COMPATIBILITY

SINCLAIR ZX80 POWER SUPPLY

There are two basic versions of the ZX80 power supply - one rated at 0.6A and the other rated at 0.7A. A ZX80 with Chroma 80 connected takes approxiamtely 0.68A, and when a ZXC ROM cartridge is plugged in then the current usage rises to approximately 0.73A. However, the actual values may vary depending on the particular ZX80 used. The original ZX80 power supply might be able to provide enough power, but it is strongly recommended to use a power supply with a higher current rating, e.g. the 1.2A ZX81 power supply.

SINCLAIR ZX 16K RAM PACK

The Sinclair 16K RAM pack is not required when using the Chroma 80 interface and will not be used if connected.

SINCLAIR ZX PRINTER

The Sinclair ZX Printer is compatible with the Chroma 80 interface when used with a ZX80 fitted with the 8K ROM. The ZX Printer must be connected behind the Chroma 80 interface.

ZXPAND

The ZXpand SD card interface created by Charlie Robson is compatible with the Chroma 80, but note that a replacement ROM is required inside the ZX80. It is imperative to use a higher capacity power supply because the 0.6A - 0.7A available from the Sinclair ZX80 power supply is insufficient.

SLOW MODE BOARD

The Chroma 80 interface supports the SLOW mode board produced by CompShop Ltd, compensating for its misaligned HSync pulses. As a result, it might not correctly support modern SLOW mode board designs that correct for this issue.

NTSC SUPPORT

The Chroma 80 interface operates correctly with a 60Hz ZX80.

TV COMPATIBILITY

Several models of TVs by Panasonic do not appear to implement the SCART specification correctly and will either shift the picture to the left or cause the picture to continually jump left/right. It appears to be due to the TV expecting the video synchronisation signal to contain a colour burst signal, but this should only be required for an RF modulated signal.

USE ON A ZX81

The Chroma 80 interface has been designed for use with the ZX80. Although the ZX81 hardware functionally appears to be a superset of the ZX80, there are some subtle differences in its operation that prevent some facilities from working correctly, e.g. colour modes. Instead the dedicated Chroma 81 interface should be used with the ZX81.