I was mistaken and didn't film the recap of this one, but you can see the caps were a different colour later - so it was re-cappped. I used the same kit as in this live stream re-cap of a Spectrum+ (from around the same time). ruclips.net/video/1pRPGe8jP8c/видео.html 00:00 - Intro 01:50 - Upgrade from 16KB to 48KB (Live Stream edit) 14:47 - Flashing blocks repair Link to Ian Scott Johnston - ruclips.net/channel/UCtiK8QrcCrsjDXpKzB1PO1A Link to Dermot Sweeney - ruclips.net/channel/UCMeqbD202qj2mytjr7Uu1Rg Thanks also to my ex work collegue Dr Andrew, Alison and Andrew Littleboy.
Your a very understanding Ebayer. Most Ebay sellers say that retro kit is sold as seen and can provide no warranty due to the age of the equipment. Good on you though for sorting it out for him!
@@GadgetUK164 At least you returned another retro computer back to life rather than the skip and the enjoyment of another person and hopefully that enjoyment of retro computing will pass on to his kids and so on keeping our great passion alive for future generations.
Forgot all about these from my childhood, if I remember I have 7 banana boxes full of old spectrums and accessories and games in storage, think I’ll have to dig them out. Great videos.
Another great repair. Nice tjay you stood by your sale and accepted it as a warranty repair. I personally had the same earlier with a ps4 which I sold a couple of months ago lol
Thanks for the mentions Chris. Glad you're still making good use of the pump.👍 Hope you’re keeping well and covid not getting you down, light and the end of the tunnel now, hopefully. 🤞
Bearing in mind the 16K's were the earliest of the Spectrums from 40 years ish ago and the factory they were made at were well known for poor quality control (Dundee's Timex) so the fact it got to this time still alive is a marvel on how strong these machines could be.
@@GadgetUK164 effing too right mate. I sincerely hope that things improve for you too. Getting fed up of being sick / poorly / put in some adversity. Sucks.
@@Neffers_UK Same here mate =/ I've had a few really bad months. The lack of light this time of year doesn't help me, and the fact the central heating is on all the time too. I always suffer this time of year. Thankfully it will start getting brighter soon!
TR4 ZTX650 can easily fail if the joystick interface or similar connected to the expansion port is hot-plugged / hot-unplugged “sideways” as this can short/overload the -5V and/or -12V. This is one of the classic root cause off Spectrum failures. I once as a young teenager payed around 50£ to get this fault fixed. Still worth it at the time as I payed 300£ for the 48k on back order waiting for it to finally reach Denmark. Received serial number #48 sold in Denmark after waiting for months. Now waiting with a growing smile for a Spectrum NEXT ordered via Kickstarter 😎
I have on my spectrum a switch on the jumper place, with the original ram chips. To create a 80K Spectrum. Never ran in to issues. Was working great. Also rebuilt my Multiface 128 with a piggy back 8K static ram. +64k eprom. Made a startup routine to copy rom in to ram. Voila 64k Ram speccy + 32k extra ram from the jumper switch.
Nice =D I did wonder about toggling that address bit to get the additonal 32K! How much logic is needed to add that? I guess nothing much can use it though?
@@GadgetUK164 I’ll be honest, I’d not be refunding after a month or offering a fix on hardware that’s almost as old as I am. Did you get paid to do the repairs? Obviously you don’t have to answer 🤣
@@GadgetUK164 OK. I just thought I'd watch your ebay channel if something I need pops up. But I understand not wanting to connect YT and ebay. I wouldn't do it either.
Sinclair using sockets lol. With their cost cutting, I am amazed the modulator has shielding on it; given more development time, he probably would have used thicker PCB traces over resistors. lol
I have a different outlook on the voltage going to the Speccy. I choose mine for 12v, which is also the unregulated voltage of the original power supply. Yes the 7805 will get hotter but TR4 has less work to do so will make that last longer. Even better to leave it at 12v and put a modern dc-dc converter in place of the 7805. Just my thoughts.
NOTE: They were orange at the point it was upgraded, it was later recapped (notice how they changed to blue when I went back in there after getting it back with the -5v fault).
I remember upgrading mine on the kitchen drainer (old timie anti static method) i could only afford the 16k version so bought the upgrade later .I am positive on one of the chips you left a leg hanging out of the socket for some reason?
You probably spotted the DivIDE from Lotharek there - it just provides a CF card interface - all games run from the CF card so you don't need to load from tape. It has a joystick port, you may have mistaken that for a VGA connector? You can get a device for the Spectrum that provides HDMI out though, it needs a Raspberry Pi too.
Had a look at patreon... my other half spotted the 42.50 plus vat option and declared that for that amount he would expect you to come round the house and wipe his arse. Ive been giggling all morning over the outrage.
