Ruth Bramley on the Sinclair ZX80, ZX81, ZX Spectrum and Micro Men

Ruth Bramley was technical advisor at Sinclair Research from 1981 to 1984 and talks about the computers she supported during that time. From the Sinclair ZX80 and ZX81 to the Sinclair ZX Spectrum and even the ZX Printer. She also talks about the Sinclair Oxford 300 calculator that she used to own and discusses the film Micro Men and the way Sir Clive Sinclair is portrayed.

[@horder2344]

Started the decade aged 10 and ended age 20. What an exciting time. Started with Atari VCS then a spectrum 48k then a C64 then Atari ST and finally an Amiga. Nothing can recreate the excitement of that era especially the early 80s up to 85. A great time to be growing up along with BMXs and electronic music.

[@jemilambi]

The golden 80's were the best decade to be teenager. I feel so lucky I was then.

[@amosdalmerifiorino6841]

@Z80 me too! I am 44 y old

[@EgoShredder]

I'm 50 next year and the 70s and 80s were the last golden eras in recent history. However we are beginning the new era of technocracy, first talked about in the 1920s and the virtualisation of everything including humans.

[@wisteela]

@@amosdalmerifiorino6841 I was 44 this year. It's fantastic to have grown up with this stuff.

[@another3997]

What a lovely interview. She seems genuinely fond of the machines, her time at Sinclair and even of Clive himself. It's good to hear from those who were there during the heyday of Sinclair Research. And thanks to both her and the Museum for arranging it.

[@badnewswade]

Bah! The keyboard on my ZX81 gave out after a week. I was so mortified I didn't say anything about it as I knew I'd get the blame. Had to wait a year to get another computer (yes it was a Spectrum).

[@nebularain3338]

I love listening to Ruth talk. She's so positive, and also knowledgeable about that time. I think most people wouldn't care about indulging others' nostalgia, but she seems like a very warm person, and I appreciate her taking the time to do this interview.

[@ArumesYT]

It's not just endulging in others' nostalgia. The computer revolution is the first technical revolution where the people involved are able to tell their own stories and have them recorded on video. Computer History Museum in Boston also does a lot of those "oral histories" as they call them. It's an opportunity historians have never had before.

[@X-OR_]

I owned one of the first Sinclair ZX80 in the US... Found an advertisement in the back of Electronics Magazine (A Electronics Engineering Mag) for a complete computer Kit for $200.00. Took forever for it to be shipped from the UK to America (CA). I finally received the Sinclair ZX80 and was at first disappointed at the size of the computer. I put together the kit and needed to modify the RF Modulator for use in the US. I also wrote a couple of articles in Sync Magazine. Fun Times..... I wonder if Computers will ever be fun and exciting again or just be an appliance for doing work?

[@EgoShredder]

Before we got a ZX Spectrum in 1983, my uncle hand soldered and assembled a NASCOM if you have heard of those. It also used the Z80 CPU and was not bad for the time in the late 1970s into the early 80s.

[@therealpapsy]

Brilliant nostalgic video. ZX Spectrum 48K, my first computer. Now, I am an unemployed programmer. Sad face :(

[@hansneusidler7988]

Are you still umemployed? I thought, there is a Lack of skilled IT-Experts. Wish you the Best.

[@McVaio]

How were you unemployed? There is always a huge shortage of software developers.

[@LordGrubby]

Rubber Spectrum 48k for Christmas 1983, I thought it was fantastic and I loved the keyword idea and syntax checking as you typed, you could easily write code on this machine, very user friendly. :)

[@sonoflysystrata2]

Oh, I remember the fight! I was living in Cambridge at the time, and I heard through the grapevine that it happened exactly as described.

[@wisteela]

Fantastic. I love how she was given a ZX80.

[@edgeeffect]

It's been about 40 years since I last saw a ZX printer... but I can still remember the smell as my friend printed out nearly 10K of ZX80 BASIC!

