This is the pinnacle of preservation in the digital age where the hardware to run the software has a few decade shelf life. Like traditional tradesmen passing on their skills old tech isn't fully preserved until it can be remade in my opinion. Love these kind of challenges.
When at technical (electronics) middle school, I was taught to actually solder elements being slightly elevated, not hugged to PCB. Your "oops" was the preferred way. It was about heat, dissipation of heat from soldering and sometimes heat under load, especially when it was about power circuit. Lower failure rate. You use sockets for chips anyway, so extra height for resistors and diodes should not be a problem. We also used some solder on PCB and element ends before we threaded them trough holes, specifically to avoid problems with "cold solder".
Brilliant! It is great that there is a community out there producing this kind of stuff. Are kids today interested in this sort of thing? There is no equivalent to the 'build it yourself' ZX80 or Spectrum any more. I started programming on a Spectrum and I still work in IT 40 years later.
Thanks! I agree that’s probably one reason I like it so much. I have nothing love for the original models and as such it’s easy to point out their flaws
OMG the photo you show at 0:14 looks so much like my childhood photos.. I can't believe I'm getting nostalgic over someone else's photo. (And is that Wolfenstein 3d on the screen? i'm going to cry)
Watching you assemble (and debug) you new and modern ZX Spectrum reminds me assembling my first computer (a ZX81) with my father when I was a child. It was a lot of fun.
I remember one of the nerdy kids in our neighbourhood getting a ZX81 and my parents suggesting I go round there take a look at this snazzy new "home computer". I think it was kind of the seed that set me on the road to my current job in IT.
I also had a ZX81, but it was second hand and despite having a 128k addon module I couldn't reliably save or load data, meaning everything on the device at any given time was handwritten by me during that session. Between Sinclair basic limitations, the terrible keyboard, and occasional memory module disconnections it was a special kind of hell.
Back in the day, the ZX Spectrum could load games pretty quickly if you had a microdrive hooked up to it. If I remember correctly, we had something called an Interface 1 that provided the microdrive interface, and a Multiface 1 that provided a joystick port and a way to break into games to "back them up" or do some peeking and poking. The only issue was that one slight nudge would cause it all to crash horribly and microdrives were very unreliable in general. Later on we got a +2 (the grey version), and an external 3 1/2" floppy drive. Given the small size of the games, a standard floppy on the specci was like having a harddisk on a PC.
I made a Harlequin Spectrum few years ago with a classic case (the white one). After programming the eeprom myself, the first start were tricky but it worked. I still have some issues when starting it. Sometimes I have to unplug/replug 3 ou 4 times before starting but it works afterall.
I started my journey rebuilding burnt out Commodore Pets, then me mum who was working at the Times says to me about Clive Sinclair offering ZX80 kits and so using some of the money from selling Pets on, we grabbed one and what a journey which included burning the carpet, the ram pack melting, the machine's case melting, ate components like we eat dinner and I swear I kept our local RS Components shop in holidays as every week I was after resistor's, capacitors, IC's which had died a heat death... Zx81 was much better, didn't catch fire but did like some component din dins then I got my holy Spectrum 48k which didn't die or break down which I then got a disc drive +3 with the extra memory and I was a happy happy bunny :D
Wow that’s memory lane…. The zx-spectrum was not (yet) available in my country at the time. I was still ‘stuck’ with the predecessor. Now I was du to go to Scotland with a schooltrip. To go short, I picked one up in Dundee. Yep ne happy dude in the time!
Keeping resistors placed such that readable from left to right, & top to bottom makes them quicker to read. Also, using an iron with a flat tip enables heat transfer to be maximsied, minimising dry joints, along with removing flux with isoprop alcohol.
Quick note on soldering crystals: I've run into problems when soldering these due to the metal case and heat. Best to have something between the crystal and the board to have have them mounted proud. This reduces heat transferred to the crystal, and also negates short circuits from solder wicking through the hole and out to the case. Cheap and easy for lots of stuff like this: put a couple of those (off brand) HAMA beads, one on each leg before mounting the component. Adds a couple of mils.
You can use painter's tape to hold the components in to solder, or make a picture frame that fits your board holder, and use a sheet of foam to hold them in place.
It looks awesome. I had so much fun building my Harlequin 128. (But the IC sockets were a bit tedious). I also got the DivMMc from Ben at ByteDelight. I installed it in my original 48K case from the 80's. (I'm used to the keyboard).
Lee's Mechtrum is a beautiful case. I really like the color you picked. You can disable the "onboard" Kempston Joystick Interface on the Harlequin 128 rev 2D by installing a Jumper on J16, or by removing U39. I then expect the Joystick port on the SMART Card will work as expected. You may find that the onboard joystick interface will not work while the SMART Card is installed, unless the joystick port on the SMART Card is disabled (which the documentation indicates is done in the Config option in the Boot Rom.)
Great build, but you're missing out on the edge-of-seat suspense of waiting for a game to load from tape (with the slight chance it might not work first time). And not forgetting the associated loading sounds 😂
Hi I'm sure someone has mentioned this by now, but you can disable the internal kempston interface by jumpering J16 or removing the 74HC366 on the just to the side of the joystick header. You also cant use Sinclair Interface 2/ram turbo interfaces as the keyboard buffer is connected directly to the CPU, although the cart slot should work i wouldnt risk it due to the possibility of damaging it.
