This was a technology pioneered by ferranti, of which sinclair was one of the first adopters incorporating all of the discrete logic of the zx80, plus a nmi generation circuit into the initial zx81 2c158e ula. I started out doing machine code, but it was not productive and made it hard to go back and change things later on it was writeonly, as phillipe khan once said. It can simply be plugged into the existing ula socket. The lil old zx spectrum 48k service manual section 3. We have 3 sinclair zx spectrum manuals available for free pdf download. Adjustment instructions apply strictly to the issue 2 spectrum boards only but are generally relevant to the issue 1 spectrum as well. The zx spectrum ula how to design a micro chris smith scribd. Zx spectrum clone built around an earler version of the ula design. Using the jsmess emulator, users can boot up an emulation of the given title and use it in their browser. Ulaplus is a plugin replacement ula for the zx spectrum which increases the total palette to 260 colours. I did a lot of work on the zx spectrum in the 80s using an assembler that i created myself, which ran on the spectrum itself.
The cost of running this website is covered by advertisements. The board circuitry is similar apart from the reset button and the fitment of an extra resistor. Zx spectrum books at the centre for computing history. It can be used for home automation, controlling a robot, connecting some homemade peripherals to a spectrum computer and other interesting stuff. The ula is the heart of the spectrum and chris has reverse engineered the custom chip and written a book about it.
The heart of the zx spectrum series of computers is a custom chip called the ula uncommitted logic array. This book takes the reader through the design and implementation of the sinclair zx spectrums custom chip, revealing for the first time the decisions behind its design and its hidden secrets. This program has been developed directly from the 4k program of the zx 80 although there are now so many new features that the differences outweigh the similarities. The majority of the new attribute modes can only practically be accessed using machine code but a few can be controlled directly from basic and these are described later in this chapter. The hitachi h and nec n roms use different pins for the enable and. The sinclair zx spectrum is a worthy successor to the zx 81 which in turn replaced the zx 80. Scrplus converts images to formats suitable for use with the zx spectrum, using innovative and highly effective algorithms to produce as faithful a rendition of the original image as the limited spectrum palette allows. Zx printer, zx interface 1 rs232 y red y zx interface 2 joystick. Dec 18, 2012 the zx spectrum was launched in april 1982, and by todays standards is a primitive machine. This has a much, much longer sequence length so even if the two clocks were derived from the same source which they are not in the spectrum circuit there are two crystals there would still be an interference pattern which has a very long cycle. Jul 17, 20 at silicon dream 20 chris smith was showing off his hand built zx spectrum ula.
The ula uncommitted logic array is a chip which controls most of the interfaces between the z80 cpu and peripheral functions. However the zx spectrum ula display is not interlaced and has 312 lines per progressive frame. For a comprehensive description of how the spectrum generates its tv picture, refer to the zx spectrum ula book 1. Zx spectrum ula rebuilt and a tweeting zx spectrum youtube. The ula is the heart of the spectrum and chris has reverse engineered the custom chip and written a. Altering the state of this bit high or low produces and alternating voltage which drives the spectrum speaker coil. Although functionally identical, detailed circuit changes have been introduced to improve.
Besides the normal 16colour spectrum screen, it can also produce 64colour ulaplus images. It will initially be distributed in pdf or, if it reaches the stretch goal, a printed copy will bundled with the next. Schematic of a 8bit computer, clone of sinclair zx spectrum alvaroaleaall spectrumclones. For the first time, the inner working of the sinclair zx spectrums custom chip and heart of the computer, the. We have 3 sinclair zx spectrum manuals available for free pdf. Scr zx spectrum just solve the file format problem. An emulator of the 1980s home computer and various clones, that can work on various platforms with. Nebula spectrum ula chip replacement module the nebula is a spectrum 48 daughterboard, designed to replace the ula chip found in uk spectrum motherboards versions 2 to 6. If you have a book that you would like to donate to our collection, please view our donations page. Mar 31, 2019 today, however, we dont use tape players or cassettes anymore. The zx spectrum was launched in april 1982, and by todays standards is a primitive machine.
The zx spectrum ula top results of your surfing the zx spectrum ula start download portable document format pdf and ebooks electronic books free online rating news 20162017 is books that can provide inspiration, insight, knowledge to the reader. The book is the result of opening the chip and reverseengineering it down to the transistor level. A uk clone of the 48k zx spectrum, designed and developed by chris smith to aid the reverse engineering of the zx spectrum custom ula chip, and its research documentation. Yes, the original zx spectrum manual will be extended and will contain all the documentation about the new video modes, features and all details about the new machine.
