The ZX Spectrum was the only 8-bit microcomputer that truly encouraged kids to program. Unlike its competitors, which largely pushed users toward purchasing pre-made software, the Spectrum fostered a culture of experimentation and creativity. For example, the Commodore 64 was more focused on selling software, leaving little encouragement for users to dive into coding. Now, imagine if the Spectrum had never existed. The impact on the programming community would have been profound. Its absence might have delayed the rise of home programming and hobbyist development by at least a decade, potentially stalling the rapid evolution of the tech industry as we know it today. Years later, as consoles took over, they effectively locked out bedroom developers. Companies like Sony focused exclusively on big-budget titles from established studios, leaving no room for independent creators. History, however, seemed to repeat itself with the advent of Apple’s App Store. By opening its platform to everyone, Apple rekindled the spirit of bedroom programming, giving small, independent developers the same opportunities to reach a global audience as major companies. This democratization of software development revitalized the industry, much like the ZX Spectrum did decades earlier.
I had no idea about the popularity of the Spectrum outside of the UK, so it's good to hear about this. Being from the UK, I grew up with this machine, still have fond memories of playing games, reading the magazines cover to cover, and writing BASIC programs for it. Having never mastered assembly programming, I still have huge respect for the developers who created technically stunning games in just 48k or 128k. Bob Pape pulled off an amazing conversion of R-Type, Andy Onions worked magic to get Carrier Command onto the 128k and Stunt Car Racer originally from Geoff Crammond was amazing and the physics felt very similar to the 16bit versions. Good times indeed. I'm 40 years late to the party, but I'm finally planning to learn Z80 assembler and create something on the Spectrum in the coming months with the help of internet videos and guides. Wish me luck! Also, where was the music from that plays at 22:53 ? it's very good whatever it is. Thanks for the video, hope to see more Spectrum content from you in the future.
I just discovered your channel and enjoyed every minute of this video! Being Dutch I also experienced the time of the ZX Spectrum in the Netherlands. You made an excellent and true story of its history here. I was surprised to see that you showed the software titles (at 4:56) I have created back in these days. "De Malle Muur" and "De Prijsvraag" are a collection of mini games combined with a prize winning contest. I was a bedroom coder and very proud that M.C.N. published these games. It's nice to see a revival of many retro computers and games and even more to see a Dutch youtuber with high-quality contributions. Keep up the good work!
Great video! I also had the Dutch experience. Me and my brother chipped in for Sinterklaas present to buy the speccy 48k in 1984. I discovered the Your Sinclair and Sinclair User magazines in a German store on summer vacation in 1989, with Indiana Jones last crusade as cover tape! A few years ago I reverse engineered that demo and Space Raiders, using Skoolkit, made by a Canadian, so lots of history outside the UK 🙂! Thanks for a well made trip down memory lane!
As an 80’s UK kid, I had and loved my 48k Speccy. I could never have dreamed, back then, that in 2024 there would be a Spectrum Next, a ZX Touch and so many emulators. And an international Speccy community, producing awesome homebrew software.
Excellent video and a great watch. It shows the Dutch and German Speccy history was fairly similar, but probably even less Speccy market share after 1984 or so when Amstrad CPCs became the no. 2 (opposed to the MSX in NL). I had a very similar experience, finding out about British magazines in 1987 and starting to swap copied game tapes via snail-mail at that time too. There were almost no German mags left reviewing Speccy games by that point, so unless you read British mags, you often would not even know that for a certain game there was in fact a Speccy version (when the German mags often would not even mention it in the list of systems the game was released for). And in any of the mainstream shops you found pretty much nothing by 1988 or so, just a few specialized shops would still have a small selection. I do have a soft spot for the Dutch Speccy scene by the way, in the mid/late 90s I'd gone to a few Dutch events like in Heerlen or Houten as our local club leader here in Keulen/Cologne would drive there by car so I'd sometimes join him. There is one sad difference between NL and DE, now that you have released this video - despite the much larger population of DE, I don't think there is a single video like this here from our side where someone tells the history of the Speccy in Germany (let alone in such detail and with your high production values). There are very very few Speccy-themed videos from German TH-camrs, and unfortunately I'm not a video creator so I can't come to the rescue here ... It all just highlights the insane dominance Commodore machines had on "our shores".
