Impressive that you found one with the rivets intact and all the original cables. My dad had one and showed it to me when I was but a wee lad, but I recognise that red stripe on the power cord anywhere. Sadly the machine got chucked out during a house move, something I'm sure he wouldn't have done if he realised how rare they'd become. Nice to see one in action again anyway.
At school I and a friend wrote a credible version of Scramble for the beast. Sadly we "ate" the stack during the game (If you know Forth you'll understand) so you had to reload from tape to start over. I have a massive itch to use forth to this day from this lovely little beast.
I had the later version the 4000 with a better case, with hindsight i should of kept it is worth £1000's now :-(. I think it was ok, better than a zx81 though more of a tool to learn Forth on than anything else.
I'm not sure why 2 people who had worked on the ZX81 and Spectrum would create a new computer that isn't as appealing. That doesn't make sense from a business or end user perspective. Perhaps they encountered engineering or investment issues that held them back and they just rushed out what they had hoping they'd raise enough income from sales to make a significantly better mark II. An interesting video, thank you.
They intended to make a budget-conscious computer that was inexpensive and reliable, but seperated itself from the ZX81 and Spectrum, all of which to be for either personal usage like a ZX Spectrum or for small start-up businesses who needs to crunch numbers fast and collect important data. The biggest flaw was the primary focus of the computer: the Forth programming language. It scared away any potential new buyers and turned off computer enthusiasts with the unfamiliar and complex language.
Great Vid. Had seen these advertised in Popular Computing weekly in the early 80’s. Never seen one in the flesh nor seen one working. Thanks 👍🏻
Glad you enjoyed it
Impressive that you found one with the rivets intact and all the original cables. My dad had one and showed it to me when I was but a wee lad, but I recognise that red stripe on the power cord anywhere. Sadly the machine got chucked out during a house move, something I'm sure he wouldn't have done if he realised how rare they'd become. Nice to see one in action again anyway.
The wafer-thin vacuum formed enclosure and plastic rivets looks very similar to the ZX-80.
Yes, because it was a direct ripoff of the zx-80.
The case is much cheaper than the ZX81, you could never use a Jupiter Ace as a doorstop! But it does look really cool.
I saw one in London in 1982 - late October or early November. It felt anachronistic.
Excellent stuff. I'd love to get one of these, but they're very rare and very expensive. Thanks for giving us the next best thing.
Glad you liked it!
At school I and a friend wrote a credible version of Scramble for the beast. Sadly we "ate" the stack during the game (If you know Forth you'll understand) so you had to reload from tape to start over. I have a massive itch to use forth to this day from this lovely little beast.
Do you still have that game? Would be interesting to try it!
I've never even heard of this computer. Thanks for the informative video
Glad you liked it!
This computer falls into the category "What were they thinking"😂
The rubber probably isn't conductive, but the blocks in side the keys are conductive graphite that shorts the PCB meshes.
I had the later version the 4000 with a better case, with hindsight i should of kept it is worth £1000's now :-(. I think it was ok, better than a zx81 though more of a tool to learn Forth on than anything else.
I'm not sure why 2 people who had worked on the ZX81 and Spectrum would create a new computer that isn't as appealing. That doesn't make sense from a business or end user perspective. Perhaps they encountered engineering or investment issues that held them back and they just rushed out what they had hoping they'd raise enough income from sales to make a significantly better mark II. An interesting video, thank you.
They intended to make a budget-conscious computer that was inexpensive and reliable, but seperated itself from the ZX81 and Spectrum, all of which to be for either personal usage like a ZX Spectrum or for small start-up businesses who needs to crunch numbers fast and collect important data. The biggest flaw was the primary focus of the computer: the Forth programming language. It scared away any potential new buyers and turned off computer enthusiasts with the unfamiliar and complex language.
Wow, only 5000 units sold.