1983 Memotech MTX500/512 Review and Modern Mods
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- Опубліковано 16 лип 2024
- Join me on this retro journey where we explore the Memotech MTX500 and 512. We look inside, perform some fixes, test some modern mods and play some fantastic retro games.
00:00 Introduction
00:34 Retro Relix Title
00:46 Opening the Memotech MTX500
01:14 Keyboard Inspection
01:52 Keyboard Clean
02:40 Keyboard Key Cap Replacement
03:04 Keyboard Connection Fix
03:48 Motherboard Overview
04:28 Motherboard Chip Review
05:06 ASSEM Function Review
05:16 32K RAM MTX500 Memory Map
06:00 Cleaning the Base
06:16 Rear Panel and Motherboard Installation
06:38 Keyboard Re-Assembly
07:00 Setting Up and Loading Montage
08:50 NODDY Function Review
09:08 MAGROM Solid State Solution
09:32 MTX500 Games Demo
11:02 Opening the Memotech MTX512
12:06 MTX Memory Card
13:14 MTX512 Game Demo
13:56 Multi-Function Expansion System
14:26 MFX Installation
16:08 MFX Review
16:26 CP/M Mode Review
17:32 MTX Mode Review
17:54 SDX BASIC Review
18:38 Star Command Game
18:50 Alphatron Game
19:04 Snappo Game
19:22 Obloids Game
19:38 Dennis Game
19:52 Power Pac Game
20:10 Hustle Chumy Game
20:30 Hex-Train Game
LINKS
MTX Details
www.primrosebank.net/computers...
www.primrosebank.net/computers...
MTX MAGROM: Martin Allcorn's Games ROM
www.primrosebank.net/computers...
MTX Memory Card
www.nyangau.org/memcard/memcar...
MTX MFX: Memotech Multi Function eXpansion card
www.primrosebank.net/computers...
MTX Game Audio Downloads
www.mtxworld.dk/download.php
HEX-Train
www.nyangau.org/hextrain/hextr...
Thumbnail background generated using hotpot.ai/art-generator
MUSIC CREDITS
Digital Voyage and Funky (Sting) by Twin Musicom. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence.
creativecommons.org/licenses/...
www.twinmusicom.org/
Retro by Wayne Jones.
URL Melt - Unicorn Heads ℗ UA-cam Audio Library
Press Fuse and Straight Fuse by French Fuse
Developed on a Surface Pro 4 using CyberLink PowerDirector 17 and Jasc Paint Shop Pro 8 - Наука та технологія
Always thought this was such a beautiful looking Computer.
Agreed. Which due to the extra cost, probably didn’t contribute to its success :(
pretty nice looking
Hi Everyone. This time Retro Relix reviews, fixes and tests some modern mods on the 1983 MTX range of computers from Memotech. Although not everything went to plan, we still managed to showcase some of the great mods out there and play some games. Enjoy...
Another excellent review. This system is fab, I'm not sure I'd ever heard of it before. I'm really impressed by some of its capabilities, and some of those games look great.
It's fun to see and hear the MTX500 in action, because my only other exposure to this computer was seeing a photo of it in a magazine back in the day. Gorgeous case design. It's kind of surprising to see how primitive and simplistic the games are... such a contrast to the upscale look of the case. Upon its release the Memotech was already outclassed by the dowdy, beige plastic, ergonomically-challenged breadbin Commodore64 with its powerful SID chip, 64K ram (38K available for BASIC), and price/performance value.
My father used to make the cases at
H C Holified in Abingdon, i also owned one which i presumed my father got at a hefty discount 😊
I still own one. Haven't looked at it for years. The assembler on board was awesome! I learned so much
Quality video mate.
Really enjoyed this video, and it was good to see some games played on a system you don't often see games on . There was some interesting mods to the mtx 500 but he left a few unanswered questions .. no doubt this video will make a good point of reference for people who wish to do the same , thanks for taking the time to make a really good informative video .
i so wanted one of these but they were like rocking horse shit , even on the Tottenham court road which back in the olden days was the place to get anything electronic
Pretty cool. Looks like a nice piece of kit - the display and colors are really nice. I had several of their Zeddy add-ons back in the day. Probably the best aftermarket products - better than Sinclair itself.
Had one of these with all the addons - floppy drive, CP/M system, and some device that I think made it semi Spectrum compatible. Great hardware (built like a tank), especially the BASIC - it's a souped up MSX basically. Picked it up at some sort of fire sale. Because I'm an idiot I gave it to my young brothers in law to play with.
Cool, i remember when this was launched and had a look at one at Olympia back in what? Must be around 1984, it had some pretty funky expansions, I remember them showing something with must have been 4096 colours from an expansion box it was connected to, this was way before the Amiga came on the scene so people were pretty astounded by it at their stand. Never actually used one beyond that and certainly no-one I knew ever had one. It's interesting to note that a lot of the games were pretty basic even by the standards of back then.
I knew memotech had to get out of the peripheral space as that was going nowhere, but they came into what was even then a very crowded market.
I've been collecting a bunch of old machines recently to play with stuff like it's the early 80s! The MTX is somewhat out of the budget I'm willing to pay so impressed that you went and got a second one!!!!
Interesting video about it.
a Memotech server! 😄
😂
Such an elegant case shell design! Never heard of this computer before, it has some similarities with MSX1 computers.
I still have my original 500 from the shop where I worked, which had a small stock of 500 and 512s.
Built like a tank and had much promise. I did convert one of the games we made for it (Next War) but it was never released.
You should convert the game file to a sound file and make available to hobbyists to load. I can put you in touch with the Memofest team too.
The hero computer in 1985's Weird Science ... it summed a girl ! Filmed in fall 1984.
Given that the keyboard cable wires were broken, I really don't understand why you used a desoldering tool to remove the solder and remaining wire. A regular soldering iron and solder braid would have allowed the clean up of the board with a lot less damage to the pads, especially in view of the fact that the keyboard is using a single sided PCB. Interesting machine though. I like the way they split the software resources across the EPROMs (a little like the BBC Micro in that respect).
Is a text prompted voice used here? It’s quite robotic, with the beginning of sentences cutoff 😬 I’m also surprised that considering the MTX here had 512KB of system RAM, another 16KB of dedicated VRAM, dedicated and discrete video and sound chips. That the graphics and audio quality of this micro still doesn’t compare to the C64 of the same era. It’s a high quality gorgeous looking thing though. One of the best designed micros in that department anyway.
The Memotech's sound and graphics don't compare to the Atari 400/800 from 1979, but then again, the C64 wasn't much more advanced than the Ataris either, despite coming out 3 years later. At that time, in the UK, the C64 was the second most popular computer. Like the Memotech, it was initially priced quite high, out of the reach of many. CBM then slashed prices (and margins) to the bone, deliberately trying to kill off a good number of competitors in the process.
you really need a hiss filter on your audio 😵
Hi, Retro Relix. I think you can try and break up this video into two in the middle: one for the 500 and one for the 512. I kind of lost attention halfway through the video.
A totaly june if you can't be productive and only play...on dat...
Wtf for upgrade? . For games.. ?...a junk...just drop him in garbage recycle shit