Ben Heck's ZX Spectrum Mod Part 2

[@StarDustSid]

I felt like an electronics genius when I upgraded my 16K speccy to a 48K by opening it up and pushing in some RAM chips. What you're doing here is a whole other world of impressiveness.

[@snolan1990]

I'm from the UK and I appreciate that the pronunciation of the letter Z is essentially an arbitrary facet of the cultural gulf between our two nations, that is ultimately inconsequential as everyone watching understands that “Zed” and “Zee” both mean Z. I also appreciate the effort made to modify (well replicate) this classic system into a hand held system with a number of improvements. I can't wait for part 3.

[@Barnacules]

Ben is a genius... I wish I had his knowledge!

[@benhibberd6907]

me to

[@superluigieth1]

Ben Hibberd *too

[@FairPlay137]

Same.

[@ytnathandude]

Barnacules Nerdgasm What are you doing here?

[@Phobos_Anomaly]

>Makes multiple part series of videos featuring over an hour of content, providing a detailed overview of a fantastic vintage microcomputer and a fun modding project. >Every comment is about the pronunciation of the letter "z".

[@Antelrob]

Some people have no concept of British English and American English. American: "Zee" British: "Zed"

***** Very true, but would it not make sense to localize when it comes to names and labels? For instance, the ZX Spectrum is an English product with an English label, so it should be pronounced as such. ZZ Top is a good example - we say "Zed" but when ZZ Top is mentioned (not that often these days granted :) ) we pronounce it as "Zee Zee Top" as this was the original intended pronunciation. "Zed Zed Top" just does not sound right.... :)

[@anthonyleedickinson3491]

Maybe your on drug's Mr zee.

[@martinbrewer7629]

When are you gonna add the Interface 1 and the Microdrive unit?

[@SatoshiMatrix1]

0:25 Allison's reaction is the best part of the entire video. Also, ZED. Ecks. Spec. Trum. There is no Zee.

[@RetroHamer]

ZX Spectrum Pronunciation War Part 2

[@chomskyhitchens]

Yeah it is bugging me

[@vresi]

I absolutely LOVED your run-through of the mechanics and the physical part of the project, especially the hand drawn bit, with pen and paper. Do more of that!

[@davidthorpe8625]

Where is part 3, really want to see how this turns out!

[@onlineamiga]

I take it there will be a part 3? As I want to see this thing finished and working!

[@TheAmusingMe]

Interesting design considerations for the case, very thoughtful. When you got to the batteries I was wondering if it would help ergonomics to place them at the bottom, either on the side or underneath to create something like a grip.

[@stavroleemo102]

Could you not use the batteries to form an ergonomic grip either side on the underneath to make it easy to hold and keeping an overall nice look to the project

[@mohammadismail5852]

Do you have schematic? I mean would you share the schematic for this?

[@maker_karen1785]

You can try here. github.com/thebenheckshow/141-tbhs-zx-spectrum-mod

[@3pwud]

I'm curious as to how you can attach certain peripherals, such as the adapter which you plug in joysticks such as the sinclair/kempston with the new build. I have a feeling this feature will be missing here.

[@damionlittlewood476]

Awesome, cant wait to see it finished. What's the plan for loading games onto the Handheld Speccy?

[@JoshuaWiedekopf]

The graphic calculator I had to get for school, the 2004 Texas Instruments TI84+, is powered by the Z80, quite a beast for sub-80 € despite the antiqueness of the CPU...

[@diete103]

what the heck is going on around 17:39 ?? Some type of video stabilization happening or what? Tripped me out when you were sketching with the pencil and it was zooming in and out with each stroke! Great video anyway, very interesting and inspiring as always!

[@diete103]

ok also noticed the same angle from 19 minutes on is ridiculously shaky and moving around a lot, drunk (Or new) cameraman or what?

[@Bladedragonlord]

Thanks for another great video. I'm just curious. Couldn't you taking the working logic of the ZX Speccy (or almost any other 'old' computer / console) and program it onto a single processor chip these days? Would that be insanely costly to do for the home hobbyist to do? (Basically the entire thing, including ram, video and sound. Then just use power and physical connectors to TV, Speakers, Keyboard, etc?)

[@getman1991]

I dig your capacitance disks! I think they make great art pieces and good conversation starters. I've only ever found one in the wild, at a Good Will. They're just fascinating! It's great to see someone else who collects, let alone knows what they are.

