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Re: Introduction

Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 5:07 pm
by sharpmz
hlide wrote: Tue Feb 20, 2018 9:56 am Well, if their text can be retrieved by a tool, I could have them translated with a translator then correct them.
I've sent them back to the owner.

Re: Introduction

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2018 1:01 pm
by Gortho
So time for me, eh?

- male
- 1974
- Poland

My first ever computer was MZ-731 with just a few programs and games included... Maybe that was the reason I got into programming. Could not play anything unless I wrote it myself ;) Started with BASIC, then learned assembly basics from the sharp manual by reading monitor listing :D

Lots of fun. Unfortunately long time ago I got rid of my old sharp. Then recently i decided to bring back some nostalgia and bought MZ-821. It was in a bit miserable state, but after some cleaning and soldering everything seems to be in perfect order.

Re: Introduction

Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2018 3:32 pm
by Pacman
Hello

- male
- 1969
- South of France
- The MZ-721 was my first computer in the summer of 1984

Re: Introduction

Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2018 11:57 am
by MZnewbie
Hello!

- male
- 1968
- Wales

Dragon 64 was my first computer at the end of 1983, but I really wanted an MZ-700 that I had seen in a small computer shop window (I think it was an MZ-731) but never bought one in the end. Fast forward to the end of 2018 and I have finally got an MZ-700 of my own (a 711 that has the cassette and plotter upgrades) It is supposed to be in working order, but I haven't powered it up yet until I re-cap the boards especially the power board. So thank you for the tips and info that I have already gleaned from this site and I look forward (or is it backwards?) to using the computer that I wanted all those years ago.

Re: Introduction

Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:33 am
by mz-80a
Welcome :)

Re: Introduction

Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 11:40 am
by dat-alex
Hello

-male
-1969
-Greece

my first computer was (is) Commdore 64
recentrly bacame a proud owner of an MZ80K and trying all kind of DIY projects with it!

Re: Introduction

Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2019 8:50 am
by CRG
Hello all.

I've recently picked up a sharp mz-700 from ebay sold as spares repair and I'm looking forward to getting it back up and running. The machine is still in transit to me but I know it needs some work as 2 buttons are missing on the keyboard so I'll be looking to source those or an alternative button that suits. I'm hoping the not working state will be down to a faulty PSU (bad caps seem like a common problem) and I'm expecting the tape drive will need some maintenance. Once I get this wee machine up and running I'm looking forward to experiencing some of the software on offer.

So anyway my name is Glen I'm 37 years old (38 next Friday actually) and I'm a bit of a collector (boarding on hoarder lol) of retro consoles and computers but this is my first leap into the sharp mz range so I'm looking forward to getting started.

See you in the forums.

Re: Introduction

Posted: Wed Nov 27, 2019 11:34 am
by psmart
Hello All,

Just an introduction and to be honest I was quite shocked at the number of people still using the Sharp machines!

Regarding myself, too old to mention but still 15+ years from retirement!!!, my first Sharp was the MZ80A which my older brother bought and it ended up being given to me, then at University I 'upgraded' to the MZ700. They both taught me a lot about programming and electronics which have helped me a lot over the years.

I have in my collection an MZ80A, an MZ700 and an MZ800 and an MZ-700 which I fried (like an idiot, the PSU on this machine went pop so I thought I would temporarily use a PC power supply and without thinking, yellow being the standard for 12V, connected. the 12V PC PSU lines and switched on - nice way to have home made silicon chips!!!). I thus ripped out the motherboard and wired in my own design based on an Emulator Im working on!

I have four MZ related projects going on at the moment, a Rom Filing System board+software https://eaw.app/sharpmz-upgrades-rfs/for the MZ80A, a 40/80 Column colour board for the MZ80A https://eaw.app/sharpmz-upgrades-80col/ , a CPU replacement I like to deem a tranZPUter initially for the MZ80A https://eaw.app/sharpmz-upgrades-tranzputer/ and the SharpMZ Hardware Emulation https://eaw.app/sharpmz-emulator/ .
These are all free-time projects which Im doing for the love of Sharp's (and self learning) and would be happy to provide the PCB's etc f.o.c. as and when I have them for other enthusiasts. The RFS and the 40/80 board's I made all have flaws which I modded but I will soon be making another batch and at US$5 for 10 pieces from China for the PCB, I will have at least 8 in a batch going free.

Although not a big forum user (or social media for that matter), I hope to do my bit with respect to keeping the Sharp alive.

Re: Introduction

Posted: Wed Nov 27, 2019 12:34 pm
by hlide
Welcome psmart! your hardware mods are very interesting.

Re: Introduction

Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2020 12:05 pm
by MZ-808
hi there!

my name is olaf... i'm from bremen in northern germany... the sharp mz-800 was the 1st computer i've got back in late 1984, when i was 16 years old... i still have it & it also still works... well... except for the quick disk drive (qdd), which isn't loading any of the qds i haven stored almost all of my own little programs on... :-/

my mz-800 has all the extras except a floppy disk drive, as i never liked floppy disks... not even back then in the 80s! ;-)

i wish the qdd would work again, so all i'm currently using are the emulator on my windows pc & a few games & stuff that i had on cassettes, which all still work fine...

i need to look after the plotter... as i've moved various times & i'm not sure, if i still have it stocked somewhere in the attic... or if i dumped it before my last move in 2012... as it wasn't of any use for me any longer back then...

afaik, the qdd all of a sudden stopped working sometime in 2013... but i still kept it, because it was connected to the extension unit in the back of the main computer... & i'm not a hardware boffin at all & usually only destroy things, when i use a screwdriver etc. ... :-o

i would be lucky, if i could get a spare qdd... but i very much dislike ebay... so that's why i thought i look elsewhere... & also joined this place now! ;-)

if anybody has or knows a place, where i can buy a qdd for a reasonable price (for a max. of 100 €, but really not much more!) i would be rather happy! :-)

btw: the name "mz-808" is due to the fact that i also make electronic music & love the sound of the roland tr-808 drum machine... & roland also once used qds of the same format like the mz-800, which i loved! ;-)
by now (actually in the last few days) i've even made a track called "mz-808" feat. 2 sounds, which were creted with the Texas Instruments SN76489 Digital Complex Sound Generator (DCSG), which is the chip that creates the sounds in the mz-800 as well, as u probably already know...

i may post a link to the track, in case anybody here has any interest in hearing some weird electronic dance music maybe...? ;-)

i suppose that's all for now from me...

cheers & many greetinx! :-)

olaf a.k.a. mz-808 ;-)