Other retro computers
Other retro computers mentioned in passing — C64, Apple II, TRS-80, Atari, MSX, etc.
108 threads · 889 messages · 2001-12-21 → 2026-06-29
The TS2068 community has always defined itself in relation to its 8-bit neighbors, and the off-topic-but-not-really discussions about C64, Apple II, TRS-80 CoCo, Atari, MSX, Kaypro, Bally Astrocade, BBC Micro, and other Sinclairs run the full length of the archive. This topic is heavily drift-driven: very few threads here set out to discuss other retro machines, but threads about Timex history, hardware repair, and community life keep wandering into comparison territory. The Yahoo era set the comparative tone with very practical problems — PAL/NTSC mismatches, multi-standard Commodore 1084 monitors, and William McBrine's 2002 warning against sacrificing an MC-10's RF modulator to feed a Spectrum (#1000118), plus his sharp observation that the MC-10 was a blatant Sinclair-design-copy on CoCo internals (keyboard tokens, thermal printer, external RAM module) without being a clone. A 2007 'Other Sinclairs' thread (#1001208) catalogued what was and wasn't sold in North America, surfaced the rumored NTSC Spectrum prototype, and named East-Coast importer English Micro Connection.
The groups.io era picked those threads back up at a deeper technical level. The 2022 'What makes Z80 special?' discussion (#1218) walked through the 8080 → Z80 → CP/M lineage versus the 6502 family, dual-CPU oddities (Commodore 128 and BBC Micro second processors), VisiCalc-on-Apple-II-as-microprocessor-tipping-point, and Francois Lanciault's note about Fidelity Electronics Chess Challenger 7 (Z80, 4K ROM, 256 bytes RAM) as one of the broader Z80 cameos. Adam, Ryan and David's 2023 Apple IIGS thread (#4317) used the IIGS and the never-shipped Commodore 65 as yardsticks for imagining a late-1980s Timex successor — which Johnny Red's photos of the actual Timex Computer 3256 prototype eventually anchored to something real (an unfinished 1987 Portuguese Timex machine with monochrome newspaper coverage, which Joao Encarnado helped translate). By 2026, Adam's Gaming the Iron Curtain thread (#8888) extended this outward into the Pentagon 128 and other Eastern Bloc Spectrum clones, with first-person memories from Josef Jelinek (Czechoslovakia) and Brett Hallen's 'The Clueless Engineer' YouTube channel as the reference for РАДИО-86РК-class Soviet 8080 machines — along with the unforgettable tangent about Soviet KM capacitors containing harvestable palladium.
When modern retro releases show up, the group treats them as a mirror for the Timex/Sinclair scene rather than a distraction. The October 2025 C64 'Ultimate' reissue thread (#8636) turned into a sharp debate — David Green and Randy Kindig pre-ordered, while Josef Jelinek and David Anderson questioned why the C64 reissue drew more excitement than the ZX Spectrum Next ecosystem (XBerry Pi, N-Go, 3D-printed cases with mechanical keyboards). David's read: the C64's larger nostalgic base, not technical merit, drives the excitement gap — and the bread bin's silhouette beats the later C64C and C128 visually. Hardware threads drift constantly: the 169-message Bill Miller Collection disposition (#4564) and its follow-on ZX Spectrum 48K Repair (#5525) became a Sinclair-QL / Microdrive / vDrive ZX / Kaypro II CP/M repair festival with Carl Miles's detailed logs and Randy Kindig acquiring a QL. Russ Perry's mystery-hardware 'Long Shot' (#4364) was identified by David Anderson as a VIC-20/C64 user-port RS-232 level converter by MSD (Micro Systems Development), with the 0.156" vs 0.100" connector spacing as the giveaway. Simon N Goodwin's Supercharge QL SuperBASIC compiler becoming HiSoft BASIC for the Atari ST and Amiga (#8912) is a rare concrete Sinclair-to-mainstream-retro lineage, with Tim Swenson personally helping clean up the docs in the late 90s.
