ZX Spectrum Plus. Dirt cheap + Mint In Box? Does that add up to a bargain? 

Printing a price on the manual was a tax thing. In putting a price on it allowed for the manufacturer to claim back some vat on the 'value' of the 'publication' for every unit sold as books had special VAT rules. While this wouldn't be that much (likely 50p or so) it all went to the Sinclair philosophy of cost reducing everything. Its also a trick that home catalogue companies used to offset the cost of their 'free' catalogues as not only did it mean less VAT it also meant that they could count the catalogues as 'gifts' for tax offsetting at the corporate level. (not sure if Sinclair would have got this tax break as well). Also it is possible that in the deal between the printer DK Ltd and Sinclair Research Ltd it allowed for people to purchase replacements for lost manuals direct with DK and likely outsourced most of the effort to produce the manual as well.

I remember getting my Zx Spectrum + , Christmas '84 as a 8 year old and it was faulty. Imagine my disappointment! I remember my dad braving Boxing Day sales, racing to Dixon'sand finding that there was a faulty batch and everyone was returning them and they had no new stock. We discovered Boots had stock and we had to get a refund from Dixon's and repurchase from Boots. Racing home all excitedly with our new machine we stopped outside a Chinese for a takeaway, only to lock ourselves outside the car! We had to call the police to help and we didn't get home to really late. We finally got the new machine out and it worked except..... It was missing several keys. Queue a return to Boots the very best day. Finally the third replacement turned out to be ok! I think Dad vowed never to buy another computer as a present ever again!

Honestly, go as crazy as you want with the mods. This model isn't rare, there's lots of great examples in original condition, and it's so cheap for you that it would be worth giving it a go. Plus, it's your machine. Personally I would love to see how far you can go with this. Might be super nice to pull out this original box and reveal a hyper-custom machine inside.

I would have more faith in the original spectrum PSU once given the once over than a cheap SMPSU wall wart from China. 😕

4:41 A correctly fitted & decent quality non-moulded plug has only one disadvantage I know of .. its IP rating. Still perfectly acceptable for indoor-only use. It's the ones with unshielded pins which are less safe. I've seen some rather dodgy moulded plugs in my time.

Recap, get that speaker changed and check it's generally ok. There are probably other such units already in museums already, so I don't really see the issue with making some minor mods to it. It's not like you're painting it hot pink and drilling loads of holes in it, right?

It's in lovely condition, but not "gawk at its beauty through museum glass" condition. Do all the mods and joy the final product that truly is something of a steal.

For that price you would expect the box with a pack of mints in it.

Non moulded mains plugs are not unsafe when properly wired! The problem with the one you have here is the lack of sleeving/insulation on the live and neutral pins.

Thank you for such a cool nostalgic trip down the memory lane. This was my first computer. Bought it in either Jan or Feb 1985 (don't remember exactly) in London. My mom was a project manager/COBOL programmer for Yugoslav Airlines, so we flew from Belgrade to London, mostly to get this, although I managed to go see The London Zoo and The British Museum during that trip, too. I also recall getting a little Casio PT-1 during that same trip. I really wanted a Commodore 64, but there were some weird computer import restrictions back in my birth country, so the Spectrum+ was the best we could bring in at the time. I don't regret it, as it had much better BASIC than the C64 (although I recall the Simons BASIC C64 cartridge remedying the situation), which paved the way for me to eventually becoming a programmer. I got a PC XT in 1988 and Spectrum+ was sold in 1991 or so to my mom's coworker, but I have such fond memories from this time. I absolutely adored that Hobbit game, as well as the book. I never got into the movies much, but that game was so captivating. A friend used to tease me why I was interested in such an "old" game as they were prettier looking games for the speccy back in 1986, but the Hobbit game really captured my imagination like few others did. I surely hope you did all the mods and fixed the speaker, as this machine still has a ton of value if it can be hooked to a modern TV/monitor and such. Emulators are cool, but they just don't feel the same, and, honestly, so many Spectrum games were some of the most original and creative games ever made, even though they don't look too great by today's standards. But playing them on a quirky little machine from the 80's is just so much more fun than using the emulator, as much as I love modern PC's.

I got one of these in much tidier condition, barely used as stored in someone's loft for several decades for £40. Couldn't believe my luck when I spotted the Facebook Marketplace listing. I've had one from new in Christmas 1984, but hasn't been used in years. Still look fondly back to those times when computing was far more fun and life less stressful as a teenager.

I would love to see you make the mods and upgrades to turn it into a regular-use computer. Great find and glad you weren't ripped off.

Great video, I just picked one of these up in simular condition 👍

What a great price for a lovely machine. I'd do minimal work, like fixing the speaker, and enjoy it as intended. That said your probably did another video about it since, so I'll go look for that now!

