Battery Powered Portable ZX Spectrum! Omni 128 HQ Laptop

Battery Powered Portable ZX Spectrum! Omni 128 HQ Laptop - Hands On Test!

Рет қаралды 25,128

6 жыл бұрын

Join me as I take a look at the ZX Spectrum Omni Laptop. A self contained battery powered laptop manufactured from new parts. The internal board is designed by Don Superfo and the case is manufactured and designed by Djordje Mitic of Retro Radionics. In europe it will be available from www.zxrenew.co.uk.
The laptop can have up to eight roms installed, and features SE Basic by Andrew Owen as well as the 128k Toastrack Rom and the Amstrad 128k +2e.
This is a cursory look as we are all limited for time but I am very impressed with how this project has turned out and had a lot of fun with it. The Laptop is based on the Omni Desktop, which I also have and will be doing some further videos featuring.
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Пікірлер: 116

@MarkFixesStuff 6 жыл бұрын

Really interested to hear your thoughts on this. It's a brand new ZX Spectrum Laptop and no Sinclair Spectrums were harmed in the making of this device. The ZX Omni desktop is also available, and a beautiful thing if portability is not for you. That being said, the ZX Omni Desktop can also take batteries as well...

@Rick_Todd 6 жыл бұрын

Looks nice , It reminds me of the C64p

@BongWeasle 5 жыл бұрын

Ordered an omni 128 They stole my money, and sent nothing, don’t answer emails. It’s a scam don’t deal with this company. Thanks for the recommendation Mark.

@robsku1 4 жыл бұрын

So this laptop actually has a battery as well? It'd be a bit odd if it was built to work only when hooked to power jack....

@andre0000000007 3 жыл бұрын

Hey Mark, i'm looking at buying the OMNI, do you know if it has 'save state' by any chance? I'd like to go back to games of my youth and try to complete them lol.. i think the next has it but it's hard to find at a reasonable price

@robertmiles9942 Жыл бұрын

I just received mine today. Took it all to pieces to get the protective film off the screen and adjust a few things. This thing is a tinker's delight, have already done a bit of hot glue and solder touch-up. Put a pair of 18650 batteries in there, and am figuring out the dip switches and reading docs this evening. Plan to put Chaos Wizard War on it and drag it off to my friend's house to challenge him to that which we used to play as kids..

@MarkFixesStuff Жыл бұрын

Chaos is a timeless game. Enjoy.

@elmosexwhistle 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the review, Mark. I ordered the desktop (non screen) version yesterday. Looking forward to owning a speccy again. I’ve been without one since 1997ish (I started to emulate everything) and have spent today making a list of all the music software, trackers etc and all the games I’m gonna put on it :)

@46danz 5 жыл бұрын

Really cool thing,fairly priced and looks well thought out and made to a high standard.Definite thumbs up.

@DouglasTitchmarsh 6 жыл бұрын

This is a great bit of kit, I bought the OMNI without the laptop addition. I have to agree it is well made and lots of features to try out.

@Crimean_Stargazer 3 жыл бұрын

Good ZX Spectrum laptop. I never thought it existed. Thank you, it was interesting.

@MarkFixesStuff 3 жыл бұрын

Glad you liked it!

@sweetlilmre 6 жыл бұрын

Brilliant! Love Slap Fight. Thanks for the top review as always and I hope this signals a return to more KZfaq from you.

@MarkFixesStuff 6 жыл бұрын

Always trying to support the retro scene, although time is limited.

@JetmanUK 6 жыл бұрын

This is a very cool bit of tech. Nice vid.

@MarkFixesStuff 6 жыл бұрын

It really is a very nice thing indeed. Glad you like the video! 😀

@minerwilly 5 жыл бұрын

Great review, and good to hear the word "twatted" used in a Z80 context.

@retrogamingrepairs6053 5 жыл бұрын

Awesome, I remember playing Rainbow Islands during my childhood. Spent hours on the game!

@numbers9to0 5 жыл бұрын

Speedking! \ö/ Loved this joystick.

@MarkFixesStuff 5 жыл бұрын

Still my favourite. Always like to hold my stick in me hand :P

@thesadken 6 жыл бұрын

Looks really interesting, definitely one to add to the ever growing wish list ;)

@MarkFixesStuff 6 жыл бұрын

My list is growing longer by the day. The Omni is a great idea though.

@BongWeasle 5 жыл бұрын

Don’t buy one it’s a scam, they just take your money and send nothing.

@kakabixlis 6 жыл бұрын

Heeey mate!long time no see!!good to have a new vid!! :) and an sweet speccy laptop :D!

@MarkFixesStuff 6 жыл бұрын

I'm not allowed to keep it!

