Pico / modern interfaces (UnoDos, etc.)
Modern interfaces and storage — UnoDos, Pico/RP2040 devices, divMMC/ZXMMC, SD-card solutions, USB adapters.
141 threads · 1059 messages · 2002-08-04 → 2026-06-03
In the Yahoo era (2001–2019) the group's discussion of modern interfaces was mostly aspirational. Members repeatedly asked for SD-card storage, an Atari/Kempston joystick port, IDE/CF mass storage, and FPGA-based clones — but Timex-specific hardware was thin on the ground, with Larken's FDD essentially the only known disk system and most ZX Spectrum add-ons (divIDE, etc.) needing adaptation. Bruno's 2008 "Who knows how to build their own hardware" thread crystallized the community wishlist, and side threads ("Silly question", "One big mistake timex made", "ZX Spectrum 128K vs TS2068") explored whether divIDE was "100% compatible" with the 2068, whether a Spectrum SE / FPGA path made sense, and how the 2068's non-Kempston joystick (routed through the AY chip on port 31) blocked drop-in use of mainstream Spectrum joystick hardware.
The groups.io era (2020→) is where almost all of those wishes actually shipped. Jeff Burrell's FPGA work (2021's Video Upgrade Board, then 2022's UnoDos/esxDos boot) showed that a single FPGA cartridge could carry a modern DOS plus VGA video, and the thread quickly attracted suggestions about Pi-Zero RGB2HDMI and ULAplus. The defining project of the era is Ricardo Calcagno's TS-Pico (introduced in #2304, Nov 2022), built around a Raspberry Pi Pico that snoops /ROSCS, /EX-ROM and home-ROM accesses to swap in a Pico-aware Spectrum ROM, virtual DCK cartridges, and SD-card LOAD/SAVE via the "tpi:" prefix in BASIC strings. Around it grew a dev team (Ricardo, Gustavo Pane, Jeff Burrell, David Anderson, François Lanciault and others), an expansion board with a 2068 feed-through bus, a 3D-printed enclosure, ROM revisions that fixed an early hi-res / Hi-Color Hero bug, and BASIC-side niceties like a shorter <PI> token, debates over Microdrive-style syntax, and SD-card workflow (LOAD "tpi:dir", /TAP folder convention, beta firmware that can bitstream blocks for things like Jon's TSAnim 4-frame video).
The Spectrum-ecosystem side of the bridge also matured. The Twister Board + Spectrum-ROM cartridge plus a divMMC "just worked" once people had the right adapter (#639), and a thread on the Uno (#306) documented that its native core implements Spectrum SE — with DerbyPro / esxDOS / Chloe firmware and a 2068 machine config — closing a loop the Yahoo-era SE discussion (#1000908) had opened years earlier. The painful counterpoint is #7969 (2025): plugging a divMMC Future straight into a 2068 without a Twister cooked the RAM and Z80, which is exactly the kind of impedance/level mismatch hinted at in old Yahoo threads but only became a recurring support pattern once the modern interfaces became common.
The other modern-interface arc is reusing legacy peripherals. The TS2050 modem thread (#5417, 2024–2026) walks through converting Westridge 2050 modems into 8251-based serial ports — using a small RS232/TTL adapter on pins 3 and 19 of the 8251 — turning a dead-format modem into a usable serial interface that pairs naturally with the modern Pico/divMMC stack and the BBS/VoIP experiments people are now doing. Across both eras the throughline is the same: the community kept asking for SD storage, a sane joystick port, a clean RGB/HDMI path and Spectrum compatibility, and in the 2020s a small group of builders (Calcagno, Burrell, Pane, Anderson, Lanciault, Miles, Jon) actually delivered them in cartridge form.
Key threads
- Who knows how to build their own hardware... (archive.org) — 2008 Yahoo-era community wishlist — SD cards, Atari/Kempston joystick port, IDE/CF, FPGA clones. Frames everything that the groups.io era eventually shipped, and surfaces the 2068's AY/port-31 joystick quirk that blocked drop-in Spectrum joystick hardware.
