Features

Original Price

AGF II

2 joystick ports with a ZX81 through port. Came with 'Video Graffiti' demo program.

£9.95 ¹
£19.95 ²

AGF Programmable

Joystick ports and rapid fire with ZX81 through port. Atari joystick compatible. Clip on connections simulate any of the 40 Spectrum keys. Eight way movement. No software required. Came with 'Video Graffiti' demo program.

£33.95 ³ £26.95 ¹
£24.95 ²

AGF Protocol 1

Fixed interface for AGF (Protek or Cursor) compatible games⁴

£10.95 ⁴

AGF Protocol 2

Fixed interface for Kempston compatible games.⁴

£10.95* ⁴

AGF Protocol 3

Programmable interface for any joystick which simulates keypresses. Custom cards store joystick-keypress information. Supplied with a custom cards and 10 quick reference cards.⁴

£19.95* ⁴

AGF Protocol 4

Programmable and fixed for AGF, Kempston and ZX Interface 2. Supplied with 5 custom cards and 10 quick reference cards. Early models were recalled due to an unreliable Kempston mode.⁴

AGF recalled early Protocol 4 joystick interfaces that could exhibit erratic or unreliable Kempston operation due to sub-specification pre-production units. Owners were instructed to run `PRINT IN 31` with the interface in Kempston mode; any result other than 0 entitled them to a free replacement.⁵

£10.95 ⁴

AGF Romslot

Kempston Pro Interface
AGF Romslot
Not a joystick interface but just a ROM cartridge slot which is compatible with ZX Interface 2 software.
Includes 'Restart' feature and a full-width expansion port.

£9.95 + 50p p&p ¹

Bud Interstate 31

A Kempston-compatible joystick interface designed for maximum games compatibility. It supports Atari-type joysticks and offers an optional built-in rapid/auto-fire facility. A reset button allows the Spectrum to be restarted without disconnecting the power supply.⁶

£11.95 ⁶

Bud Interstate Pro

A programmable joystick interface with 1K of onboard memory, allowing up to eight programmable positions plus fire. It required no software, used four LEDs to assist programming, and could be reprogrammed at any time. A reset button allowed quick restarts without disconnecting the power supply.⁶

£22.95 ⁶

Built-in Joystick Ports: ZX Spectrum +2 and +3

The ZX Spectrum +2 and +3 incorporate two joystick sockets on the left-hand side of the computer. Their joystick circuitry operates in the same way as the Sinclair Interface 2, so compatible software should be configured to use the 'Interface Two' or 'Sinclair' joystick option. The JOYSTICK 1 socket is the one generally used by games. ^{7 8}

Sinclair recommends its SJS range of joysticks for these computers. Standard Atari-wired joysticks are not directly compatible because their connectors use different wiring. The joystick ports are built into the computer and require no separate interface peripheral. ^{7 8}

not applicable

Cambridge Intelligent Joystick Interface

This interface featured 1K of onboard memory, a rear edge connector for peripherals such as printers, and compatibility with standard joysticks. The joystick used self-centring microswitched directional controls and provided two independent fire buttons.⁹

£34.90 ⁹ £27.90 ⁹ £7.90 ⁹

Cheetah 48K/128K

The Cheetah single-port joystick interface was designed for the ZX Spectrum 48K and 128K. It accepted standard joysticks including the Cheetah 125, Quickshot and Kempston-compatible joysticks.¹⁰

£9.75 ¹⁰

Cheetah Spectrum Joystick Interface

Accepts Atari style joystick including Quickshot and Kempston. This interface appears to have a similar style case as the Cheetah 32K RAMpack and the Cheetah SpecDrum.

£11.50* £12.75*

COMCON

A keyboard-mapped joystick interface using six function connectors to interface joystick directions and fire controls with the ZX Spectrum keyboard matrix. It provided two independent fire inputs and operated the joystick in parallel with normal keyboard operation. The interface supported Atari-type joysticks, including the Quickshot II, and was designed to remain compatible with peripherals such as Microdrives. An expansion connection was provided for the Currah MicroSpeech unit.¹¹

£31.90 ¹¹ £28.45 ¹¹ £19.95 ¹¹

Custom Cables International Programmable

A programmable joystick interface for the ZX Spectrum supporting standard joysticks fitted with an Atari-style connector. A tape-loaded BASIC program guided the user through programming the controls, prompting for each function in sequence — up, down, left, right and fire — with the user pressing the desired Spectrum key for each function. The interface connected directly to the Spectrum's rear edge connector and had no pass-through connector.¹²

