45 Years Later, The Sinclair ULA Design Documents Surface

What happened

45 Years Later, The Sinclair ULA Design Documents Surface, according to Hackaday. In the 8-bit home computer boom of the early 1980s, Sir Clive Sinclair’s machines were always among the cheapest on the market, often packing a surprising level of sophistication in their limited hardware. If there was one component that was key to their success it was the Ferranti ULA, or Uncommitted Logic Array, a clever way to make an ASIC (a chip built for one specific job rather than general use) from a chip containing a library of logic parts ready made.

The Sinclair ULAs have been reverse engineered, but their full details have remained a mystery. Until now it seems, because here’s [Happy Little Diodes] with a treasure trove of original Ferranti design documents covering all the Sinclair parts. The documents were picked up on eBay, and contain folders with printouts, engineering drawings, and hand written design notes.