The throughline across both eras is a recurring 'why did we stay?' conversation. The 2012 Yahoo thread 'What if Timex stayed in the market' (#1003316) defended the 2068's industrial design against ugly Ataris and Commodores while admitting the keyword-entry keyboard cost it touch-typists — Emucompboy and jdiffendaffer cited the Apple II's dedicated keyboard chip with key buffer (vs. the 2068's polled approach) as concrete superiority, and that complaint was partially answered years later by SE Basic and similar Spectrum ROM replacements that accept letter-by-letter keyword entry. David's January 2026 'Why people stuck with their Timex computers' (#8924) reframed this through Computer Shopper pricing he was indexing: switching costs (money, but mostly accumulated skill in a non-portable BASIC) made staying rational long after the IBM PC era began. Chris Nystrom's 'I bought a TS1000 for under $100 because it was the only thing I could afford' is the era's most honest data point. Ryan's 1983 Sears Christmas Wishbook tangent (#5136) — comparing a $250 Atari 800XL to a $180 TS2068 on page 400 to a $99-after-rebate TI-99/4 — and Paul Holmgren's memory of running an in-store loop demo that proved the Commodore had a floating-point error before the TS did (#5207), both crystallize the comparative shopping environment the 2068 actually competed in. The robotics (#4801, Sync magazine's ZX81-controlled robot vs. Apple IIe / VIC-20 robot arms), American-museum (#6863), and Sinclair-died-1984 mourning (#9016, with Ryan noting he 'leapt from doomed system to doomed system' thereafter) threads all reinforce the same point — the Timex/Sinclair story only makes sense in the company of the other 8-bits it grew up alongside.
Key threads
- What if Timex stayed in the market (archive.org) — Yahoo-era 2012 hypothetical that frames the 2068's industrial design and keyword keyboard against the Atari/Commodore aesthetic — Apple II's key-buffer chip cited as concrete advantage and SE Basic as the eventual partial answer.
- Other Sinclairs (archive.org) — 2007 Yahoo thread that established what Sinclair variants were and weren't available in North America, including the NTSC Spectrum prototype rumor and East-Coast importer English Micro Connection — still the reference for that history.
- Timex/Apple IIGS to Timex Computer 3256 Prototype (#4317 on groups.io) — Adam and Ryan use the IIGS and the never-shipped Commodore 65 as yardsticks for imagining a late-1980s Timex successor — Johnny Red then anchors the speculation to the actual TC3256 prototype (1987, Portugal) with photos and Portuguese-newspaper coverage.
- What makes Z80 special? (#1218 on groups.io) — Jeff Burrell walks through the 8080-to-Z80-to-CP/M lineage versus the 6502 family — surfaces the dual-CPU oddities (Commodore 128, BBC Micro second processors) and the Z80 cameos in Fidelity Chess Challengers.
- C64 (#8636 on groups.io) — October 2025 thread on the Commodore 64 'Ultimate' reissue — Randy Kindig and David Green pre-order; David Anderson and Josef Jelinek argue C64 nostalgia beats Spectrum Next's more open ecosystem (XBerry Pi, N-Go) despite the Next being technically more interesting.
- Gaming the Iron Curtain Book and Eastern Bloc Spectrum Clones (#8888 on groups.io) — January 2026 extension of the Spectrum story east — Pentagon 128, Czechoslovak hardware, Brett Hallen's 'The Clueless Engineer' YouTube channel on Soviet 8080 machines, plus the Soviet KM-capacitor palladium-harvesting tangent.
- Christmas wish lists (#5136 on groups.io) — Ryan's 1983 Sears Christmas Wishbook and Radio Shack catalog tangent — a $250 Atari 800XL, a $180 TS2068 on page 400, a $99-after-rebate TI-99/4 — crystallizes the comparative shopping environment the 2068 actually competed in.
- Why people stuck with their Timex computers for so long (#8924 on groups.io) — David's January 2026 Computer Shopper indexing reframes the stickiness question through pricing — and Chris Nystrom's 'I bought a TS1000 because it was the only thing I could afford' is the era's most honest data point.
- Long Shot (#4364 on groups.io) — Mystery-hardware thread resolved by David Anderson as a VIC-20/C64 user-port RS-232 level converter by MSD (Micro Systems Development) — the 0.156-inch vs 0.100-inch connector-spacing distinction is the key tell.