£15.00 ¹²

Datel Games Ace

A Kempston-compatible joystick interface accepting standard 9-pin joysticks, including rapid-fire models. It also provided controlled routing of game audio through the television speaker. The interface was available separately or bundled with a Quick Shot II joystick.¹³

£17.99 ¹⁴ £10.99 ¹³ £17.99 ¹³

Datel Switchable Joystick Interface

A switchable joystick interface supporting three operating modes: Kempston, Cursor and Interface II. A selector switch allowed the user to change between the three modes without changing the connected joystick or interface. It accepted standard 9-pin joysticks, including models with rapid-fire functionality.¹³

£8.99 ¹³ £14.99 ¹³

Datel Turbo Ace

The Turbo Ace is a switchable joystick interface supporting Kempston, Cursor and Interface 2 modes. It accepts Atari-compatible joysticks and incorporates an amplifier that routes game sound through the television speaker. It also provides amplified keyboard clicks to assist with data entry.¹⁴

£22.99 ¹⁴

dk'tronics Dual

A dual-port joystick interface allowing two Atari-style joysticks to be connected simultaneously. Port 1 mapped its joystick controls to the Spectrum 6, 7, 8, 9 and 0 keys, while Port 2 provided Kempston-compatible input via IN 31. This allowed two joysticks to be used with software supporting keyboard-based or Kempston controls.¹⁵

£13.00 ¹⁵

dk'tronics Programmable

A programmable joystick interface for the ZX Spectrum, configurable from the keyboard or using the supplied cassette software. It provided 17 directional movements, retained full keyboard functionality, and included a rear connector for additional peripherals. The interface was also compatible with the ZX Microdrive.¹⁵

£22.95 ¹⁵

Dove Microtronix

A Kempston-compatible joystick interface for the ZX Spectrum with a simple plug-in-and-go design. It accepts Atari-style and Quickshot joysticks and is compatible with the DK'tronics keyboard.¹⁶

£9.95 ¹⁶

Downsway

The Downsway Electronics joystick interface is a fully programmable interface that plugs into the rear of the ZX Spectrum. Each of the eight joystick directions can be assigned individually to a Spectrum key, with fire also assigned to a key. To program a function, the user presses the required Spectrum key and then moves the joystick in the corresponding direction. It works with switch-type joysticks including Atari, Quickshot and Competition Pro models.¹⁷

£25.95 ¹
£22.95 ¹⁷

East London Robotics

A bare-board joystick interface that uses metal clips to make connections to small pins. It has no pass-through port, except when used with the Trickstick.¹

£19.75 ¹

Electrotech Programmable

The Electrotech programmable joystick is an arcade-style control unit with a joystick and three large push-buttons. Its interface PCB contains 2K of RAM and plugs into the rear of the ZX Spectrum, storing the key mappings assigned to the controls. The joystick provides eight directional positions through combinations of four microswitches, while the three push-buttons provide a further three programmable functions. An accompanying BASIC program allows the controls to be configured and the resulting mappings saved to tape as a machine-code file for faster reloading. The Spectrum keyboard remains fully usable while the joystick is connected.¹⁸

£43.70 ¹⁸

Fox

A programmable joystick interface with a full-width pass-through connector ¹, making it compatible with the Microdrive system. It contains CMOS RAM, powered by a trickle-charge battery, for storing the names and keyboard mappings of up to 16 games. The makers claimed that these could be retained for up to three months. The memory can also be used as a pseudo-ROM for storing frequently used routines. The interface accepts Atari-style nine-pin joysticks.¹⁹

£34.95 ¹
£28.50 ¹⁹

Fuller

A fixed joystick interface with a single joystick connection and a full-width Spectrum through port. It does not provide rapid-fire functionality.¹

£19.95 ¹

Interceptor Micros

The Interceptor Micro's joystick board is a bare-board interface for the ZX Spectrum, designed to connect standard Atari-type joysticks. It provides two joystick connection positions, with provision at the rear for additional add-ons. Supplied documentation includes instructions for checking the interface's operation, while the demonstration cassette provides examples of programming techniques, including machine-code control, sound and screen movement. Interceptor Micro's also offered assistance with adapting existing software for use with the interface.²⁰

