This short booklet has been written for two types of people. First, those who know
nothing, or next to nothing, about computers, and, secondly, for those who are
familiar with computer baset systems but who like to read instruction booklets
before plugging anything in.
There is a second,
thicker book which is the BASIC programming manual. This should not be read
by the novice computer user until this booklet has been read and understood.
Unpacking the
ZX Spectrum, you will have found:
1 This introductory booklet
and the BASIC programming manual
2 The computer. This has
three jack sockets (marked 9V DC IN, EAR and MIC), one TV spclet, and edge connector
on the back where you can plug in extra equipment. It has no switches - to turn
it on you just connnect it to the power supply
3 A power supply. This converts
mains electricity into the form that the ZX Spectrum uses. If you want to use
your own power supply it should give 9 volts DC at 1.4 A unregulated.
5 A pair of leads about
75 cms long with 35 mm jack plugs at each end. These connect the computer to
a cassette recorder.
You will also
need a television - the ZX Spectrum can work without one, but you won't be able
to see what it is doing! It must be a UHF television (in n the UK); if it is
not built to receive BBC2 then it is no good. As its name implies the ZX Spectrum
gives a colour signal which, if you have a colour television will produce a
colour picture. If you only have a black and white television, then the colour
will appear as black, white and six different shades of grey; but apart from
that, a black and white television will work just as well as a colour television.
The components
of the system should now be interconnected thus:
 If your television
has who aerial sockets, marked UHF and VHF, then use the UHF one (UK).
Turn
the power on and switch on the television. You now need to tune the television
in. The ZX Spectrum operates on channel 36 UHF (UK), and when it is first plugged
in and properly tuned it gives a picture like this:
When using the
computer, you will probably want to turn the volume on the television right
down.
If your tele
vision has a continuously variable tuning control then you just have to adjust
it until you get the picture shown in figure 2. Many televisions now have an
individual push button for each station. Choose an unused one and tune it in.
For use in countries
that have a different TV system to that in the UK a version of the ZX Spectrum
specially designed for that system is necessary The UK uses a UHF system with
625 lines and 50 frames per second. It also uses a colour encoding system called
PAL. Most countries in Western Europe (except France) use a similar system,
and the computer should operate in these countries without any modification.
The USA, Canada, and Japan, for example, use a totally different TV system and
a different version of the computer is required.
When you turn
the ZX Spectrum off, all the information stored in it is lost. One way of keeping
it for later is by recording it on a cassette tape. You can also buy tapes that
other people have prepared and so run their programs. The lead with two jack
plugs at each end is used to connect a standard cassette recorder to the ZX
Spectrum. Chapter 8 of this booklet explains this further.
Now that you
have set up the computer you will want to use it. The rest of this booklet tells
you how to do that; but in your impatience you will probably already have started
pressing the keys on the keyboard, and discovered that this removes the copyright
message. This is good; you cannot harm the computer in this way. Be bold.
Experirnent. If you get stuck, remember that you can always reset the computer
to the original picture with the copyright message by taking out the '9V DC
IN' plug and putting it back again. This should be the last resort because you
lose all the information in the computer.
WARNING.
Do not try to use the ZX 16K RAM with the ZX Spectrum. It will not work.
|
|
