Not the result I hoped for, but glad I found what I did!

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Decided to give my Spectrum Plus a bit of a spa day, re-cap the machine and fit an s-video board to hopefully improve the video output. Did it all go according to plan? Well, not really but I'm still glad I did it because some interesting things were discovered along the way.
Follow the shack on twitter: / scottth54604744
Support the channel: ru-vid.com...
Buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/theretroshack
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:40 Plans
03:45 Re-Cap
06:34 S-Video PCB Build
09:30 Keyboard Repair
10:36 PCB Repair
10:55 The Annoying Bit
11:38 Back We Go
11:45 Clean And Wrap-Up
Links
====
Capacitors
www.retroleum.co.uk/zx-spectr...
S-Video Board
GITHUB
github.com/redhawk668/ZX-Spec...
Ready Built
www.tindie.com/products/redha...
ZX-HD
www.bytedelight.com/?product=...
Attributions
=========
By Photograph by Rama, Wikimedia Commons, Cc-by-sa-2.0-fr, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
If you like this video, please consider joining as a member to help support the channel and to get some lovely little perks :)
/ @theretroshack

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21 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 145

@HisVirusness 3 года назад

"I'm sure you don't want to watch me squint and curse for a half an hour." That's a very bold assumption for you to make.

@GORF_EMPIRE 3 года назад

That's what I'm sayin'.

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

You guys! :)

@GORF_EMPIRE 3 года назад

@@TheRetroShack xD

@user-wk6qs9rv7v Месяц назад

Hiya The Retro Shack, I'm not an electronics guy but interesting to watch and thanks for the walk down the Sinclair memory lane. Watched your QL project (Parts 1 and 2, Part 3 ?) initially, as I bought one in 1986. My work commitments etc. meant it was hardly used and my work at that time used Tandy TRS-80's, which I guess with 5.25" disk drives were more industrial friendly. I am now looking to part with the original boxed QL (and thermal printer), but won't be rude and post my details here. Thanks for an interesting afternoon and best wishes going forward. 🙏. Spike

@BlueBaron3x7 Год назад

@The Retro Shack the was no soldering involved in upgrading the 16k to 48k. You just needed to push the ram chips in.

@blackterminal Год назад

I wouldn't mind dot crawl. Somethings from childhood are nice to relive rather than "fix"

@hansford71 3 года назад

My first spectrum and my favourite computer! Another great video 👍

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Thanks Wayne - wasn't at all sure whether to even post this, as it's more of a journey than a satisfying conclusion, but then I figured that not all stories have the ending you want.... Lost, Game of Thrones, Sopranos, Seinfeld, The Matrix.... :)

@hansford71 3 года назад

@@TheRetroShack I just enjoy watching people messing about with old computers! I would add The Italian Job to your list 😀

@Dr_Reason 3 года назад

I use a small cup warmer, solder paste, and a heat embossing gun to make small surface mount boards. This method has worked very well for me.

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Think I'm going to be investing in some new kit soon :) :)

@zetaconvex1987 3 года назад

"That could go either way". Welcome to my world!

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

It's a world I know well :)

@kristhianmason5908 3 года назад

It's great to see my beloved Spectrum+ I never liked games very much, I was much more into programming. All those hours spent figuring out how to make things work the way I wanted became really useful a few years later with other much powerful computers. I owe everything to my little old Speccy!

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Same here!

@electronicengineer 3 года назад

Thanks for sharing the Sir Speccy adventure with us fine sir! Fred

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

You're very welcome! :)

@electronicengineer 3 года назад

@@TheRetroShack A BIG "Thumbs Up" and, as a new subscriber, I am really looking forward to your future videos! Fred

@ed731pdh 3 года назад

My spacebar repair on a Spec+, used two C64 keyboard springs pushed over what was left of the space bar posts.

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Intersting idea - but doesn't that still mean there's no transference of force so you can still push each side independently?

@TheLemminkainen 3 года назад

S-video was not supported even on all crt's. But s-video is basicly composite + luminance so with adapter you can use both from svideo hole :)

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Yep - I've got my eye out for a TV with a dedicated s-video port and then I'll probably pick this up again :)

@TheLemminkainen 3 года назад

@@TheRetroShack B&0 MX MX4000 or many newer Philips tv's have too :)

@PrivateSi 3 года назад

Your channel deserves more views.

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Thanks very much! :)

@electronicengineer 3 года назад

I completely agree. Fred

@XXXXXX-dy5fs 3 года назад

Wonderful memories. AtticAttack was the first game I loaded when I was about 7. Then my dad send the 16 k off for the 48k upgrade to the 48k +. Mine needs a refurbish too.