@davidretrogamesplayedbadly3533 6 жыл бұрын

Great video mark, not heard that monty tune in years. Think I need to revisit the series. Think you could join baz and I playing game's badly, I think you've definitely got the skills. I'm a great believer in using the full screen. Brilliant machine, looks really well built, love the built in screen and the fact it covers all the different models.

@MarkFixesStuff 6 жыл бұрын

This theme tune is genuinely my favourite piece of game music. Monty games are nails hard though, so can be frustrating. Regarding the *games played badly, I'm not really a gamer as such. The ZX Omni is a great machine and the addition of the screen is a fun idea.

@BongWeasle 5 жыл бұрын

Don’t buy from these people it’s a scam.

@BollingHolt 2 жыл бұрын

I never had a Spectrum, but my first computer was a (what it was called in the US) a Timex Sinclair. I was very, very little, and graduated to a TRS-80 CoCo 2 by the time I turned five. I never really knew how amazingly capable these later Sinclair machines were until recently by watching KZfaq videos about them.

@MarkFixesStuff 2 жыл бұрын

A TS1000 was very similar to a Sinclair Spectrum. really capable for the time, but like all these things they are hard to appreciate within the context of the time, especially when the "next big thing" arrives and makes it look very poor indeed by comparison. Have you seen some of the modern titles programmed for the Spectrum? Dream Walker, Gluf and Castlevania: Spectral Interlude are all really quite amazing.

@debatabletruths6687 3 жыл бұрын

So glad they decided to go with the issue #1 grey keys.

@MrRazp 2 жыл бұрын

Отличный обзор!!! Замечательный компьютер!

@MarkFixesStuff 2 жыл бұрын

Спасибо, мой друг!

@Havanacuba1985 3 жыл бұрын

Damn I need one of these

@MarkFixesStuff 3 жыл бұрын

zxrenew.co.uk/ZX-Omni-c48969124 for reorders on the next batch.

@RockyBergen 6 жыл бұрын

I REALLY want this! As a Canadian, a new hardware clone just makes sense. I don't share the same nostalgia (C64 guy) but I am eager to explore all the great Speccy ports I see on KZfaq.

@MarkFixesStuff 6 жыл бұрын

I am also a c64 guy but with the Spectrum nostalgia. Even if you didn't grow up in Britain in the 80's, these games informed the world of computer games in far reaching ways. 😃

@BongWeasle 5 жыл бұрын

Don’t order one they will just steal your money, as they did with me, ordered one 3 months ago and nothing....don’t even reply to emails.

@TiberiusWallace 5 жыл бұрын

@@BongWeasle i think you're alone tbh.

@robertmiles9942 Жыл бұрын

@@MarkFixesStuff Haha the Spectrum leaked into my subconscious through its C64 ports without me ever realizing it. the first time i saw one as an adult, I recognized it instantly! C64 ports with Spectrum look and feel: Exolon, Skool Daze, Karnov, Robocop, and more...

@sbmicro1896 Жыл бұрын

Hi, Did the formatted SD card come with the computer?

@neilgillmore 6 жыл бұрын

A piece of spectral art.... :)

@MarkFixesStuff 6 жыл бұрын

It is simultaneously the most beautiful and the most nuts thing I've ever seen 😂

@EnjoySynthSounds Жыл бұрын

A Speccy + model would be great.

@Rick_Todd 6 жыл бұрын

Hi , Mark , Nice to you back , Still waiting on that Part 3 C64 Tapuino Build . LOL

@Rick_Todd 6 жыл бұрын

There's a Tiny Mini Tapuino out now as well.

@MarkFixesStuff 6 жыл бұрын

Would you believe that I STILL haven't had a chance to finish the Tapuino!

@Rick_Todd 6 жыл бұрын

I look forward to it ...

@MarkFixesStuff 6 жыл бұрын

Me too!

@jorge1170xyz 3 жыл бұрын

I would love for somebody to do this for the Atari 800XL. That library is very good, and now has a lot of excellent homebrews too. Of course you can emulate, but a mini laptop (or even just a mini) with the proper key layout would be the best.

@MarkFixesStuff 3 жыл бұрын

For Atari stuff you should talk to Zaxon hahah!

@davidspencer7254 6 жыл бұрын

I'm sold.

@Muckypaws 3 жыл бұрын

Anyone know how I can get HDMI working? I've tried a SCART to HDMI adaptor but the machine won't start up.

@mmadmic 9 ай бұрын

This "dip switches" panel reminds me of thr 80-90s when to change config on a machine, you must use dip switches. Not really on Speccy but on printers to switch from IBM to Epson mode or on PC ISA cards to change IRQ DMA to avoid conflicts or just have the card recognized.