- One big mistake timex made... (DivIDE on 2068) (archive.org) — 2008 thread where Emrah Oral lays out the dream: a divIDE with 512K and a Spectrum-ROM firmware giving the 2068 a 128/+2/+3-style boot menu and instant SNA/Z80/TAP loading. A clear blueprint that the TS-Pico's ROM-swap + virtual-DCK design ultimately answered 14 years later.
- Silly question (Spectrum SE / divIDE on 2068) (archive.org) — 2006 thread that wanders into Spectrum SE specs, FUSE-based SE development, and whether divIDE / +3e ROMs could give the 2068 SD-card-style storage. The same SE/Uno lineage shows back up in the 2021 Video Upgrade Board thread, so this is the Yahoo-era root of that conversation.
- TS Pico interface (#2304 on groups.io) — Ricardo Calcagno's Nov-2022 introduction of the TS-Pico — the single most important modern-interface project for the 2068 in this archive. Sets the design (Pi Pico + Spectrum ROM swap + SD card + virtual DCK + extended SRAM/Flash) and kicks off the dev-team era.
- UnoDos and the TS2068 (#874 on groups.io) — Jeff Burrell's 79-message FPGA thread showing UnoDos and esxDos booting a 2068 (as a Spectrum) via FPGA, with discussion of LROS/AROS protocol, CP/M 3, and Interface-1-style syntax for an SD card. The FPGA counterpart to the Pico thread.
- Video Upgrade Board for TS2068 (#306 on groups.io) — Companion FPGA project: snoop the SCLD's video writes and mirror them to FPGA video RAM out over VGA, with discussion of Pi-Zero RGB2HDMI, ZX-VGA-JOY, ZX-HD, the Uno's Spectrum-SE core (DerbyPro / Chloe / esxDOS), and ULAplus. The most complete modern-video discussion across both eras.
- I Got My Spectrum divMMC Today! (#639 on groups.io) — Practical proof that a Spectrum divMMC works on a 2068 through a Twister Board with a Spectrum ROM and Kempston port — the cheap, available path for SD-card storage and Spectrum compatibility if you don't want a Pico. Pairs with #7969 below as the cautionary flip side.
- Timex 2050 Modem and Serial Port Conversion (#5417 on groups.io) — 2024–2026 thread on converting Westridge/TS2050 modems into 8251-based serial ports (RS232/TTL adapter on pins 3 and 19) so the modem hardware becomes useful again alongside the Pico/divMMC stack — the modern-interface story for the 2050 specifically.
- Issue with a TS 2068 (divMMC without Twister) (#7969 on groups.io) — Cautionary 2025–2026 thread: plugging a divMMC Future straight into a 2068 without a Twister cooked the RAM and Z80. Important counterweight to #639 — explains why the Twister / Pico-style adapters exist and how to triage damaged boards.
All threads (141)
↳ marks a thread where this topic begins mid-conversation — the link jumps to the message where it starts.
