ADDING ON YOUR SPECTRUM

Our review team take a brief look at some of the hardware add-ons fir the ZX Spectrum.

Now that the ZX Spectrum has well and truly established itself on the micro market, it is amply supported by a wealth of hardware add-ons. Most of these peripheral devices have been manufactured by the people who supported the ZX81, but just as the Spectrum has attracted new users with its prowess, so too has it attracted a new following from the add-on manufacturers.

In this brief guide, we have not tried to cover all the devices currently available on the market but rather give you a flavour of the technology you can add on to your Spectrum. As joysticks are an obvious favourite, these have been covered in some detail whereas RAM packs are fairly standard and so have only been briefly touched on. Also included in this section area number of quite specialised add-ons like sound units and a digital tracer.

If you own a Spectrum, you will no doubt have begun to realise the potential you hold in your hands. Over the next few pages you will hopefully see further applications for you and your computer to explore.

This one unit provides virtually the complete interface package that anyone would want on their computer.

For the dedicated programmer, you'll find an eight bit TTL input port, an eight-bit TTL output port, an eight channel analogue to digital converter, four high current relay outputs and four switch inputs. Also, fitted to the rear of the Interspec is a BUS connector which has all the necessary data, power and decoded address lines to add more peripherals.

Cased in a smart looking unit, the Interspec package comes complete with detailed instructions on how to get the most out of the unit, backed with hardware and software examples.

Priced at £39.95, you can find out more about the Interspec unit and its control applications from DCP Microdevelopments Ltd, 2 Station Close, Lingwood, Norwich NR13 4AX.