[@JohnnyBareToes1]

Wonderful and charming to watch. Looking forward to the full interview !

[@kevinharrison4909]

I always used to be in awe of the sinclair glass bottling factory building. What a HQ to be in in the early 80's.

[@chaserr3777]

I had one at the time ! They were beautifully designed

[@evo5dave]

Loved Micro Men but it's interesting to hear Ruth say that Clive was never aggressive in her presence. He obviously did have a temper but it's a pity he is portrayed as almost permanently angry, with no charm whatsoever.

[@alcockell]

"Touch-sensitive" my arse! Had to push hard down some of the time... esp after the 80-81 upgrade and overlay was applied...

[@drtydawg73]

cool. I loved my old 48k spectrum. sooo wish I could go back in time and get one with loads of games for it. :-(

[@drtydawg73]

everyone knows its a zx! knob.

[@michaelkavanagh5947]

That 2 lines of Basic got me detention when I did it to every machine in the school at the same time. Not being bright I used my name.

[@eviltriplet]

Early Spectrums had coloured stickers on the bottom - white = 48K, Green = 16K. We found out as we ordered a 48K and got one with a green sticker on it which broke my dad phoned Sinclair support to moan. First time I heard him swear ever.

[@eviltriplet]

PS - ZX81 RAM pack wobble could be cured by simply removing the case and plugging in the board on its own.

[@TheStevenWhiting]

Or using blu-tack :)

[@oleimann]

I wonder if those spectrum boxes in the back are filled and for sale :) Would love to have one.

[@TheCentreforComputingHistory]

No sorry, part of the collection. They are all different in some way. PCB Issue numbers etc ...

[@GadgetUK164]

Fantastic stuff! Subbed!

[@sharazjek338]

brilliant watch, thanks for this....go on Ruth bless you, you helped shape the nations love of Sinclair computers aswell :-)

[@mazharsaid4812]

The lander game on acorn applications disc 2 had sound back in 1989. But today there's no sound on lander any ideas anyone???? Thanks

[@DoctorMikeReddy]

Next time you play this PLEASE let me play too!

[@TheStevenWhiting]

2:13 "The wonderful keyboard". Erm NO, just NO. They were god awful. Probably one of the reasons I never got into computers as a kid. We had a ZX81. I'd get odd urges in school to want to go home and write in the code from the books. The books that were so poorly printed there were always typos or blurring code text so you couldn't work out what a letter or number was. That was in middle school :) wasn't until college that I finally got into computers and had easy access to them. The only game I liked on the ZX81 was a horse racing game that was written in one of the books. One of the few that worked. Never knew that you could write the code to tape for saving so you didn't have to write it out again. So I'd type it out every time I wanted to play it :)

[@another3997]

Steven Whiting Opinions are very subjective. Was the keyboard 'good'? No, but it was a novel approach and the keyword system worked. But look at those devices in the context of the times. The price was much lower than it's contemporaries, it got many, many people in to computing that may not have had the opportunity otherwise. These are important devices in the UK computing timeline. Besides, Atari managed to produce the A400 with something similar to a ZX81 keyboard... But without the keyword system.

[@McVaio]

@@another3997 That doesn't make it less bad of a keyboard. Yes, it managed to make the computer so cheap that a lot of people could afford one. But the awful experience may also have put off a lot of people from computers for good. So yeah, it was a super cheap keyboard and it was awful to use.

[@pigknickers2975]

She's pretty cool :) What a nerd!

[@samcoupe4608KB]

extended sym ext sym

[@ZedAlfa.]

Timex Sinclair 1000

[@srinuk4247]

xx

[@davidkelly192]

7 Commodore 64 fans gave this video a thumbs down ;)

[@samcoupe4608KB]

bbc model b £440

[@carlowingfield7743]

Speak up

[@TheWomblemaster]

has she had a dna test? same shape nose.....