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So I overpaid for the Spectrum I won on Trademe tonight (forgot to click Auto bid dammit) - but my Apple II purchase from Timaru just keeps giving. The guy just found a ZX Spectrum with original materials and power supply in one of his sheds that are being cleared out and is sending it up to me... (Apparently it isn't covered in sawdust like some of the Apple IIs were)

So, Apple II to Sega SC3000, and now to the mighty ZX Spectrum!!

Any tips on the Spectrum? It's been a while...

First of all, the Sinclair power supplies weren't the most reliable of things when new. They're a 9V unregulated power supply, and the specs can be found in the World of Spectrum FAQ. I'd recommend finding a good modern power supply to test with rather than using the original.

There's also a good chance the keyboard membrane has become brittle and doesn't work. Re-manufactured replacements can be bought from RWAP Software at reasonable cost. They come with fitting instructions so should be no problem to replace.

Finally, the most common problems with the hardware are faulty 7805 voltage regulator, RAM or ULA. Service manuals can be found via the aforementioned FAQ.

Have fun

Awesome, thanks for the info!

lizardb0y wrote:First of all, the Sinclair power supplies weren't the most reliable of things when new. They're a 9V unregulated power supply, and the specs can be found in the World of Spectrum FAQ. I'd recommend finding a good modern power supply to test with rather than using the original.

There's also a good chance the keyboard membrane has become brittle and doesn't work. Re-manufactured replacements can be bought from RWAP Software at reasonable cost. They come with fitting instructions so should be no problem to replace.

Finally, the most common problems with the hardware are faulty 7805 voltage regulator, RAM or ULA. Service manuals can be found via the aforementioned FAQ.

Have fun

Well, Spectrum #1 has just turned up on the courier. It is a Spectrum "issue two" - so I guess I'll need to see what that means. The ribbons which connect the keyboard to the logic board are completely buggered. They weren't even connected to the board. I'll need to figure that out I guess.

But, all in nice condition with the original Sinclair power supply intact.

Let the fun begin.

Good tip re RWAP software and Sinclair keyboard membranes! I have quite a few ZX81s with dead keyboards but otherwise working fine, a very typical failure of course. I think I'll grab one or two!