ZX VGA Joy - New hardware for your Speccy!

...you had me at 'ZX'.

If there's one thing that makes me happy, it's anything with word 'Speccy' in it. Failing that 'ZX' will give my heart a little flutter too. Adding 'Joy' to either will get me all squiffy and lead to an increased heartbeat, palm sweats and make my eyes all big. (Time to calm yourself down, Paul!) Ok, deep breaths... here we go.

Well, hello there...come here often?

The ZX VGA JOY is a new piece of hardware created by Goran Radan who has been working on the project as a hobby and now his work is here for us all to enjoy. So, what does it do? Well, in a nutshell, it is an interface that will connect with all ZX Spectrum models to any kind of VGA monitor. Out of the nutshell, I can tell you the following info: The interface supports several screen modes - 640x480, 60Hz, 75Hz, 85Hz, 800x600 and 60Hz, has a Kempston connection, a reset button and syncs with the Spectrum's ULA which means it takes video data directly from the CPU and provides a crystal clear picture on VGA monitors. Not bad, eh?

...and here is the Australian model. (I'll get my coat).

The project was initially just a little something for himself says Goran; being a fan of the Speccy due to it being his first computer, it was something of a passion to get a peripheral made for the machine. Speaking technically of the Joy, Goran explains, 'The picture on VGA monitor is precisely synchronized with PAL signal generated from ULA, so games that are relying on ULA timing look as they should. The device is connected to ZX Spectrum via its expansion port with no need for any kind of modification.'

That's an interesting loading screen. Oh. I see!

Details on prices and release dates are little on the light side at the moment but Goran assures us that it will indeed be light on the pocket so there will be no need to sell any of your prized collections to afford it as he sees it as giving back to the retro community who are keeping the Spectrum alive. With the increase in new games being made for the machine, this will be a welcome addition to the Spectrum family for those who want to see these new games (and no doubt old ones too) in the fine crisp detail they deserve. Brings a tear to your eye.

To keep an eye on developments, take a look at Goran's website here where you'll find updates with regards to release, prices and where you can pick one up in future.

We hope you enJOYed reading about it! (I've already got my coat, I'm just on my way out.)