=== Pace serial interface (1986) ===
As a result, Amstrad dropped their original design and instead chose to remanufacture a [[PACE]] design. This included improved hardware (a more compact interface thanks to SMD components and no external PSU) and vastly superior software. However, this redesign also scarified reduced the quality of RS232 signalling voltage by using 0V/5V output voltage instead of -12V/12V.
The software was a ROM version of the [[Commstar]] terminal utility from [[HoneySoft]]. This was a user-friendly program with standard [[XModem]] file transfer functions. However, one foolish design decision was the idea of using a 24x80 screen with a single-line status display - though presenting a good user interface, this forced the use of software rather than hardware scrolling, making the interface unusable for terminal emulation at any speed above 2400 baud.