ZX-Uno - rPi-sized Spectrum FPGA clone

Amiga1992 · 02 June 2016, 18:16

Pretty cool FPGA Speccy clone from Spain I just found out about today:

http://zxuno.speccy.org/index_e.shtml

Hopefully Vampire development will eventually lead to a standalone Amiga system that is this small or almost. I'm tired of dealing with hardware bullshit on my real Amigas.

Bastich · 02 June 2016, 18:51

That's pretty cool

alexh · 02 June 2016, 21:11

Pretty sure the Vampire, (depending on how you upgrade it's firmware) could be made to contain one of these cores as well as the Apollo Core and pass disk/tape image, keyboard and joystick info from the Amiga. It would be a chunk of work but not impossible. A hardware spectrum in your vampire alongside the Amiga portion

Higgy · 02 June 2016, 22:50

I was yes/no/yes/no. The Crowdfunding finished rather quickly, but one of the members is now selling more via World of Spectrum website - 70 euros delivered I think:

http://www.worldofspectrum.org/forum...tside-spain/p5

I am glad I help off, because I will get the Next instead ( www.SpecNext.com ) as it comes with a keyboard and has all the Speccy features you could want and looks damn cool

The ZX-Uno (and they say the Next) will be completely open source. A ZX-Uno chap even said he would like in the future if you could buy one delivered from China for 30 euros from AliExpress!
I suppose explaining a Spectrum and it's market to some Chinese manufacturer would take some doing, but yes cool if all this stuff becomes 'a meal and a drink' price in the future.

Amiga1992 · 03 June 2016, 15:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexh

Pretty sure the Vampire, (depending on how you upgrade it's firmware) could be made to contain one of these cores as well as the Apollo Core and pass disk/tape image, keyboard and joystick info from the Amiga.

I didn't think of that. Would be freaking cool!

70 Euros isn't bad, is this the cheapest reconfigurable computer out there? I think it is.

Anubis · 03 June 2016, 18:59

Price is usually only reason I stick to cheaper option (Raspberry Pi) and PC emulation.

It would be nice to play something not emulated, for a change...

That SpecNext is eye candy.

Amiga1992 · 03 June 2016, 20:07

FPGA emulation will always be better than software emulation running on top of an OS that is running on a host. It's more optimized and in my personal opinion it feels more like a real thing than software does.

Retrofan · 05 June 2016, 23:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Higgy

...I am glad I help off, because I will get the Next instead ( www.SpecNext.com ) as it comes with a keyboard and has all the Speccy features you could want and looks damn cool

I like it and I would like to know more about it. I've sent my email, but I wonder if they have also a crowdfunding or what.

Higgy · 06 June 2016, 10:10

@Retrofan

There is a Facebook page, which had a little update a week or so ago.

It sounds like they have been speaking to various manufacturers and component suppliers. The Crowdfunding is expected in June, hopefully in a couple of weeks.

They say price ((£175-£100 has been mentioned) is depending on quantity ordered, but has sliding price scales been done on Crowdfunding before? The main cost is the tooling for the keyboard mould. But as the original Speccy designer is on-board hopefully he has designed it with manufacturing/cost in mind and he should know who to speak to in that industry.

It also seems that are going to be flexible. So you can just order the PCB if you want to place it in a classic Spectrum (but some holes will need to be cut) or just buy the Keyboard.

I don't know if you saw, but they are planning to use a Raspberry Pi Zero to generate and display the HDMI signal. - If they can get stocks of Zero's!!! This 'accelerator' board could also do other things, but the software/hardware interaction is as expected difficult.

Good times ahead

598

Anubis · 06 June 2016, 20:19

This is from their site:

Q. How much will the ZX Spectrum Next cost?
We’ve preliminary closed the budget of the project, and we started with the goal of launching the computer at the same price the original ZX Spectrum was made available in the 80s: £175. We achieved this goal, and are now working to make it cheaper -- ideally we would be able to sell under £100. The final price will depend on the total volume of orders, the more units the cheaper the individual cost; and also on sourced partners. We’re doing our best to make the Spectrum Next as affordable as possible without compromising features, quality or adding risks to the crowdfunding.