£15.95 ²⁰

Jiles II

The Jiles II is a programmable joystick interface for the ZX Spectrum. It allows joystick controls to be assigned to Spectrum keys, providing programmable joystick operation without being limited to a fixed joystick interface standard. The interface is identified with the “Programmable” Jiles interface listed in The Spectrum Add-on Guide.¹

£24.95 ¹

Jiles III

The Jiles III is a three-mode bare-board joystick interface for the ZX Spectrum. Two movable selector pegs allow it to operate as a Kempston-compatible joystick, a cursor-controlled joystick, or for use with Psion programs. The interface connects directly to the Spectrum and provides selectable joystick compatibility without requiring programming.

£19.95 ¹ £13.95 ²¹

Kempston

A Kempston joystick interface that plugs directly into the ZX Spectrum's rear edge connector and allows Kempston and Atari-compatible joysticks to be used. It requires no modifications to the Spectrum.²²

£14.95 ¹
£11.50 ²²

Kempston Pro Joystick Interface

3 joystick ports, ROM cartridge slot and compatible with ZX Interface 1.
Two of the joystick ports are Sinclair/Psion compatible, the third has a dual facility and can be either Kempston or cursor key compatible.

£19.95 ²³

Konix Preditor

The Konix Preditor is a joystick interface for the ZX Spectrum and ZX Spectrum+, supporting Kempston, Protek and Sinclair joystick protocols. It provides filtered sound output through the television and a composite colour video output for connection to a monitor. Manufactured in the UK, it was supplied with a 12-month guarantee.²⁴

Image note: The pictured interface has two joystick ports, an LED and a switch. The functions of the LED and switch are unconfirmed, as no further documentation has been located.

£18.99 ²⁴

Micro-Pad

The Micro-Pad is a programmable joystick interface for the ZX Spectrum, supporting one joystick. It has no through port and does not provide rapid-fire functionality.¹

£23.00 ¹

Mikro-Plus

The interface contains 16K of game-related code in ROM, which overlays the Spectrum's built-in ROM area²⁵. By replacing standard ROM routines with specialised code, the Mikro-Plus allows programmers to use memory more efficiently, potentially improve execution speed and make more of the machine's 64K address space available for game code. The remainder of the game is loaded from cassette.

A built-in joystick port avoids the need for games to accommodate multiple joystick protocols, while additional facilities include a Microdrive backup routine and a cassette azimuth-alignment routine ^{26 25 27} to help compensate for poorly aligned cassette recorders.

The Mikro-Plus was an ambitious attempt to expand the capabilities of the Spectrum through game-specific hardware. Although Mikro-Gen announced plans to launch the system with both Shadow of the Unicorn and Battle of the Planets²⁶, Shadow of the Unicorn is the confirmed example of a game supplied with the interface. The reasons why the system did not develop into a wider platform remain unclear.

£14.95 ²⁷
£14.95 ²⁵
£14.95 ²⁶

Page Computing Joystick Interface

The Page Computing Programmable Joystick Interface is a programmable joystick interface for the ZX Spectrum, allowing joystick movements and fire-button actions to be mapped to keyboard controls. Programming is performed while a game is running, by pressing a Spectrum key and moving the joystick to assign the desired control.

The interface supports the four main directions, diagonals, directional movements combined with fire, and the fire button alone. The Spectrum keyboard remains usable while the interface is connected.

A rapid-fire switch simulates the fire button being held down, providing continuous fire in compatible games.²⁸

£26.00 ²⁸

Pickard

The Pickard Joystick Interface is an external keyboard-mapped joystick controller housed in a rectangular black plastic case. It has 40 miniature jack sockets arranged in a four-by-ten matrix, corresponding to the ZX Spectrum's keyboard keys. Five jack-plug leads assign joystick up, down, left, right and fire inputs to selected keys, allowing keyboard-controlled software to be operated with a joystick.

A ribbon-cable assembly connects the interface to the Spectrum's internal keyboard connectors, requiring the computer's case to be opened for installation. The interface accepts Atari and Atari-compatible joysticks while retaining normal keyboard operation. The Spectrum's original power supply plugs into the Pickard unit, which passes the power to the computer through a separate cable connected to the Spectrum's 9 V power socket.

Dimensions: 4.5 × 3 × 1 inches.