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Gotta love the Speccy :)

@elektron2kim666 3 года назад

Loved my ZX-Spectrum and I also loved to stop after the big study of Basic. Later, I tried to revive the hobby and it wasn't the same. The Psion pocket computers felt much better and I still fool around with some of those.

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

I had the Psion Series 5mx 16mb back in the day - loved OPL :)

@shuflie 3 года назад

I'm sure someone has said this already but when you hand solder SMT components don't pre tin all pads first, just dab a bit of solder on one pad and use that to hold the component in place and flat to the PCB while you solder the rest of the pins.

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Lol - yes it's been pointed out - I've invested in some solder paste and a reflow gun for the next time I'm doing this stuff :)

@bazza5699 3 года назад

love that silver speccy :)

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Hands off! It's mine! :) :)

@MasterQuizzer 3 года назад

I bought the Spectrum keyboard when it first came out and it was priced at £30. A few weeks later it dropped to £20 and I used some bad language! A couple of days later I got a cheque for £10 from Sinclair without even asking for it. I was well pleased!

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Wow - there’s not many companies that are that honest! :)

@xenorac 3 года назад

That was super decent of them!

@discoHR 3 года назад

It's not that the components are tiny (0805 package is kind of huge in SMD world) but all your tools from soldering iron through desoldering gun to screwdriver are oversized.

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Or maybe the tools seem oversized because my hands are soooo tiny :) Seriously though, I do realise that if I want to do more SMD stuff I’m going to need to invest a bit :)

@kurbeco 3 года назад

@@TheRetroShack I'm new to SMD soldering too, but it was suggested to me to tin one pad first to let you tack the part in place. Then solder the otherside, then reflow the initial tack. That tip helped me a lot when soldering up a Zelux kit for my Spectrum (zxrenew.co.uk/Zelux-membrane-KIT-p106169057). It's not easy to see if you did that because of the speed up, but on the first part I noticed you had solder on both pads before placing the part.

@Simon-fr4ts Год назад

I was a Spectrum 48k user back in the early 80's and I loved it. Knightlore on the Speccy is my favourite game of all time. Just the wow factor when it came out blew me away and always stayed with me. I always wanted a C64 though as a gaming machine and a BBC B for everything else. They were both totally out of my price range. Today, I find myself with 4 working breadbin C64's in various states of refurbishment. I am looking to buy a BBC B soon too. I strangely don't have any interest in having an original Spectrum. I think I am trying to experience the machines I always wanted back then now.

@blackterminal Год назад

BBC b will cost you now

@Simon-fr4ts Год назад

@@blackterminal Yes, this is so true. I cannot afford one right now. I do still want one though. It's the accessories that also add up. I would love a Microvitec CUB monitor!

@het_gele_teken 3 года назад

Oooh, The Hobbit... I have fond memories of playing that one!

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Me too :)

@Mind-your-own-beeswax 3 года назад

Can I ask a slightly unrelated question. I’ve got a DC power socket to replace and I can’t get enough heat on the iron to melt the solder to remove the old one? It’s quite a high power iron yet it doesn’t seem to touch the old solder at all.

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Unfortunately there's not a lot of advise I can personally offer here apart from the more of a heatsink you have, the more power you need to supply to heat it up. Perhaps someone can offer some better advise?

@Mind-your-own-beeswax 3 года назад

@@TheRetroShack yeah I had a feeling that might be the case but as I’m not an expert in such matters I wasn’t sure. Hey man thanks for your reply anyway 👍

@takissarris5789 3 года назад

Thanks for the video. I installed the same mod and encountered two similar problems: I saw you used capton tape; I had used foam tape to prevent any shorts and to give a bit more stability when plugging in the s-video lead, but had a terrible picture. The ground plane of the s-video board is connected via the nut and bolt to the Speccy, so I had scrape away the solder mask around the holes on the motherboard. This stablised the picture but it was black and white. This second problem was with the lead I had. I changed the pin out to the scart end of the lead to information found online where I sent pins 1+2 fromthe S-video end to pin 17 on the scart. Pin 4 to 15 on the scart and pin 3 to pin 20. Hopefully this helps.