Great story! I had been looking for German and French speccy history but couldn’t find any videos about it. In those days I was aware of German spectrum users but I could not understand Deutsch 😀. I know that in Limburg there were speccy events that German people also visited. Thank you for sharing!
I am Lithuanian. ZX-Spectrum was my first computer. But becouse of geopolitical situation I got my speccy only in 1993. But I'm so happy and thankfull for this. I learned assembly language on this machine, because it was impossible to do any real time effects on BASIC. The games were so hard on ZX that I wanted to learn how to make games with infinite lives :) That was a start of coders life :) So I got understanding on low level programming, later I got PC, learned C and C++. That was my way into software development.
@@hotdogsoup-nlI did ! This is the game th-cam.com/video/sdhvuoYyBN0/w-d-xo.html And also later I participated in DemoScene with my friends, so we did demo for speccy. th-cam.com/video/cc_64aefHdQ/w-d-xo.html
Thank you for sharing your story, I could relate a lot although I was a teen living in the nowhere Tasmania Australia (the island on the bottom) my trusty commodore Vic20 and c+vg months old from the UK was my lifeline and filled my life with joy 🇦🇺👍📺🕹️📼
Very interesting, even though I'm not Dutch (I'm British). We had an Amstrad 6128, but the same nostalgia. I knew the Speccy sold overseas but didn't realise it was so popular, thanks for informing me!
Wauw Elra op de Zwartjanstraat in Rotterdam, daar heb ik heel wat geld uitgegeven aan de Spectrum en de ZX81 Edit: Zakelijke software, zelfs Kluwer deed er aan mee, ik heb nog 1986 belastingtape liggen, handig voor je belasting aangifte :)
Kwantum sold a few Sinclair models back in the day. The plus, 128k, Amstrad models and the QL. But there was another group of Spectrum users in The Netherlands, those who were busy with HAM Radio and sometimes they wrote about it in RAM magazine. And yes they even use the Spectrum to transmit or receive messages all over the world :)
Indeed I got all my Spectrums from Kwantum 😀. Great to hear about the radio amateurs using it too. I know ZX81s were also used by amateur video broadcasters to create title screens etc.
Amazing video Martin, made with care, great sounds also! We had some at my school (mavo) but were replaced by the Acorn Atoms a year later (or so). I owned a MSX, still have one and around Christmas we play games from the tape on an old t.v. 😀🎄
Hallo Martin, wat een leuke video. Helemaal ook mijn verhaal en herkenbaar. Grappig, jij maakte voor Batz 'n Ballz de graphics en ik de muziek. En als je dat beseft dan besef je ook weer hoe de tijd vliegt!
Hi Rob, dank! Ik ga nog een aparte video maken over batz n ballz, heb ook contact met David. Zou je me willen contacten via contact form op mijn website hotdogsoup.nl ? Dankjewel!
Hi @hotdogsoup-nl What a cracking video you've created. The Speccy 48k was my very first computer, and I loved it to bits. I was all about the games as a kid, firm favourites were - Chucky Egg Jet Set Willly 2 Boulderdash Elite (who could forget such an incredible game) It was fascinating to see how the Spectrum was received in other countries, And your love affair with British computer magazines (and their editors 😉 ) I eventually moved onto an Amiga and loved that just as much (perhaps even more). But I'll always have a soft spot for the Speccy. Looking forward to more of your vids.
