Can't wait for a Spectrum Next? What are the alternatives? Let's n-go and take a look! 

Just looked at the Element Zx… and now I have to have one :) Thanks for letting me know about it :)

@@TheRetroShack :)

@@TheRetroShack I need your help ! I've just recieved my N-Go, all I got with it was a PSU and I can't get a picture. It has power as a green light comes on near the 5V input socket and a blue light flashes near the VGA port. I've plugged in the HDMI but theres no image. I can't find any contact details for the seller either. Any suggestions ?

@@frankowalker4662 Hi Franko - you probably just need to hold down ‘D’ as the machine boots, to select the Digital output. Here’s the Spectrum Next boot sequence: wiki.specnext.dev/Boot_Sequence wiki.specnext.dev/FAQ Let me know how you get on :)

@@TheRetroShack Pressing 'D' worked a treat. Thank you so much. :) And thank you for the links.

I quite agree, they should also think about doing a pc/mac compatible keyboard but in the same style as the next. That would be cool for the emulators 😉

I wish they’d decided to produce bare boards again like the first Kickstarter. Agree on the keyboard/case issue too. Imagine Sky as the rights holder would be happy to allow cases to be sold separately if the licensing was amended slightly. Get some cash flow whilst waiting for the board parts to become available.

Have the Mister but it falls flat with a generic keyboard for the Speccy, can't wait for my ks2 next to arrive.

Have the Mister but it falls flat with a generic keyboard for the Speccy, can't wait for my ks2 next to arrive.

Well, like most things in life, there are people who like building electronic kits themselves, and people that are only interested in the end product. Some people build their own cars, some build aeroplanes or helicopters. Some even build their own homes. Thankfully, for me at least, none of those "self build" projects are compulsory. 😂

Funnily enough I feel the same, even though I built a successful career from the C64. I started with a ZX81, and wanted a Spectrum but couldn't afford one at the time. My friends had them though so I spent a lot of time round their houses playing and programming on them in the early speccy days, and hanging around computer shops and going to computer shows. So the notstalgia for the Spectrum is very strong in me. However I satiated my nostalgia by getting a refurbished, composite modded rubber key 48k Spectrum last year, with a tape emulator and a DivMMC future. (I also got a refurbed ZX81 too with 32k, composite mod and modern ULA). The Spectrum Next is a lovely machine but for me the only 'real' Spectrum is the original rubber key version. I do have a 'TheC64' modern C64 replica as that feels very close to the real thing, without having to muck about with tape decks, disk drives and cartridges. I still have my original C64, but it's yellowing and in need of some restoration as it doesn't work perfectly - and neither does the disk drive, so the replica is a great way to get some C64 nostalgia.

So expensive

@@blackterminal So expensive now, although you’ve got to look at how many systems & arcade games you get for that price (and the list is forever growing).

Expensive but, if you can afford it, a very wise investment. I had some spare cash and managed to get one last December, and I've used it a great deal since. Having all those old computer cores is great - you get to see what you missed back in the day. And the arcade core list is growing fast: when I got mine there were about 80 games, now it's almost 300 (afaik).

Ermmm - I did mention that :) Going to get one for myself :)

@@TheRetroShack If so, as a "non native" may be I've skipped this. ;-) I really like the printed key caps. What I don't like so much, is the keyboard layout wich is different to the Next (and different to the Spectrum +)...

The core is far from perfect. There are waitstates which cause visible glitching in some games and you can also hear it in some audio effects. -Dx

​@@XaliorI did design an add-on board for the MiSTer that has the proper ram, joystick ports, vga and external SD header. I changed the core to remove the wait states so it is (as far as I can tell) identical to a proper Next.

Totally agree. I backed KS2 so obviously waiting for that, but got a MiSTer about a year ago and use the Next core on it. The only problem I have is that it uses a VHD file, so it isn't that straightforward to add files to the image. I suspect the MiSTer is something of a dirty word in the Next community, I never hear of anyone using the Next core on there.

​@@Gannett2011 A big draw of the NEXT is the case and keyboard design, with it's direct link to original Sinclair products (RIP Rick D), but there are several software based Spectrum emulators running on cheap hardware that could be fitted in to a real or reproduction Spectrum case for a fraction of the cost. The "Next" team themselves couldn't care less. Theirs is a niche product in an already crowded niche "retro" market... bit they know demand outstrips supply. 😁

So many other variants have come out of the woodwork (so to speak) since making this video - there may have to be a part 2 at some point :)

@@TheRetroShack I know there are a lot. I mentioned the JustSpeccy and the Omni in particular because they’re popular ones and readily available. And the Omni is the only one that’s available as a laptop - though it looks as though that may be happening to the N-Go too.

The Agon Light looks very promising, but it's aimed at a completely different kind of user to the Next or N-GO. If you want BBC BASIC, Z80 assembler, CP/M and GPIO in the one machine, the Agon Light is a winner. If you want to relive your childhood and play Jet Set Willy... not so much. For what it's worth I'm looking forward to taking delivery of a KS2 Next *and* an Agon Light some time in 2023. 😀

Hold down the D key when booting up and you should get digital mode (HDMI)

Greed and control is not the right word. Nexts are produced at approximately cost. The first batch ended up going slightly over and had to be covered out of pocket in order to complete delivery. The designs are made as open as possible so that others can make the machine if they so desire and this is all available for free. The NGO came about because of this, based on the issue 2 spectrum next board, and using the next software and hardware. At least six or seven fpga boards have ports of the spectrum next core because the vhdl is openly available as is the operating system software. It should be mentioned that, like the spectrum, it is not actually legal to use the spectrum roms or the spectrum next operating system on other hardware since these must be licensed from Sky to be legal. The spectrum next is not really a retail friendly product. It has very high per unit costs and an additional 40-50% margin demanded by retail puts it well out of reach of impulse nostalgic buyers that might buy at retail. So the next best thing is making the machine available at as low cost as possible and making the designs open to the community as a whole to produce their own machines.

Or use an old, really cheap Netbook, preferably black. Buy some self adhesive Spectrum keyboard decals, a Spectrum "Rainbow" decal and have it boot straight in to an emulator. But to be honest, any hardware from the last 25 years will easily emulate a Spectrum and other 8 bit computers.

Not sure he has any say in it anymore as it's all owned by Sky now. So far they seem ok with people engaged in this strange hobby to carry on and hopefully things remain that way as long as license holders like the spectrum next respect/establish the license, IP and brand.

Do you also have the UniPolBrit 2086? Hmmmm?

@@BertGrink yes, I have two - one with the normal keyboard and one with the more rare white keys.

@@MarcKloos Damn, I didn't know there was a white key variant.

@@BertGrink do a google search for "mcbx rare Unipolbrit 2086"

I flip-flop between SEAga and SAYga :) Can't seem to shift it! :) :)

Why go for 40 year old hardware? Nostalgia is great, but originals are far more likely to fail than new designs, it won't be easy to expand to include all those nice features everyone wants. More RAM, better storage, networking/wi-fi, USB and general connectivity are handy extras, not to mention the compatibility issues with different versions of the original machines.

@@another3997 For example ZX Evolution has real Z80, real AY, 4 MB memory, 7 / 14 MHz turbo modes and 2 ZXBUS slots for expansion.

We agree!

grammarist.com/usage/zee-zed/

It was always pronounced "Zed" - at least when I was stationed in England in the '80s when they were released initially.