IC sockets: I haven't tried the ones that come in the kit, but I would say, that IC sockets are dirt cheap, and there are several types of sockets that could be candidates for upgrades. I really like the tube type sockets that squish the legs a bit and seems to have a more secure connection to each leg, though it does require more force to install each IC. I would also expect more wear on the sockets if IC's are removed and reinserted often. Another upgrade, especially if IC's are to be removed and reinserted are the locking kind with the lever. They do take up more space (taller, wider, longer), So you have to make sure they can physically fit, and they are quite a bit more expensive, but the chance of bending or braking legs on the IC is hugely reduced. Note that more expensive doesn't mean actually very expensive, as they're pretty cheap off aliexpress. They're often called "IC test locking socket" or something like that. Lastly, if you like the hard squeeze-leg tube sockets, but can't be bothered to source all the sizes you need (width, number of legs), you can buy them in long strips, and just cut off two pieces for each IC. Providing the pitch between the legs is the same for all your IC's, they fit everything. And if you're careful with your alignment while soldering (angle), there is no waste, as you can use up whatever you have left over by using two or more pieces a side. These are great. I've used them for several 555 projects. Bonus: There aren't any cross beams, so when using island type boards for the astable mode with the 555, having connecting wire crossing connecting wire under the AC doesn't have a cross bar squeezing down. These can even be soldered in after the socket sides have been soldered. Even small TTH components can be soldered in there, making the real estate as small as possible. Axial components outside the IC are upright, of course. None of them will be taller than the caps anyway. So yeah. Those strips are very versatile.
Really nice. I feel quite envious and nostalgic. One thing though: those edge connectors gripping the side of the motherboard were a cause of many failed loads and interrupted games back in the day. If I were to embark on any project in this area, I would look at ways to either incorporate the interface circuitry on the motherboard or make the interface card in such a way that it could be soldered onto the motherboard via risers
Ahhh, memories! Taught meself assembly language on my 48K Speccy with the help of a friend who was doing a B-TEC course in it and a career was born. Retired now, but fix PCs for a living. Oh, the irony! Yep, you missed a kickass system that for the price was simply unbeatable at the time in 1982/3
Blu tac to hold components in through the hole soldering ! Just brilliant !!! Why didn't I think of that ? !!! years and years , well 4 and a half decades of ( on and off ) hobby electronics and I'd just stuck with various different ways of struggling getting components to go where they should do ! but can you have an RGB keyboard ? 😀 sorry , I'm only joking . Good work. My patience doesn't stretch to soldering that many pieces , so I take my hat off to you. Now when I was a teenager, back in the early 80s, yes I'm old enough to remember these machines when they were brand new cutting edge things, I never had a spectrum. I did have a Dragon 32, which got lost in a house move somewhere . I'd love to have a Dragon 32 again , doubt anyone makes a retro kit for one of those !
I can take no credit for the blu-tack, that honour goes to More Fun Making It (link to his channel in the description). I similarly struggled with burnt finger tips and bent component legs for years! I would love a Dragon 32, it's on my "to buy" list when I see one at a sensible price.
You just described why I bought a 48k earlier this year as my first spectrum. The Amstrad machines are too close to cricket-bat sized and I wanted a keyboard that was half-way civilised. I have nothing that takes composite. I got a VGA Joy to set it up with my computer monitor and then found that with no passthrough my inpatient self couldn't use a IDE ssd thing. I ended up buying a hdmi converter that (had passthrough) and fit the user port which works for me. Bytedelight rocks.
Thanks for helping me find Deliberate Thought by Kevin MacLeod! I've been looking for the song not knowing what it was called for the past 10 years pretty much, having been an avid watcher of DanTDM back in the old mod review days. I love RUclipsrs who list the songs they use in their descriptions.
To be fair it's in the Creative Commons license agreement that I have to give attribution to use Kevin's music, but I would anyway because he's a fantastic resource for content creators!
@@TechMadeEasyUK I agree. I have seen a lot of people who fail to provide sufficient attribution even when the license explicitly states that they're obligated to do so.
I watched this with a feeling of deja vu... I've done the exact same build albeit that my Mechtrum case is in the standard black. It was the same even down to a single solder joint preventing the thing from booting properly first time. In my case though the diagnostic rom identified a missing address line in the lower RAM making the bad joint easy to find. I'm very impressed with that ROM...
@@TechMadeEasyUK Yes, it's a great project, I really enjoyed building it. I meant to say that if you do find that you need to program your own ROMs, I can recommend the XGecu T48 programmer for the task.
Hey❤, I worked for years at GeTronics in the Netherlands. Repairing system boards of pc's and laptops. The guys there made fun of me because I allways had a magnifying glass on my glasses. Looked stupid, but I always found loose connections, and my soldering jobs were 100%😂
@@TechMadeEasyUK I'll be watching the joints on the next video you upload 🤨 also, your vid reminded me that i have a newbrain (grundy) that i promised to myself i will restore.
Good work, but it took away the soul of what made the true Spectrum the Spectrum. The loading times, the quirky keyboard, the colors-well, that whole package had a special magic.
Another approach to locating component positions is to not look for specific one. So if you have say R3, R47 & R106 across the top of your PCB, locate them on your parts list & your done. Beats trying to locate a specific component among all those lines, dots and array of other numbers.
The N-Go Spectrum Next motherboard was designed to also fit into a 48K rubber keyboard speccy case, with some modifications of course, though you can get rubber key speccy cases designed for the N-Go. It has support for 48K, 128K, +3, ZX80/81, and more that it can become. Note I said become, it's not emulation but rather a reproduction of the machines in an FPGA chip. It also has the main Next core which can load 48/128K games natively and can run at speeds up to 28 MHz, 3.5 being the original speccy speed, with the help of a Raspberry Pi daughter board, 14 MHz without it. It has HDMI output as well as VGA for a more retro experience. While the Spectrum Next is hard to get if you did not back it's Kickstarter campaigns the N-Go board is more available.
What a lovely build. I bought the Mechtrum myself a while back and am still pondering what to put in it. I won't put our original 48k Speccy in it, although that does need some TLC. So... do I go for the Harlequin 2D from Bytedelight? Well, they also have the diagnostic cart which would be great for the 48k one, so yeah, I think I will go for that one. But again, great job with this Mechtrum 128k.