- Bill Miller Collection (#4564 on groups.io) — 169-message disposition of a Bay Area collection that drifts into ZX Spectrum 48K repair, A&J Microdrive conversion, vDrive ZX bank-of-microdrives emulation, Sinclair QL, and Kaypro II CP/M — the most cross-machine marketplace+repair thread the list ever ran.
All threads (108)
↳ marks a thread where this topic begins mid-conversation — the link jumps to the message where it starts.
| Thread | Msgs | Activity | Started by |
|---|---|---|---|
| ⭐ Bill Miller Collection ↳ #4605 📎 | 169 💬 | 2024-01-13 | Timothy Swenson |
| ⭐ ZX Spectrum 48K Repair - Jan 2024 - Ryan got a ZX Spectrum 48K from the Bill Mil 📎 | 65 💬 | 2024-02-13 | Carl Miles |
| ⭐ Timex Computer 3256 Prototype 📎 | 47 💬 | 2023-12-09 | Adam Trionfo |
| ⭐ ABQ User Group Meeting - Sat. Feb. 3, 2024 📎 | 40 💬 | 2024-02-08 | Adam Trionfo |
| ⭐ My New 2068 Toys/RGB Monitor Adapter Works - Hooray! 📎 | 26 💬 | 2024-05-17 | Adam Trionfo |
| ⭐ What makes Z80 special? | 12 💬 | 2022-04-14 | Adam Trionfo |
| C64 📎 | 31 💬 | 2025-10-22 | Adam Trionfo |
| An American museum? | 27 💬 | 2024-08-19 | David Anderson |
| Why people stuck with their Timex computers for so long 📎 | 23 💬 | 2026-01-21 | Adam Trionfo |
| What if Timex stayed in the market | 21 💬 | 2012-08-22 | Marvio Santos |
| Other Sinclairs | 17 💬 | 2007-06-16 | Al Hartman |
| Good Morning and a strange question | 16 💬 | 2023-11-11 | Adam Trionfo |
| Robotics 📎 | 12 💬 | 2023-11-14 | Adam Trionfo |
| "Gaming the Iron Curtain Book" and Eastern Bloc Spectrum Clones 📎 | 10 💬 | 2026-01-04 | Brett Hallen |
| Long Shot… 📎 | 10 💬 | 2023-09-27 | David Anderson |
| ZX81 and TS1000 on Adrian’s Digital Basement 📎 | 10 💬 | 2025-04-07 | Timothy Swenson |
| Timex/Sinclair Yule Log | 10 💬 | 2024-12-04 | David Anderson |
| Mourning the "Death" of Timex Computers - February 22, 1984 📎 | 9 💬 | 2026-02-05 | Adam Trionfo |
| Events and Organzations 📎 | 9 💬 | 2024-02-26 | John Mobley |
| Old Spectrum Newbie TS2068 ↳ | 9 💬 | 2002-09-26 | William McBrine |
| The Sinclair QL and HiSoft BASIC for the Atari ST and Amiga | 8 💬 | 2026-01-07 | David Anderson |
| Those Russian Sinclair Computers 📎 | 8 💬 | 2022-02-23 | Adam Trionfo |
| CoCoFEST! 📎 | 8 💬 | 2023-05-16 | John Mobley |
| VCF East 📎 | 7 💬 | 2026-04-21 | SuperMikeNJ |
| retro TV/Monitor 📎 | 7 💬 | 2024-02-22 | Paul Holmgren |
| Sat. May 13, 2023: ABQ User Group Meeting ↳ #3613 📎 | 7 💬 | 2023-05-23 | Adam Trionfo |
| Looks like Retro Games is coming out with a new "The Spectrum" computer later th 📎 | 6 💬 | 2024-08-27 | Carl Miles |
| Timex and States and Capitals | 6 💬 | 2026-04-03 | David Anderson |
| Neat YouTube Video about early computer Emulation including the ZX81 / TS1000 an | 6 💬 | 2023-01-04 | Carl Miles |
| Didatik Gamma | 6 💬 | 2010-01-09 | Mark Scheck |
| My 2068 and MC-10 | 6 💬 | 2025-04-28 | Christian Mann |
| Robots and Timex Computers 📎 | 6 💬 | 2025-01-29 | Adam Trionfo |
