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ZX81 runs SPonzy 1.4 times quicker than a real spectrum runs

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  ZX81 runs SPonzy 1.4 times quicker than a real spectrum runs andy rea <ask_me@ask.me> - 2012-03-17 20:20 +0000
    Re: ZX81 runs SPonzy 1.4 times quicker than a real spectrum runs "Brian Gaff" <Briang1@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2012-03-18 08:37 +0000
      Re: ZX81 runs SPonzy 1.4 times quicker than a real spectrum runs Patrick Schaefer <pa.schaefer@web.de> - 2012-03-18 12:36 +0100
        Re: ZX81 runs SPonzy 1.4 times quicker than a real spectrum runs Guesser <alistair@alistairsserver.no-ip.org> - 2012-03-18 12:21 +0000
          Re: ZX81 runs SPonzy 1.4 times quicker than a real spectrum runs "Brian Gaff" <Briang1@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2012-03-18 12:33 +0000
            Re: ZX81 runs SPonzy 1.4 times quicker than a real spectrum runs "dott.Piergiorgio" <chiedetelo@ask.me> - 2012-03-19 09:54 +0100
              Re: ZX81 runs SPonzy 1.4 times quicker than a real spectrum runs hp <ferd@farkel.net> - 2012-03-20 22:16 -0400
                Re: ZX81 runs SPonzy 1.4 times quicker than a real spectrum runs "dott.Piergiorgio" <chiedetelo@ask.me> - 2012-03-21 11:16 +0100
                  Re: ZX81 runs SPonzy 1.4 times quicker than a real spectrum runs andy rea <ask_me@ask.me> - 2012-03-21 17:56 +0000
      Re: ZX81 runs SPonzy 1.4 times quicker than a real spectrum runs andy rea <ask_me@ask.me> - 2012-03-18 17:47 +0000
    Re: ZX81 runs SPonzy 1.4 times quicker than a real spectrum runs Peter Liebert-Adelt <peter@zschopower.de> - 2012-03-18 19:21 +0100
      Re: ZX81 runs SPonzy 1.4 times quicker than a real spectrum runs andy rea <ask_me@ask.me> - 2012-03-18 20:04 +0000

#710 — ZX81 runs SPonzy 1.4 times quicker than a real spectrum runs

Yeah you heard it here first... I have a very special ZX81 that has a 
Turbo mode, not 2x not 3x not even 4x but a crazy 5.333x normal speed 
running at 17.7333Mhz whilst maintaining slow mode results in a system 
that can run SPonzy ( Spectrum emulator for ZX81 hardware) at approx 1.4 
times the original speed of Spectrum. (display is generated under 
software control on ZX81 hardware so for approx 2/3 of the CPU time is 
spent generating the display !)

yet to upload some video of Sponzy running but have a copule of zx81 
progs at crazy speed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEzS_fwuBnQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAxJd3_NKCk

Regards Andy

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#711

Surely then, its no longer a zx 81 in reality, its a platform for running 
z80 code.
Brian

-- 
Brian Gaff - briang1@blueyonder.co.uk
Note:- In order to reduce spam, any email without 'Brian Gaff'
in the display name may be lost.
Blind user, so no pictures please!
"andy rea" <ask_me@ask.me> wrote in message 
news:_l69r.1113$Mn4.661@newsfe18.ams2...
> Yeah you heard it here first... I have a very special ZX81 that has a 
> Turbo mode, not 2x not 3x not even 4x but a crazy 5.333x normal speed 
> running at 17.7333Mhz whilst maintaining slow mode results in a system 
> that can run SPonzy ( Spectrum emulator for ZX81 hardware) at approx 1.4 
> times the original speed of Spectrum. (display is generated under software 
> control on ZX81 hardware so for approx 2/3 of the CPU time is spent 
> generating the display !)
>
> yet to upload some video of Sponzy running but have a copule of zx81 progs 
> at crazy speed.
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEzS_fwuBnQ
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAxJd3_NKCk
>
> Regards Andy 

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#712

Am 18.03.2012 09:37 schrieb Brian Gaff:

> Surely then, its no longer a zx 81 in reality, its a platform for
> running z80 code.