[@wibblyteapot]

The start of this episode made me laugh. Just discovered your channel Ben, absolutely brilliant, and very professionally done. I've got a lot of vids to watch

[@TheSulross]

I like how this channel covers the basic right of passage info that every human being should know

[@StuwDrey]

Please share a parts list for this project. Thanks.

[@KingPepper41]

Thanks Ben, for your impressive work & videos, really enjoying watching these, can't wait for part 3 and to see the design of the casing that you decide on. Best wishes from the British Isle's. Paul.

[@thormilton3574]

hey ben when are u posting part 3 of this mod

[@martinbrewer7629]

You think the Zed Ecks/Zee Ecks thing is bad... There was massive disruption back when E-Z Clean lunched in the UK... No one had any idea it was supposed to be easy...

[@Hannacastle]

I just found your channel today,very cool stuff. Have you ever done anything with an old TSR-80 Color Computer? I got one as my first computer back in 1982. I spent the first two weeks reading the books that came with it and learned Basic.

[@EverythingEbikeChannel]

Whats that song an 15:20?

[@ElsworthToohey]

So...has the upload schedule for the show changed permanently? I used to be able to watch it first thing on Mondays, but now it seems to be random.

[@TheTigermask1]

Ben could you do a mod 3 ZX Spectrum but maybe a laptop version please, and Atari Jaguar handheld

[@Ausvego]

I have that same blanket at home, Ben! Also, looking forward to part 3! Awesome as always.

[@Sodaholic6502]

Even as a yank, I'd prefer that the _ZED_ X Spectrum is called by its proper name. Aside from that, is there a way to set a custom amount of zoom on that screen? Given that the ZX Spectrum only has a 256x192 area (in PAL where lines are shorter than NTSC nonetheless), I think it would be a good idea to get rid of the bordered area for the sake of aesthetics, not wasting any of the screen and visibility as a tiny portable system

[@rubenmartikyan9266]

where did you learn this all?

[@talideon]

There are a number of good FPGA clones of the Spectrum's ULA, so even if it's not possible to get original chips, It's still possible to replace dead ULAs these days.

[@oliver1224]

Fantastic Video.. I like what your doing.. I remember the days of the Spectrum... I did the Fuller Keyboard conversion which really improved the layout.. I don't know if you can still get hold of those?... might be worth looking into... I liked what you did in the first video with the Rom.. very impressive.. I have to say Zee-Ex Spectrum sounds very weird... Incredible video.. great work...

[@yuppiehi]

"Zee" 80 is what the Americans call it. UK called it "Zed" 80. The Brits are known to change crap like this, so don't take what they say as etched in stone. For example, they're the same people who call VHS "Vertical Helical Scan" when even the Japanese who invented the thing call it "Video Home System." The Z80 was designed and manufactured by Zilog - an American company. The engineers at Zilog call it the "Zee" 80. Therefore, if you like to call it the "Zed" 80, you may feel you're not wrong, but you are in fact in the minority.

[@yuppiehi]

One thing to add to this is that the British believe the letter "Z" is actually pronounced as "zed," as in "ex, why, zed." They claim that the letter has been pronounced "zed" since the 17th century. In fact, Shakespeare wrote, "Thou whoreson Zed, thou vnnecessary letter." (Lear II. ii. 69). But of course, he wasn't a yankee. When English was imported into what would eventually become the United States, the pronunciation changed to "zee", as in "ex, why, zee." Strange thing is that, as people moved down and settled into the southern United States, they still pronounced it as "zed" (French influence, maybe?) while the yankee in New English continued to use "zee." In fact, the letter "Z" isn't even native to New English. Apparently, the letter was introduced as it was needed in order to spell loan words that are not part of the English language (some say the pronunciation "zed" actually originated from French.)

[@TheTurnipKing]

Actually, I call it the Zee-80. because THAT IS ITS NAME. I wish you would extend the same courtesy to the Zed Ecks Spectrum.

[@theoriginaldylangreene]

***** Funny anecdote, I threw two American sailors off of my yacht as the pronunciation of "buoy" got on my tits, I mean what the actual fuck is a booie? I thought they were taking the piss at first.

[@dannyboyvondutch1788]

I know this, my mother is English, however it's about as dumb as arguing over "zee and zed", that was my point.

[@TheTurnipKing]

This is shaping up to be a thing of true beauty.