| Home Computing Pioneer Sir Clive Sinclair passes away Age 81 | 6 💬 | 2021-09-17 | Luis Alberto D'Ardis |
| Sinclair related but not a personal computer... 📎 | 5 💬 | 2024-01-13 | Carl Miles |
| ABQ Retro Computer Meetup Video Overview 📎 | 5 💬 | 2025-07-30 | Adam Trionfo |
| Tom Woods and the Astrocade? | 5 💬 | 2022-06-14 | Adam Trionfo |
| A little bit of Timex Sinclair history.. 📎 | 5 💬 | 2022-03-21 | Scott Hardin |
| QL picture on television | 4 💬 | 2012-07-24 | Mark Scheck |
| 5.25 floppy drive for a Tandy 1000 HX | 4 💬 | 2025-08-19 | Christian Mann |
| Zilog Acquired by Littelfuse | 4 💬 | 2022-06-22 | Adam Trionfo |
| BASIC Games; was: Re: Compute magazine | 4 💬 | 2025-04-19 | qwertyfan2000 |
| Brazilian CP400 Computer | 3 💬 | 2015-08-09 | alhartman6 |
| A Star Wars TI-59 Calculator Game | 3 💬 | 2024-07-20 | Adam Trionfo |
| For the PASCAL afflicted | 3 💬 | 2025-10-21 | David Anderson |
| 8 Bit Workshop | 3 💬 | 2022-09-14 | David Anderson |
| Familiar loading noise and font in Netflix's "Choose or Die" | 3 💬 | 2022-04-19 | zxspectrum128 |
| Home Console BASIC in Japan | 3 💬 | 2022-02-08 | David Anderson |
| Custom Timex/Sinclair Controllers? 📎 | 3 💬 | 2023-07-23 | Adam Trionfo |
| Z88 & ZX81 On TV today! | 3 💬 | 2008-01-03 | doidy1 |
| Tim and Paul’s Rhode Island Road Trip | 2 💬 | 2023-03-25 | David Anderson |
| Simple Telephone System for the CoCoFEST! | 2 💬 | 2024-04-30 | John Mobley |
| One Per Desk Computer/Telecommunications Terminal 📎 | 2 💬 | 2024-01-02 | Adam Trionfo |
| Linux in TS computers. | 2 💬 | 2025-06-11 | Christian Mann |
| CP/M on the Timex or Atari? | 2 💬 | 2022-04-18 | Adam Trionfo |
| RC2014 Pro - Homebrew Z80 Computer Kit | 2 💬 | 2023-09-27 | John Mobley |
| Somewhat related to Adam’s lite exploration 📎 | 2 💬 | 2022-02-28 | David Anderson |
| CP 400 | 2 💬 | 2023-05-31 | John Mobley |
| S-100 connection | 1 💬 | 2026-06-29 | David Anderson |
| Explaining computers 1982 | 1 💬 | 2026-06-10 | David Anderson |
| The Elwro 800 Junior emulator | 1 💬 | 2006-02-06 | Jarek Adamski |
| Spectrum Handheld by hypermegatech | 1 💬 | 2026-04-30 | Adam Trionfo |
| Sinclair QL anyone? | 1 💬 | 2005-04-29 | senen71 |
| Z80 is Being Discontinued | 1 💬 | 2024-04-19 | Adam Trionfo |
| Talking to an AI about a Classic Game Console or Computer | 1 💬 | 2022-12-06 | Adam Trionfo |
| "Lemonade Stand" for Timex and C64 Computers | 1 💬 | 2025-09-18 | Adam Trionfo |
| BackBit MicroSD Cart on my Atari 8-Bit Computer 📎 | 1 💬 | 2022-09-01 | Adam Trionfo |
| The right Time for Looking into the Timex 1000 Game Changer Interface to the Ata | 1 💬 | 2023-10-18 | kevin.personal |
| RCR Episode 266: The Apple II Age (And a word form Timex) | 1 💬 | 2023-08-15 | John Mobley |
| Christmas wish lists 📎 | 21 💬 | 2023-12-11 | Adam Trionfo |
| A terrible mistake.. | 7 💬 | 2026-02-28 | Christian Mann |
| Joining Ryan 📎 | 7 💬 | 2023-11-21 | Ryan Gray |