I would be really interested about the ZX Spectrum destiny in Belgium. If there ever was any. Found some Dutch software you're mentioning in the video but that's all. Noticed Aackosoft in my childhood but back then I didn't know it's Dutch. And maybe worth to mention, the Netherlands also might be the cradle of the ZX Spectrum demoscene by the group The Lords which is a big thing. And btw. in the 01:06 of the video, there's Didaktik Gama displayed but told it's Soviet, which isn't correect. It's from Czechoslovakia ;)
Thanks for mentioning the mistake! I have no knowledge of the Speccy in Belgium unfortunately. I worked with The Lords back in the days to create Batz N Balls for the Sam Coupé :)
Zeeland (the old one not the new one) in the 80s was so much fun, especially the large arcades in Renesse. I only remember C64 magazines, maybe because I had one.
I started programming on the ZX81 (BASIC), then assembly on the ZX Spectrum, and then C64... you guys (the Dutch) absolutely owned the C64 scene. Us Brits did own the ZX scene. Jeroen Tel is without doubt a genius of his time, and someone I was lucky enough to have compose music for some of my games, and had as a friend back in the late 80's and early 90's. Then take the likes of Hawkeye and Flimbo's etc, again Dutch, the demo scene The Judges, the list goes on and on. I remember going over to Venlo for a copy party. Great times. I had inspiration as a kid by knowing personally Mike Singleton and Mathew Smith amongst others, as I grew up in the area and went to the same computer shop as them. Absolutely amazing times. I loved both machines, and each play their respective roles in my childhood and career. Watching your videos on the Spectrum scene in NL is very cool. God bless the Dutch... a great nation.
Ah yes, the copy parties in Venlo. Great times! That is where I met Jeroen Tel. We always went along with the Judges crew as they were from Roosendaal, as was I. We were the demo-group called The Lords on the Spectrum (that name was chosen because in the English legal system lords are above judges. No rivalry to speak of between C64 and Spectrums! :D ). Those were the years (sniff).
Thanks for a very interesting video! I was bought a ZX Spectrum for my 13th birthday after I begged my dad to get me one. I really have the Speccy to thank for a career in IT. At the time, my favourite games magazine was "Computer & Video Games". It was pretty cool at the time! If you knew Z80 machine code, it was possible to defeat fastloaders by inserting a "RET 0" to return back to Basic and the game could then be saved it as a regular file. Of course, I wouldn't recommend doing that! P.S. Loved the "Ultimate Play The Game" games. Trans Am was one of my first games.
There were not many kids in my school who owned one. So it was mostly me reading the magazines. Other than that I played some 2 player games with one friend. I had no idea it was released in the Netherlands
Geweldige video en zo herkenbaar 😉 Mijn avontuur begon via een controversiële omweg, namelijk een C64 die mijn vader had gekocht toen ik zo'n 12 jaar oud was. Maar 2 van mijn beste vrienden hadden een Spectrum en we konden daardoor geen software 'uitwisselen' 😇 Maar dankzij een krantenwijk en wat vakantie baantjes en grasmaaien bij de buren kon ik een 2e hands Speccy kopen 🥳 Maar, helaas was dat een 16k model, gelukkig via 1 van voornoemde vrienden, die al in een Spectrum club zat, kon ik een geheugen uitbreiding verkrijgen dat ik helemaal zelf heb geïnstalleerd, mijn eerste stappen in de electronica wereld dat nu nog steeds mijn hobby is. Eindelijk was mijn wereld compleet en had er zelfs nog een C64 erbij, voelde me stoer omdat ik TWEE computers had 🤣 Na wat omzwervingen met andere computers en upgrades hier en daar eindigde ik uiteindelijk in de PC wereld zoals zoveel als ons indertijd maar ik heb nog steeds mijn eigen toastrack met een Disciple disk interface van GMT die later jou SamCoupe heeft gemaakt 👌🏻 Intussen heb ik nu een Spectrum Next en ook Ultimate 64, beide op FPGA gebaseerde replicas waar ik heel erg tevreden mee ben. Ik eindig dit raaskallen met 'Het leven is goed' 😎
I only recently joint the spectrum camp. Got three classic rubber key 48k models a year ago and since then I am improving them. One of them has a dutch SD media loading solution, a 128k expansion memory ,a YM sound card a detachable keyboard and a cover with a fan for keeping the main board cool. I enjoy the unique aesthetics of the graphics and sound of the machine very much so I went on and designed a custom case which will include a sound amplifier , cooling solution, two different loading media solutions (Cassette emulation and expansion port SD solution) my detached keyboard and a monitor on top.