£18.95 ²⁹ £27.50 ¹

Protek Switchable

No programming required. No additional software. No through port. Compatible with Protek (cursor keys), Kempston and Sinclair by changing switch position. Compatible with Atari / Quickshot joysticks.³⁰

£14.95 ¹ £19.95 ³⁰ £29.95 ³⁰

Rainbow Electronics Programmable

The Rainbow Electronics Programmable Joystick Interface is a programmable joystick interface for the ZX Spectrum, allowing any joystick position to be assigned to one or more keyboard keys. Programming is performed directly using the Spectrum keyboard and joystick, without programming leads, additional hardware or software. Diagonal positions can be assigned independently, and autofire can be enabled for selected joystick positions.³¹

The interface also incorporates an audio amplifier to boost the Spectrum's sound output, connecting to the computer's ear or microphone socket. An optional through port allows additional peripherals to be connected.³¹

£24.00 ³¹

RAM Spectrum Interface

The RAM Spectrum Interface is a Kempston-compatible joystick interface for the ZX Spectrum and ZX Spectrum+. It allows compatible joysticks to be used with software supporting the Kempston joystick protocol.³²

£9.95 ³²

RAM Turbo

The RAM Turbo Interface is a switchable joystick interface for the ZX Spectrum, supporting Kempston, Protek and Sinclair Interface 2 joystick protocols. It accommodates two standard joysticks and provides a rear expansion bus for connecting additional peripherals. The interface supports software loaded from cassette or ROM cartridges and includes a reset button and a power safety device.³²

£22.95 ¹
£18.50 +£1 p&p ³²

SMT Joystick Interface

The SMT Spectrum Joystick Interface allows a standard 9-pin joystick to be used with ZX Spectrum software, irrespective of the joystick input method expected by the program. It is programmable, enabling joystick directions and fire controls to be mapped to the appropriate keyboard controls without requiring hardware links or cassette-based configuration software.³³

£24.95 ³³

Solidisk Joystick Interface

The Solidisk Sinclair Spectrum Joystick Interface is Kempston-compatible, allowing a standard joystick to be used with software supporting the Kempston joystick interface. Its design avoids the keyboard obstruction and trailing cable associated with some other interfaces.³⁴

£8.50 ³⁴

Spectrum KC Interface

The Spectrum KC Interface is a Kempston-compatible joystick interface suitable for popular joysticks. It was available with or without a through-port extender.³⁵

£8.95 ³⁵ £16.90 ³⁵ £9.95 ³⁵ £17.90 ³⁵

Stonechip

The Stonechip Electronics Programmable Joystick Interface allows joystick directions and fire-button inputs to be mapped to ZX Spectrum keyboard controls. Its programming software is stored in EPROM, eliminating the need to load a programming utility from cassette.¹⁹ In PROGRAM mode, each joystick direction and fire-button function can be assigned to a key or key combination, including combinations of cursor keys.¹ The configuration can be tested in PLAY mode but is lost when the computer is switched off. The interface has a single joystick port, no through-port for connecting additional peripherals and no rapid-fire function.¹

£24.95 ¹⁹
£24.95 ¹

Thurnall TE 122

The Thurnall TE 122 Joystick Interface is supplied as a package comprising an eight-way arcade-style joystick and an interface for the ZX Spectrum. The interface mimics the operation of the Spectrum keyboard, allowing joystick control to be used with a wide range of commercially available software without requiring software or hardware modifications. ³⁶

An eight-switch network allows the interface to be configured for different program requirements by changing the keyboard inputs reproduced by the joystick. The Spectrum Add-on Guide describes eight small switches recessed into a panel on the side of the unit. However, the reviewer found them difficult to access and the correct switch settings difficult to determine. ^{36 1}

The interface supports two joystick control configurations, replacing either the Q, A, Z and X keys or the 5, 6, 7 and 8 keys. The contemporary advertisement also highlights the joystick's eight-way movement and states that an additional joystick can be connected for games designed for dual-stick control. ³⁷

The basic TE 122 package includes one joystick, full instructions and a free game cassette of Snakebyte. A second joystick is available separately as the TE 123 Extra Add-On Joystick. ^{36 37}

£24.95 ¹
£24.95 ³⁷ £24.95 ³⁶

ZX Interface 2

Two joystick ports, using keys 1–0, and a ROM cartridge slot. The ZX81-style rear edge connector supports the Sinclair ZX Printer only. ^{1 19}

£19.95 ¹
£19.95 ¹⁹