Favorite childhood toy

[Admin]

After reading the chopper thread it brought back memories of my childhood. I sat there pondering what was my absolute favorite toy!

In 1981 I got a Sinclair ZX81, I was 11 years old and I learnt to program in basic on it. I wrote little computer games and it started something that would stay with me as my main hobby and job.

These days most peoples chip and pin cards have more power and memory!

 

[oldish hippy]

well if you looked at google on st georges day it was 30 years old then and the google doodle was done like a spectrum graphic


The 'doodle' features St George on a horse, taking on a dragon. It is based on the ZX's 8-bit style graphics familiar to a generation of computer users, particularly in the UK, for whom it was often their first experience of computing.

 

[n7ogp]

The only toy that I can remember from my childhood is my chopper bike, and I had 4 all together the last one was a brand new chopper in black with silver logos, I did want a computer like a sinclaire or a commodore 64 but my mother wouldn't buy me one, she said all I will do is play games. I hated playing games and still do I get really frustrated,

 

[Neckender]

A wooden trolley that we made ourselves with four pram wheels a single bolt in the middle of the stearing and a piece of string to hold on and stear. We lived at the top of a long hill.

John.

 

[donkey too]

After reading the chopper thread it brought back memories of my childhood. I sat there pondering what was my absolute favorite toy!

In 1981 I got a Sinclair ZX81, I was 11 years old and I learnt to program in basic on it. I wrote little computer games and it started something that would stay with me as my main hobby and job.

These days most peoples chip and pin cards have more power and memory!

View attachment 5335

I remeber my brov in law having one of these when he left 6th form and went to uni. think if I remember right he had to have a tape recorder and telyscreen with it. He is now a professor in the computer world and works for the Euro gov at a VERY good salary.

 

[donkey too]

As for my own Fav toy... Well I still play with it when I am bored;
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IT IS A KALIEDERSCOPE.:lol-053::lol-053::lol-053::lol-053::lol-053::lol-053:

 

[Deleted member 21686]

A wooden trolley that we made ourselves with for pram wheels a single bolt in the middle of the stearing and a piece of string to hold on and stear. We lived at the top of a long hill.

John.

We called these Bogey's and I made many.

A pair of pram wheels were prized possessions in my day.

 

[northernspirit2001]

After reading the chopper thread it brought back memories of my childhood. I sat there pondering what was my absolute favorite toy!

In 1981 I got a Sinclair ZX81, I was 11 years old and I learnt to program in basic on it. I wrote little computer games and it started something that would stay with me as my main hobby and job.

These days most peoples chip and pin cards have more power and memory!

View attachment 5335

I remember getting a 16k RAM pack for mine. I banged on about it all the time so my parents unkindly called me "Professor RAMpack"! Unfortunately I didn't persevere with my fascination. Now I still bang on about it much to the dismay of my 15 years old son but I just cannot stop being amazed that the awesome 16k then is now a couple of pixels in a modern photo

 

[northernspirit2001]

Action Man

Call it dolls for boys but the rubber gripping fingers and bristle "real" hair Action Man was ace. Spent hours making HQ's and bunkers out of cardboard boxes, sending them down zip wires from my bedroom window into the garden and "blowing scenes up" building a scene at the end of a plank see-saw then jumping on the other end.

 

[grumpyengraver]

Toys

I didn't have many toys as a kid, the only one that I can remember was a wooden tommy gun made for me by my uncle. I took that gun every where but one day left it on a playing field.
when I got home and relised I didn't have it with me I ran all the way back, must have been no longer than 10-15 mins, but someone had already found it.
Was I upset not half, cried for days.


grumpyengraver

Tony

PS now you know why I'm Grumpy :wacko:

 

[Robmac]

Call it dolls for boys but the rubber gripping fingers and bristle "real" hair Action Man was ace. Spent hours making HQ's and bunkers out of cardboard boxes, sending them down zip wires from my bedroom window into the garden and "blowing scenes up" building a scene at the end of a plank see-saw then jumping on the other end.

I believe one or two on here used to dress their Action Men in ladies clothes. You know who you are!

