ZX Spectrum 128K Toastrack - Composite Mod and some Service Mods 

Yes if the kit came with a mask that could be a good path to go down! I've never played with solder paste before

Various pros and cons to both! It tends to come down to the owner's preference

@@HappyLittleDiodes no 'need' to , maybe just change to a 2 amp 78S05 if a 1a/1.5a 7805 is fitted ..

Thank you my friend, very kind

Not quite!!

@@HappyLittleDiodes Why's that?

If you simply connect the modulator input to the socket it's not going to work, you have to route it from elsewhere on the board

As mentioned in the video the owner wanted to use a peripheral that is so large is blocks that socket

@@HappyLittleDiodes a right angle din plug may fit? if its that opus , i have one but not as yet tried it on a toastrack to see how things fit

I think the owner's preference was to have the machine appear unmodified and to have composite video available at the modulator output, he didn't send the Opus otherwise I may have experimented

@@HappyLittleDiodes the opus has a composite output but it takes it off the edge connector, which isnt present on the 128 models , its supposedly possible to have simultaneous rf and composite out of the modulator rca connector, you leave the modulator connected as factory, except lead a wire out of the can connected to phono centre, you then rig up a simple emitter follower buffer fed from modulator video in pin to base of a pnp transistor, collector to ground, emitter to +5v via a 220 ohm resistor(may need value tweaking), emitter also to rca centre via a 100uf minimum cap ...

Interesting I've not come across this mod. I explain about the composite mod earlier in the video, he's using a peripheral that blocks the RGB port

Some people think that RGB looks too perfect and emulator-like. Composite video adds analogue "warmth" which can be part of nostalgia. Also, most games and demos were created to look good on CRT TVs, assuming certain amount of blur and colour shift. I prefer to have that option even though it's not my default display method.

@@baze3SC I certainly prefer RGB over Composite. RGB output of the Toastrack is not that pixel perfect. Even with an LCD monitor, it is never like a PC emulator or like the VGA or HDMI add-ons. With a CRT, it is nostalgic enough less the eye strain 😁.

@@borayurt66 Yeah of course, it's a personal preference. Btw if I were to use the composite output with our beloved toastrack I'd just use the signal that's available at the RGB connector, no need to touch the modulator at all - however that was not the option for the owner of the machine shown in this video.

@@baze3SC why wasnt it not an option.? if 'cause a din plug wouldnt fit with the opus, you can get right angled ones that likely would do, and make up a din to rca adaptor lead

Not that I'm aware of. The signal we hijacked is an oven ready composite signal unless I'm mistaken

@@HappyLittleDiodes yep no need to add anything if tapping off directly at the din socket pin ,

probably ok as is. is it working now? far too much 'blanket' recapping

@@andygozzo72 Should be Was last time I used it. I want to to the sound chip mod.

@@ClassicRetroByte what mod? equalise the sound between AY and beeper?

@@andygozzo72 ABC stereo

@@ClassicRetroByte aha 😊

I don't think I've ever had a failure that a recap fixed, so I would recommend doing some diagnostics first, are the bars vertical or horiztonal? It sounds indicative of a CPU failure

@@HappyLittleDiodes Vertical, solid black and white bars with the occasional coloured byte in random places. See, I told you I didn't know what I was doing! 🤪

My spidey senses say Z80 but needs investigation!

@@HappyLittleDiodes It will get it, soon. BTW is there anything I shouldn't do that's likely to kill stuff?

Make sure your voltages are ok and don't run it for any amount of time without the heatsink attached. Use a current limiting power supply if possible. Is the Z80 socketed? If not then I wouldn't recommend it being your first chip removal, you can easily damage traces. The best thing would be to get a diagnostic ROM running to rule out anything else before such a job