Quest Automation Ltd

Quest Automation, also known as Quest International Computer Technology Ltd traded from School Lane, Chandler's Ford, Hampshire and released various hardware and software titles for the Sinclair QL, including:

Hardware

• QL Expansion Console - A four way expansion bus
• Quest Floppy Disk Drive - An interface and dedicated floppy disk drive for the QL
• Quest Memory Expansion - A rather large memory card interface
• Quest Winchester Hard disk system (10MB winchester hard disk - 7.5MB formatted, costing £995)

They also sold an early 5.25" disk drive systems (1985) which offered a single 200K drive for £249, or an 800K dual disk drive for £800.

The news section of QL User (December 1984/January 1985 issue) states that Quest had exhibited a 'staggering 2 Gigabyte laser disk for the QL' - laser disks were the forerunners of CDs and this would have been an amazing technological revolution at the time. However, the price of 'less than £30,000' may have been a little off-putting for ordinary Sinclair QL users!

Software

• CP/M 68K Operating System
• Blackjack by Quest (Classic card game)
• QL Cash Trader (Accounts package for small businesses)
• Quest - the Adventure (a graphical adventure set on board a sailing ship)
• Tally (An accounting package)
• Zappit! (a sprite editor)

The hardware, plus CP/M and Tally, were all sold as part of the 'Executive Series'.