| Update on the 8 bit game consoles. | 7 💬 | 2025-05-03 | Christian Mann |
| Not really related to Timex or Sinclair, but this is a documentary about the cre | 7 💬 | 2023-06-16 | Adam Trionfo |
| From a parallel universe | 6 💬 | 2022-10-02 | David Anderson |
| genius 1980s inventions that failed massively | 6 💬 | 2023-12-15 | larry lorenson |
| Added storage capacity and a few subgroups | 6 💬 | 2023-12-05 | David Ellis |
| My ASD is showing again and I am on a DE-HOARDING binge today - but this came to 📎 | 6 💬 | 2025-05-29 | Thomas Hynes |
| Recent finds via the Retrocomputing Roundtable Podcast 📎 | 6 💬 | 2025-05-25 | Adam Trionfo |
| I am sure that the Cleaning Fluids have really effected me today - But I nailed 📎 | 6 💬 | 2025-05-17 | Thomas Hynes |
| Book Nook Segment on Atari Show 📎 | 5 💬 | 2023-01-02 | Adam Trionfo |
| Bally/Timex connection | 5 💬 | 2022-10-07 | David Anderson |
| Tear-Jerker 2000 Cartridge; or Adam's Away-Image 📎 | 4 💬 | 2022-04-06 | Adam Trionfo |
| QL birthday | 3 💬 | 2024-01-17 | Mark Scheck |
| 8 bit game consoles. | 3 💬 | 2025-04-29 | Christian Mann |
| MiPS | 3 💬 | 2023-07-27 | Mark Scheck |
| Ferranti/Astrocade Connection, well... kinda; was: RIP Jim Guerin, one of the pe | 2 💬 | 2023-03-02 | Adam Trionfo |
| Added "Star Wahs" by Dale from Astrogames' Tape A3. | 2 💬 | 2023-02-22 | Adam Trionfo |
| Timex Data-Link Watch 📎 | 2 💬 | 2026-01-08 | Adam Trionfo |
| British computers in America ft. Timex Sinclair | 2 💬 | 2025-11-14 | T2 |
| Robots built using the RCA 1802 processor/ELF computer 📎 | 2 💬 | 2025-11-06 | David Anderson |
| Another off-topic? | 2 💬 | 2025-11-05 | Ricardo Calcagno |
| 8bitnews email | 2 💬 | 2022-10-18 | David Anderson |
| Computes Gazzette 📎 | 2 💬 | 2025-07-21 | SuperMikeNJ |
| Zoom meeting with Jeri Ellsworth | 2 💬 | 2023-11-03 | David Anderson |
| Giant Cassette Tape Recorder 📎 | 2 💬 | 2022-03-29 | Adam Trionfo |
| Retro Directory | 2 💬 | 2023-05-13 | John Mobley |
| 8-Bit Guy... | 1 💬 | 2018-05-27 | alhartman6 |
| Just watched an Apple video | 1 💬 | 2014-07-02 | Mark Scheck |
| Need a Second Life - Yes you do, but in my explorations I found something cool 📎 | 1 💬 | 2026-02-05 | Thomas Hynes |
| Before it gets recycled | 1 💬 | 2024-02-25 | Paul Holmgren |
| Not the Q*Bert Mini-Arcade, but the Dragon's Lair One | 1 💬 | 2022-09-25 | Adam Trionfo |
| PyThon learn programming stuff "Books" | 1 💬 | 2025-09-09 | Paul Holmgren |
| Computer parts for sale or trade. | 1 💬 | 2025-06-24 | Christian Mann |
| CNN Article on vintage computing... | 1 💬 | 2001-12-21 | Louis Florit |
| Last update on the 8 bit consoles. | 1 💬 | 2025-05-16 | Christian Mann |
| Floppy Days Podcast with Forrest Mims III | 1 💬 | 2023-10-14 | John Mobley |
| New episode of Floppy Days Podcast with TS2068 content | 1 💬 | 2023-09-25 | Floppy Days Podcast - Ra |
| Terminal Emulator Idea | 1 💬 | 2023-09-18 | John Mobley |