Sinclair Spectrum 48k - Double Restoration | Original Spectrum and Spectrum Plus

[@firsteerr]

there is no doubt that sir Clive was a design genius , his machines still look effing cool today the later models(128k ?) with the more conventional key board and "drive" are particularly beautiful in my mind , i have a Sinclair system 2000 hifi amp and it still stands up today both aesthetically (although it has no fancy LED or LCD ) and after a bit of a service musically considering it is nearly fifty years old a few components failing or becoming tired is only to be expected

[@RetroWorkshop]

I think people often forget he had a range of successful products besides the Spectrum computers: Hi-fis, portable radios and of course the pocket calculator.

[@baze3SC]

Great to see someone giving these computers the care they deserve. I never owned a 48K model but Issue 4S would be high on my list. I have certain fondness for pre-Mullard ULA versions and Samsung models seem to have been made to a higher standard.

[@fredrickentta9652]

Very nice video, sir!. I miss using my Speccy, I got it when I was 11 or 12, and now at 48 I still remember the touch, the feel, the annoying noices from that onboard loudspeaker you couldn't turn off :D A girlfriend's rabbit bit the cables from the adaptor off, he was ok after the attack, but not the ZX, so it's been in a box ever since 1991 :( I miss the old fella, and all hundred of games I gave him to play with ;)

[@eryutu]

Sometimes still enjoying my old Spectrum from Spain. Best Regards, Antonio.

[@maciejgarlicki1425]

I like your professional approach to repairing this old beautiful equipment

[@tmfcbog]

great video Dave really enjoyed it and great production well done again regards Gary

[@RetroWorkshop]

Thanks Gary!

[@insanedruid3143]

Nice restauration. I was especially pleased to see you didn't "cheap out" by only changing a few caps or not changing the keyboard on the original speccy.

[@RetroWorkshop]

InsaneDruid Thanks for the appreciation. The rubber keyed Spectrum membrane was in a pretty shabby state and felt brittle so I was keen to replace it.

[@eryutu]

Thanks for sharing!!. Beautiful jewels. You have a new sub from Spain.

[@ZXWIFE]

Really enjoyed that! Love the professional production quality too 🤗

[@RetroWorkshop]

Thanks, I hope I didn’t get any important details wrong. I can see why you like these machines, they are nice to work on and they crammed a lot into a small package.

[@ZXWIFE]

@@RetroWorkshop if this is your first Spectrum refurbishment and a video on the subject then I'm very impressed. Restored like a pro 😁👍 Part of the reason why I took a liking to Spectrums at first was because they were so simple and compact, yet so ingenious, capable and charismatic, compared to other micros 🤗❤️

[@RetroWorkshop]

ZX WIFE excellent! And as I said in the video they are good looking machines. Mine is sat in my desk now and doesn’t look out of place next to a modern Mac Bluetooth keyboard.

[@ZXWIFE]

@@RetroWorkshop It has indeed aged very well, not sure how many modern day objects will stay looking this good in 35 years time. The Spectrum design is the testament to Rick Dickinson's talent.

[@Retrohertz]

You deserve more subs. Your video is produced to a high quality, you communicate clearly and you obviously know what you're doing. Perhaps some channel advertising is in order.

[@RetroWorkshop]

Thanks for your comment. I think the limited number of videos and long time between videos is a major factor.

[@johneygd]

Great restoration.

[@themoog]

Nice work dave, very enjoyable

[@user-yv2cz8oj1k]

It's iconic but the 48k spectrum nearly put me off programming until I got my first PC. I now own two 48k pluses and a spare plus case.

[@EnjoySynthSounds]

A third choice is to buy a pico zx board and install in the speccy case, with a small modification to allow for the vga out.

[@johnroberts5896]

great vid .. where is the PCB holder from ??

[@RetroWorkshop]

Thanks. It’s a Duratool PCB holder from eBay.

[@johnroberts5896]

Thank you .. subscribed

[@asleeds]

One of the best glue and adhesive removers is WD40. It is also very unlikely to damage plastic. Spray it on, leave a few mins then it should start softening the glue. Wash the moulding down with soapy water after all the glue is removed.