Great video! Many recognizable points, the ZX Spectrum was my first computer, I learned how to program on it. Started with the 48K, then the original 128K, the (Amstrad?) Plus model, than the Sam Coupe but instead of Amiga or ST I moved to the Acorn Archimedes (best computers I have ever used) - and of course I also owned a C64 at some point. Wonderful times indeed, also learned English only because of starting to read the English magazines. Luckily in my town there was the Roosendaalse Computer Club, through which I got into contact with a lot of people from the scene (both ZX Spectrum and C64).
I've managed to convert an ati vga demo to the sam I'm looking for someone who can help me convert a video of galaxians to sam using a program called bmp2scrdo you have any spare time?
Great video! Spectrum was the cheapest micro with reasonable gaming capabilities. But it was inferior to almost anything. Growing up at the wrong side of the iron curtain I was lucky & happy to own a spectrum clone, but I was aware that C64 was the real deal.
@@hotdogsoup-nl It was a Timex 2048. Almost 100% compatible, but with a chiclet keyboard (a bit like C116), on-off switch and a single kempston / C64 joystick port. It was worth 5 monthly salaries in Eastern Europe. My father told me a C64 was simply out of the reach for regular ppl.
This is one of the greatest spectrum videos I've ever ❤❤ why anybody that puts Commodore sucks in their video is a hero 😂😂😂 it's all good fun great video enjoyed it
portugal was some of the biggest sinclair territories... some zx spectrum even were produced here via timex not all where in the scotish timex... and exported clones like the timex 2048 and timex 2068 computer made in portugal, were big in poland. you said bielorussia, and the portuguese place was a lot more important than that place. ;) I believe it's the dutch problem, hahaha you still don't get that you lost in brazil against us, and the first world war you say that you won... nop... you lost... gaining the spice trade... but not gaining any big territory... even tried to conquer macau, but I guess you won ceilan (sri lanka) I understand you don't like us... we even are better than you in football! hahahaha
"Santa Paravia En Fiumaccio" (DJ de Korte) is a Dutch game based on the 14th Century Italian City States. It looks interesting and a Z80 snapshot is available . I will take a further look at this game.
The ZX Spectrum was the only 8-bit microcomputer that truly encouraged kids to program. Unlike its competitors, which largely pushed users toward purchasing pre-made software, the Spectrum fostered a culture of experimentation and creativity. For example, the Commodore 64 was more focused on selling software, leaving little encouragement for users to dive into coding.
Now, imagine if the Spectrum had never existed. The impact on the programming community would have been profound. Its absence might have delayed the rise of home programming and hobbyist development by at least a decade, potentially stalling the rapid evolution of the tech industry as we know it today.
Years later, as consoles took over, they effectively locked out bedroom developers. Companies like Sony focused exclusively on big-budget titles from established studios, leaving no room for independent creators. History, however, seemed to repeat itself with the advent of Apple’s App Store. By opening its platform to everyone, Apple rekindled the spirit of bedroom programming, giving small, independent developers the same opportunities to reach a global audience as major companies. This democratization of software development revitalized the industry, much like the ZX Spectrum did decades earlier.
Indeed, it also inspired myself to go about programming :)
I had no idea about the popularity of the Spectrum outside of the UK, so it's good to hear about this. Being from the UK, I grew up with this machine, still have fond memories of playing games, reading the magazines cover to cover, and writing BASIC programs for it. Having never mastered assembly programming, I still have huge respect for the developers who created technically stunning games in just 48k or 128k. Bob Pape pulled off an amazing conversion of R-Type, Andy Onions worked magic to get Carrier Command onto the 128k and Stunt Car Racer originally from Geoff Crammond was amazing and the physics felt very similar to the 16bit versions. Good times indeed. I'm 40 years late to the party, but I'm finally planning to learn Z80 assembler and create something on the Spectrum in the coming months with the help of internet videos and guides. Wish me luck! Also, where was the music from that plays at 22:53 ? it's very good whatever it is. Thanks for the video, hope to see more Spectrum content from you in the future.