LOL!!! I put that option there because one or two people asked for it and supported at that level - which was incredible!!! I prefer if someone does want to support the channel via Patreon that they just go with 1 or 2$ =D
Mega drive outputs 10v, NES and SNES are 9v. Sinclair ZX Spectrum is 9v centre negative. Please don’t use anything else. They don’t like it. Also, if he’d cleaned the heads and tweaked the volume then his original tape deck would’ve probably been fine... just sayin ☺️🤣😉
Yeah, those Megadrive PSU's whilst they say 10V often output 12v or more. Cleaning the heads wouldnt have solved it - the tape speed was variable - ie. worn belts and pinch roller.
@@GadgetUK164 ah ok, I guess that explains the warping. So a new o ring or belt? Potential for cheap fix? My personal experience (to be fair only about 10 md psu fettled) 10v is what it’s aiming for. Although md and master system are both way more tolerant than nes/SNES. I don’t really understand why either considering the power solutions on all 4.. Point of my stupid comment was the centre neg. anyway, keep up the good work fella, Merry Christmas!
@Acorn Electron The spectrum supply is 9V unregulated, off load it's about 11-12v and around 10V on load. Mega Drive supplies work just fine with no issues. The main problem is when people connect centre POSITIVE supplies, which blows the snot out of the 7805, the switching transistors and unfortunately, a lot of other parts
I was mistaken and didn't film the recap of this one, but you can see the caps were a different colour later - so it was re-cappped. I used the same kit as in this live stream re-cap of a Spectrum+ (from around the same time). ruclips.net/video/1pRPGe8jP8c/видео.html
00:00 - Intro
01:50 - Upgrade from 16KB to 48KB (Live Stream edit)
14:47 - Flashing blocks repair
Link to Ian Scott Johnston - ruclips.net/channel/UCtiK8QrcCrsjDXpKzB1PO1A
Link to Dermot Sweeney - ruclips.net/channel/UCMeqbD202qj2mytjr7Uu1Rg
Thanks also to my ex work collegue Dr Andrew, Alison and Andrew Littleboy.
Your a very understanding Ebayer. Most Ebay sellers say that retro kit is sold as seen and can provide no warranty due to the age of the equipment. Good on you though for sorting it out for him!
Thanks =D I made ZERO profit on this Spectrum lol :o)
@@GadgetUK164 At least you returned another retro computer back to life rather than the skip and the enjoyment of another person and hopefully that enjoyment of retro computing will pass on to his kids and so on keeping our great passion alive for future generations.
Great fix! Also, super cool that you provide some "warranty" for the things you sell on. Thanks for posting
Thanks =D
Forgot all about these from my childhood, if I remember I have 7 banana boxes full of old spectrums and accessories and games in storage, think I’ll have to dig them out. Great videos.
Another great repair. Nice tjay you stood by your sale and accepted it as a warranty repair. I personally had the same earlier with a ps4 which I sold a couple of months ago lol
Thanks =D Much appreciated =D Keep up the great work on your channel!
@@GadgetUK164 thanks bud you too. Looks like Steve is sending those consoles to me after all 😁 thanks for vouching for me lol
Thanks for the mentions Chris. Glad you're still making good use of the pump.👍
Hope you’re keeping well and covid not getting you down, light and the end of the tunnel now, hopefully. 🤞
Bearing in mind the 16K's were the earliest of the Spectrums from 40 years ish ago and the factory they were made at were well known for poor quality control (Dundee's Timex) so the fact it got to this time still alive is a marvel on how strong these machines could be.
I have one ZX 48 K, still working fine. Happy New Year to ALL, from Karachi, Pakistan.
Alison to the rescue again, rest her soul. Cracking vid as always Gadge, Interesting with the background story too.
Thanks mate! Wishing you, your wife and family a great Christmas! Lets hope 2021 is better than this year was!
@@GadgetUK164 effing too right mate. I sincerely hope that things improve for you too. Getting fed up of being sick / poorly / put in some adversity. Sucks.
@@Neffers_UK Same here mate =/ I've had a few really bad months. The lack of light this time of year doesn't help me, and the fact the central heating is on all the time too. I always suffer this time of year. Thankfully it will start getting brighter soon!
Quality, 3 videos in a day. Can't watch them with kids and wife around. I will binge watch them later when they're in bed.
TR4 ZTX650 can easily fail if the joystick interface or similar connected to the expansion port is hot-plugged / hot-unplugged “sideways” as this can short/overload the -5V and/or -12V. This is one of the classic root cause off Spectrum failures. I once as a young teenager payed around 50£ to get this fault fixed. Still worth it at the time as I payed 300£ for the 48k on back order waiting for it to finally reach Denmark. Received serial number #48 sold in Denmark after waiting for months. Now waiting with a growing smile for a Spectrum NEXT ordered via Kickstarter 😎
Nice. Atari Jaguar power supplies work great on the Speccy too.
Thank you Sir, for all that you do Happy Holidays!
Merry Christmas
Ahhh...about 35 years ago good memories made
Agreed. Although I had the Amstrad CPC464 with colour monitor. The fun I had with that.
I have on my spectrum a switch on the jumper place, with the original ram chips. To create a 80K Spectrum. Never ran in to issues.
