My father brought home a friends ZX-81 they'd only just purchased so I had it for a week or two. Like so many others I was hooked at that point and was soon spending my Saturday mornings and most of my holidays in the only computer shop in Durban, BBM Microworld. Most of that time was spent on TRS-80 Model 1's and III's. I got so well known that the staff would let me demonstrate the kit to customers.
Another friend of my father had his ZX-81 held down onto a flat heavy piece of wood woth a metal bracket and the RAM pack held in place in similar fashion and the power cable with a clip also screwed down. It never crashed from RAM pack wobbles!
I ended up with a TRS-80 Color Computer and a BBC Micro, the latter of which would overheat in the Durban climate when playnig Elite. I used to keep the top off it with a small desk fan directed over the CPU and motherboard. Worked a treat.
Ah the heady days of micro-computing!
Biting the hand that feeds IT