Good luck with your programming! The song is Rolemusic - Leafless Quince Tree
I just discovered your channel and enjoyed every minute of this video!
Being Dutch I also experienced the time of the ZX Spectrum in the Netherlands.
You made an excellent and true story of its history here.
I was surprised to see that you showed the software titles (at 4:56) I have created back in these days.
"De Malle Muur" and "De Prijsvraag" are a collection of mini games combined with a prize winning contest. I was a bedroom coder and very proud that M.C.N. published these games.
It's nice to see a revival of many retro computers and games and even more to see a Dutch youtuber with high-quality contributions. Keep up the good work!
That’s great! How awesome that you’re the developer of those games! If you have any of the missing titles I’d love to hear from you.
Great video! I also had the Dutch experience. Me and my brother chipped in for Sinterklaas present to buy the speccy 48k in 1984. I discovered the Your Sinclair and Sinclair User magazines in a German store on summer vacation in 1989, with Indiana Jones last crusade as cover tape!
A few years ago I reverse engineered that demo and Space Raiders, using Skoolkit, made by a Canadian, so lots of history outside the UK 🙂!
Thanks for a well made trip down memory lane!
Very cool!
Really enjoyed this very much.. thanks for sharing your story with us 🤟🏽
Glad you enjoyed it!
The Spectrum was very popular in Spain in the 80s, too. Magazines, games, learning programming, game swapping...
I bought two “ZX” magazines in Spain when we were on holiday there! Unfortunately I no longer have them.
I still have many Microhobby magazines. And love Spanish games, from Dynamic, Aventuras AD, etc. Cheers from Portugal.
As an 80’s UK kid, I had and loved my 48k Speccy. I could never have dreamed, back then, that in 2024 there would be a Spectrum Next, a ZX Touch and so many emulators. And an international Speccy community, producing awesome homebrew software.
Yes it’s truly amazing! A full review of the ZX Touch is coming up btw 😀
Excellent video and a great watch. It shows the Dutch and German Speccy history was fairly similar, but probably even less Speccy market share after 1984 or so when Amstrad CPCs became the no. 2 (opposed to the MSX in NL).
I had a very similar experience, finding out about British magazines in 1987 and starting to swap copied game tapes via snail-mail at that time too. There were almost no German mags left reviewing Speccy games by that point, so unless you read British mags, you often would not even know that for a certain game there was in fact a Speccy version (when the German mags often would not even mention it in the list of systems the game was released for). And in any of the mainstream shops you found pretty much nothing by 1988 or so, just a few specialized shops would still have a small selection.
I do have a soft spot for the Dutch Speccy scene by the way, in the mid/late 90s I'd gone to a few Dutch events like in Heerlen or Houten as our local club leader here in Keulen/Cologne would drive there by car so I'd sometimes join him.
There is one sad difference between NL and DE, now that you have released this video - despite the much larger population of DE, I don't think there is a single video like this here from our side where someone tells the history of the Speccy in Germany (let alone in such detail and with your high production values). There are very very few Speccy-themed videos from German TH-camrs, and unfortunately I'm not a video creator so I can't come to the rescue here ...
It all just highlights the insane dominance Commodore machines had on "our shores".
Great story! I had been looking for German and French speccy history but couldn’t find any videos about it. In those days I was aware of German spectrum users but I could not understand Deutsch 😀. I know that in Limburg there were speccy events that German people also visited. Thank you for sharing!
Such a honest and wonderful video!
Thanks!
Fascinating video - at the time I honestly thought the British isles were the only place the Speccy existed.
