New blog post - the repair of a Commodore PET 3032 board with no video output. blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2026/07/comm... Also a capacitor that is looking decidedly unwell.

New blog post - the repair of a Commodore PET 3032 board with no video output. blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2026/07/comm... Also a capacitor that is looking decidedly unwell.

Wayhey! I too built a Tynemouth thing this week

🥳 woot, it’s only a bloomin @tynemouthsoftware.co.uk z80 gadget!!1 (Minstrel 4)

Works equally well with Ace Forth, Tree Forth and ZX81 BASIC ROMs. It's a very useful board!

🚨🎥 NEW VIDEO! 🎥🚨 A detailed look at the cinematography and technically genius of The Seeds of Death. How did Michael Ferguson achieve so much with so little, and what makes his visuals stand out? Watch now! youtu.be/-ywnju4jOig?...

New blog post - Testing a not-quite-a-ZX-Printer on a not-quite-a-ZX81. blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2026/07/test... But an Alphacom 32 on a Minstrel 3 or Minstrel 4th is close enough, and works impressively well.

🕹️ Very tired today but a fun afternoon downloading a couple of retro remakes of ZX Spectrum games on the #VIC20 (the things modern-day programmers can do aided with a 35K RAM expansion, that we could only dream of in the early 1980s, taking the VIC to 40K) #HappyPlace #retrogaming #VIC20 #Amiga

New blog post - Testing a not-quite-a-ZX-Printer on a not-quite-a-ZX81. blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2026/07/test... But an Alphacom 32 on a Minstrel 3 or Minstrel 4th is close enough, and works impressively well.

Quite liked the look of this so ported it to compiled Boriel Basic on the Speccy including one that randomly colours blocks of horizontal lines. #zxspectrum #zx81

The ZX81 is missing a \ character, which stops it doing the standard 10 PRINT maze program. The Lambda 8300 is based on the ZX81, but does have two diagonal black and white boxes. That turned out quite nicely, not optimised for speed or anything. From blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2026/06/lamb...

New blog post - Adapting Lambda 8300 BASIC to run on the Minstrel 4th. blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2026/06/lamb... Getting it running, loading and saving, making sounds, playing games and even a 10 PRINT maze. Happen to need an excessively long blog post to read? then this is the one for you.

New blog post - Adapting Lambda 8300 BASIC to run on the Minstrel 4th. blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2026/06/lamb... Getting it running, loading and saving, making sounds, playing games and even a 10 PRINT maze. Happen to need an excessively long blog post to read? then this is the one for you.

Lovely Minstrel 2 build by Electron Greg with added perspex covers and ZX80 logo. How are you going to customise your Minstrel 2? www.tindie.com/products/tyn...

My Minstrel 4th in full development mode 💪. Minstrel + RC2014 Backplane + Jester + USB Keyboard controller 😎

Ever wonder why your Issue 2 Spectrum has that weird yellow or blue tint? Tynemouth Software has a brilliant guide to fixing the colour adjustment using an oscilloscope - much more reliable than twiddling pots by eye. blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2017/11/zx-spectrum-issue-2-colour-adjustment.html

New blog post - Reverse Engineering the ROM on the Lambda 8300, a sort of ZX81 clone. blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2026/06/lamb... It is sort of a ZX81, but with quite a few differences. Full disassembly on github if you are interested. github.com/tynemouthsof...

So now we are going to see Billie Piper walking into number 10, followed by an announcement that they are resting the role of Prime Minister for the time being?

New blog post - Reverse Engineering the ROM on the Lambda 8300, a sort of ZX81 clone. blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2026/06/lamb... It is sort of a ZX81, but with quite a few differences. Full disassembly on github if you are interested. github.com/tynemouthsof...

Any recommendations for some good ZX81 programs which are written purely in BASIC? Nothing generated by Z88DK or similar. Nothing with machine code in REM statements etc. I have been using Perilous Swamp as an example, as this is BASIC only and quite a good game, but I am looking for some more.

Dear EU based people, sorry, but my postage is going to have to go up in about a week. New rules mean I will have to pay €3 (+ unspecified handling fees) per item in parcels I send to the EU from the UK. It's not clear how much that is going to work out, so be quick and buy at the current price.

Dear EU based people, sorry, but my postage is going to have to go up in about a week. New rules mean I will have to pay €3 (+ unspecified handling fees) per item in parcels I send to the EU from the UK. It's not clear how much that is going to work out, so be quick and buy at the current price.

Tynemouth Software's Dave Curran details how he improved tape data loading for the Minstrel 4, a Jupiter Ace-compatible Z80 computer kit running Forth with expansion slot for RC2014 modules.

I am intrigued by the computer at the start of this clip. It looks like an AI has had a go at making a picture of a Commodore PET and got it wrong. The keyboard is missing a few keys and the disk drives would be an aftermarket add on, and then a separate monitor? Anyone recognise it?

New blog post - Improving Tape Loading on Minstrels Episode 4 - A New Hope blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2026/06/impr... Which tape loading circuit did I finally go for, and how well does it work? The new Minstrel 4th with this circuit is shipping this week. www.tindie.com/products/tyn...