Yeah. There is a guy selling "Apple I Replicas". Actually this is a 
generic 6502 system with two ATmega chips acting as a TV terminal and 
PS2-to-parallel converter. Besides the CPU there is not much in common 
with Woz's orignal design.


For me collecting means preserving the machines in as original state as 
possible.


Patrick

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#713

Some people prefer using to collecting though. (of course I agree that 
if you're selling a replica it should actually *BE* a replica!)

On 18/03/2012 11:36, Patrick Schaefer wrote:
> For me collecting means preserving the machines in as original state as
> possible.

> Yeah. There is a guy selling "Apple I Replicas". Actually this is a
> generic 6502 system with two ATmega chips

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#714

Hmm, I remember so many modifications to the standard  Sinclair units. the 
81 had loads of them from hi res to bleapers lower case mods and rom 
fiddles and well sooner or later there was more add ons than the original.
 I remember watching the multi tasking interface for the Spectrum and 
thinking, blimey its not just multi tasking its two computers really!

 Look at the memotch, lthough you could plug in a Speccy rom you could also 
get huge  plug in boxes for huge amounts of memory disc drives and goodness 
knows what else running cp/m and good it was until you found that it still 
hav the old edge connector trouble but internally between its pcbs. I still 
have the basic machine here.
 I mean even the Atari 8 bits had truck loads of bits hanging in here and 
there.

 Third party etc.
 BBC as well. Not up in  the Commode world so don't know about that.
 The main thing I liked about sinclar machines and the Sam was that you did 
not have to have a great deal of time to learn the basic and you could do 
fun things with it and of course when blast and hisoft basic came out on the 
speccy, you could make basic run very fast indeed.
 Brian

-- 
Brian Gaff....Note, this account does not accept Bcc: email.
 graphics are great, but the blind can't hear them
Email: briang1@blueyonder.co.uk
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________


"Guesser" <alistair@alistairsserver.no-ip.org> wrote in message 
news:jk4k10$vch$1@dont-email.me...
> Some people prefer using to collecting though. (of course I agree that if 
> you're selling a replica it should actually *BE* a replica!)
>
> On 18/03/2012 11:36, Patrick Schaefer wrote:
>> For me collecting means preserving the machines in as original state as
>> possible.
>
>> Yeah. There is a guy selling "Apple I Replicas". Actually this is a
>> generic 6502 system with two ATmega chips 

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#718

Il 18/03/2012 13:33, Brian Gaff ha scritto:
> Hmm, I remember so many modifications to the standard  Sinclair units. the
> 81 had loads of them from hi res to bleapers lower case mods and rom
> fiddles and well sooner or later there was more add ons than the original.
>   I remember watching the multi tasking interface for the Spectrum and
> thinking, blimey its not just multi tasking its two computers really!

A different question, there was/is EPROM/PROM debug monitor firmware for 
the ZX80/ZX81 around ?

I suspect that because of their really low price, these ought to have 
made back then (early 1980s) good embedded systems, esp. for really 
short runs or one-offs and prototyping (aside a possible usage as 
trainer and/or hardware hacking/fooling testbed)

late 1980s, I have looked on used ZX81 as dirty cheap hardware test bed 
(10,000 or 15,000 italian £, IIRC the UK £ was around 2500 it £ back 
then) or even a good "caffè and cornetto" (equivalent of a good pint of 
beer in UK, I suppose) and I suspect that for an UK small embedded 
system industry a £99 (or less) hardware platform/engineering test bed 
can be worth of consideration...

Best regards from Italy,
dott. Piergiorgio.

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#719

On 3/19/2012 4:54 AM, dott.Piergiorgio wrote:
> Il 18/03/2012 13:33, Brian Gaff ha scritto:
>> Hmm, I remember so many modifications to the standard Sinclair units. the
>> 81 had loads of them from hi res to bleapers lower case mods and rom
>> fiddles and well sooner or later there was more add ons than the
>> original.
>> I remember watching the multi tasking interface for the Spectrum and
>> thinking, blimey its not just multi tasking its two computers really!