Rather than keeping all your 8-bit computers on the desk, you ought to display them on the wall, and pull out one (at a time) to use. You can keep all the cables arranged in the back of the desk, zip-tied and labeled as to which machine it goes with. Have an auto-switcher on your CRT (doesn't have to be a period design; could be modern) so the cables can all stay plugged in on that end. (or will they all just use the same F-connector, after modding? even better.)
Sorry I didn't watch sooner, very nice work on the build and I see you printed the Mechtrum stand as well. As for that part of the case that is not quite perfect it's related to pressure advance settings around the section with the power jack hole and could be fixed with a lot of calibration for this one filament. Like I said the sparkle black hides all the print issues.
Thanks Lee, and not a criticism of the product in anyway, I expected some imperfections given the nature of 3D printing. I still think it’s an amazing product
@@TechMadeEasyUK Someone commented about the Wraith key caps for the mechtrum on hackaday and it looks like they have a new batch for sale so I have a set on order, but they are missing symbol shift and a 1u break and enter key.
I had one of the first ZX80s, ZX81s and was going to get a Spectrum 16K on release too, but after months of delays and nothing but excuses from Sinclair my Dad cancelled the order and got a TI99/4A instead, in many ways better and in 1984 I got a Commodore 64 followed by an Atari ST and Commodore Amiga, then PCs, so like yourself I totally missed out on the Spectrum.
I could only devote time in short stints (the magic of film making). I think cumulatively it was probably about 5-6 hours, but extra time was needed to film it. It's probably 3-4 hours work for anyone with knowledge of soldering.
You might be interested in some of Dr Matt Regan's videos on RUclips, he's built a ZX Spectrum clone with VGA output, using an EPROM for a lot of the display logic.
I'm working on a similar project, except my Mechtrum case is the standards dark grey with the colorful stripes. I see you didn't apply the AY fix (see the last page on the manual) for this revision board and there are a bunch of games and demos that won't work. Frankly, if you wan a future proof Spectrum you should by the N-GO, a Spectrum NEXT clone build and sold by ManuFerHi. Lee took the key caps from him :) The N-GO gives you all the classic Speccies, the Pentagon timings and of course the Spectrum NEXT features so you can run all the software under the Sun for the ZX Spectrum!
I used the sony hitbit msx, c64, c128 and c128d in the department store where they ey sold them. We rented the zx spectrum and an atari (can't remember which one) from the library before i got my first 8088 and after that a 386 dx/2. Then pentium and after that we're on to the core2duo, before ending up on amd's and the intel i series. Even had a cyrix at one point. Crazy AI has gotten where it is. And on our battery driven phones even...
@@TechMadeEasyUK And because of you I now know that the composer of KSP was indeed Kevin MacLeod. Thanks! Also, just wanted to mention that I am in the middle of a my first complex electronics build and your video here has been very helpful for me in various ways. Kinda got stuck on KSP music, but yeah. Thanks for making this and putting it out into the world.
Now the original DIL packaged basic Z80 has been discontinued I imagine kits like this are going to begin to disappear as stock gets used up. Going forward only Z80E is getting produced which is a much faster 16 bit processor in a SOC configuration with all kinds of RAM and Flash storage options on chip together with a lot of other ancillary functionality.
I don't really understand why you would want the keyboard layout of the original Spectrum, rather than the one from the Spectrum+ or the newer ones. The latter have separate keys for many crucial functionalities, such as the delete key, rather than having to use key combos like in the original.
Being into 3D printing myself I wonder what's with the "black rainbow", why it has that white sheen to it. It looks like he forgot to clean the gluestick off his 3D printer bed? As for the imperfection you note yourself, it looks like a minor sticky spot on the Z-Axis rods. If the head got knocked the entire section above that part woudl be shifted in some direction as the printhead functions entirely on dead reckoning and so any disturbance like that will not be recoverable... Unless by happenstance it's a multi-color print on something like a Bambu where it homes the X and Y axis between every color swap.
The board should have thrown the ULA functionality onto an FPGA. I don't think it's cheating seeing as an FPGA is basically the modern equivalent of an ULA.
I had a a spectrum and a spectrum 48 I know the pain of 40 minutes loading game for it to crash and have to start again...Also getting pie playback volume right for it to load
The harlequin kit came from Netherlands, so in theory it will be easier and cheaper for you to get (link in description). The Mechtrum is no longer being made, but you can buy the STL files from Lee’s website
@@TechMadeEasyUK Okay, thanks. I might be persuing this. It looks like a nifty box, it might get me in this kinda hobby. Yeah, but with how much are You in for? That´s my core question. It might be cheaper to just get an original. I basically just started this to get how much it is. I think when all this is basically a plug then please give us the hole picture. What good is a new, old computer to me when it´s double the price of the original. Kind Regards
Actually, on reflection @HTMLEXP is correct, I don't know why I said that. I actually really can appreciate what you've built here - all the things I do not like about the Spectrum have been addressed, well, apart from the software. Back in the day all I ever felt, after waiting for things to load, and hoping it wouldn't crash during the process, was utter disapointment. I'm really not interested in games and I only ever saw these machines being used for that, and compared to what there was going on in other systems I always thought Speccy stuff was just tragic. I'd love to see you do 'other stuff' with your machine and not just play games with it. It'd also be really interesting to see some expansion, putting together a complete system, maybe a mix of real vintage and modern, and some exploration of other uses in todays context and not just games. Personally I try to find genuine uses for all my vintage tech, right down to my Z80 based home made CP/M machine which I use for all sorts of things on pretty much a daily basis. Same with my Amiga, I just got a Tandy WP-2 which I'm using for writing and compared to using any of my modern devices its simply divine.
congrats! But...how much did you "pay" for this? It's nice, lovely and it would bring me back to the fist-time computing days I experienced on a ZX81...but...I cannot afford the "cost" (time, resource...) sadly...
Well the Spectrum would have been somewhat a downgrade coming from the Commodore 64, next step would have been an Atari ST or the Amiga 500, skipped those and went for the 486.