[@casiothestrong]

***** You did an amazing job on this. I've just started soldering boards with chips. What kind of wire are you using here because they're so small.

[@MarcKloos]

Some here say it should be Zed Ecks Spectrum, because the thing is British. Using that logic, the CPU is a Zee 80 as Zilog is American. (I call it a Zet Icks Spectrum, because that's who we pronounce ZX in Dutch)

[@NicholasMusick]

Do you take order. like can i buy stuff you make

[@JohnYoung77]

ZED !!!! NOT ZEE !!!

[@SuppaflyZSM]

Do you think comments about pronunciation are a productive part of a discussion?

[@rann01]

THIS IS AMERICA WE PRONOUNCE IT ZEE HERE.

[@SuppaflyZSM]

TheMagicToaster Indeed, if anything more people probably say zee.

[@joeedangerously4295]

Excuse me, your caps lock seems to be stuck. You may want to clean your keyboard with rubbing alcohol and some Q-Tips.

[@FairPlay137]

Depends on where you live... :P

[@Visuwyg]

Will the Device also get a D-Pad and Button(s)?

[@GeoDelGonzo]

Reading all the comments on the pronunciation of Z is hilarious. Let's look at it this way; Zed is the UK/CDN way of saying it, as well, saying Zed sounds like the thing is heavy and fat. Now calling it Zee sounds as if it is lighter and faster - I think that fits well with what Ben is trying to do here! So the old original version should be reffered to as the 'ZED'X Spectrum and Ben's rebuilt handheld model - fits in your hands, the all in one... The NEW and IMPROVED 'ZEE'X Spectrum! (Applause) That's marketing baby!

[@malcolmforde4969]

What EEPROM are you using? I am building my own z80 computer and I don't know what EEPROM I should use.

[@kenanalibegovic6724]

Malcolm Forde He is using an EPROM not an EEPROM and it's form an old hard drive

[@anthonyleedickinson3491]

Here's one for you see if u can get a zx spectrum c64 and a CPC running from one board using bios switching

[@electronalchemy7513]

Please Ben, just call it a Spectrum, okay? Keep all those potty mouths down there happy. I may have smirked though when I realised the "small" portable Speccy is going to be bigger and heavier than the original ;)

[@TheTurnipKing]

It is both a testament to the original design and the ability of the modern hobbyist to tinker in the realm of what was once industrial design.

[@Fuzz-Ra]

Well, having the screen and a power source built in are clearly going to beef up the weight a bit. Given that the battery pack seems to be a pair of 18650s in heatshrink, I'd be rather tempted to separate them so that you can have one at either side of the case and use the bulge that they'll produce on each side as a grip.

[@TheTurnipKing]

The circuit board isn't that much smaller, but then it won't be because it's largely a rebuild using original through hole components. The circuit design is a lot simpler than the old one though, thanks to the modern ram. Undoubtedly it could be a lot smaller with surface mount, or an FPGA implementation of the whole system. but that's obviously not Ben's intent with this, and really I think it's all the cooler for that.

[@voidjuice]

17:45 things get very dizzying.

[@aaronreash814]

would a calculator case work for it?

[@MichaelLenz1]

Ben, can you make a instructions and share pcb layout if you have a free time? I think many of us will be glad to build portable ZX Speccy :)

[@MihaiOctavianBogdan]

Hello. I'm glad I found this channel and the guy who can help me if he wants :-) I always wanted to build a small Z80 based pc. I have a small board with TMPZ84C015 microcontroller(IC80 from MCT Paul & Scherer). I'm searching for a solution to build graphic interface. Any idea based on the hardware I have? Could V9958 from Yamaha work? I would also want to be able to load programs for SD card. As a display I can use one from GameBoy Advance. Or I can buy a new one. Can you give me some hints?

[@gaming-zombie1392]

The Zee X Spectrum portable is going to come out AWESOME Looking...

[@Stevieboy74]

Wait....you didn't finish it?! I wanted to see the final product working! Will there be a part 3??

[@element14presents]

Stevieboy74 Yes - stay tuned!

[@Stevieboy74]

The Ben Heck Show Great...thanks Ben!

[@DerikPlaysGames]

So old school . Everyone knows that pens are more In style these days

[@KevinAllOver]

Next up Ben should build a ZX81 portable.

[@Gower5555]

Why did he wiring everything by hand if , he could etch a PCB ?

