The Story of David Husband's 1984 Protégé "Luke"

The 1980’s – The “good ole days” of the 1st Home Computer Boom

Clive Sinclair launched the ZX80 onto the UK market in 1980, and very rapidly followed in March 1981 by the ZX81

To great amusement at the time, Sinclair’s adverts claimed you could “even run a powerstation” with the ZX81…

Here is a purchase order I received from the Central Electricity Generating Board so maybe you could control a power station after all… ¹

My ZX81 Forth ROM Upgrade

In the 1980’s I was running an outfit called Skywave Software & under licence I was marketing my adaptation of some software originally intended for the US version of the ZX81, the TS-1000

I wrote a very extensive manual and ran adverts in a number of computer magazines. A new magazine called “Soft” ran a very good review…

My ZX81 Forth ROM customer Luke

At that time, one of my customers was a 14-year old schoolboy who lived locally…
His mother phoned me and asked if I could help her son Luke…
She said “None of his teachers are able to answer any of his questions”…
I suggested she & Luke came to see me

I became Luke’s mentor for the next few years…
Eventually he told me he was going to university in London

I warned him to expect to discover that he already knew much than those teaching him
He did not believe me… But I was correct !!

I warned him to expect his first year to be mainly “drinking beer and attending parties”
He did not believe me… But I was correct !!

He was my protégé…

He got a B.Eng (Hons) in Electronic Engineering & Computer Science. We have remained in touch ever since and he enjoys a good career as a very skilled embedded systems engineer…