Not at all what I was expecting. I though maybe you had found a speccy from the 80s still unboxed (unlikely but possible) and you were simply using the board out of that to put into your case with your keyboard. I love what you've done but I'm not into the lime green. That keyboard colour is nicer, I would have gone with that for the case too but each to his own. I loved the speccy in it's day but hated the keyboard. You really do have the perfect speccy.
No worries, it’s a very subjective thing! I’ve always loved lime green so it’s my ideal colour, but the beauty of 3D printing is you can have this in any colour you want!
@@TechMadeEasyUK Of course mate, that's what modding is all about, making something that fits YOUR preferences. Otherwise why bother putting the effort in.
Please for the love of god, if you're going to bleep yourself, DEADEN THE BEEP VOLUME AT LEAST 14db!!! I The tiny speakers in everything these days resonate around 2khz. My tv so low enough that I can just clearly hear you in my room, but all the way on the other side of the house I can very much hear when you cuss....with the microwave on....TURN THAT CRAP DOWN!!!!
Fair comment. I master the audio with a set of monitor earphones but I must admit when playing back on other devices I noticed the volume. Apologies for apparently ruining your day
@@TechMadeEasyUK Completely ruined. Actively crawling back into bed now to cry myself to sleep...you monster!😭 But seriously, its enough of an issue on so many channels Ive stopped being gentle about it. You are 1 of 3 channels so far that have even acknowledged the issue at all. So ya got that going for ya....which is nice.... SIde note (maybe I missed it) did you ever figure out why the joystick box didnt work with this machine?
@zombieregime yes, it’s because I’d included the IC which does the onboard joystick control as well. I popped that out and the one on the SMART cart worked just fine
@@TechMadeEasyUK Ahh, Im not hip on the ZXs (other side of the pond) but its electrically interesting the one blocks the other. Not strange per se, just interesting. Anyways (before I get too lost in that thought), at least its sussed out! All in all it looks like an awesome kit! 😎👍 Hunting down those little issues kind of harkens back to the old electronics/programming lament: Is not working right....and I have no idea why. Its working perfectly....and I have no idea why!!!😆
17:52 Not funny at all, you murderer! It's like stepping on hamsters, just because they are cheap, useless and plentiful. (To make it more obvious, I'm joking. Like... 95% at least.)
Congratulations, you are now on the Spectrum.
This is the pinnacle of preservation in the digital age where the hardware to run the software has a few decade shelf life. Like traditional tradesmen passing on their skills old tech isn't fully preserved until it can be remade in my opinion. Love these kind of challenges.
When at technical (electronics) middle school, I was taught to actually solder elements being slightly elevated, not hugged to PCB. Your "oops" was the preferred way. It was about heat, dissipation of heat from soldering and sometimes heat under load, especially when it was about power circuit. Lower failure rate. You use sockets for chips anyway, so extra height for resistors and diodes should not be a problem. We also used some solder on PCB and element ends before we threaded them trough holes, specifically to avoid problems with "cold solder".
Simply pleasure watching this.
A green delight
Glad you enjoyed!
Brilliant! It is great that there is a community out there producing this kind of stuff. Are kids today interested in this sort of thing? There is no equivalent to the 'build it yourself' ZX80 or Spectrum any more. I started programming on a Spectrum and I still work in IT 40 years later.
I suppose the nearest modern equivalent would be building your own PC, but I accept that's more assembly than it is actually building from components
I love this case. With the harleyquin it is the perfect setup for any of us not having any nostalgia to the original torture keyboard! Nice build!
Thanks! I agree that’s probably one reason I like it so much. I have nothing love for the original models and as such it’s easy to point out their flaws
OMG the photo you show at 0:14 looks so much like my childhood photos.. I can't believe I'm getting nostalgic over someone else's photo. (And is that Wolfenstein 3d on the screen? i'm going to cry)
Nope, that was Undersea Adventure, one of the edutainment CD-ROMs that came with the Packard Bell Executive Multimedia
Where was this video when I needed it? Great job. Thanks for the info! I may be selling my +2 after all!
Watching you assemble (and debug) you new and modern ZX Spectrum reminds me assembling my first computer (a ZX81) with my father when I was a child. It was a lot of fun.
I remember one of the nerdy kids in our neighbourhood getting a ZX81 and my parents suggesting I go round there take a look at this snazzy new "home computer". I think it was kind of the seed that set me on the road to my current job in IT.
I also had a ZX81, but it was second hand and despite having a 128k addon module I couldn't reliably save or load data, meaning everything on the device at any given time was handwritten by me during that session. Between Sinclair basic limitations, the terrible keyboard, and occasional memory module disconnections it was a special kind of hell.
Back in the day, the ZX Spectrum could load games pretty quickly if you had a microdrive hooked up to it. If I remember correctly, we had something called an Interface 1 that provided the microdrive interface, and a Multiface 1 that provided a joystick port and a way to break into games to "back them up" or do some peeking and poking. The only issue was that one slight nudge would cause it all to crash horribly and microdrives were very unreliable in general.
Later on we got a +2 (the grey version), and an external 3 1/2" floppy drive. Given the small size of the games, a standard floppy on the specci was like having a harddisk on a PC.
I made a Harlequin Spectrum few years ago with a classic case (the white one). After programming the eeprom myself, the first start were tricky but it worked. I still have some issues when starting it. Sometimes I have to unplug/replug 3 ou 4 times before starting but it works afterall.
I started my journey rebuilding burnt out Commodore Pets, then me mum who was working at the Times says to me about Clive Sinclair offering ZX80 kits and so using some of the money from selling Pets on, we grabbed one and what a journey which included burning the carpet, the ram pack melting, the machine's case melting, ate components like we eat dinner and I swear I kept our local RS Components shop in holidays as every week I was after resistor's, capacitors, IC's which had died a heat death... Zx81 was much better, didn't catch fire but did like some component din dins then I got my holy Spectrum 48k which didn't die or break down which I then got a disc drive +3 with the extra memory and I was a happy happy bunny :D
My ZX81 didn't fail, but it's I/O was unusably flaky, so no loading or saving. I hated that keyboard though.