| Thread | Msgs | Activity | Started by |
|---|---|---|---|
| ⭐ UnoDos and the TS2068 | 79 💬 | 2022-08-25 | JEFFREY L BURRELL |
| ⭐ Timex 2050 Modem and Serial Port Conversion 📎 | 53 💬 | 2026-02-10 | Adam Trionfo |
| ⭐ Video Upgrade Board for TS2068 📎 | 36 💬 | 2022-05-23 | JEFFREY L BURRELL |
| ⭐ Tape Programs on the TS Pico 📎 | 34 💬 | 2025-12-25 | Paul Anderson |
| ⭐ Question about TS-Pico 📎 | 25 💬 | 2023-11-28 | Ricardo Calcagno |
| ⭐ I Got My Spectrum divMMC Today! 📎 | 25 💬 | 2022-01-30 | Adam Trionfo |
| ⭐ TSAnim: Full motion video on the T/S 2068 (all 4 frames of it) 📎 | 20 💬 | 2025-01-08 | Jon |
| ⭐ tsPico sd card saves 📎 | 19 💬 | 2024-04-11 | Ricardo Calcagno |
| ⭐ ZX Spectrum 128K vs TS2068 | 18 💬 | 2007-01-24 | M. Emrah Oral |
| ⭐ TS Pico interface | 16 💬 | 2022-11-25 | Ricardo Calcagno |
| ⭐ Shorter TS Pico Commands | 16 💬 | 2024-03-12 | Kevin |
| ⭐ Timex Disk Systems Overview? ↳ #3694 📎 | 16 💬 | 2023-06-08 | Willie Jones |
| ⭐ Pico up and running, sort of 📎 | 13 💬 | 2023-12-04 | David Ellis |
| ⭐ Issue with a TS 2068 📎 | 12 💬 | 2026-06-03 | David Laffineuse |
| ⭐ Raspberry Pi 4 Sinclair ZX81 Emulator | 12 💬 | 2026-03-31 | John Mobley |
| ⭐ TS-Pico Expansion Board 📎 | 12 💬 | 2023-11-22 | Carl Miles |
| ⭐ SE Basic on Timex 2068 | 11 💬 | 2026-05-15 | Michael Hart |
| ⭐ NVRAM PCB made by Tom Woods | 11 💬 | 2024-08-11 | RichJ |
| ⭐ Wide video modes 📎 | 10 💬 | 2025-08-28 | David Anderson |
| ⭐ Quick Reference for TS Pico 📎 | 10 💬 | 2023-12-11 | Floppy Days Podcast - Ra |
| ⭐ Elite without Lens Lock Tech? 📎 | 10 💬 | 2022-02-22 | Adam Trionfo |
| ⭐ 512kB cartridge | 10 💬 | 2006-12-13 | Jarek Adamski |
| ⭐ CDs as a storage device -- my successes and failures thus far | 9 💬 | 2004-10-24 | Bruno Florindo |
| ⭐ How to break out of VU-File to redirect to SDcard? 📎 | 9 💬 | 2023-12-06 | Ryan Gray |
| ⭐ Starting to design a TS1560 "Bus Expansion Unit" for the ZX81/TS1000/TS1500 - Br | 9 💬 | 2025-02-10 | David Anderson |
| ⭐ ROM replacement services | 9 💬 | 2007-05-09 | Jarek Adamski |
| ⭐ FuJinet | 9 💬 | 2024-10-15 | Floppy Days Podcast - Ra |
| ⭐ A Bluetooth Multicart... for the Astrocade? | 8 💬 | 2025-10-26 | Adam Trionfo |
| ⭐ New: How to use ZX Spectrum mode on your TS-Pico | 8 💬 | 2024-01-05 | David Anderson |
| ⭐ TCC cartridge and DivIDE 57c 📎 | 7 💬 | 2024-08-14 | RichJ |
| ⭐ TS2068 FujiNet | 7 💬 | 2022-04-30 | thatoldnerd |
| ⭐ TS Pico Script | 7 💬 | 2025-01-24 | Jay Carlson |
| ⭐ menu program for TSPico 📎 | 6 💬 | 2024-08-26 | Floppy Days Podcast - Ra |
| ⭐ T/S 2068 version of a ZXSpand | 6 💬 | 2012-06-20 | John |