[@kyllianholder]

Because you can dewire it after and change things in it.

[@TheTurnipKing]

Because it is a fun electronics project. It's a one off to see if he can do it, not something intended for duplication.

[@Gower5555]

of course but it's double time to build by heand wiring.....nevermind

[@shadowtheimpure]

Camera at 17:50 very nearly made me extremely sick.

[@CAsh4kiDZ]

paxton in parts?

[@saberpeep]

You should have designed it in sort of the shape on a gameboy advance (landscape), that way, you could make it a clamshell (for the screen), AND make the bottom half (with the keyboard) look like the original ZX spectrum!

[@boostaddict_]

+The Ben Heck Show you should make a video showing how to build and program an 8 bit computer.

[@isaneblog]

Ben this mod is epic! Your most engaging content yet! I cannot wait to see this progress. It is inspiring me to attempt a similar 6502 based project. Now if I could just get ahold of a POKEY chip...

[@CypherVirus]

sooooo... no part 3 then? No final product, really?

[@back2skooldaze]

The blackberry phones was so terrible for thumb texting those little keys/buttons i never could get to grips with :(

[@openalltheboxes]

11 seconds in and i'm already happy because of alison's shirt...

[@mndlessdrwer]

A shame you don't have a 3D printer of a high enough granularity to print a set of key caps for that. That would be awesome, because then you could print the keys all held together by a matrix, then you could just move the whole thing to your CNC laser and etch the text on the keys.

[@stratmask5]

finally... waiting too long for this video..

[@MrSlashStudios]

6:26 RIP HEADPHONE USERS BEN WILL YOU PAY FOR MY MEDICAL TREATMENT

[@m0nk3yl0v3r]

I dont understand anything hes talking about but it was fun to watch...!

[@xanokothe]

YEAH PART 2! Thanks Ben!

[@CodeMasterRapture]

Why not use a pair of cellphone battery packs as well? For example, the Galaxy S3 batteries are cheap on Amazon and two of them stacked are thinner than one 18650. Also, are you planning on leaving the sockets on the protoboard? I'm sure that could slim this project up a bit without them. I mean, once it is tested and working, you wouldn't need to have them, right?

[@tsvtsvtsv]

I wonder if he would be able to make a portable Commodore 64 using the same basic design?

[@tetsujin_144]

The C64 has more ICs and a lot of it would be harder to cut out, I think. For instance, there's three big ICs you pretty much can't omit: the CPU, the graphics chip (VIC-II), and the sound chip (SID). In addition there were the two interface adapter chips (CIA) - which, apart from operating the keyboard and I/O ports also include RTC and timers (which makes them slightly harder to replace with alternative circuitry), the PLA which handled bank switching, and then the RAM and ROM, of course... I expect the CIA and PLA are complex enough to make it non-trivial to replace them with something smaller... Of course, if you want a portable Commodore 64, there is another option: The C-64 "Direct to TV" all-in-one joystick designed by Jeri Ellsworth. It can be hacked to add a keyboard, external storage, etc. It's "cheating" maybe but it is an option...

[@tetsujin_144]

tony taylor I know. I just said that.

[@TheTurnipKing]

Not a chance. You couldn't replicate the whole functionality of the C64 WITHOUT "cheating".

[@TheTurnipKing]

I'd have to disagree, I don't consider replacing the RAM to be cheating. But you could make exactly the same argument for using the RPI to emulate the C64, and to much greater effect, given the greater complexity of the C64. The DirecTV version is probably the best solution for a C64 portable.

[@tetsujin_144]

Certainly using different RAM is one of those things that doesn't have much impact on the experience of using the system - not like replacing or emulating sound hardware or video hardware, in which case there's usually some noticeable difference

[@kensaku4962]

Can you turn an old original xbox into a home theater???

[@skydragonslashu]

You should make a Playstation Ultimate. It's a PS2, PS3 and a PS4 all in one. On another note it's Z people it's a letter not a whole word.

[@CommissarTommy]

I have no idea what I'm talking about when it comes to these things but I would be grateful if someone could explain to me why Ben uses the big bulky cell batteries instead of a much slimmer Li-ion battery from a phone.

[@mmmhorsesteaks]

Those are actually li-ion. The ones from your phone are usually shaped to fit in the case, that's why they might seem less bulky while actually having the same (approximate) volume. These are a standard-ish AA-duo pack size; so I would suppose it's cheaper.