Wow that’s memory lane…. The zx-spectrum was not (yet) available in my country at the time. I was still ‘stuck’ with the predecessor. Now I was du to go to Scotland with a schooltrip. To go short, I picked one up in Dundee. Yep ne happy dude in the time!
What a lovely story, thanks for sharing!
Keeping resistors placed such that readable from left to right, & top to bottom makes them quicker to read. Also, using an iron with a flat tip enables heat transfer to be maximsied, minimising dry joints, along with removing flux with isoprop alcohol.
Quick note on soldering crystals: I've run into problems when soldering these due to the metal case and heat. Best to have something between the crystal and the board to have have them mounted proud. This reduces heat transferred to the crystal, and also negates short circuits from solder wicking through the hole and out to the case. Cheap and easy for lots of stuff like this: put a couple of those (off brand) HAMA beads, one on each leg before mounting the component. Adds a couple of mils.
Lovely build, great looking machine, nice work!
Moo gun 🤣 never heard that before... but technically yes sounds like a cow mooing. great video btw 😉
I can’t think of it as anything other than a Moo Gun now
Very much. I have one and always enjoy the cow-like noise it makes (having grown up on a dairy farm in my early life).
I congratulate you Sir
Wonderful work 👍
It's so refreshing to listen to a native English speaker, especially one who has such a solid grasp of grammar!
You can use painter's tape to hold the components in to solder, or make a picture frame that fits your board holder, and use a sheet of foam to hold them in place.
Ooh I like that idea, I'll consider that in future!
Looks great! and I love some of the shots you got
It looks awesome. I had so much fun building my Harlequin 128. (But the IC sockets were a bit tedious). I also got the DivMMc from Ben at ByteDelight.
I installed it in my original 48K case from the 80's. (I'm used to the keyboard).
Insanely protective of his copyright for the assembly documentation for an open-source hardware project...
I guess it's his USP for the kit? Other than bringing all the parts together, which is equally valuable
Lee's Mechtrum is a beautiful case. I really like the color you picked.
You can disable the "onboard" Kempston Joystick Interface on the Harlequin 128 rev 2D by installing a Jumper on J16, or by removing U39. I then expect the Joystick port on the SMART Card will work as expected.
You may find that the onboard joystick interface will not work while the SMART Card is installed, unless the joystick port on the SMART Card is disabled (which the documentation indicates is done in the Config option in the Boot Rom.)
Ooh that’s a great tip, I’ll pull U39 later and check
Great build, but you're missing out on the edge-of-seat suspense of waiting for a game to load from tape (with the slight chance it might not work first time). And not forgetting the associated loading sounds 😂
I do also have a TZXduino device for when I absolutely need that loading experience
@@TechMadeEasyUK It's not the full experience unless it also generates R: TAPE LOADING ERROR randomly right at the end of every few loads, haha.
Hi I'm sure someone has mentioned this by now, but you can disable the internal kempston interface by jumpering J16 or removing the 74HC366 on the just to the side of the joystick header.
You also cant use Sinclair Interface 2/ram turbo interfaces as the keyboard buffer is connected directly to the CPU, although the cart slot should work i wouldnt risk it due to the possibility of damaging it.
Nice, thank you!
I can’t believe you skipped the Amiga!
I was 3 when the Amiga 500 came out
Great work!
Add a space bar, and it would be almost perfect.
IC sockets: I haven't tried the ones that come in the kit, but I would say, that IC sockets are dirt cheap, and there are several types of sockets that could be candidates for upgrades. I really like the tube type sockets that squish the legs a bit and seems to have a more secure connection to each leg, though it does require more force to install each IC. I would also expect more wear on the sockets if IC's are removed and reinserted often. Another upgrade, especially if IC's are to be removed and reinserted are the locking kind with the lever. They do take up more space (taller, wider, longer), So you have to make sure they can physically fit, and they are quite a bit more expensive, but the chance of bending or braking legs on the IC is hugely reduced. Note that more expensive doesn't mean actually very expensive, as they're pretty cheap off aliexpress. They're often called "IC test locking socket" or something like that.
Lastly, if you like the hard squeeze-leg tube sockets, but can't be bothered to source all the sizes you need (width, number of legs), you can buy them in long strips, and just cut off two pieces for each IC. Providing the pitch between the legs is the same for all your IC's, they fit everything. And if you're careful with your alignment while soldering (angle), there is no waste, as you can use up whatever you have left over by using two or more pieces a side. These are great. I've used them for several 555 projects. Bonus: There aren't any cross beams, so when using island type boards for the astable mode with the 555, having connecting wire crossing connecting wire under the AC doesn't have a cross bar squeezing down. These can even be soldered in after the socket sides have been soldered. Even small TTH components can be soldered in there, making the real estate as small as possible. Axial components outside the IC are upright, of course. None of them will be taller than the caps anyway. So yeah. Those strips are very versatile.
For reference, they're called "turned pin" sockets 😊
@@therealchayd Thank you! Always great to put a name to a face, so to speak! 😄
Really nice. I feel quite envious and nostalgic. One thing though: those edge connectors gripping the side of the motherboard were a cause of many failed loads and interrupted games back in the day. If I were to embark on any project in this area, I would look at ways to either incorporate the interface circuitry on the motherboard or make the interface card in such a way that it could be soldered onto the motherboard via risers
Ahhh, memories! Taught meself assembly language on my 48K Speccy with the help of a friend who was doing a B-TEC course in it and a career was born. Retired now, but fix PCs for a living. Oh, the irony! Yep, you missed a kickass system that for the price was simply unbeatable at the time in 1982/3
Blu tac to hold components in through the hole soldering ! Just brilliant !!! Why didn't I think of that ? !!! years and years , well 4 and a half decades of ( on and off ) hobby electronics and I'd just stuck with various different ways of struggling getting components to go where they should do !
but can you have an RGB keyboard ? 😀 sorry , I'm only joking . Good work. My patience doesn't stretch to soldering that many pieces , so I take my hat off to you.