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Thanks :). When I've got a few minutes spare I'll probably pick his up and see whether I can actually get anywhere with it but I wanted to point out to people who were thinking of attempting this that it's not a simple plug and play process, and that there may more work to do than people envisage :) All too often these things are presented as 'simple' and 'quick' but in reality - they're not :)

@takissarris5789 3 года назад

@@TheRetroShack I totally agree that it's never straight forward. I initially thought I'd killed my speccy and I initially removed the mod and reverted back to the original (composite mod) output. I only tried again a few days later, as the composite picture wasn't great and it was bugging me. I'm glad that I perservered, as the s-video picture quality is much better. :)

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

If I do pick this up again (and like you, it’ll bug me if I don’t...) I’ll post a little update in the next episode that needs a Speccy :)

@anotheruser9876 3 года назад

I have a PAL ZX Spectrum 48K and PAL C128DCR in Canada (PAL vs NTSC, 230V vs 120V). I feel your pain.

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

You must have migraines just getting plugs and cables :) :)

@anotheruser9876 3 года назад

@@TheRetroShack Not only that, the drive head inside the C128DCR got damaged during the move (forgot the cardboard insert) so I build a PI1541 from scratch. Luckily it works and I can spend time on trying to fix the head. The Speccy had a cracked keyboard ribbon which I managed to fix without getting a replacement (yet). The cheap PAL to HDMI converter though gives okay images but bright colours are washed out.

@blackterminal Год назад

@@anotheruser9876 would a plain floppy disk left inside protect it?

@gb7767 3 года назад

Jet-Pac, now that was an awesome game.

@shadowflash705 3 года назад

There are great PC remakes of that game, Cybernoid II and Exolon.

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

16k and those laser effects were brilliant :)

@blackterminal Год назад

Loved that game. Loved all the rockets

@charlesjmouse 2 года назад

FWVILW: If a repair works it's good in my book, but just in case you've not come across the superglue and backing soda trick I though I'd mention it.

@TheRetroShack 2 года назад

Appreciate the tips!

@mal2ksc 2 года назад

Just watch out, this can get really hot and even melt plastic. It is best to lay down a thin layer of CA glue, then sprinkle on baking soda until it won't dissolve anymore, then more glue, then more powder, etc. rather than dumping a bunch of powder into a bunch of liquid CA glue. The heat has time to dissipate, and the two parts of the ghetto epoxy have more opportunity to thoroughly mix. Also, ghetto epoxy is not good if it gets wet. Don't use it to fix a chip in your favorite coffee mug, for example. Even though this is probably a food-safe mixture once it sets, it will fall out/off when you wash it. This shouldn't be a problem for a space bar though.

@daviniarobbins9298 3 года назад

Re 11.20 That CRT flicker was doing my head in. (I know why the CRT appears to be flickering just in case anyone thinks they need to correct me)

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Yes - I realised after I'd uploaded the video that I should have put a little warning in - sorry.

@blackterminal Год назад

Anyone have a link to regulator mod instructions?

@zxrenew5642 3 года назад

Make sure your TV can handle S-vid. lol! A SCART input does not mean your TV has S-vid. :)

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Yep - that's really my point :). I'm on the lookout for a TV with a dedicated s-video input now :) :)

@stephenhookings1985 3 года назад

www.amazon.co.uk/Cable-Mountain-Switchable-S-Video-Adapter-Gold/dp/B0018DE4ZU Scart has composite and RGB inputs. So a decent cable should work. Nor saying the link is/isn't decent - just that a conversion cable shouldn't be too expensive. Was an occupational hazard of the 1980s

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Thanks! I do have a converter already but I guess giving a few others a go wouldn't hurt :)

@zxrenew5642 3 года назад

@@stephenhookings1985 If the TV cannot be switched to S-Video, It will not matter a jot which adptor is used! :)

@rs2klee 3 года назад

how do you find the performance of that de-soldering iron.

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Considering it was, shall we say, inexpensive - surprisingly good!

@AcornElectron 3 года назад

I might have preferred a different computer................ and my upgrade was to Amiga not Amstrad. Great video (I DID have a friend that had a speccy). Keep up the good work fella and stay safe.

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Thanks - you too!

@channex8179 3 года назад

I myself along with lot of my friends when I was younger started out with a Speccy and later upgraded to Amiga 500’s around 1988 a couple of guys bought ST’s also but quickly replaced them with Amiga’s. I always remember whenever one of us got a new game everyone would come round with a fresh disk or two and we would fire up xcopy... those were the days!

@AcornElectron 3 года назад

@@channex8179 heh, “you have to use nibble on this disk to copy it” ... “why?” .... “I dunno but it won’t work if you don’t” *selects nibblecopy*

@channex8179 3 года назад

@@AcornElectron You’ve clearly been there! It took ages to complete using nibble, I remember copying Monkey Island 2 off my next door neighbour and copying it in nibblecopy mode that was like 12 disks or something 😳

@KJohansson 3 года назад

Since I've never owned or plan to own a Speccy watching this was close to as fruitfull att your (undone) work. :P

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

But a fun journey nonetheless :)

@KJohansson 3 года назад

@@TheRetroShack indeed!

