Technology | Nostalgia | 1980s

Remembering the Jupiter Ace

The Jupiter Ace’s use of FORTH caused challenges in the market compared to BASIC-based competitors

This is an updated version of an article I wrote a few years ago for some of my now-defunct blogs.

Jupiter Ace and Monitor (Photo by Dutra de Lacerda, alias Factor-H, Public Domain)

Ex-Sinclair Designers

Richard Altwasser and Stephen Vickers played key roles in designing the Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Then they moved on to form Jupiter Cantab where they produced a small low-cost 8-bit microcomputer called the Jupiter Ace.

In 1982, when they released their creation, their adverts had a similar feel to Sinclair’s.

Bold claims in this advert for the Jupiter Ace, from Everyday Electronics, November 1982. Image provided by the author

Sinclair Similarities

The ACE was comparable in size, appearance, and hardware specification to the Sinclair ZX range.

It had the following things in common with the Sinclair ZX81:

• 8 KB of ROM
• 1 KB of RAM *
• Monochrome video output
• Z80 microprocessor clocked at 3.25 MHz