Kempston Micro Electronics
Encyclopedia
Kempston Micro Electronics was an electronics company specialising in computer joystick
s and related home computer
peripherals during the 1980s. Kempston was based in Kempston
, Bedfordshire
, England
.
Kempston produced a number of joystick interfaces
for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum
to allow normal Atari
-style DE-9 connector joysticks to be used with it. Apart from implementing existing joystick interfacing modes they produced their own standard which delivered the joystick state on the Z80 bus at port 31 (read in BASIC using IN 31). This meant that the joystick did not produce key-presses like the other standards and the method was soon borrowed by other interface manufacturers and became quite popular.
connector and was primary designed to work with the ZX Spectrum
Kempston joystick interface but also with the compatible ports built into other home computers such as the Amstrad CPC
, Commodore 64
(& Vic-20) and later Commodore Amiga and Atari ST
.
Internally the joystick used a series of metal contacts to signal movement to the computer. When the user applied pressure to one side of the stick it caused the two contacts to touch and form a circuit, commonly referred to as a leaf switch. This meant that it was easily repaired by unscrewing the base and adjusting the metal contacts so they touched correctly. Later joysticks such as the Competition Pro 5000 used micro-switches instead.
It attracted its fair share of imitators on 8-bit computers who copied the colour scheme (itself somewhat derived from the original Atari joystick), but also more brazen copies which used yellow, square buttons or microswitches but essentially the same pommel design.
The design has been honoured most recently by the C64 Direct-to-TV
device which fits an entire Commodore 64 and 30 games into the shell of a Competition Pro look-a-like case which runs off batteries. USB and Retro DE-9
versions of the Competition Pro with two extra tactile fire buttons on the base are now manufactured by German company SPEED-Link.
This joystick was always actually produced by a company called Dynamics Marketing, which later became a subsidiary of Powerplay Ltd, a subsidiary of Delph Manufacturing Services (Delph Tool Co Ltd), the company that manufactured the Competition Pro range through its lifetime, and the same company which manufactured, and later also marketed the Zipstick joystick along with Cruiser and Sureshot products too.
Powerplay to this day continue to manufacture video game accessories under the brand of Competition Pro.
Joystick
A joystick is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Joysticks, also known as 'control columns', are the principal control in the cockpit of many civilian and military aircraft, either as a center stick or...
s and related home computer
Home computer
Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user...
peripherals during the 1980s. Kempston was based in Kempston
Kempston
Kempston is a town and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England. Once known as the largest village in England, Kempston is now a town with its own town council. It has a population of about 20,000, and together with Bedford, it forms an urban area with around 100,000 inhabitants, which is the...
, Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Interfaces
- Main article: Kempston InterfaceKempston InterfaceThe Kempston Interface, produced by Kempston Micro Electronics, was the generic name for any interface on Sinclair's ZX Spectrum series of computers that allowed joysticks complying with the de facto Atari 2600 standard to be used with the machine. It was one of the most widely supported standards...
Kempston produced a number of joystick interfaces
Kempston Interface
The Kempston Interface, produced by Kempston Micro Electronics, was the generic name for any interface on Sinclair's ZX Spectrum series of computers that allowed joysticks complying with the de facto Atari 2600 standard to be used with the machine. It was one of the most widely supported standards...
for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
to allow normal Atari
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
-style DE-9 connector joysticks to be used with it. Apart from implementing existing joystick interfacing modes they produced their own standard which delivered the joystick state on the Z80 bus at port 31 (read in BASIC using IN 31). This meant that the joystick did not produce key-presses like the other standards and the method was soon borrowed by other interface manufacturers and became quite popular.
Joysticks
The first Kempston joysticks sold were cheap and nasty springless ones for a Phillips Video Game console sold by Voltmace Ltd. Voltmace made the first circuit boards for the interface too.Formula 1 and 2
The Formula 1 was based on the Quickshot 1 and released June 1985 at £16.95. Its successor, the Formula 2, featured three fire buttons, two on the base and one on the top, and was released June 1985 at £11.95.Score Board
Features a base similar in size to a 48K Spectrum, with two fire buttons. Released June 1985 at £28.95Pro 3000
A cheap joystick with two buttons on the stick (one on the top and one at the front) and one on the base of the joystick, in front of the stick. Eight-way rugged leaf-switches were used to register the joystick movements.Competition Pro
It consisted of a square base, two large red buttons (for left or right-handed use) and a black pommel stick. It used the Atari 2600 standard DE-9D-subminiature
The D-subminiature or D-sub is a common type of electrical connector. They are named for their characteristic D-shaped metal shield. When they were introduced, D-subs were among the smaller connectors used on computer systems....
connector and was primary designed to work with the ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
Kempston joystick interface but also with the compatible ports built into other home computers such as the Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
, Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
(& Vic-20) and later Commodore Amiga and Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
.
Internally the joystick used a series of metal contacts to signal movement to the computer. When the user applied pressure to one side of the stick it caused the two contacts to touch and form a circuit, commonly referred to as a leaf switch. This meant that it was easily repaired by unscrewing the base and adjusting the metal contacts so they touched correctly. Later joysticks such as the Competition Pro 5000 used micro-switches instead.
It attracted its fair share of imitators on 8-bit computers who copied the colour scheme (itself somewhat derived from the original Atari joystick), but also more brazen copies which used yellow, square buttons or microswitches but essentially the same pommel design.
The design has been honoured most recently by the C64 Direct-to-TV
C64 Direct-to-TV
The C64 Direct-to-TV, called C64DTV for short, is a single-chip implementation of the Commodore 64 computer, contained in a joystick with 30 built-in games. The design is similar to the Atari Classics 10-in-1 TV Game...
device which fits an entire Commodore 64 and 30 games into the shell of a Competition Pro look-a-like case which runs off batteries. USB and Retro DE-9
D-subminiature
The D-subminiature or D-sub is a common type of electrical connector. They are named for their characteristic D-shaped metal shield. When they were introduced, D-subs were among the smaller connectors used on computer systems....
versions of the Competition Pro with two extra tactile fire buttons on the base are now manufactured by German company SPEED-Link.
Competition Pro Xtra
Based on the Competition Pro 5000, this design saw micro-switches replace the leaf switches in every direction and the two fire buttons.This joystick was always actually produced by a company called Dynamics Marketing, which later became a subsidiary of Powerplay Ltd, a subsidiary of Delph Manufacturing Services (Delph Tool Co Ltd), the company that manufactured the Competition Pro range through its lifetime, and the same company which manufactured, and later also marketed the Zipstick joystick along with Cruiser and Sureshot products too.
Powerplay to this day continue to manufacture video game accessories under the brand of Competition Pro.