> A different question, there was/is EPROM/PROM debug monitor firmware for
> the ZX80/ZX81 around ?

> I suspect that because of their really low price, these ought to have
> made back then (early 1980s) good embedded systems, esp. for really
> short runs or one-offs and prototyping (aside a possible usage as
> trainer and/or hardware hacking/fooling testbed)

> late 1980s, I have looked on used ZX81 as dirty cheap hardware test bed
> (10,000 or 15,000 italian £, IIRC the UK £ was around 2500 it £ back
> then) or even a good "caffè and cornetto" (equivalent of a good pint of
> beer in UK, I suppose) and I suspect that for an UK small embedded
> system industry a £99 (or less) hardware platform/engineering test bed
> can be worth of consideration...

> Best regards from Italy,
> dott. Piergiorgio.

I seem to recall a store demo unit that was running from a EPROM 
daughter board, the sort where the store staff could turn it on in the 
morning and let it run all day in 'demo' mode.
Think I used to have one somewhere. But since some of that stuff I 
haven't messed with in over 12 years, I might have to really dig deep to 
see if it was still in my pile of Sinclair stuff.

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#720

Il 21/03/2012 03:16, hp ha scritto:

> I seem to recall a store demo unit that was running from a EPROM
> daughter board, the sort where the store staff could turn it on in the
> morning and let it run all day in 'demo' mode.
> Think I used to have one somewhere. But since some of that stuff I
> haven't messed with in over 12 years, I might have to really dig deep to
> see if it was still in my pile of Sinclair stuff.

thanks.

for "store demo unit" you mean a demo showing the capability of the 
machine ? (and I consider those the "primordial soup" of the demoscene) 
if you dug it and put the bin image somewhere perhaps will be 
interesting...)

best regards from Italy,
dott. Piergiorgio.

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#721

On 21/03/2012 10:16, dott.Piergiorgio wrote:
> Il 21/03/2012 03:16, hp ha scritto:
>
>> I seem to recall a store demo unit that was running from a EPROM
>> daughter board, the sort where the store staff could turn it on in the
>> morning and let it run all day in 'demo' mode.
>> Think I used to have one somewhere. But since some of that stuff I
>> haven't messed with in over 12 years, I might have to really dig deep to
>> see if it was still in my pile of Sinclair stuff.
>
> thanks.
>
> for "store demo unit" you mean a demo showing the capability of the
> machine ? (and I consider those the "primordial soup" of the demoscene)
> if you dug it and put the bin image somewhere perhaps will be
> interesting...)
>
> best regards from Italy,
> dott. Piergiorgio.

indeed i'd be interested in seeing it too.

Thanks

Andy

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#715

It's still a ZX81, in fact it powers up as a ZX81, all that is needed to 
run SPonzy is the ability to load or map a ROM image at 0-16K and then 
of course some memory on top of that, but no other modifications are 
necessary for it to run, I just happen to have a Zeddy that been a 
little souped up.

Andy

On 18/03/2012 08:37, Brian Gaff wrote:
> Surely then, its no longer a zx 81 in reality, its a platform for running
> z80 code.
> Brian
>

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#716

17.03.2012 21:20,  andy rea wrote:
>  I have a very special ZX81 that has a
> Turbo mode, not 2x not 3x not even 4x but a crazy 5.333x normal speed
> running at 17.7333Mhz

I hope, we will see it "running" at the 16th ZX81 users meeting in 
Mahlerts near Fulda in the heart of Germany next weekend.

Peter

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#717

On 18/03/2012 18:21, Peter Liebert-Adelt wrote:
> 17.03.2012 21:20, andy rea wrote:
>> I have a very special ZX81 that has a
>> Turbo mode, not 2x not 3x not even 4x but a crazy 5.333x normal speed
>> running at 17.7333Mhz
>
> I hope, we will see it "running" at the 16th ZX81 users meeting in
> Mahlerts near Fulda in the heart of Germany next weekend.
>
> Peter

Indeed you shall, i still need to write a few programs to 'show off' the 
speed :-)

Andy

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