Now when I was a teenager, back in the early 80s, yes I'm old enough to remember these machines when they were brand new cutting edge things, I never had a spectrum.
I did have a Dragon 32, which got lost in a house move somewhere . I'd love to have a Dragon 32 again , doubt anyone makes a retro kit for one of those !
I can take no credit for the blu-tack, that honour goes to More Fun Making It (link to his channel in the description). I similarly struggled with burnt finger tips and bent component legs for years!
I would love a Dragon 32, it's on my "to buy" list when I see one at a sensible price.
You just described why I bought a 48k earlier this year as my first spectrum. The Amstrad machines are too close to cricket-bat sized and I wanted a keyboard that was half-way civilised. I have nothing that takes composite. I got a VGA Joy to set it up with my computer monitor and then found that with no passthrough my inpatient self couldn't use a IDE ssd thing. I ended up buying a hdmi converter that (had passthrough) and fit the user port which works for me.
Bytedelight rocks.
if you warm the board up a bit with a heat gun you will find
solder flows into through holes easier and also de-solder easier
Good tip, thanks!
The original spectrum keys really were like typing om porridge.
I've actually never had the privilege to use one, but I take your word for it!
jummy
Thanks for helping me find Deliberate Thought by Kevin MacLeod! I've been looking for the song not knowing what it was called for the past 10 years pretty much, having been an avid watcher of DanTDM back in the old mod review days.
I love RUclipsrs who list the songs they use in their descriptions.
To be fair it's in the Creative Commons license agreement that I have to give attribution to use Kevin's music, but I would anyway because he's a fantastic resource for content creators!
@@TechMadeEasyUK I agree.
I have seen a lot of people who fail to provide sufficient attribution even when the license explicitly states that they're obligated to do so.
I watched this with a feeling of deja vu... I've done the exact same build albeit that my Mechtrum case is in the standard black. It was the same even down to a single solder joint preventing the thing from booting properly first time. In my case though the diagnostic rom identified a missing address line in the lower RAM making the bad joint easy to find. I'm very impressed with that ROM...
It's a wonderful project and the bundled ROM is really useful.
@@TechMadeEasyUK Yes, it's a great project, I really enjoyed building it. I meant to say that if you do find that you need to program your own ROMs, I can recommend the XGecu T48 programmer for the task.
Very nice !
Hey❤, I worked for years at GeTronics in the Netherlands. Repairing system boards of pc's and laptops. The guys there made fun of me because I allways had a magnifying glass on my glasses. Looked stupid, but I always found loose connections, and my soldering jobs were 100%😂
Lesson learned from this, I invested in a microscope 😂
The good news is that _now_ you are better at soldering :D
Jury’s out on that one
@@TechMadeEasyUK I'll be watching the joints on the next video you upload 🤨 also, your vid reminded me that i have a newbrain (grundy) that i promised to myself i will restore.
Good work, but it took away the soul of what made the true Spectrum the Spectrum. The loading times, the quirky keyboard, the colors-well, that whole package had a special magic.
Oh I agree, and I’ll keep my other two Speccys for when I want to experience that.
I have to say your choice of case colour was bold! While I'd also have gone for a different colour to standard I think I'd have gone for BBC Beige.
That's the wonder of 3D printing! There's a colour out there for everyone
@@TechMadeEasyUKI'm with you, Like Green FTW ❤. New subscriber. Great video
Ohh, coool!!
The case looks like a Dragon 32.
Yeah I see what you mean!
With a slight Oric Atmos look about it 🙂
Another approach to locating component positions is to not look for specific one. So if you have say R3, R47 & R106 across the top of your PCB, locate them on your parts list & your done. Beats trying to locate a specific component among all those lines, dots and array of other numbers.
I get you but I worried about having 20+ baggies in play at the same time. Maybe it would have worked though, good tip!
@@TechMadeEasyUK I was thinking doing all the resisters first then say capacitors followed by diodes etc.
@VLC8792 I understand, hindsight is 20/20 😂
The N-Go Spectrum Next motherboard was designed to also fit into a 48K rubber keyboard speccy case, with some modifications of course, though you can get rubber key speccy cases designed for the N-Go. It has support for 48K, 128K, +3, ZX80/81, and more that it can become. Note I said become, it's not emulation but rather a reproduction of the machines in an FPGA chip. It also has the main Next core which can load 48/128K games natively and can run at speeds up to 28 MHz, 3.5 being the original speccy speed, with the help of a Raspberry Pi daughter board, 14 MHz without it. It has HDMI output as well as VGA for a more retro experience. While the Spectrum Next is hard to get if you did not back it's Kickstarter campaigns the N-Go board is more available.
i'm getting kerbal space program flashbacks from your choice of soundtrack.
Z80 production stopped :( also, the sound ic still being made? cool buildvlog :D
This has me interested, I have far too many spectrum's and even have an Omni 128HQ. But I want to build one of these it looks really good :)
I had so much fun building it and thus far it’s worked really well
Blutak is also known as "Smurf Poop". FYI. You're welcome.
What a lovely build. I bought the Mechtrum myself a while back and am still pondering what to put in it. I won't put our original 48k Speccy in it, although that does need some TLC. So... do I go for the Harlequin 2D from Bytedelight? Well, they also have the diagnostic cart which would be great for the 48k one, so yeah, I think I will go for that one.
But again, great job with this Mechtrum 128k.
Great!
You were happy playing Horace Goes Skiing? Did we play the same game?
