Hello there...
Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2025 5:40 pm
Marcel here from the Netherlands!
I’ve been a Sinclair fan since the early ’80s and grew up with a ZX80, followed by a ZX81 and a Speccy. During my studies, I bought a second-hand QL (which I could barely afford…) that I still have in my possession. Later in life, I collected a few more, including a Z88.
But as life went on, these machines all ended up in boxes and were stored away for many decades…
Until recently! I moved to a new place and now have a spare room (the Nerd Room) where I can display, repair, and recap my old machines. While unpacking, I realized that I had gathered so much stuff over the years that I can’t even remember how, when, or where I got it all.
Crates full of cables, mouse adapters, a Trump Card, tons of Microdrive cartridges (which I need to refelt), and a sh#t load of 80/81/Spectrum stuff too. And I still have a few more boxes to open…
My Spectrums are working now, so next up are my QLs. I’ve already ordered new membranes, as the original ones are falling apart. I haven’t powered them up yet since I need to assemble a small PCB I designed so I can use VGA. It’s based on the excellent QLpicoVGA design by Holmatic.
And that’s how I found this forum! I was looking for a good solution to connect a QL to a “modern” TV or monitor with VGA.
So, I’ll be bugging you with questions in the near future. I already noticed that one of my QLs has a weird mod inside—no clue what it is, but I’ll post some pictures in the hardware section soon.
Anyway, I’ve rambled on long enough. Time to assemble the board—fingers crossed!
Cheers,
M
I’ve been a Sinclair fan since the early ’80s and grew up with a ZX80, followed by a ZX81 and a Speccy. During my studies, I bought a second-hand QL (which I could barely afford…) that I still have in my possession. Later in life, I collected a few more, including a Z88.
But as life went on, these machines all ended up in boxes and were stored away for many decades…
Until recently! I moved to a new place and now have a spare room (the Nerd Room) where I can display, repair, and recap my old machines. While unpacking, I realized that I had gathered so much stuff over the years that I can’t even remember how, when, or where I got it all.
Crates full of cables, mouse adapters, a Trump Card, tons of Microdrive cartridges (which I need to refelt), and a sh#t load of 80/81/Spectrum stuff too. And I still have a few more boxes to open…
My Spectrums are working now, so next up are my QLs. I’ve already ordered new membranes, as the original ones are falling apart. I haven’t powered them up yet since I need to assemble a small PCB I designed so I can use VGA. It’s based on the excellent QLpicoVGA design by Holmatic.
And that’s how I found this forum! I was looking for a good solution to connect a QL to a “modern” TV or monitor with VGA.
So, I’ll be bugging you with questions in the near future. I already noticed that one of my QLs has a weird mod inside—no clue what it is, but I’ll post some pictures in the hardware section soon.
Anyway, I’ve rambled on long enough. Time to assemble the board—fingers crossed!
Cheers,
M