[@bazza5699]

sensitively restored :) you defo got a bargain with them both.. great to see horace goes skiing too.. although i'm sure i remember loading a game by just typing LOAD "" don't think i had to specify a name.. might be wrong it was 35 years ago..

[@RetroWorkshop]

😀 It’s deserves a bit of sensitivity! Always things to learn on any job. Thanks for the loading info, love a shortcut. I think I got that info from the inlay card. As you saw I got burnt earlier in the video by not following instructions! The sound in Horace makes your ears hurt.

[@bazza5699]

@@RetroWorkshop i love the early speccy designs.. i used to have a 16k rubber key, then got the plus, then got the 128k toast rack.. which were all great.. i was never really keen on the amstrad ones although i had a +3 for a while.. great to see these both up and running.. sir clive was and still is.. ahead of his time..

[@RetroWorkshop]

Sounds like you were a big Spectrum fan. We had a +2 for a couple of years then got an Atari ST. Step up in performance, but not as many fond memories as the Spectrum machine. Mind you I just bought a 1040FM and monitor so look forward to playing around with that.

[@bazza5699]

@@RetroWorkshop oOo i never had a 1040.. i had a 520 st. and would dream about a 1040.. lolol.. but then sold it seeing the error of my ways and got an amiga 500!.. the other day though i caught myself watching nostalgia nerds video on the Falcon.. which i don't remember at all.. would love to play on that.. is your 1040 up and running, or is it another restore project?

[@RetroWorkshop]

Next project is something completely different!

[@AnotherUser1000]

Hi. I own a Spectrum +(issue 4S) too, but UI managed to cause it major problems and now it just flashes in the well-known intervals, without doing anything else. The reset switch doesn' t do anything at all. If I send you some photos of the screen output, can you give me some advice, as a basic guide, in order to find the cause? I am from Greece, so it' s a bit difficult for me to send it to you for repair. The postal system SUCKS, in Greece...

[@RetroWorkshop]

I'm afraid trying to trouble shoot this remotely will be difficult if not impossible. There is a repair guide (now unfortunately without pictures as the original World of Spectrum site took this off) worldofspectrum.net/features/SpectrumRepairGuide/index.html If you are not competent with electronic repair, I'd suggest getting a working / refurbished 48k PCB from eBay.

[@RetroWorkshop]

I found the repair guide with pictures here: k1.spdns.de/Vintage/Sinclair/82/Sinclair%20ZX%20Spectrum/Repair/ZX%2048k%20repair%20guide%20(ian%20worsley)/rep_spec.html

[@AnotherUser1000]

​@@RetroWorkshop Thanks for all of the info, but although I have finished my training as an electronics technician in Greece, I never liked it and therefore I don 't remember a bit of it... And sorry for not replying to you any sooner, but for some reason I can' t receive notifications for all of the comments I receive. Of course I don' t expect from you many things, from a distance, but I just asked for some general info. Anyway, thanks again for the info. I already have some technical manuals myself, but I doubt I can find any solution, since I don' t even have an oscilloscope.

[@RetroComputingwithMike]

I have three of those i have to get working, also bought on ebay as "Untested" :P

[@RetroWorkshop]

RetroComputing with Mike good luck with the machines. Hopefully you won’t encounter any major faults. Luckily all the spares seem to be available and there is lots of good repair info out there on KZbin and the web.

[@RetroComputingwithMike]

@@RetroWorkshop Im gonna use your video / blogpost as a referal, thats for sure. Especially that debugging board you found :-) I also has a couple of Lambda 8300 ... which are a ZX 81 Clone, but they are different enough that spare-parts are _really_ hard to get by, especially the ULA is different enought that i probably wont be able to source one unless i learn to work with FPGA's :-/

[@TheOriginalCoda]

@@RetroComputingwithMike The ULA book for the Speccy may help you figure out the 81's ULA, they are bound to be quite similar.

[@RetroComputingwithMike]

@@TheOriginalCoda Sorry for late reply, i have been away for the holidays. I will try to see if i can get my hands on it :-) Thank you!

[@Sinclair_Research]

You Sir! Have a new subscriber!

[@RetroWorkshop]

Great to have you on board.