A lime ZX Specky fit for a limey. 😂
Rather than keeping all your 8-bit computers on the desk, you ought to display them on the wall, and pull out one (at a time) to use. You can keep all the cables arranged in the back of the desk, zip-tied and labeled as to which machine it goes with. Have an auto-switcher on your CRT (doesn't have to be a period design; could be modern) so the cables can all stay plugged in on that end. (or will they all just use the same F-connector, after modding? even better.)
Sorry I didn't watch sooner, very nice work on the build and I see you printed the Mechtrum stand as well. As for that part of the case that is not quite perfect it's related to pressure advance settings around the section with the power jack hole and could be fixed with a lot of calibration for this one filament. Like I said the sparkle black hides all the print issues.
Thanks Lee, and not a criticism of the product in anyway, I expected some imperfections given the nature of 3D printing.
I still think it’s an amazing product
@@TechMadeEasyUK Someone commented about the Wraith key caps for the mechtrum on hackaday and it looks like they have a new batch for sale so I have a set on order, but they are missing symbol shift and a 1u break and enter key.
I had one of the first ZX80s, ZX81s and was going to get a Spectrum 16K on release too, but after months of delays and nothing but excuses from Sinclair my Dad cancelled the order and got a TI99/4A instead, in many ways better and in 1984 I got a Commodore 64 followed by an Atari ST and Commodore Amiga, then PCs, so like yourself I totally missed out on the Spectrum.
That is a thing of beauty. Well done. How many days did it take?
I could only devote time in short stints (the magic of film making). I think cumulatively it was probably about 5-6 hours, but extra time was needed to film it. It's probably 3-4 hours work for anyone with knowledge of soldering.
@@TechMadeEasyUK Wow, that is truly impressive.
You might be interested in some of Dr Matt Regan's videos on RUclips, he's built a ZX Spectrum clone with VGA output, using an EPROM for a lot of the display logic.
Top tip! Thanks for sharing
Maybe the ZX is coming back...
I'm working on a similar project, except my Mechtrum case is the standards dark grey with the colorful stripes. I see you didn't apply the AY fix (see the last page on the manual) for this revision board and there are a bunch of games and demos that won't work. Frankly, if you wan a future proof Spectrum you should by the N-GO, a Spectrum NEXT clone build and sold by ManuFerHi. Lee took the key caps from him :) The N-GO gives you all the classic Speccies, the Pentagon timings and of course the Spectrum NEXT features so you can run all the software under the Sun for the ZX Spectrum!
Good tips, thank you!
I used the sony hitbit msx, c64, c128 and c128d in the department store where they ey sold them. We rented the zx spectrum and an atari (can't remember which one) from the library before i got my first 8088 and after that a 386 dx/2. Then pentium and after that we're on to the core2duo, before ending up on amd's and the intel i series. Even had a cyrix at one point. Crazy AI has gotten where it is. And on our battery driven phones even...
where did you get the key caps?
They came with the Mechtrum kit
nice
Very cool …
Is the music at 11:10 is a remix of the Kerbal Space Program "Space Distortion" track?? Cool video btw :)
Links to the music are in the video description, I've never played Kerbal Space Program so can't say
@@TechMadeEasyUK And because of you I now know that the composer of KSP was indeed Kevin MacLeod. Thanks! Also, just wanted to mention that I am in the middle of a my first complex electronics build and your video here has been very helpful for me in various ways. Kinda got stuck on KSP music, but yeah. Thanks for making this and putting it out into the world.
@seralyncampbell4731 you’re welcome, I’m glad it helped!
Now the original DIL packaged basic Z80 has been discontinued I imagine kits like this are going to begin to disappear as stock gets used up. Going forward only Z80E is getting produced which is a much faster 16 bit processor in a SOC configuration with all kinds of RAM and Flash storage options on chip together with a lot of other ancillary functionality.
I went this route with a 48K harlequin, but its not quite 100%. I will do almost the same as you but i think your missing out not using the RBG output
What type of tack are you using to keep the components on the board?
Blu-tack
@@TechMadeEasyUK Thank you so much!
The only negative I have to say about your new Speccy is the lime green colour on your case. It's obviously a matter of personal taste.
The beauty of it being 3D printed is it can be any colour you want!
I don't really understand why you would want the keyboard layout of the original Spectrum, rather than the one from the Spectrum+ or the newer ones.
The latter have separate keys for many crucial functionalities, such as the delete key, rather than having to use key combos like in the original.
Being into 3D printing myself I wonder what's with the "black rainbow", why it has that white sheen to it. It looks like he forgot to clean the gluestick off his 3D printer bed? As for the imperfection you note yourself, it looks like a minor sticky spot on the Z-Axis rods. If the head got knocked the entire section above that part woudl be shifted in some direction as the printhead functions entirely on dead reckoning and so any disturbance like that will not be recoverable... Unless by happenstance it's a multi-color print on something like a Bambu where it homes the X and Y axis between every color swap.
The board should have thrown the ULA functionality onto an FPGA. I don't think it's cheating seeing as an FPGA is basically the modern equivalent of an ULA.
I had a a spectrum and a spectrum 48 I know the pain of 40 minutes loading game for it to crash and have to start again...Also getting pie playback volume right for it to load
Check out the ZX 48 Spider PCB. There’s also ZX 128 Max.
Great tip, thanks!
All nice and good but how much is all that stuff? And can I get it outside Britain? Too many won´t ship to Germany anymore.
The harlequin kit came from Netherlands, so in theory it will be easier and cheaper for you to get (link in description).
The Mechtrum is no longer being made, but you can buy the STL files from Lee’s website
@@TechMadeEasyUK Okay, thanks. I might be persuing this. It looks like a nifty box, it might get me in this kinda hobby. Yeah, but with how much are You in for? That´s my core question.
It might be cheaper to just get an original. I basically just started this to get how much it is. I think when all this is basically a plug then please give us the hole picture.