| ⭐ New FPGA Board | 6 💬 | 2022-11-19 | JEFFREY L BURRELL |
| ⭐ TS-Pico | 6 💬 | 2024-01-05 | Ricardo Calcagno |
| ⭐ Coming soon-ish: OpenSpand (ZXpand) for the ZX81/TS1000 | 5 💬 | 2026-05-27 | David Anderson |
| ⭐ 2068 and pico info 📎 | 5 💬 | 2024-01-15 | RichJ |
| ⭐ tzxduino | 4 💬 | 2023-04-15 | larry lorenson |
| ⭐ Problems loading .tap on TSPico | 4 💬 | 2026-01-31 | ricardo |
| ⭐ TS-Pico Memory | 4 💬 | 2024-02-28 | Jeremiah Stoddard |
| ⭐ TS Pico External Commands 📎 | 4 💬 | 2023-12-26 | Ricardo Calcagno |
| ⭐ My first computer experience: Hangman (green screen terminal recreation with TS 📎 | 3 💬 | 2026-02-24 | Jon |
| ⭐ tsPico SD card follow up. | 3 💬 | 2024-04-14 | RichJ |
| ⭐ ZX-Wespi Nano Project - Replaces the RF Modulator and brings VGA Video and Netwo 📎 | 3 💬 | 2025-10-24 | Carl Miles |
| ⭐ SD Cart for the Timex 1000 | 3 💬 | 2022-06-16 | Adam Trionfo |
| ⭐ Spectrum 1-chip IDE interface <--> 2068? | 2 💬 | 2005-09-12 | bryankvines |
| ⭐ DivMMC on TS2068 | 2 💬 | 2015-01-28 | retrocanada76 |
| ⭐ Testing TS2068 Cartridge with PicoROM-28 📎 | 2 💬 | 2026-04-04 | Jon |
| ⭐ TS-Pico helper 📎 | 2 💬 | 2024-04-29 | Ryan Gray |
| ⭐ TS Pico and diagnostics ROM/DCK 📎 | 2 💬 | 2023-12-26 | Ricardo Calcagno |
| ⭐ Proposal for AU (Golden) commands | 1 💬 | 2024-08-25 | Ricardo Calcagno |
| ⭐ One more TS1000 Hi Res Game 📎 | 1 💬 | 2026-05-15 | Don Crawford |
| ⭐ zx-wespi | 1 💬 | 2023-01-31 | larry lorenson |
| ⭐ Using the divMMC to LOAD/SAVE a BASIC Program | 1 💬 | 2022-01-18 | Adam Trionfo |
| ⭐ Micropython versions and TS-Pico | 1 💬 | 2024-11-29 | Ricardo Calcagno |
| ⭐ Sucessful replacement of AY-3-8912 with AY-3-8912A | 1 💬 | 2023-04-26 | Ricardo Calcagno |
| TS Pico Enclosure 📎 | 24 💬 | 2023-12-23 | Jon |
| Found a Timex Sinclair 2068 ↳ #7094 📎 | 19 💬 | 2024-10-02 | Thomas Hynes |
| Silly question ↳ | 19 💬 | 2006-03-14 | M. Emrah Oral |
| Who knows how to build their own hardware... ↳ | 18 💬 | 2008-06-23 | M. Emrah Oral |
| To Christian Mann RE: TS2040 INK | 18 💬 | 2025-02-02 | Adam Trionfo |
| One big mistake timex made... ↳ | 16 💬 | 2008-01-08 | Adam Trionfo |
| USB | 10 💬 | 2004-08-04 | aralbrec |
| TS Pico documentation 📎 | 10 💬 | 2023-11-20 | David Anderson |
| TS 2068 --> CGA monitor. No BRIGHT ? ↳ | 10 💬 | 2008-04-18 | M. Emrah Oral |
| Events and Organzations 📎 | 9 💬 | 2024-02-26 | John Mobley |
| R Tape loading error when loading after saving a basic program 📎 | 9 💬 | 2025-07-23 | Juan Noc |
| Reminder: Timex/Sinclair Online User Group Meeting Monday May 6 | 8 💬 | 2024-05-29 | David Anderson |
| BackBit T/S 2068 Adapter; was: BackBit 📎 | 8 💬 | 2022-10-20 | Adam Trionfo |
