ZX Spectrum 128
ZX Spectrum 128 tech specs
- Released: 1985 (Spain), 1986 (UK)
- Company: Sinclair
- Type: Home computer
- RAM: 128 KB
- Storage: Cassette tape (bring your own tape recorder), Microdrive (optional)
- Display: 32×24 character / 256×192 pixel / 15 colour via CRT TV set
The ZX Spectrum 128 was a significantly overhauled version of the ZX Spectrum.
In addition to its titular 128 KB of RAM and more sensible QL-style keyboard, it featured better sound, and added ports for RGB video, RS-232, and MIDI out (but not in). Alas, the latter didn't use the standard DIN socket, and according to popular magazine Crash, it didn't come with the adapter lead it was supposed to — the firm apparently tasked with making them, it turned out, hadn't even heard of MIDI.[1]
In Spain, it came with an external number pad. In the UK, that was an optional extra.
Accessories
Beta 128 Disk Interface
As with the original Spectrum, Technology Research made a peripheral that added a disk drive port, the Beta 128 Disk Interface.
Also as with the original one, it was relatively obscure in the UK. In the Soviet Union, however, it was widely cloned as a standard fixture of the computer itself.
Clones
Main article: Soviet ZX Spectrum clones.
As with the 48K original Spectrum, the Spectrum 128 was heavily cloned in the Soviet Union.
References
- "MIDI and the 128K Spectrum: An Everyday Story of Interfaces" Crash, May 1986, p. 102
External links
Reviews
- "128" Crash, Mar 1986, pp. 12—13
Home computers: Amiga | Beige box | PICO-8 | ST | Soviet ZX Spectrum clones | ZX Spectrum | ZX Spectrum 128
Sinclair: Soviet ZX Spectrum clones | ZX Spectrum | ZX Spectrum 128
ZX Spectrum: Music Machine | Soviet ZX Spectrum clones | ZX Spectrum 128