An expansion card with a RPi-Zero would be an interesting and useful upgrade for the MEGA65 (there is a similar project for the AMIGA called A314). This could be used to play MP3 or Full-Motion-Video, access to network resources or use as an arithmetic copro, etc.

@retroCombs

2 ай бұрын

Some of the benefits this would provide is coming in the form of an expansion card. Hopefully more to come in the Summer or Fall.

I think the Spectrum Next and the Mega 65 are both very impressive machines.

@retroCombs

Ай бұрын

I agree. They both have their strong points and are perfect for specific users.

Looking good, the download over wifi option is impressive :-) I'll add that to my wishlist for MEGA65 one day :-D

@retroCombs

3 ай бұрын

Agree. It's a killer feature I wish we could get on the MEGA65. I know we a command line tool to do something similar, but UI on the ZX tool is fabulous.

As a dyed in the wool Spectrum fan, this was very amusing to watch :D

@retroCombs

3 ай бұрын

I bet you did. Tapping the screen saying, not that, not that! 🤣

@BertGrink

3 ай бұрын

​@@retroCombsWell you got there eventually, so it's all good, eh? Btw, as a 70-year old geezer, I agree with your complaint about the TINY text - and it gets worse once you start on the actual manual! There are several tables and such where I have to use BOTH my normal reading glasses AND a magnifying glass in order to make sense of the text. Sigh. Aside from that, the manual is quite good otherwise, if you ignore a few typos here and there. P.S. I also own a KS2 Next; It arrived in December last year, on my very birthday! :D Best "present" I've had in many years.

@retroCombs

3 ай бұрын

@BertGrink That is a great b-day gift! Yeah, I thought several times I was going to need a magnifying glass. I like the manual so far. I'm a bit spoiled by the MEGA≡65 user manual though with its larger text and thicker pages. Still, these are both great fun.

@coryengel

3 ай бұрын

I could really relate to this. I’m an American Commodore user who has never even SEEN a Sinclair computer in person before getting my Spectrum Next. The manual and QuickStart guide were definitely not made with us in mind.

@retroCombs

3 ай бұрын

@coryengel I tend to agree, the manual is not made to help Commodore users transition but rather to let those old ZX users upgrade their experience. I'm sure it will get easier but it is SO different.

28:10 so true...

@retroCombs

3 ай бұрын

It sure was different from my Commodore experience but still a blast.

You should've tried other keys with Jetset Willy, as in letters on the keyboard not cursor keys.

@retroCombs

Ай бұрын

Thanks for the heads up. I should really read the instruction manuals. 🤣

You'll need the Raspberry Pi to support TZX. Most games will be launched as 48K unless the file specifically supports 128K

@retroCombs

3 ай бұрын

Awesome! Thanks for clarifying. And this is why I love my viewers. I learn so much. Now I just need to find the instructions to prepare and install the Raspberry Pi Zero. Sounds like a good topic for a prepared video.

Just fired mine up and setup wifi... I found the nextel bbs very confusing. I also couldn't see how to exit most of the programs didn't work hitting the exit button, so used the reset on the side - is that how its supposed to work?

@retroCombs

24 күн бұрын

I believe that's how it works. At least that's what I did during this livestream.

When can we use a quad core pi zero as the accelerator what about an art package and what about the pi zero emulating the vdp9990 at least?

@retroCombs

24 күн бұрын

Awesome questions and features we'll have to rely on the community to develop.

@zx_spectrum_next

21 күн бұрын

@@retroCombs not really

@Eratosthenes0815

19 күн бұрын

I have added a Pi Zero 2W (quadcore) to my Next. It runs with some restrictions. You need to use an active USB Hub for the Pi because the PSU is a bit weak and the Next isn't able to power the Pi when more than one USB device is connected. Other than this it has many advantages to the original RasPi. Being able to connect via WiFi is a very nice thing for example. :D Edit: An other restriction could be (haven't tested as I also have replaced the Linux Distri of the RasPi) that .tzx loading doesn't work with the Zero 2W. The other ports are working fine. Accessing the Pi via the internal serial port is working without issues...

@retroCombs

18 күн бұрын

​@@Eratosthenes0815Appreciate this additional info. I might stick to the original Pi Zero I have in a box, somewhere!

@ZXSpectrum128K

16 күн бұрын

​@Eratosthenes0815 have you seen an amstrad cpc running symbos with a vdp9990? Maybe the pi could emulate the vdp9990 as well ? What do you think?

Does it work with external physical floppy drives ?

@retroCombs

2 ай бұрын

I can't verify since I don't have one; however, all signs point to yes.

@Eratosthenes0815

19 күн бұрын

Hi! - Yes it does. It supports much of the existing hardware for the ZX Spectrum. Nowadays I would suggest to use the SD Card. You can access the SD Card (read and write) using BASIC commands and many of the existing programs.

@b213videoz

19 күн бұрын

@@Eratosthenes0815 Nah, I don't care about SD card. Nowadays it makes sense to use emulation - but I'm following my own sense, in my childhood I badly wanted yet never had a ZX with a floppy disk drive. Having an FPGA box with another tiny SD card box is almost the same as emulation to me. I need a first class physical floppy disk drive support, to date I never saw anyone having that on ZX next.

@Eratosthenes0815

19 күн бұрын

@@b213videoz Everybody as he likes. ;-) - +D does work and Beta Disk should also do the job. Edit: But I'm not sure if they are only working with an original ROM or if you can use NextZXOS. I would expect that the ROMs do collide.

@retroCombs

18 күн бұрын

​@@Eratosthenes0815 Thanks for the clarification!