---
title: "Timex/Sinclair Online User Group Meeting March 2, 2026"
id: 66579
type: "video"
slug: "timex-sinclair-online-user-group-meeting-march-2-2026"
url: "http://localhost/video/timex-sinclair-online-user-group-meeting-march-2-2026/"
markdown_url: "http://localhost/video/timex-sinclair-online-user-group-meeting-march-2-2026.md"
published_at: "2026-03-16T17:20:09+00:00"
modified_at: "2026-05-03T08:47:46+00:00"
author: "David Anderson"
featured_image:
  url: "http://localhost/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/tsug-03-02-26-1.jpg"
excerpt: "Our meeting covered keyboard Kickstarter plans, Pascal compilers, AI-assisted coding, TS-Pico debugging, and RAM expansion techniques."
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  - name: "Adam Trionfo"
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  - name: "Carl Miles"
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  - name: "David Anderson"
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  - name: "David Solly"
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  - name: "Gustavo Pane"
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  - name: "Ingo Schmied"
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  - name: "Jeff Burrell"
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  - name: "Joe Vandezande"
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  - name: "John Stroebel"
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  - name: "Jon Becker"
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  - name: "Larry Lorenson"
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  - name: "Leroy Keith Watson"
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  - name: "Michael Kutzner"
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  - name: "Michael Schmied"
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  - name: "Mowgli Assor"
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  - name: "Paul Holmgren"
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  - name: "Peyton Bratton"
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  - name: "Richard Burt"
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  - name: "Richard Jelen"
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  - name: "Ryan Gray"
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video_date: "20260302"
---

# Timex/Sinclair Online User Group Meeting March 2, 2026

### **Ingo’s Mechanical Keyboard & Kickstarter Plans**

Ingo Schmied shared updates on his ZX81/TS-1000 mechanical keyboard project, featuring UV-printed keycaps that replace his water-transfer decal process. The group discussed plans to launch a Kickstarter in April, targeting around $50 CAD per set, with a goal of producing at least 20 sets in a single print run to reduce costs.

### **Pascal Cross-Compilers for Z80 Machines**

We chatted about two Pascal options for Spectrum/ZX machines: a recently released cross-compiler targeting the ZX Spectrum Next (with CPM, ZX48, and ZXNext compilation targets), and a High Soft Pascal port for the Spectrum and 2068.

### **Using AI (Claude) for Vintage Computing Projects**

David Anderson shared several ways he’s been using Claude as a development assistant. He used it to convert a QuickBASIC game called *Skirmish* to Sinclair BASIC, working around challenges like fixed-length character arrays in Spectrum BASIC (“Procrustean” arrays).

### **TS-Pico Development & Debugging**

A significant portion of the meeting covered ongoing TS-Pico testing. David described a file-loading bug that appeared inconsistently across different TS-2068 units — present on some machines but not others. He walked through a multi-hour debugging session using Claude to add debug logging and identify the root cause. The session produced updated firmware, an API document for third-party developers, and a diff report between firmware versions.

Gustavo Pane raised the possibility of repurposing a TS-Pico board as a lightweight bus debugger using just 11 lines — data, read/write, and I/O port — without needing the full address bus.

### **32K RAM Expansion on the ZX81/TS-1000**

Rich Jelen asked about enabling 32K on a stock TS-1000, prompting a detailed walkthrough of the MemoTech RAM module documentation and the required POKE to set RAM top (POKE 16389, 128). The conversation expanded into the ZX81/1000 memory map, the role of the ULA in the video refresh cycle, the M1-NOT signal, and the complexities of bank switching on Carl Miles’ TS-1068 prototype — which uses a 512K chip providing eight 64K memory spaces, with future plans for software-selectable bank switching via a shift register.

### **Composite Video Output Tips**

Rich also shared a hardware tip for improving composite video on machines using the ULA 2C184: replacing the 555-timer-based modules (which have timing issues) with a simple CMOS Schmitt trigger and a transistor. This combination produces a clean, correctly-timed back porch signal — plug-and-play, no adjustments needed — and has been validated across seven or eight builds.