{"id":334,"date":"2026-06-01T12:28:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T12:28:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/?p=334"},"modified":"2026-06-01T17:59:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T17:59:23","slug":"what-are-people-bringing-to-the-uk-amstrad-group-meetup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/index.php\/2026\/06\/01\/what-are-people-bringing-to-the-uk-amstrad-group-meetup\/","title":{"rendered":"What are people bringing to the UK Amstrad group meetup?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the best things about a retro computing meetup is the glorious uncertainty of what will turn up on the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes, there will be Amstrad CPCs. Obviously. But there\u2019ll also be modern add-ons, original joysticks, development projects, repairs, games, books, boards, cables, probably at least one mystery box, and a fair amount of \u201cI\u2019m sure I had the right lead for this somewhere\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ahead of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/index.php\/2026\/01\/08\/more-info-on-the-june-uk-amstrad-group-meet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2026 UK Amstrad Group meetup<\/a>, some of our members have been sharing what they\u2019re planning to bring, both in videos and in our WhatsApp community. It\u2019s already shaping up to be a brilliant mix of playing, tinkering, developing, fixing and chatting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">TechNick\u2019s Amstrad kit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">TechNick is planning to bring a lovely selection of hardware, including his trusty CPC 6128 and possibly a GX4000 too. He\u2019s also got a PicoGUS up and running, along with a tape drive, Gotek, Multiface II and M4 board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s a great mix of original Amstrad kit, modern expansions and sensible backup options. Because anyone taking disk drives and tape drives to a retro event knows that \u201cjust in case\u201d is not over-preparing. It\u2019s survival instinct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the games and software side, TechNick mentions Buggy Boy, Advanced Art Studio, Advanced Flight Trainer and Elite, so there could be racing, drawing, flying and space trading all happening on one setup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Very normal. Very Amstrad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What is TechNic Bringing to the UK Amstrad Meetup? CPC 6128, GX4000, PicoGUS and more\" width=\"474\" height=\"267\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9tn48J_eRQk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Adam\u2019s meetup bag<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adam\u2019s video starts with something rather special: his CPC 6128 signed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/index.php\/2026\/01\/11\/who-is-roland-perry\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Roland Perry<\/a>, who was in charge of the development of the original system and is now UKAG\u2019s honorary president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Roland will be at the meetup too, so Adam mentions that if you ask nicely, he might sign your system on the day, for a donation to charity. We cannot promise there won\u2019t be a queue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adam is also bringing his CPC 464, which is ideal for cassette games, along with the joystick he used through the 80s. He also mentions buying a Manta Ray joystick after Rod Lawton, editor of Amstrad Action, said they were great. These are the little details that make retro computing so personal. It\u2019s never just a machine, is it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Also in Adam\u2019s kit are an M4 board, some recent eBay wins including Klax, Lotus and Castle Master, unopened games that really ought to be tried at last, a light pen, and a BASIC book as he continues learning some programming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What\u2019s Adam Bringing to the UK Amstrad Group Meetup? Signed CPC 6128, CPC 464 and Retro Games\" width=\"474\" height=\"267\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HhI4AUaUZ6Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Development, repairs and a bit of collaborative coding<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/index.php\/2026\/04\/21\/join-the-ukag-whatsapp-community-and-be-part-of-the-conversation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WhatsApp community<\/a> has also been full of plans for the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dave, \u201cthe old fart behind Typhonsoft\u201d, in his own words, has booked a table and will be bringing his Linux box and monitors. He\u2019s planning to spend the day talking about and working on Amstrad development projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He has two CPC projects on the go at the moment and hopes the meetup might give him a useful push to make more progress on them. As Dave put it, it\u2019s a chance for \u201ca spot of the old collaborative development\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s exactly the kind of thing we\u2019d love to see at the meetup. Not just finished projects, but work in progress, shared ideas, problem-solving, curiosity and people getting stuck into making things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/index.php\/2026\/02\/23\/who-is-chris-green\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chris Green<\/a> is also preparing for the day, with a bit of shopping ahead of the meet. He\u2019s picked up a DDI-5 for his 464, and one of his planned jobs at the event is to dismantle a CPC 464 keyboard and replace a broken key plunger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:37% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"526\" height=\"935\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CPCmini.jpg\" alt=\"CPCmini\" class=\"wp-image-201 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CPCmini.jpg 526w, https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CPCmini-169x300.jpg 169w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 526px) 100vw, 526px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Have you seen the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/index.php\/2026\/04\/07\/3d-printed-cpc-mini-tiny-build-big-amstrad-energy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CPC Mini<\/a>? Yes, it&#8217;s a real thing! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Well <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/index.php\/2026\/02\/11\/who-is-simon-doc-green\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Simon Green<\/a> will be bringing his along for you to have a play with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So if you like seeing the insides of machines, learning how repairs are done, or just standing nearby saying \u201cooh, careful with that bit\u201d, there should be something for you too.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">And yes, board games<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:42% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8bit-games-1024x600.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-321 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8bit-games-1024x600.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8bit-games-300x176.png 300w, https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8bit-games-768x450.png 768w, https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8bit-games.png 1318w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It won\u2019t all be screens, soldering and system disks. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/index.php\/2026\/04\/12\/who-is-lightbulbjo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">LightbulbJo<\/a> is planning to bring some of the board games mentioned in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rmcretro.com\/videos\/all-aboard-to-the-hall-of-fame-this-week-in-retro-268-c9(.)hquIAfh0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">This Week in Retro<\/a>, (and our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/index.php\/2026\/05\/09\/retro-games-leave-the-screen-play-pac-man-level-ten-and-8bit-box-at-ukag\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">first ever YouTube video!<\/a>). <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So there\u2019ll be a chance to get a retro fix in a slightly different form too. Computer games, board games, tabletop games and retro hardware have always influenced each other, and it\u2019ll be great to have a few things on hand that people can sit down and play together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bring yours, play ours, or just come and chat<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All of this shows why the UK Amstrad Group meetup is shaping up to be such a fun and varied day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some people will bring full setups. Some will bring games, joysticks, expansions, books, repairs, projects, or mystery items from the loft. Some will come to play. Some will come to learn. Some will come to chat. Some will probably do all of those things before lunch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You don\u2019t need to bring anything to be part of it. But if you do have a CPC, GX4000, games, magazines, add-ons, projects, demos, repairs, or something Amstrad-related you\u2019d love to show people, we\u2019d love to see it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Join us at the UK Amstrad Group Meetup 2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The UK Amstrad Group meetup takes place on <strong>Sunday 21st June 2026<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019ll be classic machines, modern expansions, games to play, repairs to watch, development projects to talk about, board games to try, people to meet, and plenty of retro Amstrad chat throughout the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Book a standard ticket, grab a table ticket if you want to bring your own setup, and come and be part of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whether you\u2019re bringing a signed CPC 6128, a trusty 464, a Linux development box, a keyboard repair job, a Pac-Man board game, or just yourself, you\u2019ll be very welcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/index.php\/2026\/01\/08\/more-info-on-the-june-uk-amstrad-group-meet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Limited tickets available here!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the best things about a retro computing meetup is the glorious uncertainty of what will turn up on the day. Yes, there will be Amstrad CPCs. Obviously. But there\u2019ll also be modern add-ons, original joysticks, development projects, repairs, games, books, boards, cables, probably at least one mystery box, and a fair amount of &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/index.php\/2026\/06\/01\/what-are-people-bringing-to-the-uk-amstrad-group-meetup\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">What are people bringing to the UK Amstrad group meetup?<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":338,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-june-2026-event"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Adam-joy-stick.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=334"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":340,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334\/revisions\/340"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukag.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}