ScuzzBlog: Diaries April 2020
Entry 10th April 2020: Post 01: Sinclair Spectrum - Chequered Binatone.
Sinclair Spectrum - Chequered Binatone.
Yesterday I was mucking around with the Amstrad CPC464 and the
various motor racing games. One of the benefits of the Amstrad is
the dedicated cassette data-recorder that is integrated into the
actual computer. One thing that put me off trying out Chequered
Flag on the Spectrum was the hit and miss issues with the cassette.
Today I decided to take a deep breath and pull out the Sinclair
plus the trusty Binatone and have a go at loading Chequered Flag.
I shouldn't have worried, the game loaded first time no issues.
The tape you see here dates from 1983 and that is 37 years ago.
The Binatone is a little younger though not much. When you reflect
on the margin for failure after all these years it is incredible
that this game loaded no problem. After all it takes many minutes
for the game to load and at any point it could fail. Worse, is
that the Binatone needs to be adjusted manually to get the perfect
pitch, tone and volume so the Spectrum receives the signal clearly.
The Binatone comes with its own guide on how to get the best results.
Sinclair produced a handy little booklet on using tape cassettes
and how to get the most from your cassette player. It took the
very wonderful Alan Sugar to incorporate a cassette recorder into
a Sinclair product once Amstrad acquired the computer. Up until
then users would need to purchase third party tape machines to use
with their Spectrum.
I actually include a snippet of video showing the loading of the
game just so those that never had to endure this process can kinda
appreciate what it was like. The later tape machines included a
mute control so that you didn't wake the neighbours up doing your
late night programming.
When the Spectrum and ZX81 first arrived on the scene there was no
such thing as a data-cassette and so your bog standard tape player
was used. Many didn't have the controls of tone etc that let you
get a good quality recording and play-back. The sale of tape
machines went thro' the roof about that time.
Anyhoo the game played no problem, though I still managed to crash
the car. So here is Chequered Flag by Psion from 1983. And like I
said it feels only like yesterday I was playing this. Man how time
flies when you're enjoying yourself. Guess I've been lucky that way.
V I D E O S
Chequered Flag Loading.
Sinclair Spectrum - Chequered Binatone.
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