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geekhack Marketplace => Great Finds => Topic started by: Parak on Fri, 18 February 2011, 18:58:10

Title: Robik - ZX Spectrum clone
Post by: Parak on Fri, 18 February 2011, 18:58:10

AHHHHH MOTHERLAND (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330530772638)

Little known fact: In soviet russia, the keys laser y... what's a hercon?

Title: Robik - ZX Spectrum clone
Post by: nathanscribe on Fri, 18 February 2011, 19:29:57

Quote from: ripster;297517

I'm still working on what a Kempston Interface is

Ye gods man, you've never lived.

http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=1000582

They were a standard joystick protocol for many years.  All I can say is "Daley Thompson's Decathlon" and "broken joystick".  It still affects me in adulthood.

Title: Robik - ZX Spectrum clone
Post by: MisterJohnnyT on Fri, 18 February 2011, 21:40:52

Man, everything about that Robik listing is a riot!  The description, the pictures, the power adapter...

Title: Robik - ZX Spectrum clone
Post by: petyou on Fri, 18 February 2011, 23:45:15

I thought a hercon is what turned New Orleans into a disaster area.

Title: Robik - ZX Spectrum clone
Post by: Parak on Sat, 19 February 2011, 02:06:27

(http://i.imgur.com/N6whp.jpg)

Title: Robik - ZX Spectrum clone
Post by: Findecanor on Sat, 19 February 2011, 03:31:16

The auction quotes Wikipedia verbatim except that they left this bit out:

Quote

The Robik came in four versions with only minor changes for Russian Internationalization and localization. The hardware remained unchanged except that cheaper and cheaper parts was used for each version, but the 4th version was new with a single IC. This version didn't sell well because by then it was mostly hardware folks that bought the Robik and this design didn't allow you to fiddle around with the hardware.

I find the last sentence a bit funny ..

Title: Robik - ZX Spectrum clone
Post by: keyb_gr on Sat, 19 February 2011, 18:32:07

If you've got a shortage of resources, stuff better be repairable, as it has to last quite a while. Under these conditions it makes sense to supply service docs. Only a wasteful society can afford planned obsolescence.

Incidentally, without people wisening up about the latter, this forum might not even be here. After all, one motivation for getting a mechanical board is durability. There's enough cheap (and more worryingly, expensive) plastic trash out there that just isn't holding up.

Title: Robik - ZX Spectrum clone
Post by: Superfluous Parentheses on Sat, 19 February 2011, 18:52:59

That design is way cool. Far cooler than I'd expect given its origin. AND it looks like it won't hang or reset whenever someone closes a door in the next room, unlike the real ZX.

Title: Robik - ZX Spectrum clone
Post by: Ham on Mon, 02 May 2011, 17:20:58

Quote from: Parak;297513

... what's a hercon?

It is transcription of russian word "геркон" which is actually a Reed switch. So it had reed switch keys.