Fifty-two pages, printed on coated paper, third edition. This is the manual for a ZX Spectrum replica built on the Sizif-512 platform — functionally, it is the Sizif-512 manual — and it is written to be left open beside the keyboard while you type, rather than opened once and filed.
It takes you from the first power-up to knowing how the machine is actually put together. Setting it up, configuring it, getting programs onto it and running, then the fundamentals of BASIC, then a description of the computer’s architecture: what is where, and why the machine behaves as it does. It is the sort of documentation that came in the box in 1982, when the manufacturer assumed you intended to learn something.
What it covers
- startup, configuration and installing programs
- the fundamentals of the BASIC language
- a description of the computer’s architecture
- advanced material: FDD controllers, preparing an SD card for use, ULAplus, how the RAM is organised, and a list of compatible devices
- the MultiSound sound card manual — supported file formats, players, and the tools for composing and processing sound
Why a printed one
Because you cannot type on a Spectrum and read a PDF on the same screen, and because a book stays open at the page you need while both your hands are busy. The RAM organisation section in particular is the kind of thing you want propped against the monitor rather than buried behind whatever else is on your desk.
It is also the part of the machine most people underestimate. The chapter on architecture and the chapter on RAM organisation are what turn a Spectrum from a games machine into something you can program deliberately — and the list of compatible devices saves a good deal of guesswork before you buy anything to plug into it.
Who it is for
Anyone who already owns a Spectrum built on the Sizif-512 platform, including an assembled Sizif-512 board in a case of your own. This book is part of the ZX Spectrum Neo set, so if you have bought the complete computer you already have a copy — this listing is for people who built their own, or who want a spare that can live somewhere the first one does not.
Questions people ask
Is this a reprint of the original Sinclair manual?
No. It is a manual for a modern Spectrum built on the Sizif-512 platform, covering that machine’s own configuration, its SD card operation, ULAplus and its sound card, alongside BASIC and the architecture of the computer.
Do I need it if I have bought a ZX Spectrum Neo?
No — a copy is included in the ZX Spectrum Neo set. Buy this if you have built your own machine on a Sizif-512 board, or if you want a second copy.
Does it teach BASIC?
It covers the fundamentals of BASIC, and pairs them with a description of the computer’s architecture, so the language and the machine underneath it are explained together rather than separately.
What edition is this, and what language?
Third edition, 52 pages, in English, printed on coated paper.
Does it cover the sound card?
Yes. It includes the MultiSound sound card manual: the file formats it supports, the players, and the tools for composing and processing sound.
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