Timex Sinclair 1000
Introduced:July 1982
Price:US $99.95
How many?500,000 in first 6 months
Weight:12 ounces
CPU:Zilog Z80A, 3.25MHz
RAM:2K, 64K max
Display:22 X 32 text
hooks to TV
Ports:memory, cassette
Peripherals:Cassette recorder
T/S printer
OS:ROM BASIC

The Timex Sinclair 1000 is the North American version of the Sinclair ZX-81, from British based Sinclair Research Ltd. They are nearly identical, except for the name on the front, and minor motherboard layout differences.

The first Sinclair computer was the ZX-80, released in 1980 for $200.00.
It was still very popular when they came out with the improved ZX-81 in 1981.
By mid 1982, Timex was selling the ZX-81, renaming it as the 'Timex Sinclair 1000'. The system shown above has the optional 16K memory expansion unit attached to the back.


Other peripherals are available besides the 16K RAM pack, a cassette recorder for data storage, and a thermal printer for hardcopy.

At $99.95, it was the cheapest computer you could buy, and Timex sold over 600,000 of them. It sounded like a great idea, to get a computer for $99.95, but it was probably more trouble than it was worth. Read more about it on the ZX-81 page.

The entire TS-1000 computer is a single circuit board with only 4 IC chips.


In August 1982, Popular Science published an article about the Timex Sinclair computer.

In January of 1983, BYTE also published a very extensive article.
Timex eventually released a couple more computers:
  • TS-1500 (July 1983) - A larger TS-1000 with more memory and a better keyboard
  • TS-2068 (Nov. 1983) - This is the first Timex computer that was NOT a clone of a Sinclair product. It is based on the Sinclair 48K Spectrum, but with major changes - a cartridge port, different memory configuration, and a different sound ship. Unfortunately, this means it is no longer 100% software-compatible with the Spectrum computer which it was built upon.


    The TS-2068 was Timex's first color system. It utilizes a cassette recorder for data storage, and has tiny ROM cartridges with pre-programmed applications.

    Unfortunately, it is also their last system, as Timex dropped out of the computer market a few months later in the Spring of 1984.

    Related Links

  • T/S 1000
  • Mainbyte's Home of the TS 1000

    • History of Sinclair Computers

    • 1980: February - Sinclair Research announces the ZX80 computer in the North American market.
    • 1981: March - Sinclair unveils the ZX81 in the UK, based on the Z80A microprocessor.
    • 1981: December - Sinclair Research reports that it has shipped 250,000 ZX81 personal computers.
    • 1982: April - Sinclair Research introduces the Sinclair ZX Spectrum in the UK.
    • 1982: July - Timex Computer begins selling the Timex Sinclair 1000 through over 1000 Timex retail outlets.
    • 1982: August - Sinclair Research reports that it has shipped 500,000 ZX81 personal computers in over 30 countries.
    • 1983: January - Timex introduces the Timex/Sinclair 2000, which is their re-packaged Sinclair Spectrum for the North American market.
      Source: Chronology of Events in the History of Microcomputers



    Return to the Obsolete Technology Homepage