What good is a new, old computer to me when it´s double the price of the original.
Kind Regards
❤❤
Putting something away for "safekeeping" is a sure way to guarantee you'll forget where they are.
100%
2:33 Yeah right!
Your censoring beeps are rather loud. Other than that, I like this video.
Thanks for the feedback
I know there's a lot of love for the Spectrum. Personally if I saw one on fire...well you can guess the rest.
Each to their own. I’m quite enamoured with it lately
The psychology behind leaving a comment on a video you watched about something you dislike is puzzling.
All views are welcome here 😁
Actually, on reflection @HTMLEXP is correct, I don't know why I said that. I actually really can appreciate what you've built here - all the things I do not like about the Spectrum have been addressed, well, apart from the software. Back in the day all I ever felt, after waiting for things to load, and hoping it wouldn't crash during the process, was utter disapointment. I'm really not interested in games and I only ever saw these machines being used for that, and compared to what there was going on in other systems I always thought Speccy stuff was just tragic. I'd love to see you do 'other stuff' with your machine and not just play games with it. It'd also be really interesting to see some expansion, putting together a complete system, maybe a mix of real vintage and modern, and some exploration of other uses in todays context and not just games. Personally I try to find genuine uses for all my vintage tech, right down to my Z80 based home made CP/M machine which I use for all sorts of things on pretty much a daily basis. Same with my Amiga, I just got a Tandy WP-2 which I'm using for writing and compared to using any of my modern devices its simply divine.
congrats! But...how much did you "pay" for this? It's nice, lovely and it would bring me back to the fist-time computing days I experienced on a ZX81...but...I cannot afford the "cost" (time, resource...) sadly...
Well the Spectrum would have been somewhat a downgrade coming from the Commodore 64, next step would have been an Atari ST or the Amiga 500, skipped those and went for the 486.
Not at all what I was expecting. I though maybe you had found a speccy from the 80s still unboxed (unlikely but possible) and you were simply using the board out of that to put into your case with your keyboard. I love what you've done but I'm not into the lime green. That keyboard colour is nicer, I would have gone with that for the case too but each to his own. I loved the speccy in it's day but hated the keyboard. You really do have the perfect speccy.
No worries, it’s a very subjective thing! I’ve always loved lime green so it’s my ideal colour, but the beauty of 3D printing is you can have this in any colour you want!
@@TechMadeEasyUK Of course mate, that's what modding is all about, making something that fits YOUR preferences. Otherwise why bother putting the effort in.
I just don't understand doing a retro computer in a different case - the industrial design of the original is much of the allure I would think.
why, why, WHY would they implement the ULA in discrete logic instead of programming a cheap CPLD as a replacement?
I really don't understand why, I had a zx81 when it came out, and it really wasn't good for much.
Well done, but people in glass houses, and all that. I think we are all guilty of some assuming, then find we've cocked up.
great project though.
I really am curious if someone in the states, like me, can use this!
Yep, you just need a different crystal oscillator for an NTSC video signal rather than PAL
@@TechMadeEasyUK Would this allow me to play the PAL games or nah?
@ChrisKewl I’m by no means an expert with Spectrums, but I’m not sure the games are region dependent?
@@TechMadeEasyUK I would assume the speed would be faster for NTSC?
I’ll double check the manual when I’m back home
Does anyone else sell a ready made case, made of ANY material, and a mechanical keyboard?
Sigh my fist computer was a Timex Sinclare 1k.
PrintMsg:
ld bc, String
loop:
ld a, (bc)
or a
jr z, end
rst $10
inc bc
jr Loop
end:
ret
String:
defb "woohoo!"
defb 13, 0
Very nice video, but that's not how you eat a stroopwafel...
It’s exactly how I eat a stroopwafel. Well done for making it to the end!
Tell me how do you eat one?!
100% unusable. What About príde? It´s higher than modern equivalent?😊
Why? 😂
Are you aware of the concept called "hobbies"?
Please for the love of god, if you're going to bleep yourself, DEADEN THE BEEP VOLUME AT LEAST 14db!!! I The tiny speakers in everything these days resonate around 2khz. My tv so low enough that I can just clearly hear you in my room, but all the way on the other side of the house I can very much hear when you cuss....with the microwave on....TURN THAT CRAP DOWN!!!!
Fair comment. I master the audio with a set of monitor earphones but I must admit when playing back on other devices I noticed the volume. Apologies for apparently ruining your day
@@TechMadeEasyUK Completely ruined. Actively crawling back into bed now to cry myself to sleep...you monster!😭
But seriously, its enough of an issue on so many channels Ive stopped being gentle about it. You are 1 of 3 channels so far that have even acknowledged the issue at all. So ya got that going for ya....which is nice....
SIde note (maybe I missed it) did you ever figure out why the joystick box didnt work with this machine?
@zombieregime yes, it’s because I’d included the IC which does the onboard joystick control as well. I popped that out and the one on the SMART cart worked just fine
@@TechMadeEasyUK Ahh, Im not hip on the ZXs (other side of the pond) but its electrically interesting the one blocks the other. Not strange per se, just interesting. Anyways (before I get too lost in that thought), at least its sussed out! All in all it looks like an awesome kit! 😎👍
Hunting down those little issues kind of harkens back to the old electronics/programming lament: Is not working right....and I have no idea why. Its working perfectly....and I have no idea why!!!😆
One question… WHY ? 😂
You can buy working device much more cheaper… you can emulate it on every crap smartphone
The case is actually cringy. Why on earth one shall use 3d printing for such primitive rectangular shapes...
Each to their own I guess
17:52 Not funny at all, you murderer!
It's like stepping on hamsters, just because they are cheap, useless and plentiful.
(To make it more obvious, I'm joking. Like... 95% at least.)
I straightened her out and she rests peacefully on my shelf in case I need her in future
@@TechMadeEasyUK Thank gods! 🙏 I'm at ease now.😅