Die advertentie voor de 128k bij Kwantum (0:25), daar heb ik hem toen gekocht voor 400 gulden.
ja ik ook! En meerdere keren omgeruild omdat er veel defecten waren :)
I am Lithuanian. ZX-Spectrum was my first computer. But becouse of geopolitical situation I got my speccy only in 1993. But I'm so happy and thankfull for this. I learned assembly language on this machine, because it was impossible to do any real time effects on BASIC. The games were so hard on ZX that I wanted to learn how to make games with infinite lives :) That was a start of coders life :) So I got understanding on low level programming, later I got PC, learned C and C++. That was my way into software development.
That’s awesome! Did you publish any of your games?
@@hotdogsoup-nlI did ! This is the game th-cam.com/video/sdhvuoYyBN0/w-d-xo.html
And also later I participated in DemoScene with my friends, so we did demo for speccy. th-cam.com/video/cc_64aefHdQ/w-d-xo.html
those look great! thanks!
Leuke! My Speccy Next arrived just before Christmas. Proud Amsterdam-based Spectrum enjoyer.
Thank you for sharing your story, I could relate a lot although I was a teen living in the nowhere Tasmania Australia (the island on the bottom) my trusty commodore Vic20 and c+vg months old from the UK was my lifeline and filled my life with joy 🇦🇺👍📺🕹️📼
Thanks that sounds awesome!
Very interesting, even though I'm not Dutch (I'm British). We had an Amstrad 6128, but the same nostalgia. I knew the Speccy sold overseas but didn't realise it was so popular, thanks for informing me!
Nice video, it’s interesting to hear the perspective of retro users from around the globe.
Thanks!
Well made! Ben het helemaal met je eens op alle punten 😀
Wauw Elra op de Zwartjanstraat in Rotterdam, daar heb ik heel wat geld uitgegeven aan de Spectrum en de ZX81
Edit: Zakelijke software, zelfs Kluwer deed er aan mee, ik heb nog 1986 belastingtape liggen, handig voor je belasting aangifte :)
Kwantum sold a few Sinclair models back in the day. The plus, 128k, Amstrad models and the QL. But there was another group of Spectrum users in The Netherlands, those who were busy with HAM Radio and sometimes they wrote about it in RAM magazine. And yes they even use the Spectrum to transmit or receive messages all over the world :)
Indeed I got all my Spectrums from Kwantum 😀. Great to hear about the radio amateurs using it too. I know ZX81s were also used by amateur video broadcasters to create title screens etc.
Amazing video Martin, made with care, great sounds also!
We had some at my school (mavo) but were replaced by the Acorn Atoms a year later (or so). I owned a MSX, still have one and around Christmas we play games from the tape on an old t.v. 😀🎄
Thanks!
I amn't gooder at englishing.
Surprise tag! I enjoyed this buddy, well produced and well written. Keep it up!
Thanks I am a fan of yours :)
Hallo Martin, wat een leuke video. Helemaal ook mijn verhaal en herkenbaar. Grappig, jij maakte voor Batz 'n Ballz de graphics en ik de muziek. En als je dat beseft dan besef je ook weer hoe de tijd vliegt!
Hi Rob, dank! Ik ga nog een aparte video maken over batz n ballz, heb ook contact met David. Zou je me willen contacten via contact form op mijn website hotdogsoup.nl ? Dankjewel!
Ga ik doen!
Hi @hotdogsoup-nl
What a cracking video you've created.
The Speccy 48k was my very first computer, and I loved it to bits.
I was all about the games as a kid, firm favourites were -
Chucky Egg
Jet Set Willly 2
Boulderdash
Elite (who could forget such an incredible game)
It was fascinating to see how the Spectrum was received in other countries,
And your love affair with British computer magazines (and their editors 😉 )
I eventually moved onto an Amiga and loved that just as much (perhaps even more).
But I'll always have a soft spot for the Speccy.
Looking forward to more of your vids.
Thanks! Yes those were some classic games. I am thinking of doing my Speccy games top 100.
I would be really interested about the ZX Spectrum destiny in Belgium. If there ever was any. Found some Dutch software you're mentioning in the video but that's all. Noticed Aackosoft in my childhood but back then I didn't know it's Dutch. And maybe worth to mention, the Netherlands also might be the cradle of the ZX Spectrum demoscene by the group The Lords which is a big thing.