@MrTompkins 3 года назад

Play that funky moozik =)

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

I was in a strange mood that day :)

@XXXXXX-dy5fs 3 года назад

The white lettering on mine are quite yellow. Do you think a retrobright treatment would help make them white again or could it ruin the black keys?

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

If you're using water, hydrogen peroxide and sunlight you should be ok and it should only affect the lettering :). Obviously do this at your own risk as it's not an exact science! :) :)

@XXXXXX-dy5fs 3 года назад

@@TheRetroShack I'll give it a try first on another one that I have that I bought later. Off course I'll try one key first. I recently used water and hydrogen peroxide on Amiga keys and it worked quite well. I had to exercise extreme care as it was 30% H2O2! It was diluted to about 10%

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

@@XXXXXX-dy5fs Let me know how you get on :)

@XXXXXX-dy5fs 3 года назад

@@TheRetroShack Will do. 👍

@blackterminal Год назад

In years to come non bleached computers will be highly valued because I'm sure bleaching damages them. However so many do it there will be few untouched ones left. Making my untouched computers more valuable

@hansoak3664 3 года назад

"There are four-hundred billion screws holding the keyboard membrane in place..." ROTFL

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

I think I under counted :)

@hansoak3664 3 года назад

@@TheRetroShack :D

@frankowalker4662 2 года назад

I just do composite mods on my Speccy's and 81's. It's more convenient with my system.

@simonoleary9264 3 года назад

Did you get a 1st gen Speccy 16k? I also got a 16k in 1982, but it had the chip sockets on the motherboard, so I bought the RAM chips and slotted them in (when I could afford it). Bingo, 48k Speccy.

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

I was only 11 when I got my spectrum 16k and wouldn’t have dreamed of opening it up at that time for fear of a) breaking it and b) telling my mum I’d broken it :)

@simonoleary9264 3 года назад

@@TheRetroShack Fair enough 😀 I was 14 and starting a Computer Studies O'Level ... so out with the screwdriver Mwhahahaha! I added a DK Tronics keyboard and reset button later on too.

@michailokeefeMooMoo 3 года назад

How about doing that on a c64 or c16 or vic20 commodores

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Intersting idea.... I'll take a look :)

@Voyager_2 3 года назад

The wiki claims that s-video was added to the scart standard late 1980, but I really doubt that it was ever a official standard. My philips widescreen CRT from about 1997 did S-video but after that I never found a TV that did S-video. Al my small gaming crt's or small LCD tv's with scart non of them do s-video.

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Yep, it does seem a tricky old thing! For me, I use my home built speccy more than anything else anyway and that’s got true RGB out so not really missing out ;)

@elyuw 3 года назад

Usually on TVs with one SCART they were wired for RGB. If a TV had 2, one would be RGB and the other S-Video.

@AcornElectron 3 года назад

Have you got a DK tronics shell?

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Not any more :( I did have one as a kid - it was a really good keyboard as far as I remember :)

@AcornElectron 3 года назад

@@TheRetroShack I was prepping to send you one but my wife informs me I sold it about 5 years ago. 😬😬😬

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

@@AcornElectron You might want to check with her what else ‘you’ sold that only she knows about ;) :) :)

@AcornElectron 3 года назад

@@TheRetroShack literally the first thing that occurred to me but thanks for the advice 🤣. Other items I've 'sold' already include my white Japanese Saturn, 3 of my Neo Geo games and one of my bnib alba tape recorders. Oh and my your Sinclair and Sinclair user seem to have upped and fucked off minus a single Xmas Gremlin poster. I'll keep checking. Had to sack off watching for listening in order to do inventory.

@GORF_EMPIRE 3 года назад

@@TheRetroShack You guys make me glad I'm still single! xD

@danielson9579 2 года назад

The green screen version of the cpc 464 was the worst 😳

@TheRetroShack 2 года назад

After a while I convinced myself I could see colours :)

@blackterminal Год назад

@@TheRetroShack funny you say that. When I watched a black and white TV I had the same feeling

@DAVIDGREGORYKERR 2 года назад

You should have gone with a RGB to HDMI Interface using a Raspberry Pi IV.

@blackterminal Год назад

Expensive

@bufordmaddogtannen 3 года назад

Lipstick on a turdtrum... 🤣😁 I still like your videos though.