 

[fishy & Nina]

Home made skateboard - well before they became available in shops - just a small plank of wood with steerable roller skate wheels screwed on (2 very upset sisters.........................).
None of these fancy tricks they get up to these days, just pure speeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed!:wacko:

 

[David & Ann]

I remember my favourite toy was the rim of a cycle wheel. I would have a stick to guide it and run along the sidewalk for ages. I think it was between 1946 and 1948, before I up graded to my next toy, a Mechano set. ☺

 

[John H]

Toys? Toys? You were lucky to have toys - all we had were the unexploded bombs thoughtfully provided by that nice man Hitler and the dead mice provided by next door's cat......

Seriously, though, it has to be Meccano.

 

[Robmac]

I had a 'Johnny Seven' which was a plastic machine gun with all sorts of attachments, like grenade launcher, rocket launcher, periscope. But it didn't affect me, so don't say it did or I'll come round and shoot yer

 

[Bigpeetee]

After reading the chopper thread it brought back memories of my childhood. I sat there pondering what was my absolute favorite toy!

In 1981 I got a Sinclair ZX81, I was 11 years old and I learnt to program in basic on it. I wrote little computer games and it started something that would stay with me as my main hobby and job.

These days most peoples chip and pin cards have more power and memory!

View attachment 5335

Before these "Posh" computers I had one called an ORIC, very simple with the usual cassette player & TV monitor.
6502 processor running at 2meg, I think it had 8k ram. Processor same as the BBC.

Now if you could write in machine code (what's that most will ask!) then it's surprising what it could do!

I was in telecomms R&D and my first processor controlled switch was based on a 6502 processor with 16k ram.
Did a lot of development work using a Beeb

All this bloatware from programmers who don't understand the basic principles!!

PS same processor was used in the first night vision systems for British military, all written in machine code for speed of operation

As a kid, I used to build transmitters and receivers, modifying ex WW2 equipment etc
I claim to have one of the first portable telephones using a simple VHF oscillator to transmit from the handset and a Sinclair matchbox receiver, all built into an ordinary handset.

Other fun was to get government surplus batteries of either 90 or 135v, connect a few in series and leave two pieces of copper pipe coming out of my rucksack with a sign saying "Danger High Voltage" There was always someone who would try it!!

Alternatively, connect ten in series and wire to a 4B pencil, you can strike an arc and if close to say a Physics bench, then it would char the wood, you could then slowly burn your initials into the bench and with even more batteries, have it glowing!!

Sadly with the demise of suitable government surplus and the increase of Health & Safety, Kids cant experiment and have fun, with a few painful mishaps!!

A damage was done purely in the aid of scientific exploration, Honest!!

 

[bethatthehug]

I saved up my pocket money for a Spectrum, which I think my dad still has in his loft! Played Jetpac a lot, and programmed it a bit in basic and assembler. But it wasn't a toy.

My favourite toy, was and still is, my Teddy Bear called Blue. Gran made him for one of her sons apparently, but I adopted or was given him some years later.

 

[maingate]

I remember my favourite toy was the rim of a cycle wheel. I would have a stick to guide it and run along the sidewalk for ages. ☺

I had one as well. :wave:

I remember the day that I went to the coast with it and somebody stole it. :sad:

I had to walk all the way home. :lol-049:

 

[Admin]

Before these "Posh" computers I had one called an ORIC, very simple with the usual cassette player & TV monitor.
6502 processor running at 2meg, I think it had 8k ram. Processor same as the BBC.

I remember the ORIC 1 coming out in 1983, but I had already worn out the keyboard on my ZX81 then :lol-049:

 

[Bigpeetee]

I remember the ORIC 1 coming out in 1983, but I had already worn out the keyboard on my ZX81 then :lol-049:

But did you ever use a guessing stick?? (Slide Rule) and Log Tables.

I college there were mechanical computational devices, comptometers they were called, you had to be trained and certificated to use one!!

Comptometer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In Plessey Telecomms, we had a prototype Valve (Vacuum Tube) controlled phone system, the heat was phenomenal!!

Then came the transistor!!! At the time the definition of a transistor was:

"The fastest fuse on three legs!"

Still love valve equipment and enjoy repairing old radios and equipment.