Some gameplay action, and reviews are in. #ZeviousSeven is the #ZX81 #indyretro game of the year.. Trust me :-)

New #ZX81 #Game #ZeviousSeven is now live, downloadable, and playable! Huge thanks to @tynemouthsoftware.co.uk , @loudscotsbloke.bsky.social, and @markgbeckett.bsky.social for providing some valuable feedback and testing. www.zx81keyboardadventure.com/2026/06/zx81...

I think this is one of the nicest looking breadboards layouts I have created. This was to test out a brilliant idea I had in this week's blog post. blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2026/06/impr...

New blog post - I've had this great idea to improve tape loading on the Minstrels, using a rather unexpected chip. blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2026/06/impr... Includes the neatest thing I have ever assembled on a breadboard. The new Minstrel 4th is now available to pre-order, shipping next week.

New blog post - I've had this great idea to improve tape loading on the Minstrels, using a rather unexpected chip. blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2026/06/impr... Includes the neatest thing I have ever assembled on a breadboard. The new Minstrel 4th is now available to pre-order, shipping next week.

New blog post - Second part of Improving Tape Loading on Minstrels. blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2026/05/impr... This time looking at the circuits used on the BBC Micro / Acorn Electron and the Oric-1 / Oric Atmos.

The magical art of storing data as sound. And back again.

Do you have anything to tell Tindie? (keep it clean folks) Any feedback or suggestions for the new team about your buying (or selling) experience? Got 10 minutes to spare? Want $5 real money? www.tindie.com/feedback/sur...

New blog post - Second part of Improving Tape Loading on Minstrels. blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2026/05/impr... This time looking at the circuits used on the BBC Micro / Acorn Electron and the Oric-1 / Oric Atmos.

New blog post - The first post in a series looking at improving tape loading future revisions of the Minstrel 2, 3 and 4th. blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2026/05/impr... See the end of the post for discounts on Tindie and Patreon that have both landed at the same time.

Last day for 10% off everything. www.tindie.com/stores/tynem...

New blog post - The first post in a series looking at improving tape loading future revisions of the Minstrel 2, 3 and 4th. blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2026/05/impr... See the end of the post for discounts on Tindie and Patreon that have both landed at the same time.

I am told it is a bank holiday weekend. So why not have 10% off everything in my Tindie store - www.tindie.com/stores/tynem... DIY computer Kits and upgrades for ZX80, ZX81, Jupiter Ace, Commodore PET. Test tools, USB keyboard adapters, RC2014. Shipping worldwide, US orders with tariffs paid.

I am told it is a bank holiday weekend. So why not have 10% off everything in my Tindie store - www.tindie.com/stores/tynem... DIY computer Kits and upgrades for ZX80, ZX81, Jupiter Ace, Commodore PET. Test tools, USB keyboard adapters, RC2014. Shipping worldwide, US orders with tariffs paid.

I am sold out of Minstrel 4th kits at the moment. I will have some more soon, but I do have one assembled version 4.28 board with full sockets and keyboard. I am open to reasonable offers if anyone is interested in a bargain.

I am sold out of Minstrel 4th kits at the moment. I will have some more soon, but I do have one assembled version 4.28 board with full sockets and keyboard. I am open to reasonable offers if anyone is interested in a bargain.

New blog post - A PET 2001 repair and general advice on the 6540 ROM and 6550 RAM chips it uses. blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2026/05/pet-... Hint - the short answer is get a PET ROM/RAM board.

New blog post - A PET 2001 repair and general advice on the 6540 ROM and 6550 RAM chips it uses. blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2026/05/pet-... Hint - the short answer is get a PET ROM/RAM board.

Does this count as a Commodore 128?

New blog post - Repair of a Swedish Commodore 64 with no colour. blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2026/05/swed... Warning, I am incapable of taking pictures of the blue characters on a blue background with a blue border on the normal Commodore 64 screen (assuming I fix it - no spoilers).

New blog post - Repair of a Swedish Commodore 64 with no colour. blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2026/05/swed... Warning, I am incapable of taking pictures of the blue characters on a blue background with a blue border on the normal Commodore 64 screen (assuming I fix it - no spoilers).

How Commodore Made a Sync Splitter

New blog post - a follow up to last week's PET 64 / 4064 repair. Reverse engineering the video board which converts the Commodore 64 video output to drive a PET monitor. blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2026/05/comm... Warning - contains lots of scope traces, schematics, and some maths.

May the 4th be with you. The Minstrel 4th. *3.25/6.5MHz Z80 based computer kit *49K RAM *Jupiter ACE compatible *Forth or ZX81 BASIC *RC2014 expansion slot *40 key keyboard *PAL/NTSC mono composite video *1 bit sound www.tindie.com/products/tyn... (or DM me directly if you don't want to use Tindie)

New blog post - a follow up to last week's PET 64 / 4064 repair. Reverse engineering the video board which converts the Commodore 64 video output to drive a PET monitor. blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2026/05/comm... Warning - contains lots of scope traces, schematics, and some maths.