Games - Sinclair QL

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	Games - Sinclair QL

The Sinclair QL (for Quantum Leap), was a personal computer launched by Sinclair Research in 1984, as the successor to the ZX Spectrum. The QL was aimed at the hobbyist and small business markets, but failed to achieve commercial success.

Description

The QL was originally conceived in 1981 under the code-name ZX83, as a portable computer for business users, with a built-in flat-screen CRT and internal modem. As development progressed, and ZX83 became ZX84, it eventually became clear that the portability features were over-ambitious and the specification was reduced to a conventional desktop configuration.

Based on a Motorola 68008 processor clocked at 7.5 MHz, the QL included 128 kB of RAM (officially expandable to 640 kB) and could be connected to a monitor or TV for display. Two built-in Microdrive tape-loop cartridge drives (first seen as a peripheral for the ZX Spectrum) provided mass storage, in place of the more expensive floppy disk drives found on similar systems of the era. Interfaces included an expansion slot, ROM cartridge socket, dual RS-232 ports, proprietary QLAN local area network ports, dual joystick ports and an external Microdrive bus.

A multitasking operating system, QDOS
, primarily designed by Tony Tebby, was included on ROM, as was an advanced BASIC interpreter, named SuperBASIC designed by Jan Jones. The QL was also bundled with an office suite (word processor, spreadsheet, database, and graphics) written by Psion. Sinclair had commissioned GST Computer Systems to produce an operating system for the machine, but switched to QDOS, developed in-house, before launch. GST's OS, designed by Tim Ward, was later made available as 68K/OS, in the form of an add-on ROM card. The tools developed by GST for the QL would later be used on the Atari ST, where GST object format became standard.

Physically, the QL was the same black colour as the preceding ZX81 and ZX Spectrum models, but introduced a new angular styling theme and keyboard design which would later be seen in the ZX Spectrum+.

History

The QL was the first mass-market personal computer based on the Motorola 68000-series processor family to be released, beating the Apple Macintosh by a month, and the Atari ST by a year. While clock speeds were comparable, the 8-bit databus and cycle stealing of the ZX8301 ULA limited the QL's performance. However, at the time of launch, on January 12, 1984, the QL was far from being ready for production, there being no complete working prototype in existence. Although Sinclair started taking orders immediately, promising delivery within 28 days, first customer deliveries only started, slowly, in April. This provoked much criticism of the company and the attention of the Advertising Standards Authority.

Due to its rushed development, the QL was plagued by a number of problems from release, particularly bugs in the QDOS operating system and SuperBASIC which lead to multiple releases of the firmware. In addition, early production QLs were shipped with an external 16 kB ROM cartridge (infamously known as the "kludge" or "dongle") containing part of the firmware until the QL was redesigned to accommodate the necessary 48 kB of ROM internally, instead of the 32 kB initially specified. The QL also suffered from reliability problems of its Microdrives. These problems were later rectified, by Sinclair engineers, especially on Samsung produced models, as well as by aftermarket firms such as Adman Services and TF Services — to the point where several QL users report their Microdrives working perfectly even after almost 17 years of service (for Samsung QLs) — but in any case much too late to solve the negative image they had already created.

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Games - Sinclair QL

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