EightyOne
EightyOne is a Windows emulator for Sinclair ZX home computers and their clones, including ZX80, ZX81, and ZX Spectrum models.
What EightyOne is
EightyOne is a Windows emulator for Sinclair ZX home computers and their clones, including ZX80, ZX81, and ZX Spectrum models. It emulates the ZX80 and ZX81 display mechanisms with clock accuracy and supports add-on interfaces for storage, high-resolution graphics, custom character sets, sound, and colour. Debugger facilities include screen controls and execution breakpoints, and the emulator offers tools to view and save BASIC programs as images or text and load listings from text files. Media support covers tape and disk images, snapshots, ZIP-compressed media, Microdrive cartridges, and several IDE or CompactFlash interfaces. Version 1.41 adds a full-screen option and emulation for speech interfaces; its release notes also list sound options, joystick support, and floppy-image writing and protection features. The project is open source under GPLv2. Its creator is no longer actively developing the emulator and made the code available for others to extend.
Good
- Emulates ZX80, ZX81, and ZX Spectrum models.
- Includes debugger facilities and execution breakpoints.
- Supports tape, disk, snapshot, and Microdrive media.
- Lists joystick, sound, and speech interface support.
- Open source under GPLv2.
Watch out
- Available for Windows.
- The creator is no longer actively developing it.
Who it suits
EightyOne suits Windows users interested in emulating Sinclair ZX computers and experimenting with their peripherals, media, or BASIC programs. Its debugger and development documentation may also appeal to users extending the emulator.
Verdict
EightyOne covers multiple Sinclair ZX models, peripherals, media formats, and BASIC tools in a Windows emulator. Its inactive original development is a consideration for users seeking ongoing development from the creator.
The facts
Each one read from EightyOne's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Audience
- The project lists End Users/Desktop as its intended audience.checked 3 Oct 2026
- BASIC listings
- The release notes say the BASIC Listing window refreshes automatically after loading programs from cassette through ZX80, ZX81, and ZX Spectrum ROMs.checked 2 Oct 2026
- BASIC tools
- Release notes describe tools to view and save BASIC programs as bitmap or text and to load BASIC listings from text files for ZX80, ZX81 and Spectrum models.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Debugger
- The emulator includes comprehensive debugger facilities.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Debugging
- The release notes describe debug screen controls and execution breakpoints, including breakpoints above RAMTOP.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Development
- The project page says creator Michael D Wynne is no longer actively developing the emulator and made the code open source for others to extend.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Display
- Version 1.41 added a full screen option under View → Zoom.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Display emulation
- The project describes clock-accurate emulation of the ZX81 and ZX80 display mechanisms.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Documentation
- The repository's Documentation directory contains a document titled “EightyOne Development Environment.docx.”checked 2 Oct 2026
- Download artifacts
- The GitHub repository has a Release Files directory containing documentation, examples, and ROM-related folders.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Hardware interfaces
- It supports add-on interfaces for storage devices, hi-res graphics, custom character sets, sound and colour cards.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Joysticks
- The release notes list joystick support for Kempston, Fuller, Sinclair 1, Sinclair 2, Cursor, and Boldfield, with autofire support.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Latest listed release
- The project’s SourceForge files page lists EightyOne V1.26.zip dated February 4, 2022.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Latest release
- The repository lists Version 1.41 as the latest release.checked 2 Oct 2026
- License
- The SourceForge project page lists the license as GNU General Public License version 2.0 (GPLv2).checked 3 Oct 2026
- Licensing
- The repository lists a GPL text file in its Release Files directory.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Media and drives
- The release notes describe support for Spectrum floppy disk images, formatting, writing, and write protection, plus Microdrive cartridge write protection.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Product
- EightyOne emulates Sinclair ZX home computers and their clones, primarily the ZX80 and ZX81, as well as ZX Spectrum models.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Project profile
- The GitHub repository is public and its About section says no description or website is provided.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- EightyOne is a computer emulator project; its latest release notes document emulation for ZX80 and ZX81 computers.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Repository
- The maker’s GitHub repository is public and its About section provides no description, website or topics.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Sound
- Release notes describe sound emulation features including AY sound controls, stereo or mono mixing, speech interfaces and MIDI output for some Spectrum models.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Speech emulation
- Version 1.41 added emulation of speech interfaces including The Parrot, Sweet Talker, Voice Synthesiser, Fuller Orator, and S-Pack.checked 2 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Platform
- The project lists Windows as its operating system and provides Windows downloads.checked 3 Oct 2026
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