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Thanks ;)

@sarreqteryx 3 года назад

7:40 solder paste and a hot air gun would prevent that…

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Yes, I’ve been dabbling with solder paste the last few days - seems to be a lot easier when you get the hang of it! :) :)

@DAVIDGREGORYKERR 3 года назад

Whatever the case is made from could contain carcinogens when heated, if building a new Spectrum what about using the ZILOG Z800 processor as it is backwards compatible with the ZILOG Z80A and gives instructions like MUL HL,DE or DIV HL,DE and if a matching coprocessor then it might be possible to add floating point also.

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Thanks! I'll take a look at that :)

@kurbeco 3 года назад

Another option for modern output is github.com/c0pperdragon/ZX-Spectrum-Component-Video to give you component output. Not sure if this is compatible with the display you're using but it's cheaper and less bulky then the ZX-HD as it replaces the RF modulator.

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Ok so you know I'm going to have to give that a go.... :) :)

@TheTrudgians 3 года назад

Great vid - i will use the spacebar hack on the broken one I have here. On the S-Video upgrade, i found that the Revision A board was absolutely useless, but the Rev D that you have built here is really good. On my TV i have the option for Scart (composite) and Scart S-Video, and it does look like your S-Video is still Composite on the LCD TV. My upgrade went well apart from that, i didnt use any tape, instead an extra nut to create a stand off, and also used slightly smaller bolt heads so they didn't interfere with the solder pins on the left of the board - here is my attempt - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--LAws3_BfLY.html Take care Dan

@MarcKloos 3 года назад

Nice little video, Dan!

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Thanks Dan - Those issue 2 boards with the adjustable pots were really nice! As soon as I've gotten hold of a TV with a dedicated s-video input I'll pick this up again no doubt :)

@TheTrudgians 3 года назад

@@TheRetroShack just a thought, how about a scart to hdmi adapter? They are quite cheap on Amazon / eBay. I wonder if this would solve the problem and also allow a hdmi capture too?

@TheTrudgians 3 года назад

@@MarcKloos thank you.

@ukdashcamguy500 3 года назад

Sold the 16k and bought a 48k as at that point you had not embraced the joys of soldering? The 32k was socketed no soldering needed, you could have just bought the ram chips, or even better do what I did, bought a second hand BROKEN 48k spectrum and took the extra 32k out and plonk it into the working 16k and jobs a good un....

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

But I *was* only 11 and neither I nor my parents were computer literate back then :)

@daviniarobbins9298 3 года назад

Never owned a spectie.

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

You've missed out my friend, they're lovely quirky little machines :) :) Grab one if you can! :)

@TheSudsy 3 года назад

400 billion screws for a Spectrum kb. . . . you never been near an Amiga 1200 then . . . . . lol

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

Oooh I have - there are 800 billion in there :)

@GORF_EMPIRE 3 года назад

I love a good creative cursing.....You need another channel ....so we can hear the cursing. Just edit those out and demonetize and we'll have a blast! Label it for "Immature audiences only!" I'll fit right in! :D

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

The Retro%£$! :)

@GORF_EMPIRE 3 года назад

@@TheRetroShack I dig it!

@Alphadec 3 года назад

sorry I am not british and dont understand your love for a so inferior computer like specy/amstrad. But I like your channel.

@channex8179 3 года назад

If your comparing to the C64 the spectrum was inferior in the way it did not have sprites and had basic sound. The spectrums Zilog Z80 was much faster than the C64’s 6502, The C64 was also well out of the price range for most consumers in the UK at £399 whereas the Spectrum offered a cheap computer with gaming capabilities for only £99!

@elyuw 3 года назад

Back in the day you loved what you had and could afford. In the UK for a lot of people that meant Speccys, Dragons and Orics etc. And so as a result those are the machines that fire the retro vibes of our earlier years.

@channex8179 3 года назад

@@elyuw Very true! I loved my Speccy+ and later my CPC-464 that much I’ve gone and recently bought both of them again and have been enjoying the likes of Chuckie Egg, Manic Miner, Jet Pac & Finders Keepers with my kids, My 12 year old son has enjoyed it that much he’s even gone and got himself a Spectrum +2A which I’ve modded so he can load games through his phone via the headphone jack!

@TheRetroShack 3 года назад

I love this machine so much because it was my first computer as a kid and those nostalgia feels are all over it :). Of course there were far better (and more expensive!) machines out there, but I loved my Speccy and will defend it to the death :) :) :)

@elyuw 3 года назад

@@TheRetroShack It’s funny, I loved the Dragon 32 we had when I was a kid, but somehow I have no desire to have one now. Maybe it’s because it was really my Dad’s computer. As a result I have far more affinity for my Atari 130XE which I bought myself in 1986, and still own.