| Wireless ZX Spectrum :) | 8 💬 | 2008-01-09 | Adam Trionfo |
| TS PICO Mount, Save, Load 📎 | 8 💬 | 2025-01-22 | *** |
| ts2068 - divMMC Future - Twister Board - 2040 Printer | 8 💬 | 2021-08-29 | Willie Jones |
| TS 2068 Inventory ↳ | 8 💬 | 2006-05-06 | Louis Florit |
| ZX81 Joystick Plans? | 7 💬 | 2023-03-25 | Adam Trionfo |
| tzxduino tape player emulator 📎 | 7 💬 | 2026-04-05 | Scott Baker |
| Testing my new TSPico and VGA video cards | 7 💬 | 2024-06-26 | JEFFREY L BURRELL |
| spectrum EPROM | 7 💬 | 2024-05-08 | David Anderson |
| To: Daniel Santos. | 7 💬 | 2025-08-03 | RichJ |
| Greetings from a Brit ↳ #8293 📎 | 7 💬 | 2025-07-06 | paul |
| CD ROMS As T/S 2068 Program Mass Storage Device | 7 💬 | 2002-08-04 | William McBrine |
| new T/S 2068 owner | 7 💬 | 2023-06-30 | Floppy Days Podcast - Ra |
| Using the TS2068 as a terminal to telehack... (through ts-pico?) 📎 | 6 💬 | 2026-01-26 | David Anderson |
| Pico SD card | 6 💬 | 2024-04-05 | David Anderson |
| ts2068 Pico saving basic programs from cassette to micro SD card | 6 💬 | 2024-03-26 | Ricardo Calcagno |
| DivIDE interface | 6 💬 | 2008-01-09 | Timex |
| TS1000 Composite mod ↳ #286 📎 | 6 💬 | 2021-08-04 | Jonathan Toy |
| Flashing the ESP for ZX Wespi | 5 💬 | 2023-02-09 | larry lorenson |
| tsPico vs. ts2068, and my thoughts | 5 💬 | 2024-04-11 | Ricardo Calcagno |
| TS-Pico and 2040 printer? | 5 💬 | 2024-03-15 | David Anderson |
| Two-Person Timex User Group Meeting | 5 💬 | 2025-10-30 | Adam Trionfo |
| ZX divIDE+ interface with 2068 / ebay, bitrom ,RWAP, delays etc.. | 5 💬 | 2008-07-06 | M. Emrah Oral |
| Hard Drive Interface | 5 💬 | 2008-01-08 | Adam Trionfo |
| .WAV files | 4 💬 | 2024-04-11 | RichJ |
| SAVE and LOAD cheat sheets 📎 | 4 💬 | 2024-04-06 | RichJ |
| My progress using the Pico | 4 💬 | 2024-04-03 | RichJ |
| ZXpand | 4 💬 | 2011-04-04 | John |
| ZX Microdrive replicas | 4 💬 | 2025-09-21 | David Anderson |
| TS-Pico DIY Build Notes | 4 💬 | 2023-12-22 | Ricardo Calcagno |
| HDMI out with TS Pico 📎 | 4 💬 | 2023-12-10 | Floppy Days Podcast - Ra |
| ZX divIDE+ interface / Polish postal service, ZX-Matrix, Sinclair USB | 4 💬 | 2008-07-15 | M. Emrah Oral |
| Pico Video Question, Issue Any thoughts? 📎 | 4 💬 | 2025-03-31 | Thomas Hynes |
| YAMOD.ATBUS - fast IDE multiplexer | 3 💬 | 2004-07-06 | Jarek Adamski |
| CD-ROM for TS computers | 3 💬 | 2004-01-21 | stevenreardon |
| Did something stupid with TS2068 Extender and Twister/ROM/HDMI card | 3 💬 | 2024-02-09 | Dennis.g.brown |
| Post TS Pico Overviews and Reviews Here 📎 | 3 💬 | 2023-12-31 | Adam Trionfo |