@MarkFixesStuff 9 ай бұрын

Yes! I remember this too. Change a printer to Epson ESC/P2 mode or some modems as well.

@DisgracedSoul 3 жыл бұрын

Hi never had micro nostalgia but this looks nice! Forgive if it was in your video does it play 128 games and does it carry audio over the hdmi?

@MarkFixesStuff 3 жыл бұрын

Sorry - missed this! 128k yes, but the HDMI is non fucntional at present and will be implemented in the future I am told. The RGB output is sharp as a razor anyway,

@kaiser76 4 жыл бұрын

AY sound chip is in or emulated?

@BBC600 5 жыл бұрын

That looks cool if only the edge connector worked with a printer for use with Tassword II.

@jamesroberts7339 4 жыл бұрын

Mark, have you done the audio mod on this yet? Would be good to hear a before and after comparison.

@MarkFixesStuff 4 жыл бұрын

I don't really know about an audio mod for the Omni. Do you mean the Spectrum +3?

@jamesroberts7339 4 жыл бұрын

Mark Fixes Stuff There’s a mod to increase volume of beeper on Omni as it’s so quiet. The R45 resistor is a 47K and needs replacing with a 10K. It’s a surface mount resistor but doable. Other option is to piggyback a resistor over the top. On Facebook someone calculated the right resistor value for a piggyback as 12.7.

@krige Ай бұрын

16:26 What's the difference between the speccy rom and the toastrack? What's the battery life?

@MarkFixesStuff Ай бұрын

Sorry Krige, this was lost when my house burned down. I think there is still a facebook group with FAQs.

@rjethorpe 4 ай бұрын

I have one. Its great. but how on earth do you load on roms? I have put a memory card in withg a couple but I cant see how you navigate through the memory? Any ideas?

@MarkFixesStuff 4 ай бұрын

Mine was lost in my house fire and I can’t remember. There is a useful group for the ZX Omni on Facebook with docs etc in their files section.

@picklerick4944 5 жыл бұрын

So for only £15 more than a Vega + you could have this bad boy? I kind of regret buying a divMMC for £69 when I could have had this!

@ronnyverminck2741 3 жыл бұрын

at 14:58 the switches say S1 S2 S3 for rom select, but you change S7 S8 S9 ??

@MarkFixesStuff 3 жыл бұрын

I'll be honest and say I think I might have messed up there. I had so little time with the unit and was a bit green around the gills. I wonder if it's worth revisiting the Omni now it's been released properly and giving it a proper in depth video?

@pandoraefretum 3 жыл бұрын

Fab - Where can I get one ?

@8bitromania263 Жыл бұрын

i will also buy one

@stevengailey2884 6 жыл бұрын

Interesting wee thing, I'll keep an eye on it's progress & probably get one in the future Now...my question is where can I buy hinges like those? They look like laptop screen hinges but more genetic.

@MarkFixesStuff 6 жыл бұрын

I genuinely don't know. Djordje might be able to help though. I suspect he makes them in-house.

@BongWeasle 5 жыл бұрын

Don’t buy one it’s a scam.

@10p6 5 жыл бұрын

Nice video. I really wish though that people would not refer to Sinclair basic as tokenized as it is not. A tokenized basic sets a token for a specific keyword, but Sinclair basic does not do that, as every keyword is part of the character set so can be chosen in 1 byte, just like A, B, C....

@MarkFixesStuff 5 жыл бұрын

+10p6 Ah. I see what you mean. I must admit that I just read that the basic was tokenised in a couple of places because one keypress invokes a command and thought it was correct. Thanks for the info and thank you for watching :)

@10p6 5 жыл бұрын

@@MarkFixesStuff I think some jealous Commodore fans have been editing Wiki as to not be left out LOL. Keep up the great videos :-)

@MarkFixesStuff 5 жыл бұрын

@@10p6 LOL. This beige loving gits.

@ruicunha103 Жыл бұрын

where to get the software to install into sd card?

@MarkFixesStuff Жыл бұрын

There is a ZX Omni group on Facebook. Try asking there.

@discoHR 6 жыл бұрын

Z key is already stuck... While I do like the features, I'm not a fan of two different items hinged together and using an external cable in-between. They should really do it properly with two pieces of the case with same design and flat cable(s) going through the hinge(s).

@MarkFixesStuff 6 жыл бұрын

Yes, with the new key mats they are very springy when brand new and take a while to "break in". On my own machines I give them a good stretching out and a bit of a hammering which sorts out the key tension. It's hard to explain. On your second point, yes it is a ZX Omni with a portable screen attachment and that shows. It reminds me of the Gamecube and Playstation screens that were available. I'm sure Djordje will see your feedback here regardless, as he's the guy who needs to see any and all reactions. He's very open to opinion.

