Our 'Mint In Box' ZX Spectrum Plus is due some upgrades and modifications - so what first? 

How awesome is that (for you) and how damning is that (for Sinclair) :) :)

Was that in Dundee? Do you mind if I ask the name of the road? I live in Aberdeen and regularly drive through Dundee and it would be nice to go and take a look one day!

@@NotMarkKnopfler yes. We always called the road the “Timex Brae” but technically it’s Harrison Rd.

@@Bergkatse2 Was it the building beside JTC furniture - demolished back in 1988?

@@Fifury161 It was the building that became JTC Furniture. 27 Harrison Road.

its a mod of famous Transitester. Just read how this thing work ;)

@@VShuricK I just did, and it works EXACTLY like I just said.

What was the rf output like after you did that? I tried it on a QL, rf went crazy. I swapped it back.

It’s the little things isn’t it :) :)

Glad you enjoyed it!

Glad you enjoyed it :)

Thanks for watching!

Me too :)

I've never seen bad caps in spectrums. Even that primitive switching power supply for RAM chips is not demanding low ESR caps. The only cap replacement are needed if 7805 is replaced with that module. It may require LOW ESR caps near it.

Thanks - I'll give that a go!

I thought so too with the composite board but it’s working perfectly well without one, so go figure :) :) :)

Yes, I thought so too but it seemed to be working just fine - I'll solder the ground in and see if it looks even better :). I'll make a note to mention this in the next video too :)

@@TheRetroShack Without ground it is just a capacitor, the transistor will do nothing....

@@TheRetroShack Ground pads are on the edge of the PCB, so they probably have a decent contact with the chassis, at least until its surface will not oxidize.

@@pe1dnn I’ll be soldering it in tomorrow and will update on progress. I can only assume it’s accidentally grounding out at the corners because it’s a very tight fit. Maybe this is what’s missing to remove those final artefacts :) :)

Unfortunately, it's a matter of trial and error as some TV's react differently to each option. The option that's most likely to work is option 1 - it's the option that actually you don't need this board for as you can simply put the capacitor in line in the video circuit but this makes it a little neater :) These kits are only a few pounds each so it's really only the time to build and test each option that needs to be considered.

Thinking… :) :)

Good shout - I’ll check a few different ones and see if the few remaining artefacts go away- I’ll also be soldering in that ground connection today too!

Just to clarify - there won’t be a raspberry pi inside the spectrum. The TK Pie is a cartridge that plugs into the rear of the Speccy :) Everything I’m doing is entirely reversible and no Spectrum’s will be harmed in the making of these videos :) :) :)

Check my pinned comment :) :)

@@TheRetroShack Sorry, I didn't read the comments. :)

You can get these boards on Tindie and eBay (and probably loads of other places too) but if you search for 'spectrum composite mod' then you're looking for the PCB marked projectavr.com.

@The Retro Shack thank you very much for that, my Spectrum + will be living again soon 👍

simplest way is just remove inside pcb and connect wire (el cap) from Video out to RF connector. 99% of TV are ok with it. If you have such crappy monitor, maybe monitor is the problem.

Lol - that's why I asked the community to decide! I couldn't :) :)

Sorry - I'll try to use the correct terminology in future! I've been saying uf and nf since I was a kid - hard habit to kick! :)

That’s an excellent point!

Or just put a sticker that says "composite" :-)

@@SimonQuigley That works too :) :)

Good to know! I'm still glad I did the change though as it's not a lot of money or time and it's good for another forty years now :)

?? What’s up Mark?

@@TheRetroShack Horses for courses. Whatever floats your boat. One man's meat is another man's poison et al.,... I struggle to understand what is essentially a bog standard decades old MPU with barely enough memory to store a handful of instructions, let alone also a half baked set of input keys can created interest when a current MPU, designed today, with power, flexibility and integration potential can have so many noses thumbed at it. I've sat and watched many presentations this weekend adulating antiquated technology which even in its day, my day, was borderline obsolete even then. The biggest shock for me was seeing people carrying out first line repairs on VCR & CRT TV equipment and then playing back an image of barely around 400 to 625 lines of resolution and somehow marvelling at it. It goes beyond sentimentality. Even in my day, working in the largest CE service dept in the UK 20 to 30 years ago, much of what is being restored today on YT was considered absolute **it all those years ago. I carried out my microprocessor training in 1984 on large breakout boards using a Motorola MPU to study the ALU, stack pointing, instruction sets, shift registers memory allocation and addressing etc etc so I suppose the only purpose a Z80x serves today is to offer a atudent the chance to appreciate what is still applicable theory of operations in today's MPU at the most fundamental level. Else,.I struggle to understand why someone, anyone, would want to live in a cave in the 21st Century.

@@MarkHopewell Thanks for replying Mark and whilst I get your point I suppose the point is that feelings of nostalgia are deeply personal and rooted in your own memories. For me, like many others I suspect, it’s less about the adulation of the technology, it’s about what that period of time meant for me and the changing state of the world. As a kid, technically obsolete or not, going from a household with *no* computer to one with *any* computer opened up a whole new world of exciting possibilities. But ultimately, if it’s not for you, it’s not for you :) Thanks for taking the time to watch in any case.

@@TheRetroShack I understand. It's just that I formally trained on this stuff and went on the work with it for a living for 20 odd years or so. so I guess that's where my errr um 'reticence' comes from, comparing that level of technology to what the lucky students of today have access to. Having said that, I'm typing this from a current Nokia mobile phone with a touch screen. What I would give for a Spectrum ZX81, even with ust the silicon rubber keys to be able to type properly right now!!! All the best.

@@MarkHopewell I can only speak for myself, but my entry point into vintage computing is a desire to learn at a level when electronics where still of a complexity that you could understand them without an education within electronics. When it comes to making things for them, programming and HW extensions I think a lot of the attraction is a level playing field - making the most impressive thing within that limited capacity.