Was working great. Also rebuilt my Multiface 128 with a piggy back 8K static ram. +64k eprom. Made a startup routine to copy rom in to ram.
Voila 64k Ram speccy + 32k extra ram from the jumper switch.
Nice =D I did wonder about toggling that address bit to get the additonal 32K! How much logic is needed to add that? I guess nothing much can use it though?
@@GadgetUK164
I am not sure anymore how i build that, speccy is in the basement, not used in 20 years... Its a issue 3B + 64k Eprom
Hi Chris. I hope you and your family had a Merry Christmas. Have a happy New Year, and I hope 2021 is better than 2020. 🧨💥🎊
Why did it only have 16k?
Ah ok no need to answer. Misread title of video to start with.
Excellent customer service with this.
Thanks =D
@@GadgetUK164 I’ll be honest, I’d not be refunding after a month or offering a fix on hardware that’s almost as old as I am. Did you get paid to do the repairs? Obviously you don’t have to answer 🤣
Merry Christmas Chris, stay safe, hope Santa brings you loads of techie presents.🎅😁
Thanks =D Merry Christmas!
I hope the guy who won the auction appreciates this. Absolutely outstanding that you would do this. What is your ebay channel?
Thanks =D I try to keep my eBay ID private - just to avoid any trolling on there etc.
@@GadgetUK164 OK. I just thought I'd watch your ebay channel if something I need pops up. But I understand not wanting to connect YT and ebay. I wouldn't do it either.
Great vid, that twisted transistor, Good job the other was Plug N Play. 😉
Sinclair using sockets lol. With their cost cutting, I am amazed the modulator has shielding on it; given more development time, he probably would have used thicker PCB traces over resistors. lol
LOL!
I have a different outlook on the voltage going to the Speccy.
I choose mine for 12v, which is also the unregulated voltage of the original power supply.
Yes the 7805 will get hotter but TR4 has less work to do so will make that last longer.
Even better to leave it at 12v and put a modern dc-dc converter in place of the 7805.
Just my thoughts.
It's certainly a valid point! DC-DC is a good option on these too. However on some systems like the C64 they introduce too much noise.
i had the 32k ram extension pack for the back of mine
You said that unit was recapped. Those electrolytic caps are vintage 1980's, especially the orange ones are time expired.
It was recapped - Vishay caps. A few good sellers in the UK sell these. They are probably new old stock.
NOTE: They were orange at the point it was upgraded, it was later recapped (notice how they changed to blue when I went back in there after getting it back with the -5v fault).
I remember upgrading mine on the kitchen drainer (old timie anti static method) i could only afford the 16k version so bought the upgrade later .I am positive on one of the chips you left a leg hanging out of the socket for some reason?
Hehe =D No legs left hanging out there!
But what is this vga and CF extension? I didn't know!
You probably spotted the DivIDE from Lotharek there - it just provides a CF card interface - all games run from the CF card so you don't need to load from tape. It has a joystick port, you may have mistaken that for a VGA connector? You can get a device for the Spectrum that provides HDMI out though, it needs a Raspberry Pi too.
Is that a My Mate Vince watch perchance there?
Haha - yes, it is!!!
Chris, how can we locate the stuff you sell on ebay?
I tend to keep my eBay account private, to avoid problems with people fake bidding etc.
@@GadgetUK164 it is sad that eBay did not yet fix that problem
Had a look at patreon... my other half spotted the 42.50 plus vat option and declared that for that amount he would expect you to come round the house and wipe his arse. Ive been giggling all morning over the outrage.
LOL!!! I put that option there because one or two people asked for it and supported at that level - which was incredible!!! I prefer if someone does want to support the channel via Patreon that they just go with 1 or 2$ =D
@@GadgetUK164 Well its nice of folk to be so supportive. have a nice Christmas.
I repair electronics for myself. If I sell it to someone they think I should service it for free. To hell with that.
Anyway to email you? I have a freebie for you.
Mega drive outputs 10v, NES and SNES are 9v.
Sinclair ZX Spectrum is 9v centre negative. Please don’t use anything else. They don’t like it.
Also, if he’d cleaned the heads and tweaked the volume then his original tape deck would’ve probably been fine... just sayin ☺️🤣😉
Yeah, those Megadrive PSU's whilst they say 10V often output 12v or more. Cleaning the heads wouldnt have solved it - the tape speed was variable - ie. worn belts and pinch roller.
@@GadgetUK164 ah ok, I guess that explains the warping. So a new o ring or belt? Potential for cheap fix?
My personal experience (to be fair only about 10 md psu fettled) 10v is what it’s aiming for. Although md and master system are both way more tolerant than nes/SNES. I don’t really understand why either considering the power solutions on all 4..
Point of my stupid comment was the centre neg. anyway, keep up the good work fella, Merry Christmas!
@Acorn Electron The spectrum supply is 9V unregulated, off load it's about 11-12v and around 10V on load. Mega Drive supplies work just fine with no issues. The main problem is when people connect centre POSITIVE supplies, which blows the snot out of the 7805, the switching transistors and unfortunately, a lot of other parts