ChinnyVision - Ep 143 - A Buyers Guide To The ZX Spectrum 

When buying my Spectrum a year ago I decided on a +2A and I consider it to be the best model, from its built in datacorder to compatibility with most software :)

X2 was my first computer. Loved it. Although the play button on the tape deck kept breaking. God bless Super Glue! 😁

Keep up the good work Chinny. Brilliant channel!!!

"...called Chinny Reckon." ...and instantly I was propelled back to the days of the hardware you were discussing.

Joystick ports on the Amstrad-built Spectrums were wired for theSinclair standard, which was implemented on Sinclair's own Interface 1 for the 48k model. While it wasn't compatible with the vast majority of joysticks using the Atari-standard, it was fairly clever in that it assigned the keys for 1-5 and 6-0 for movement and fire for two players to the joystick ports. So any game that didn't allow have built-in joystick support, you could just define the keys as 1-5, and you'd then be able to play using the joystick. Basic, and completely incompatible with most joysticks, but there's a certain Sinclair logic to it. Incidentally, the joysticks Amstrad came out with for their Spectrums are absolutely horrible - the SJS1 and the SJS2 are both nasty pieces of crap (the SJS2 is just a rebadged Cheetah Exterminator). But there were plenty of better sticks that often had a version with a Sinclair-standard compatible flylead - usually grey, to indicate compatibility with the +2. The Cruiser is a particularly nice joystick which can be found with a Sinclair compatible flylead.

17:34 RIP Maplin stores

My favourite is ZxSpectrum +, but in this time I play +2 because it's more practice! Namaste.

A splendid video! I never had a Speccy back in the day but I got hold of a +2A a couple of years ago. The non-standard joystick ports are annoying but easily sorted, as you say. However I find the lack of tape counter a real oversight! Otherwise, I think it's a pretty decent machine.

Great guide there, and great timing as I'm looking at purchasing a +2 from the UK when I come across a suitable one on ebay. As far as the recreation is concerned, there is no reason why they couldn't have just original parts for the pcb, there are even kits available. I think I'll look out for a nice grey model.

Brilliant review, mate! Agree with every word. Grey Twos FTW.

The Hi Di Hi reference gave me a good giggle.

Very good!

I bought the grey model +2 on eBay for £40, and have been slowly getting improvements. I got a modern psu for a fiver, I've got the joystick adapter and a cruiser pro joystick, and I've just got an rgb to scart lead which makes the picture look amazing. Next toy for it is the sd interface, which technically would make my games collection redundant, but I've some rare games that I don't want to risk the cassettes

Good review. I thought I'd just add my comments: Grey +2 - good backwards compatibility with older 48k games and hardware. However some do have hardware faults that will require repairs/modding e.g. AY sound too quiet, missing composite video. Also some 128k games run like arse on them e.g. Kwik Snax runs really slow and fanatsy world dizzy crashes due to ULA rain. The +2b (last iteration of the +2A), has good audio and was really solid. My advice would be to get a grey +2 if you mainly play pre-1988 games, and a +2b (or modded +3) if you play post-1988 games.

Maplin... well that certainly dated it.

Yep Samsung are some of the best made, my original 48k+ is still working fine all I've done is recapped it and upgraded the DC circuit like yours.

You should do a video on the Cascade Tape 50 games, showcasing every single game on all the platforms it was released on.

You can buy a power supply for +2 black; some specialised shops make them and they're OK and not expensive at all. (I have a +2A at home)

Love me some Chinnyvision. I personally think the grey Spectrum +2s actually look pretty good, in addition to being a very good option. I agree with you on those recent Spectrum cash-ins, too. Unless it's a rare, expensive machine, why buy something like that? Modern PC emulator or original hardware makes the most sense. And if you're gonna make a hardware emulator, at least make it look like the original, and have the emulator *built in*

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there something weird with the +2A versus the +2, where it was easier to use a 3 inch floppy drive as it was essentially the +3 ROM but with a tapedeck in place of the disk drive?

Great information, Chinny. Always looked for a Spectrum to buy, nice to see what to look for. There is some information that would be interesting, too. 1.) Can the +2 (grey or black) be connected to an Amstrad CPC Monitor? 2.) Do the SD Card solutions work on every model? 3.) What in the world do the +2B/+3 model need -12V for !?

I still have the lovely 128k with the black metal grill on the right side, and my original 48k rubber key one. Both have a key that doesn't work though, and both are critical keys to too :( Wonder what it would cost to get the 128k fixed idk

Great video. Have you ever used one of the modern clones like the Harlequin clones? I have two of those. One is a 48K clone (based off Chris Smith's ULA book) and the other is a 128K clone. I have yet to assemble the boards... :-/ But I hear they are pretty good.

I use +3 PSU with my +2A

This is a great run through of the pitfalls and the possibilities of anyone wanting to buy their own Speccy hardware. I enjoy the occasional spinoff video that you throw in now and again. However I have to say that, personally, it is not for me. I care a great deal more about authentic *software*. I hate cracks with unwanted intros, where they've removed loading music/screens/games, added (sometimes non-optional) trainer settings, replaced the credits and high score tables with their own names, added their own little subtle touches here and there. I think emulation is a perfectly acceptable option, though I agree that I see no point in buying an overpriced emulator in a recreated box. The Neo Geo X was another recent example of this. BTW, the video title misspells the channel name - I thought you might want to fix it. :-)

You might want to mention divmmc, hdmi, didide, future divmmc...

Well boss! Any chance of a link to the sd spectrum adapter that you would recommend?

ZX spectrum prices are becoming stupid

Totally agree on 'remake' systems. Glorified emulation boxes at the end of they day!