Today, thanks to the Web and the Internet in general, software is incredibly easy to download, distribute and use compared to what happened 40 years ago. Those who have some gray hair remember with nostalgia “the charm” of diskettes and… cassettes. A Slovenian radio, Radio Studenthas recently promoted a really nice initiative: using his FM radio signal, allowed owners of ZX Spectrum systems to record a game weighing 50 KB. The game in question is called Contraband 2and dates back to 1984.
Start recording on cassette and play the game broadcast via FM radio signal
With an initiative that celebrates in one fell swoop the work done by Guglielmo Marconi on radio waves (the 150th anniversary of its birth is being remembered in recent weeks), the usefulness of magnetic recorders, the legacy left to us by 8-bit computers, Radio Student he did something really appreciated.
Transmitting on its frequencies the few bytes that make up the retro game Contraband 2Slovenian radio invited anyone who still had a history ZX Spectrumto download and try the video game.
Just press the REC button, record the audio signal received and insert the cassette into the player connected to the ZX Spectrum to start seeing the screens appear Contraband 2.
The heart of the data transmission process via FM radio frequencies is the frequency modulation itself. In this process, digital data is transferred by modulating the carrier frequency of the radio signal. The bytes of data are converted into changes in the carrier frequency, allowing the signal to carry digital information. It has a little to do with what it is a modem that works in one direction.
What is the ZX Spectrum and what does it look like
ZX Spectrum is an iconic home computer from the 1980s, produced by Sinclair Researcha British company founded by the visionary Sir Clive Sinclair, who passed away in 2021. Launched on the market in 1982, ZX Spectrum played a fundamental role in the diffusion of computing among the general public, contributing to the democratization of access to computing and digital entertainment.
“Under the body” used a chip produced by Zilog, a company founded by the Europen Federico Faggin. The Zilog Z80 CPU, with its patents having expired and support now withdrawn, has seen its free and open implementation appear online.
Powering the ZX Spectrum was, as mentioned, a processor Z80A a 3,5 MHz and had a base RAM memory of 16 KB, expandable up to 48 KB or even 128 KB with the use of external expansions. The graphics were handled by a ULA chip (Uncommitted Logic Array) which could manage a maximum resolution of 256×192 pixels in 8 bright colors.
One of the most distinctive aspects of the ZX Spectrum was its system loading via cassette. Games, for example, were recorded as analog audio signals on tape and had to be loaded through a procedure that involved using specific commands.
Smuggling the ZX Spectrum
The initiative promoted by Slovenian radio, a geographical area once part of the former Yugoslavia, comes 40 years after the launch of Contraband 2. The name is a clear reference to the activity of smuggling of the ZX Spectrum system.
During the 1980s, trade restrictions imposed by the Yugoslav government limited the import of consumer goods Western countries, including technological products such as the ZX Spectrum. However, there was a strong desire from citizens to access these advanced technologies. As a result, a thriving black market for such goods developed, with devices such as the ZX Spectrum being smuggled.
Indeed, the activity of the Yugoslav developers was appreciated by many in that period, also from a purely technical point of view. As, Radio Student also wanted to demonstrate a further important aspect: banning the import or export of goods that help progress and innovation, in any sector, will ultimately end up being counterproductive. Who knows if it is an implicit reference to the decisions still taken overseas today.
Anyone who doesn’t have a ZX Spectrum system “at hand” can try it Contraband 2 and other well-known titles with the Internet Archive emulator.
Opening image credit: Radio Študent.