ZX Interface 2

The ZX Interface 2 was a peripheral from Sinclair Research for its ZX Spectrum home computer released in September 1983. It had two joystick ports and a ROM cartridge slot, which offered instant loading times. The joystick ports were not compatible with the popular Kempston interface, and thus did not work with most Spectrum games released prior to the launch of the ZX Interface 2. In addition, the pass-through expansion bus provided was stripped, only allowing a ZX Printer to be attached.

Availability of cartridge software was very limited: The cost was almost twice as much as the same game on cassette tape, and could only hold 16 KiB, making it almost immediately obsolete as the majority of Spectrums sold were 48K-models, which the software publishers targeted.

Only ten games were commercially released:

# Jetpac
# PSSST
# Cookie
# Tranz Am
# Chess
# Backgammon
# Hungry Horace
# Horace and the Spiders
# Planetoids
# Space Raiders

Paul Farrow has demonstrated that it is possible to produce custom ROM cartridges [http://www.fruitcake.plus.com/Sinclair/Interface%202/Interface%202%20RC_Cartridges.htm] .

ee also

*ZX Interface 1 – A peripheral with ports for ZX Microdrives, RS-232 serial units, and ZX Net cables (for connection to a ZX Net local area network)

External links

* [http://www.fruitcake.plus.com/Sinclair/Interface2/Interface2Frame.htm Detailed information on Interface 2]
* [http://www.solvalou.com/speccy_carts.php List of ROM cartridges available for Interface 2]
* [http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/sinclair/computers/peripherals/interface2.htm Information at Planet Sinclair]
* [http://www.worldofspectrum.org/hardware/feat6.html Hardware feature from Sinclair User - December 1983]