ZX Computings - OpenLibra

Hardware
Big talker
Your ZX81 can now just about
sing and dance with a number
of new products on the
market. Our reviewers put
them through their paces.
Keyboards
The Fuller Keyboard and case is a
well designed professional
keyboard for the limited
ZX80/81. The extended version
offers two extra keys
which can be hard wired and
assigned to other functions, ie.
extra shift and newline keys. It
also swallows the ZX completely,
and holds the RAM
Pack, Motherboard, power supply,
and two other boards via
the Motherboard. All this is held
in a neat 200mm x 350mm x
60mm injection-moulded black
case. Some things that I liked
about the case was the "Power
On" LED, and the smooth
shape with no sharp corners. In
the top right-hand corner of the
case there are ventilation slots
which stops the power supply
unit (which supplies power to
the ZX and Motherboard) from
becoming overheated. Fuller's
aim is to cut down the wires and
awkward peripherals the basic
ZX unit tends to attract, and
this it achieves very well, I
would have preferred it if the
keys were stepped as on some
other keyboards, but on the
whole I believe the Fuller to be
one of the better keyboards on
the market. Fitting the ZX to the
case and keyboards is quite
simple as Fuller realised that
most ZX users would not be
"into" electronic construction.
TheZXistakenoutof itsown
case and screwed into the top
left hand corner of the Fuller
case. The ZX ribbon cables are
taken out and are replaced with
the Fuller cables. Next, plug in
the Motherboard, power supply
and any RAM cards. The last
operation is to stick the selfadhesive
ZX functions to the
key tops. With any luck, it will
work.
The Fuller Keyboard and
case is altogether a very
valuable package for the ZX
user. It speeds up data input
and sorts out the layout of
peripherals and leads, etc. The
extended keyboard and case
costs £39.95 built, £33.95 kit
(plus £2.50 P&P). If you don't
want a Motherboard but would
rather just add a keyboard there
is a standard keyboard and case
available at £36.70 built,
£30.70 kit. Motherboards cost
£15.95 (plus 80p P&P), 16K
RAM boards £35.95, and 32K
RAM boards £79.95.
Details can be obtained and
orders taken at: Fuller Micro
Systems, The ZX Centre,
Sweeting Street, Liverpool 2.
Keen on Kayde
My first contact with Kayde
Keyboards was not favourable.
The first one worked erratically;
the second had the "six" key
upside down. . . but the third
works like a dream.
The keyboard is full-size,
lacking only a space bar to look
and feel like a proper typewriter
keyboard. One reason I chose
the Kayde in the first place was
because it has a repeat key, the
one in the bottom left-hand corner.
Although this repeats fairly
slowly, it is a boon for filling a
long print statement with a
number of the same graphics
character, or with spaces. The
keyboard has increased my program
entry time by about 400
per cent, and the vast majority
of the programs in this issue
were entered on my Kayde
Keyboard.
You need to be able to solder
(a little) to connect the
keyboard, and I was lucky in
having someone who knew
how to solder to connect mine
up, as I think it would have been
beyond me. To connect the
keyboard you remove the
screws from the underside of
the ZX81 and separate the two
halves, then remove the two
PCB securing screws and
withdraw the PCB. Next you
need to remove the two
keyboard ribbon cables from
their sockets on the PCB, and
replace the PCB in its case. The
wires are then connected as
shown in the comprehensive
assembly instructions supplied
with the keyboard. The keys
are blank when supplied, but a
set of stick-on letters is supplied,
and these are easy to apply.
The transfers are on thin,
tough plactic, and seem designed
to withstand a great deal of
wear. Even after several weeks
of heavy use, my keyboard
transfers show no sign of lifting
off or wearing through.
All in all the keyboard is so
useful I could not face the idea
of going back to a ZX81
without one. The repeat key is
useful for long deletions when
editing, or for filling a PRINT
statement with a number of the
same character. The lack of
quality control evident in the
fact that I got two dodgey ones
before a good one came along,
has been pointed out to the
company, who have assured
me that this area of their
business has been tightened up
considerably. If you can solder
just a little (or have a friend who
you can bribe) and are sick to
death of the togch-sensitive
keyboard, a Kayde Keyboard
will prove an asset, a boon, and
a very worthwhile purchase.
22 ZX COMPUTING AUG/SEPT 1982