THE ULA change in the model three Spectrum, which was intended originally to combat incompatibilities with Japanese and German television sets, has had unforeseen consequences.

Some people with the new machines are having difficulty loading commercial tapes. The reason is that the machine code IN instruction, which enables tape noise to be read into the computer, has been altered.

"The problem seems to occur when the computer is in graphics mode.

"It seems to be a problem with specific, low-distribution tapes and, as far as we know, no Sinclair software or software from our distributors is affected," says Sinclair Research.