The next year I was gifted with a TK-82C. In fact, it was a ZX-80 clone with a ZX-81 ROM, so no SLOW mode! After a few months I found a NMI generator schematic so I build one for my TK-82C to get the SLOW mode functioning ( Grant Searle's Version of SLOW mode is linked here as a reference) . I also built an external keyboard for it then later I added a 16k RAM expansion to it. The TK-82C allowed me to learn BASIC and it gave me some help with the BASIC language classes at school were we used a TRS-80.

About a year later I bought a COMMODORE VIC-20 (still have this one!). Also about that time, I found the COMPUTE! magazine a great information source to play with. I reworked a tape recorder and build 3k RAM expansion for the VIC-20.

In 1984 I bought my Apple-II+ adding a double floppy unit which gave me two drives, also a monitor, a CPM card, a 128k RAM expansion and a dot matrix printer (Epson MX-80) along the years. I've played a bit with 6502 assembler but the main use of my Apple-II was playing games! And the Nibble magazine turned to be my preferred magazine.

The first time I saw Forth was GraForth on the Apple-II but did not pay much attention to it. Along the years while getting my Electronic Eng. degree and working in the area of test & measurement I learned some other computer languages like Pascal, C, C++, 8086, 8051, Tcl/Tk, etc.. by pure curiosity or eventually to accomplish some tasks at work.

More recently, while surfing the Internet, I had a nostalgic glimpse founding the 'How to Build your own ZX80' page by Grant Searle. This page leads me to 'The Jupiter Ace Hardware' and to the ACE32 MS-DOS emulator from Paul Robson. I was caught by the curiosity so, I started reading about Forth and playing with ACE32. Soon I discovered how smart Forth is and I seek to learn more. I've played with gForth, bigForth, etc. and today I'm trying to tame the Windows GUI with Win32Forth.

I've built in my own Jupiter Ace in "wire-up" adapted to 60Hz TV system. But rarely play with it because of it's instability. One of my future projects is to design a PCB to re-build it.

Nowadays I lead a team of technicians in a vibro-acoustic facility of an automotive company. Developing AceForth programs became one of my hobbies of today. I usually code with pencil & paper in the bus way to work and using the amazing EightOne emulator on weekends at home to test them.

We would like to thank Ricardo for his help with the archive, providing translations, writing great new software. Jupiter Ace help sheets/cards such as the Jupiter Ace Reference Card and the Screen Lay Out Card. The Ace Manual code examples and other items I'm sure we have forgot about! - Thanks.