| A reference and a question | 3 💬 | 2025-01-09 | Ricardo Calcagno |
| A Few Questions | 3 💬 | 2024-10-09 | Thomas Hynes |
| My TS/Pico Arrives and Adam Smiles | 2 💬 | 2024-07-30 | Adam Trionfo |
| "AI," the T/S 2068 and the TSPico | 2 💬 | 2026-03-04 | Adam Trionfo |
| How are things coming with the ability to store data files on the TSPico? | 2 💬 | 2026-02-28 | David Ellis |
| Building a Raspberry Pi Pico Powered ZX Spectrum - YouTube Video | 2 💬 | 2024-02-02 | Carl Miles |
| TJ Ferreira video about the TS-Pico | 2 💬 | 2024-01-19 | David Anderson |
| Pico loading error | 2 💬 | 2025-07-21 | RichJ |
| Digital storage options for the TS-2068 | 2 💬 | 2022-06-05 | qwertyfan2000 |
| Ts pico first impression | 2 💬 | 2023-12-05 | qwertyfan2000 |
| Paul DeMelto, TS1000 donations. 📎 | 2 💬 | 2023-11-03 | *** |
| TS_Pico firmware | 2 💬 | 2025-05-03 | Kurt Hildebrant |
| YouTube recording of Monday, March 7 meeting | 2 💬 | 2022-03-11 | David Anderson |
| ESPectrum 📎 | 1 💬 | 2024-08-20 | David Anderson |
| TSPico beta testing and ZX81+38 clone 📎 | 1 💬 | 2024-06-12 | RichJ |
| Call for TS-Pico Beta testers | 1 💬 | 2024-06-12 | David Anderson |
| TS 2068 Personal Color Computer Video Interface | 1 💬 | 2024-04-16 | Jay Carlson |
| All my games--please see explanation email from other day 📎 | 1 💬 | 2024-04-06 | RichJ |
| CD as a mass storage device -- Success and failure so far. | 1 💬 | 2004-09-17 | hatulzabad |
| Raspberry Pi Pico RGB to VGA converter | 1 💬 | 2025-10-20 | David Anderson |
| BackBit MicroSD Cart on my Atari 8-Bit Computer 📎 | 1 💬 | 2022-09-01 | Adam Trionfo |
| I got my BackBit Cart | 1 💬 | 2022-08-20 | Adam Trionfo |
| Addendum-to Danial Santos re; 2068 to monitor | 1 💬 | 2025-08-02 | RichJ |
| Sunday's Meeting April 13, 2025 - Revisit the TS 2060 | 1 💬 | 2025-04-15 | Thomas Hynes |
| USB Keyboard Interface for ZX Spectrum in development! | 1 💬 | 2023-06-28 | Carl Miles |
| tsPico cheat corrections | 1 💬 | 2025-01-04 | RichJ |
| TS1510 new system and info on the ZX81NU build PCB I sent to you. 📎 | 1 💬 | 2025-01-03 | RichJ |
| JLO disk system review addendum | 1 💬 | 2024-10-24 | RichJ |
| To David Anderson and Carl Miles. | 4 💬 | 2024-09-06 | RichJ |
| Ordered tsPico video card | 3 💬 | 2025-09-16 | RichJ |
| Late update: Special guests at Zoom meeting today 📎 | 3 💬 | 2023-11-20 | David Anderson |
| spectrum ROM | 1 💬 | 2024-06-14 | RichJ |
| TS-Pico Enclosure | 1 💬 | 2023-12-12 | Richard Burt |
| Mutual Timex Hobby; was: Re: [TS-Pico] Problem .dck files | 1 💬 | 2024-11-11 | Adam Trionfo |
| The PICO unit(s) Have arrived | 1 💬 | 2024-10-09 | Thomas Hynes |