And btw. in the 01:06 of the video, there's Didaktik Gama displayed but told it's Soviet, which isn't correect. It's from Czechoslovakia ;)
Thanks for mentioning the mistake! I have no knowledge of the Speccy in Belgium unfortunately.
I worked with The Lords back in the days to create Batz N Balls for the Sam Coupé :)
Mooi verhaal. Dank je voor de video 👍👍👍👍
I figured Holland divided the 8-bit home computer market between the C64 and the MSX, because Phillips made them. Groetjes uit Belgie!
Yes and this caused the humble Speccy to be outnumbered.
Zeeland (the old one not the new one) in the 80s was so much fun, especially the large arcades in Renesse. I only remember C64 magazines, maybe because I had one.
I started programming on the ZX81 (BASIC), then assembly on the ZX Spectrum, and then C64... you guys (the Dutch) absolutely owned the C64 scene. Us Brits did own the ZX scene. Jeroen Tel is without doubt a genius of his time, and someone I was lucky enough to have compose music for some of my games, and had as a friend back in the late 80's and early 90's. Then take the likes of Hawkeye and Flimbo's etc, again Dutch, the demo scene The Judges, the list goes on and on. I remember going over to Venlo for a copy party. Great times. I had inspiration as a kid by knowing personally Mike Singleton and Mathew Smith amongst others, as I grew up in the area and went to the same computer shop as them. Absolutely amazing times. I loved both machines, and each play their respective roles in my childhood and career. Watching your videos on the Spectrum scene in NL is very cool. God bless the Dutch... a great nation.
Thanks! That must have been some amazing times!
Ah yes, the copy parties in Venlo. Great times! That is where I met Jeroen Tel. We always went along with the Judges crew as they were from Roosendaal, as was I. We were the demo-group called The Lords on the Spectrum (that name was chosen because in the English legal system lords are above judges. No rivalry to speak of between C64 and Spectrums! :D ).
Those were the years (sniff).
@@robmies3257 hahaha, I was friends back in the day with The Judges. I remember going around to their apartments. Great guys.
Thanks for a very interesting video! I was bought a ZX Spectrum for my 13th birthday after I begged my dad to get me one. I really have the Speccy to thank for a career in IT.
At the time, my favourite games magazine was "Computer & Video Games". It was pretty cool at the time!
If you knew Z80 machine code, it was possible to defeat fastloaders by inserting a "RET 0" to return back to Basic and the game could then be saved it as a regular file. Of course, I wouldn't recommend doing that!
P.S. Loved the "Ultimate Play The Game" games. Trans Am was one of my first games.
did C&VG also feature type-in programs?
There were not many kids in my school who owned one. So it was mostly me reading the magazines. Other than that I played some 2 player games with one friend.
I had no idea it was released in the Netherlands
I which country did you enjoy your speccy?
@@hotdogsoup-nl England
Great video! Make more! 🙂
Haha thanks! More coming up!
Does anybody know if 'The Spectrum' will be sold in the Netherlands?
Don’t know but it can be purchased online in other EU countries so there’s no import taxes etc.
Tell me your speccy story 😊
Geweldige video en zo herkenbaar 😉
Mijn avontuur begon via een controversiële omweg, namelijk een C64 die mijn vader had gekocht toen ik zo'n 12 jaar oud was.
Maar 2 van mijn beste vrienden hadden een Spectrum en we konden daardoor geen software 'uitwisselen' 😇
Maar dankzij een krantenwijk en wat vakantie baantjes en grasmaaien bij de buren kon ik een 2e hands Speccy kopen 🥳
Maar, helaas was dat een 16k model, gelukkig via 1 van voornoemde vrienden, die al in een Spectrum club zat, kon ik een geheugen uitbreiding verkrijgen dat ik helemaal zelf heb geïnstalleerd, mijn eerste stappen in de electronica wereld dat nu nog steeds mijn hobby is.
