On 12/06/2012 10:29, Norman Dunbar wrote:
Morning all,
On 12/06/12 09:58, Rich Mellor wrote:
It is just a shame that there was not all this enthusiasm and discussion
some months ago when Adrian needed to see some interest in the QL-SD
Interface.
Agreed. I think it's truly wonderful that people are still putting
effort and time and money (too many "ands", not enough commas!) into
hardware for the old QL.
Unfortunately, what is the ratio of people using QLs as opposed to
emulators or even QXL cards (anyone still running one?)
While an SD drive would have been a brilliant addition to a QL, it's
hardly of use on an emulator on a PC.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not peeing on anyone's chips here (to use one
of my wife's Yorkshire expressions!), Adrian, Dave, Nasta etc are to
be admired and encouraged for their efforts - unfortunately, we live
in a country/world where encouragement is not really, ahem, encouraged.
Personally, I think that an internally fitted option is a non-starter -
collectors want to keep the QL as original as possible, but still have a
simple means of getting software onto the computer and using it
Agreed. What use is an old QL if it doesn't have loads of cables and
extensions hanging off of and out of every orifice?
Mine used to have Trump Card or Gold Card, Miracle Hard Drive, Miracle
Serial to Parallel converter, and a mouse hanging off the other serial
port. With the Gold Card I had the 4 drive expander card, a pair of HD
floppy drives and a pair of ED floppy drives.
And for my Quanta sub-librarian duties, I also had a 5.25" floppy
drive for the people needing software on that.
Not to mention my Star LC10 Colour printer. There was no room for me
on the computer table - thank god I didn't have a separate keyboard!
Something to fit internally would have been great - in my case!
> ...
As to whether it is viable commercially, who was it that said 'Build it
and they will come' ?
Henry Ford?
...
I have to draw parallels here with the ZXpand interface for the ZX81 -
Hmmm. Ok, I loved my ZX-81 and I wish I still had it. But, how many
ZX-81s sold compared to QLs? It's all down to numbers I'm afraid. If
yo have 20 million of one and 75 thousand of another, which are you
going to target with a commercial offering? (Those numbers are grabbed
out of the air and bear no resemblance to anything accurate, by the way.)
admittedly there was an upsurge in interest because of its 30th
anniversary (we need to start on plans for something to celebrate the
QL's 30th anniversary ....),
Already? (2014 i think!) - it was only half an hour ago it was the QL
is 21! Time flies. (Which is its job after all!)
however, the original designer was planning
to build 20-25 interfaces and sell them just for the cost of the parts.
A hobby then, not really a commercial interest.
Although there were not even 20 people who had expressed an interest,
following discussions, we decided to get 150 units made, and sell them
commercially - and are now just starting to get the next batch of 200
interfaces made (having sold out). The original designer has made a nice
little profit on his efforts and it has inspired him to create more
hardware for the ZX81 (an AY sound and joystick module) which has
similarly sold well.
This is a good thing, but I'm not so sure it would work in the QL
realm, due to numbers of original sales, and comparing physical QLs
still in use with those that are in use on assorted emulators on PCs
and Macs.
Just my £0.02.
Cheers,
Norm.
I agree that there were more ZX81s made than QLs but I wonder how many
ZX81 are now used as door stops....
Just some figures to help people realise the potential of the QL Market...
I have sold 540 + QL keyboard membranes since 2008 ( I think that's when
I started!) - other companies also sell membranes, so I don't know what
their figures are...
I have 1227 customers who have purchased something QL related from me
over the years (with 1028 current email addresses)
Compare this to the ZX81, where I have sold over 1050 ZX81 keyboard
membranes since 2009 (although I am the only company who gets these made)
I have 722 customers who have purchased something ZX81 related from me
over the years (with 708 current email addresses)
That suggests 1 in 5 ZX81 customers have purchased a ZXpand interface -
so if we said 1 in 20 QL customers wanted a QL-SD interface, that would
still equate to 50 interfaces being sold!
It just goes to show that if you find the right product, the market is
out there!
--
Rich Mellor
RWAP Services
Specialist Enuuk Auction Programming Services
www.rwapservices.co.uk
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