Timex Sinclair 1000

Speed	3.25 MHz
Memory	2 KB
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Release Date:	7/1/1982
Manufacturer:	Timex
Original Retail Price: Adjusted Inflation Price:	$99.00 $223.71*

Donated By:	N. Beach

The US version of the ZX-81 manufactured by Timex. The biggest difference between this machine and the ZX-81 is that it featured 2K of RAM (and this machine is also equipped with a 16K RAM booster). The Sinclair machines were truly an affordable machine for the masses, and this one was no exception with itâ€™s list price being a mere $99 back in 1982. The thermal printer add-on featured here was available as well as a tape cassette interface for storing programs. The 1000 used Sinclair BASIC where all of the commands were available from the keyboard (and in fact had to be activated from the keyboard) which was a low cost membrane type. Surprisingly functional regardless of its limitations.

Timex 1016 16K RAM Expansion

Release Date:	7/1/1982

Donated By:	N. Beach

The TS 1016 is a 16K RAM expansion module, fitted externally to the TS 1000. It is known for the infamous RAM pack wobble which made the computer crash if it was so much as nudged. Timex experienced major problems in supplying the TS 1016, and was unable to make it available in any great numbers for two or three months after the launch of the 1000.

Timex 2040 Thermal Printer

Release Date:	1/1/1983

Donated By:	N. Beach

The 2040 is a small thermal printer, requiring thermal paper (similar to the old fax machine paper rolls). It is a 32 column line printer. It is compatible with all Timex Sinclair computer busses, including the Spectrum bus. Printing was a matter of using Sinclair BASIC commands LPRINT and LLIST to perform direct output to the printer, and COPY did a screen dump.

User Comments

Dane S on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
One of my very first computers. Tiny little keyboard and memory pack. I believe I payed close to $100.00 for the TS-1000 and another $49.00 for the 16k Rampack in 1982. Of course you had to have a cassette player to load all of the programs into the TS-1000. I always had around three cassette players around, so I could get the progam to load. A lot of the time, they didn't right away. Good learning computer for it's time

EC on Wednesday, April 25, 2012
I remember about 1984 or 85, Consumers Distributing (in Canada) was blowing them out the door at $29.99. I called every store and they were sold out, I finally found one and picked it up.

Steve on Saturday, April 14, 2012
The TS 1000 was too my first computer. Shortly after it's purchase, I bought the 16K Ram Pack; my first computer upgrade! Well, the Ram Module socket was unpredictable and weak, so I ordered the fancy 'Ram Pack securing device' from a vendor advertising in the Timex Sinclair 1000 User magazine. I paid 5 USD for that device and received one very large rubber band in the mail. The 'device' stretched around the entire edge of the Timex and Ram Pack, holding the Pack in place. Five bucks for that!!... why didn't I think of that!

Peter Homme on Thursday, July 21, 2011
I remember getting one of these when they came out. The first thing I did was to wire a DB15 connector on the back and I rewired a surplus keyboard to plug into it. It was a bit of work, but it worked out in the end and I did it for a couple of friends as well. We used to go to "Active Surplus" on Queen street in Toronto for all the spare bits we needed.

Joe on Sunday, January 04, 2009
Also my first computer .... and actually used it for interest calculations at a company I worked for (wrote a basic program as opposed to having to do to the work by hand!). The keyboard was an aggravation but considering its price ... it was a great buy! (I wish I still had it!)

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* Inflation data courtesy of www.inflationdata.com. Values are approximate using our own calculations.