Eindelijk was mijn wereld compleet en had er zelfs nog een C64 erbij, voelde me stoer omdat ik TWEE computers had 🤣
Na wat omzwervingen met andere computers en upgrades hier en daar eindigde ik uiteindelijk in de PC wereld zoals zoveel als ons indertijd maar ik heb nog steeds mijn eigen toastrack met een Disciple disk interface van GMT die later jou SamCoupe heeft gemaakt 👌🏻
Intussen heb ik nu een Spectrum Next en ook Ultimate 64, beide op FPGA gebaseerde replicas waar ik heel erg tevreden mee ben.
Ik eindig dit raaskallen met 'Het leven is goed' 😎
Ja het hebben van allebei de computers was extra stoer haha :)
I only recently joint the spectrum camp. Got three classic rubber key 48k models a year ago and since then I am improving them. One of them has a dutch SD media loading solution, a 128k expansion memory ,a YM sound card a detachable keyboard and a cover with a fan for keeping the main board cool.
I enjoy the unique aesthetics of the graphics and sound of the machine very much so I went on and designed a custom case which will include a sound amplifier , cooling solution, two different loading media solutions (Cassette emulation and expansion port SD solution) my detached keyboard and a monitor on top.
@@nickolasgaspar9660 nice! Welcome to the club 😀
Ik heb "Wegwijs op de ZX Spectrum" en "De Prijsvraag" op cassette
nice! die zijn best uniek!
Great video! Many recognizable points, the ZX Spectrum was my first computer, I learned how to program on it. Started with the 48K, then the original 128K, the (Amstrad?) Plus model, than the Sam Coupe but instead of Amiga or ST I moved to the Acorn Archimedes (best computers I have ever used) - and of course I also owned a C64 at some point. Wonderful times indeed, also learned English only because of starting to read the English magazines. Luckily in my town there was the Roosendaalse Computer Club, through which I got into contact with a lot of people from the scene (both ZX Spectrum and C64).
That's a great story! I knew some people who were Archimedes fans too :)
I've managed to convert an ati vga demo to the sam I'm looking for someone who can help me convert a video of galaxians to sam using a program called bmp2scrdo you have any spare time?
Only if you’re Blinky. Contact me through the contact page on my website.
Do you know edwin blink?
Yes uuuuut Grun! He was my penpal.
Is it you Blinky?
Great video! Spectrum was the cheapest micro with reasonable gaming capabilities. But it was inferior to almost anything. Growing up at the wrong side of the iron curtain I was lucky & happy to own a spectrum clone, but I was aware that C64 was the real deal.
Thanks! Could the clones run everything or were there incompatibilities?
@@hotdogsoup-nl It was a Timex 2048. Almost 100% compatible, but with a chiclet keyboard (a bit like C116), on-off switch and a single kempston / C64 joystick port. It was worth 5 monthly salaries in Eastern Europe. My father told me a C64 was simply out of the reach for regular ppl.
This is one of the greatest spectrum videos I've ever ❤❤ why anybody that puts Commodore sucks in their video is a hero 😂😂😂 it's all good fun great video enjoyed it
lol thanks!
The best way to own a Commodore 64 was by buying a Spectrum. 😉
haha
Fnarr fnarr
lol
portugal was some of the biggest sinclair territories...
some zx spectrum even were produced here via timex not all where in the scotish timex... and exported clones like the timex 2048 and timex 2068 computer made in portugal, were big in poland. you said bielorussia, and the portuguese place was a lot more important than that place. ;)
I believe it's the dutch problem, hahaha you still don't get that you lost in brazil against us, and the first world war you say that you won... nop... you lost... gaining the spice trade... but not gaining any big territory...
even tried to conquer macau, but I guess you won ceilan (sri lanka)
I understand you don't like us... we even are better than you in football! hahahaha
Thanks I did not know the spectrum was so big in Portugal. Adoramos os portugueses :)
"Santa Paravia En Fiumaccio" (DJ de Korte) is a Dutch game based on the 14th Century Italian City States. It looks interesting and a Z80 snapshot is available . I will take a further look at this game.