’Tronics keyboard. The E-Z Key and Suntronics
DIY Keyboards for the ZX81 and TS 1000 Read More »
Jim Payne was one of many small, cottage industry supporters of Timex/Sinclair computers. He wrote several programs for the 1000 and 2068 and started a mail order business to sell them after Timex exited the market in 1984.
Jim Payne and Pheonix Enterprises Read More »
The quality of the Timex/Sinclair 2068 video was never great: It was something some reviewers pointed out as observable on TV screens. Modern technology has only made that more obvious. Problem One: Power One of the major contributors to poor video signal quality is the computer’s power supply. The 2068 has two internal power supplies:
How to Fix 2068 Video Read More »
It is done. I’ve “improved” the 2068 signal as much as I can via converting the RGB to composite. It’s pretty good but not perfect: there’s some ghosting and some halo, both effects of the imperfect conversion/cleaning of the composite signals. However, Don Dindang (maker of the very popular Harlequin Spectrum clone PCBs) turned me
Improved 2068 Video Converter Read More »