It represented a radical departure from the earlier versions, with a redesigned circuit board, an uprated buzzer added to make the beep louder and a new lowpower ula introduced. The zx spectrum ula how to design a micro chris smith free ebook download as pdf file. Spectrum faq, 301105 since the faq is no longer maintained, for technical details you may want to. Victor is one of the hardware minds behind the zx spectrum next project, a fpga based new spectrum, a crowd funding is on the way. Documentation for the zx spectrum ula retrocomputing stack. By using it as case study, the techniques required to design an 8bit microcomputer are explained, along with comprehensive details of the ferranti ula. It is not an exhaustive list of and other books may have been published. They are a much cost reduced implementation of the spectrum hardware, consolidating much of the functionality formerly accomplished by the ula, various logic ics, pcf, amstrad 40057, and hal into a single qfp gate array designated amstrad 40077.
Today, however, we dont use tape players or cassettes anymore. It is valid for all build standards, fitted with either 16k or 48k bytes of dynamic ram memory. To carry out the setting up procedure it is first necessary to remove the zx spectrum from the case section 2, assemblydisassembly. And the keyboard is designed by the original creator of all. Tool to assist with maintenance of your zx spectrum tapes and zx spectrum emulator tape files. Zx spectrum books the following is a list of zx spectrum books in the centre for computing history collection. Ebook the zx spectrum ula as pdf download portable document. The issue 3 was the most widely available of all spectrum versions, with over 3,000,000 sold.
This shows the working screen of the first program from the horizons demo tape spanish version, the one that teaches the hardware of the spectrum. Games and entertainment software for the zx spectrum. In the united kingdom and a few other countries it was the most popular games machine of the 1980s, and through the joys of emulation many people are enjoying a nostalgic trip back in time with the games of their childhoods. The speaker beeper is controlled via bit 4 of port 0xfe, and in a real spectrum this ula pin is connected directly to the analogue io circuit. Zx spectrum emulator for microsoft windows, developed under microsoft. Jul 30, 2010 the zx spectrum ula is an essential read for the electronics hobbyist, student or electronic engineer wishing to design their own retrostyle microcomputer or anyone with an interest in historical microelectronic and digital design. The lil old zx spectrum 48k service manual supplement no 2. This alternating voltage may also be used to drive an external amplifier. Sinclair zx spectrum manuals manuals and user guides for sinclair zx spectrum.
Complete in 2008, it is the first 100% timing compatible clone. It can be used as a virtual tape unit in conjunction with a real zx spectrum. It is really just a dump of the computers video memory. Este test permite analizar perifericos conectados al spectrum.
The complete spectrum rom disassembly primrosebank. So if you cut your gaming teeth on this quintessentially british computer, grab a copy of this visual compendium and take a glorious, garish, characterclashing step back in time. The manual is intended to provide the user with detailed information adequate for the efficient installation and operation of the equipment involved. Instead we decode and play tzx files a common file format for preserving computer tapes of the zx spectrum and c64, or simply play a wav audio file, from a modern computer or a mobile phones sound output directly to the zx spectrum modem input jack, which means that we dont have to worry about the tape quality or. Zx spectrum next the official portal for all things next. Zx spectrum cassette tapes, spectrum games database. If you have ever wanted to design your own computer or wondered what was behind the most successful microcomputer of the 1980s, then this is the book for you. The zx spectrum ula is an essential read for the electronics hobbyist, student or electronic engineer wishing to design their own retrostyle microcomputer or anyone with an interest in historical microelectronic and digital design. Spectrum faq, 301105 since the faq is no longer maintained, for technical details you may want to see the tech info wiki. How to design a microcomputer, is available for pre. At silicon dream 20 chris smith was showing off his hand built zx spectrum ula. It was designed by myself, phil ruston pcb design, mostly and alessandro dorigatti logic core between 20152016.
This is a simple io interface for zx spectrum 1648k with 24 inputsoutputs and with reset key. For a complete set, view the highest version numbers of each file. Support for emulators z80, jpp, warajevo, x128, wspecem, zx, spanish spectrum emulator, zx32, r80, the russian spectrum emulator and realspectrum, supports filetypes z80 slt sna snp sem sp mdr voc tap ltp tzx trd fdi dsk scr and pok, tzx, ltp, tap and mdr indexing, compatible with all types of level loaders, optional autoloading of tape files. The zx spectrum 16k48k ula went through multiple revisions and is either a 5c or 6c series ferranti ula. The world of spectrum faq, maintained by arjun nair.
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