[@kevinbarton9052]

Perhaps he should mod an Amiga 500; Amiga 1200 and the latest Amiga 4000 into portable laptops.

[@TheDrakon]

Finally, getting to see Ben show off how well he understands circuits so he can improve on it in every way possible. Really amazing to see how well he understands the hardware to the point where he's able to make so many great improvements. True he could have done it with a fpga but this is way more entertaining! FPGA can be demonstrated in a later episode. Sign me up for team ZED.

[@alejandronestor648]

yo no lo modificaria porque ya no se consiguen y quedan muy pocas y mas si esta en buen estado

[@SproutyPottedPlant]

Ben Heck is a genius!

[@Solder_king]

I came for the electronics but I stayed for the acting

[@automatedwoodworker]

What, not finished!?!

[@TyloriusTechTips]

People are getting so rattled over someone pronouncing zee or zed differently then they do :') its hilarious

[@MrMortull]

Minor niggle here Ben; but the classic little "dead flesh keyboard" version you're so beautifully butchering isn't the latest version of the Spectrum, in fact it sits quite close to the middle of the series. I personally own a ZX Spctrum+3 which is the de-luxe (for lack of a better term) model with a mechanical keyboard, 128k RAM and an integrated disk drive. There was also another, similar one that came with a built-in tape deck.

[@MrMortull]

The 48k was the first basic design, yes, but it looks to me like Ben's Spectrum there is one of the later revisions of the model. Back in the day it wasn't a case of design it once and produce that forever until a new model was needed; the old microcomputers were always undergoing subtle improvement.

[@MichielHaisma]

Great ep!

[@pratherat]

Wonder if you could stagger the switches a bit to imitate a keyboard.

[@RWoody1995]

oh no you can't curve the bottom! apple might sue!

[@TheLoveMario]

after this, make a portable N64! (remember to include the expansion ports)

[@ImaginationToForm]

LOL you zed people crack me up.

[@PuffyRainbowCloud]

Except British English is the original, so it makes more sense to use that. Zee is also very similar to cee.

[@SonofSethoitae]

@@PuffyRainbowCloud Unless you pronounce words like the original Angles and Saxons did, you're not really pronouncing them correctly.

[@lord123abc]

Zed-ecks :)

[@KnuxKitsune]

Versus Sever

[@iaincowell9747]

Lol, he's talking about Labyrinth at the end.

[@tmbarral664]

About pronunciation i was more focused on the way Ben pronounce ROM and RAM. Extremely similar. ;)

[@iWinRar]

The amount of people getting their "knickers" in a bunch in the comments are hilarious.

[@srg0075]

MSB = Most Significant Bit!

[@MrPuffy-fv7cd]

finally!!!!!! been waitin man...haha...

[@xanokothe]

You should build the ZX with a FPGA! I would be cheating, just another way to do it!

[@TheTurnipKing]

Interestingly, the "ULA" in the Spectrum IS an antecedent of the FPGA, a Ferranti gate-array that was used to "smoosh" a few chips together and was part of the cost reduction measures for the system. A similar approach was used to cost-save in a few other UK Micros, like the BBC Micro and the Acorn Electron, but the Spectrum (at least the 48k version) went the whole hog and managed to squeeze just about everything into the ULA.

[@modermonkula]

So much knowledge......

[@alexmatthes]

What is The point of The zee x stectrum

[@manilafungus]

What isn't the point of the zx spectrum?

[@TheTurnipKing]

Historically, it's place is assured because it was one of the first, cheap Microcomputers. Even in the US where it kind of suffered a "failure to launch", it's low price was partially responsible for the lowering of costs around machines like the C64. It's also a medium complexity design which it is possible to clone almost completely with off-the-shelf logic, making it an incredible tinker-tool. It was truly almost all things to all men: A gaming platform to some, a computing device to others and an early 80's equivalent of an Arduino to yet others.

[@wingnut4427]

You should hack an old blackberry for it's keyboard & use that on the build.

[@alexwinter7712]

How about a Gameboy advance sp in the original Gameboy.

[@Horzuhammer]

Even the second video is full of the "ZED NOT ZEE" -crap?! I agree that it sounds horribly wrong but seriously wtf? Wasn't one video's comment area enough?

[@gusfn]

Waiting the next chapter in 3, 2, 1... :-)

[@casteelvinder9176]

Zed's dead baby, Zed's dead...