@BongWeasle 5 жыл бұрын

Your lucky you got one all I got was a 176 quid hole in my bank account. Scammers.

@chrisshaw451 6 жыл бұрын

Looks very interesting, tried the zxrenew.co.uk site but It comes back with a server not found error page.

@MarkFixesStuff 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the heads up. It looks like the www must be used as it won't get to the site without it! I have edited the text above. www.zxrenew.co.uk

@BongWeasle 5 жыл бұрын

Don’t buy one it’s a scam

@ba55bar 5 жыл бұрын

hate the speedking as i'm lefthanded. my brother had one and i just couldn't use it

@MarkFixesStuff 5 жыл бұрын

ba55bar so many joysticks were unfriendly for lefties.

@medes5597 5 жыл бұрын

Have you tried the speedking left handed mods? I just did a few for someone and they seemed pretty great. No idea where he got the left handed speedking shells from, as they just sent me the joysticks and the new plastics to put together for them (via Fiverr) but I'm assuming someone on Etsy or similar must be selling them.

@ba55bar 5 жыл бұрын

anything with a grip was generally only for right hookers. this is how i became a whizz on the keyboard

@ba55bar 5 жыл бұрын

homemade shells?

@medes5597 5 жыл бұрын

@@ba55bar the plastic outer shell I mean (the grip and everything). It's possible he 3D printed them at home but he had a few and they didn't seem 3D printed to me, more injection moulded. So I would guess someone out here is selling left handed speed king shells for leftys.

@ojbeez5260 3 жыл бұрын

Has Clive Sinclair see this?

@RichSzerman 4 жыл бұрын

The display doesn't show in the entire screen area

@jamesroberts7339 4 жыл бұрын

Rich Szerman It’s up to the user whether he chooses to stretch the screen to 16:9 aspect ratio. The controls to do this are on the side of the screen.

@jameswalker199 4 жыл бұрын

Its sort of a shame they are stretching the screen to 16:9 rather than zooming it. With the spectrum having those overscan bars they could cut away a lot of the top and bottom of the screen without cutting off important data; filling the screen and maintaining a 4:3 ratio. They probably can't do that, though, because something tells me the screen internals are off the shelf.

@robertmiles9942 Жыл бұрын

Yeah it's just a straight up spectrum with no custom video emulation, and the LCD panel is a very basic AV monitor like you'd attach to a car DVD player in the 2000s. It's really just fine in 4:3 mode though, plenty of resolution.

@jamesbellegarde2893 3 жыл бұрын

I truly amazing device at the right time, however in Atari ST or in amigo laptop to truly change the world especially here in North America.

@ZXDunny 3 жыл бұрын

I used to work for a company back in 1993 that made an Amiga laptop. They did exist, but they didn't change the world.

@NM-zq5tf 5 жыл бұрын

Does it work on American tvs?

@MarkFixesStuff 5 жыл бұрын

I think it is a PAL RGB signal, so your set would need to support that? I think some LCDs might by it's unlikely that many CRT screens in the states would.

@NM-zq5tf 5 жыл бұрын

@@MarkFixesStuff Finally an answer, this information should really be on the website. Thank you

@nemasprobleamas8465 6 жыл бұрын

nice done, sell them on ebay

@jamesbellegarde2893 3 жыл бұрын

An amazing device, but the North American world to change with the Atari ST or commodore Amiga laptop

@oleg6119 3 жыл бұрын

Даа. Были времена, когда цвета радуги не несли скрытый смысл...

@BazzaHSpeccymad 6 жыл бұрын

That looks great. You have a woman's hands btw

@MarkFixesStuff 6 жыл бұрын

You have a woman's beard..

@BazzaHSpeccymad 6 жыл бұрын

Mark Fixes Stuff - Retro Console and Computer Repairs, Reviews and MORE! My wife lets me borrow it

@AlexOjideagu2 5 жыл бұрын

You have a woman's purse m'lord

@stevenixx3595 5 жыл бұрын

@@MarkFixesStuff haha you DO have a womans hands

@MarkFixesStuff 5 жыл бұрын

@@stevenixx3595 Why are you even looking in my fridge?

@BongWeasle 5 жыл бұрын

I ordered an omni 3 months ago....and nothing, they don’t even answer my emails. It’s a scam.

@MarkFixesStuff 5 жыл бұрын

Hi Hooded Claw. Of course I'm just a reviewer but I have contacted Djordje and asked him to get in touch with you in order to sort this issue out. He responded to me last night that he will investigate.