Sadly I don't have a #ZX80, but I do own the next best thing, a @tynemouthsoftware.co.uk #Minstrel2. Happy birthday to the ZX80! #retrogaming
January 29, 2026 at 10:06 PM
Sadly I don't have a #ZX80, but I do own the next best thing, a @tynemouthsoftware.co.uk #Minstrel2. Happy birthday to the ZX80! #retrogaming
Amazing how quickly sunrise and sunset times are changing as we approach #autumn #equinox, as seen here at Edinburgh Castle, calculated using a #zx80 or #Minstrel2 (8K ROM) supercomputer. github.com/markgbeckett...
September 21, 2026 at 6:24 PM
Amazing how quickly sunrise and sunset times are changing as we approach #autumn #equinox, as seen here at Edinburgh Castle, calculated using a #zx80 or #Minstrel2 (8K ROM) supercomputer. github.com/markgbeckett...
It's the longest day of the year, so let's check the sunrise and sunset times at Edinburgh Castle. #summersolstice #zx81 #minstrel2 #retrogaming github.com/markgbeckett...
June 21, 2025 at 9:44 PM
It's the longest day of the year, so let's check the sunrise and sunset times at Edinburgh Castle. #summersolstice #zx81 #minstrel2 #retrogaming github.com/markgbeckett...
Also works on real hardware of #minstrel2. The slightly odd move command makes a #zx80 string (terminated) look like a #zx81 (counted) string. Shift-W + Space adds 03, 00 to beginning of string, which is then interpreted as a three-character string.
April 27, 2026 at 8:16 PM
Also works on real hardware of #minstrel2. The slightly odd move command makes a #zx80 string (terminated) look like a #zx81 (counted) string. Shift-W + Space adds 03, 00 to beginning of string, which is then interpreted as a three-character string.
Being good at Tetris doesn't necessarily help you with #Altris. Limited moves makes it a tough puzzle game. #zx80 / #minstrel2.
May 17, 2026 at 8:27 PM
Being good at Tetris doesn't necessarily help you with #Altris. Limited moves makes it a tough puzzle game. #zx80 / #minstrel2.
Made some further improvements to #zx80/ #minstrel2 version of Toni Baker's draughts/ checkers. More bug fixes plus removed the need to prefix moves with odd characters. Computer plays a reasonable game. github.com/markgbeckett...
May 28, 2026 at 9:47 PM
Made some further improvements to #zx80/ #minstrel2 version of Toni Baker's draughts/ checkers. More bug fixes plus removed the need to prefix moves with odd characters. Computer plays a reasonable game. github.com/markgbeckett...
If you're interested to program in #z80 machine code on #Minstrel2, try out my enhanced version of Toni Baker's hex monitor - github.com/markgbeckett...
November 29, 2024 at 5:53 PM
If you're interested to program in #z80 machine code on #Minstrel2, try out my enhanced version of Toni Baker's hex monitor - github.com/markgbeckett...
Are you 4K BASIC or 8K BASIC ? #Minstrel2
May 2, 2025 at 6:32 AM
Are you 4K BASIC or 8K BASIC ? #Minstrel2
I'm going to try to get draughts running on #Minstrel2 (4K ROM). First, I need to update HEXLD3 - the program for entering code into memory - as the 4K ROM version only allows up to 512 bytes of object code. github.com/markgbeckett...
April 20, 2026 at 9:15 PM
I'm going to try to get draughts running on #Minstrel2 (4K ROM). First, I need to update HEXLD3 - the program for entering code into memory - as the 4K ROM version only allows up to 512 bytes of object code. github.com/markgbeckett...
Missed out on #ZX80, but have been catching up with a #Minstrel2, including the joy (!) of learning to write flicker-free games. github.com/markgbeckett...
December 9, 2024 at 10:06 PM
Missed out on #ZX80, but have been catching up with a #Minstrel2, including the joy (!) of learning to write flicker-free games. github.com/markgbeckett...
Do you think this will run on a zx80 based machine (Minstrel2 8kROM). They're *fairly* similar at assembly level right?
August 28, 2026 at 5:32 PM
Do you think this will run on a zx80 based machine (Minstrel2 8kROM). They're *fairly* similar at assembly level right?
A day late to say happy birthday to the #zx80. Sadly, I have never owned a ZX80, though do have a modern-day compatible #Minstrel2 – the power of a ZX80 without the #rampackwobble!
January 30, 2025 at 7:43 PM
A day late to say happy birthday to the #zx80. Sadly, I have never owned a ZX80, though do have a modern-day compatible #Minstrel2 – the power of a ZX80 without the #rampackwobble!
Sound from an unmodified #ZX81/ #ZX80? Surely not. However, Toni Baker showed how to get quite impressive sound from the tiny micros, provided you were happy with a flickering screen. Also works on #Minstrel2 / #Minstrel3, though you need to access signal on mic socket. github.com/markgbeckett...
March 28, 2026 at 3:40 PM
Sound from an unmodified #ZX81/ #ZX80? Surely not. However, Toni Baker showed how to get quite impressive sound from the tiny micros, provided you were happy with a flickering screen. Also works on #Minstrel2 / #Minstrel3, though you need to access signal on mic socket. github.com/markgbeckett...
Have completed Part 2, including the exercise for the reader to create a simple computer-move generator (computer player isn't really tackled until Part 3). Blink and you'll miss it! Computer player is White. #Minstrel2 #zx80 #4KBASIC
April 30, 2026 at 8:16 PM
Have completed Part 2, including the exercise for the reader to create a simple computer-move generator (computer player isn't really tackled until Part 3). Blink and you'll miss it! Computer player is White. #Minstrel2 #zx80 #4KBASIC
For anyone wishing to try out in-progress Draughts game, I've added instructions to the GitHub repo - github.com/markgbeckett.... Grab O file, fire up your ZXpand'ed #zx80 or #Minstrel2 (or EightyOne emulator), and give it a go (note it is pretty simple at the moment, with no computer player).
zx80/hexld3 at main · markgbeckett/zx80
Useful software for Sinclair ZX80 and Tynemouth Minstrel 2 - markgbeckett/zx80
github.com
April 28, 2026 at 5:09 PM
For anyone wishing to try out in-progress Draughts game, I've added instructions to the GitHub repo - github.com/markgbeckett.... Grab O file, fire up your ZXpand'ed #zx80 or #Minstrel2 (or EightyOne emulator), and give it a go (note it is pretty simple at the moment, with no computer player).
【無料フリーBGM】中世の切ない古楽・オーケストラ・ハープ「Minstrel2」
YouTube video by PeriTune®
www.youtube.com
December 9, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Have completed Part 3 of game. Now includes simple level of computer intelligence. This is end of what Toni provided, but she has suggested some enhancements -- one of them looks quite challenging (to get computer to check for and do multi-jump moves). github.com/markgbeckett... #zx81 #minstrel2
May 3, 2026 at 8:38 PM
Have completed Part 3 of game. Now includes simple level of computer intelligence. This is end of what Toni provided, but she has suggested some enhancements -- one of them looks quite challenging (to get computer to check for and do multi-jump moves). github.com/markgbeckett... #zx81 #minstrel2