And if in that range, I would be interested for this one. Would be nice to finally get a hold of Speccy

02 June 2016, 18:16	#1
Amiga1992 Registered User Join Date: May 2001 Location: ? Posts: 19,645	ZX-Uno - rPi-sized Spectrum FPGA clone Pretty cool FPGA Speccy clone from Spain I just found out about today: http://zxuno.speccy.org/index_e.shtml Hopefully Vampire development will eventually lead to a standalone Amiga system that is this small or almost. I'm tired of dealing with hardware bullshit on my real Amigas.

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02 June 2016, 18:51	#2
Bastich Registered User Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: UK Posts: 341	That's pretty cool

02 June 2016, 21:11	#3
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,337	Pretty sure the Vampire, (depending on how you upgrade it's firmware) could be made to contain one of these cores as well as the Apollo Core and pass disk/tape image, keyboard and joystick info from the Amiga. It would be a chunk of work but not impossible. A hardware spectrum in your vampire alongside the Amiga portion

02 June 2016, 22:50	#4
Higgy Registered User Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Somerset, UK Posts: 547	I was yes/no/yes/no. The Crowdfunding finished rather quickly, but one of the members is now selling more via World of Spectrum website - 70 euros delivered I think: http://www.worldofspectrum.org/forum...tside-spain/p5 I am glad I help off, because I will get the Next instead ( www.SpecNext.com ) as it comes with a keyboard and has all the Speccy features you could want and looks damn cool The ZX-Uno (and they say the Next) will be completely open source. A ZX-Uno chap even said he would like in the future if you could buy one delivered from China for 30 euros from AliExpress! I suppose explaining a Spectrum and it's market to some Chinese manufacturer would take some doing, but yes cool if all this stuff becomes 'a meal and a drink' price in the future.

03 June 2016, 18:59	#6
Anubis Retro Gamer Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Underworld Age: 51 Posts: 4,058	Price is usually only reason I stick to cheaper option (Raspberry Pi) and PC emulation. It would be nice to play something not emulated, for a change... That SpecNext is eye candy.

03 June 2016, 20:07	#7
Amiga1992 Registered User Join Date: May 2001 Location: ? Posts: 19,645	FPGA emulation will always be better than software emulation running on top of an OS that is running on a host. It's more optimized and in my personal opinion it feels more like a real thing than software does.

06 June 2016, 10:10	#9
Higgy Registered User Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Somerset, UK Posts: 547	@Retrofan There is a Facebook page, which had a little update a week or so ago. It sounds like they have been speaking to various manufacturers and component suppliers. The Crowdfunding is expected in June, hopefully in a couple of weeks. They say price ((£175-£100 has been mentioned) is depending on quantity ordered, but has sliding price scales been done on Crowdfunding before? The main cost is the tooling for the keyboard mould. But as the original Speccy designer is on-board hopefully he has designed it with manufacturing/cost in mind and he should know who to speak to in that industry. It also seems that are going to be flexible. So you can just order the PCB if you want to place it in a classic Spectrum (but some holes will need to be cut) or just buy the Keyboard. I don't know if you saw, but they are planning to use a Raspberry Pi Zero to generate and display the HDMI signal. - If they can get stocks of Zero's!!! This 'accelerator' board could also do other things, but the software/hardware interaction is as expected difficult. Good times ahead 598

06 June 2016, 20:19	#10
Anubis Retro Gamer Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Underworld Age: 51 Posts: 4,058	This is from their site: Q. How much will the ZX Spectrum Next cost? We’ve preliminary closed the budget of the project, and we started with the goal of launching the computer at the same price the original ZX Spectrum was made available in the 80s: £175. We achieved this goal, and are now working to make it cheaper -- ideally we would be able to sell under £100. The final price will depend on the total volume of orders, the more units the cheaper the individual cost; and also on sourced partners. We’re doing our best to make the Spectrum Next as affordable as possible without compromising features, quality or adding risks to the crowdfunding. And if in that range, I would be interested for this one. Would be nice to finally get a hold of Speccy

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