The ZX Spectrum ULA: How to Design a Microcomputer (ZX Design Retro Computer)

If you grew up in the British 80's, you probably either had or knew somebody that had the ZX spectrum. This book is super nerdy, it covers the design of the ULA chip that was a core chip that was in the specie, the ULA was a custom chip that was responsible for tieing the various other chips inside the spectrum together, it was the bit that made the spectrum, well, the spectrum. The ULA was a forerunner of the PLD and FPGA devices, they were effectively "blank" chips that were configured in the factory. This book strips the chip down to circuit diagrams and explanations of how the ULA worked, what it did, and a whole host of other information. The information inside this book would allow you to create your own working ULA on a modern CPLD or FPGA device. These chips are a common problem when trying to use a spectrum these days, over time many of them have just failed, some had faults from the factory and some were just poor quality, so it might come in handy if you ever wanted to create your own....although there are people around who have already done this and you can buy replacement "modern" ULA's that plug straight into an old speccy to bring it back to life. Not a book for people who do not understand digital logic or electronics (at least at a basic level), but interesting non-the-less.

This is a very detailed and well written and highly informative book. 100% recommended to anyone who ever wondered how the famous Sinclair ZX Spectrum actually made pixels happen inside of a television screen.

Interesting blend of history/people and technology. I was looking for an overview of the Spectrum hardware (I did not have one back in the day) and where the ULA fitted in to that (Ferranti also did the ULA for the Acorn Electron) and this book hit the nail on the head for me. I particularly wanted to know how the graphics on the machine worked. Some of it way over my head, but the information I was looking for was definitely there and explained well. Short chapters, so easy to skim the technical detail I wasn't interested in and get back into my comfort zone, and didn't feel there was unnecessary padding. Criticisms - minor one - I think the second chapter - very low-level detail on integrated circuits - might have been better placed at the end of the book or as an appendix. For me it was really heavy going for such an early chapter and it didn't get the book off to a good start ... but I persevered and it swiftly picked up in chapter 3 onwards. Not sure I would be able to "design a microcomputer" after reading this book, but definitely a good read from a programmer's perspective.

I was a commercial Spectrum games developer back in the day and am also into maintaining retro computer equipment. This book came to my attention when I was building a Harlequin Spectrum clone, which was inspired in part by this book. The book is essentially about the Sinclair Spectrum ULA, a custom logic chip that generated the video signal in those home computers. The book is technical, and it helps to have some understanding of digital electronics and how composite TV signals are generated. Yet it walks the reader though the process of reverse engineering the Spectrum ULA in an easy to follow manner.

I read this excellent book over the course of a week's camping trip on the Isle of Wight this summer. In short; it has been a long time since I have read a technical book with as much enjoyment. Concise, consistently interesting and intelligently organized - I have recommended it to several of my retro-computing inclined colleagues. My fiancée was giving me odd looks throughout the camping trip as I was reading it since I kept saying things like "aha! So *that's* why that's there!" at regular intervals. Highly recommended to anyone with a technical interest in the ZX Spectrum! :)

This is not only one of the best books I have read about the ZX Spectrum from the technical side, but it is one of the most interesting books on how a microcomputer was built in the early years. It is very detailed, has plenty of diagrams and shows many little known secrets hidden within our beloved ZX Spectrum. I would recommend this book to anyone having had a ZX Sinclair, be it the Spectrum or even the ZX81 or ZX80.

Whilst I'm not all the interested in the ZX Spectrum and never owned one, I have more of an interest in the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron, this book still grabbed my attention and was an interesting read from cover to cover. The amount of effort that went into researching and reverse engineering the ZX Spectrum ULA is quite clear to see and fascinating to read about. Highly recommended if you have an interest in hardware even if you're not a ZX Spectrum fan.

Great book, fun read for those who remember those days or are in a mind to emulate it using FPGAs or similar!

Si vous souhaitez comprendre le fonctionnement des "entrailles" de votre ZX Spectrum, c'est LE passage obligé. Ouvrage indispensable à tous les nostalgiques et passionnés de "vieilles" technologies.

This book is a must read for anyone that had contact with ZX Spectrum (or its Brazilian/Russian clones) during the 80s. It will enlighten a ton of the quirks of the machine.

Very interesting and in depth book. Much more than a normal recollection / history of tech style book, this truly delved into the engineering behind the ZX ULA chip, and by extension the design of the Spectrum.

Es steht alles drin, was man über den ZX Spectrum wissen muss.

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