3:50 the user guide was bundled with the ZX spectrum +. I had one supplied with mine. (The 48K spectrum and later Amstrad 128 manuals looked a lot better though!)

3:51 I have seen product manuals with prices on them from a handfull of different markets. Automotive, commercial cooking appliance, hobby grade R/C cars/trains/etc, even the Campbell's soup cookbook is in it's nature a product owners manual. These only exist in markets where the end user actually owns the product and csn use it as they see fit. These manuals tell the user how to make the product work, not warn against drinking toxic chemicals. And the apply to more than one serial number or production run.

I would at least fix the speaker. I think you can get that kind of speaker pretty easily on eBay anyway, so you shouldn't need to scavenge parts. Also, it could just be that there's a broken joint that needs reflowing. All that I'd consider a repair. There's certainly no harm in using the diagnostics ROM to be sure it's good. If you don't want to do a full recap, I'd at least see about checking the caps to see if they're still good, and do the recap if you find there are some bad ones. Other than that, I don't see much point in changing too much if it's primarily going to be a display piece, though personally I think it'd be better to get some use out of it: they were made to be used, after all! It's certainly a steal at the price, even if the speaker isn't working!

Hi Sir! IMHO Recap, replace the speaker and composite mod but without that board. Do an reversible composite mod using only a 100uf 16v cap. No need for those fancy PCB's. It is just dessolder the wire from Mobo to rf box and place the cap, dessoler the resitor leg inside box and dessolder 5v wire from mobo to rf box. It stays almost original and can be reversed

I bought an Atari 800XL mint in the box a couple of years ago. Everything was minty fresh and perfect. I was so happy about my purchase. Nonetheless, about 20 hours of use into it, it died. Probably just needs a recap, maybe, hopefully, but I haven't found the time to do it.

Anyone have a link to one of the PSU's used for the Plus / 48k in the video, or correct specs for the power requirements / tip size?

Um yeah, that manual is at least a quarter of the size of the original Speccy ring-bound monster, which taught you programming, as well as having the complete set of BASIC commands and even a Z-80 machine code reference section, which I made heavy use of. After he bought Sinclair Research, Mr Sugar obviously felt this was a huge waste of money, believing he was flogging a plug-n-play game box and only snivelling nerds would miss the original manual. Edit: If this machine was pre-Amstrad, I guess Uncle Clive was still trying to save the company by shaving off cost?

Does anyone know why the BASIC command of IN 31 (to monitor a Kempston Joystick interface) would generate a number even when not interface is connected, makes any games set to use a Kempston interface impossible to play? This is on my own ZX Spectrum + 48K

Replace the speaker, it will still be original. And giving it a better RF output, ok to do! For the rest: do not change it's working! BTW, I still have a working Spectrum, just like this one, only ... I did put my original Spectrum into the keyboard case. Also I own a 3,5" discdrive unit, to be coupled at the expansion slot, giving a RF signal and a real Centronics printerport... I had a printer connected once... That died a long time ago. But the Speccie still works!

Whatever else you do or don’t do, PLEASE fix that poor speaker! Concerning the box contents: 1. The tape leads are missing. 2. The PSU is in the old ZX81-styled case. (There was never a PSU styled to match the rubber-key Spectrum.) I’m not certain, but I’d have thought that a late-issue Spectrum+ would have come with the newer, restyled PSU that matched its case; it was more squared off and had horizontal lines across it like the Spectrum+. Unless only the Spectrum 128 came with that style…? 3. Someone else said they got both the User Guide Companion Cassette and Horizons with their Spectrum+. They shouldn’t; Horizons (though a much better intro cassette overall) had a large section devoted to learning the rubber-key keyboard layout, which would have been wholly inappropriate on the Spectrum+. Besides, the newer cassette had an updated keyboard tutor as I recall. Nice that your copy is still shrink-wrapped.

Hi, just replace the speaker 🔊 to have a working good machine, thanks to share with us ❤️

I've never seen those "putting them back in the box" retro computers videos you speak of.

I got one last year (or the year before, time flies), absolutely mint condition, even the box was in mint condition. Manuals, styrofoam, the lot. All literally as good as new. If the previous owner had told me he'd bought it new just the week before I would've believed him. Oh, and I got it for free, too.

Why do you think the old power supply and its plug are unsafe?

Repair Speaker, Check capacitors and I stress *CHECK* and only replace if they are way out of spec, if not out of spec leave them..

Very nice pick-up!

I have a 48k+ which is equally minty and I'm gonna recap it until it begs me to stop! I think it was originally a rev 3 rubber key that got upgraded because it's printed with 'upgrade' on the base. It also came with both manuals, and the + manual does indeed have a price on it.

If I (an American) purchase one of these '80s British produced home computers will it function properly on my TV or can I expect an 8-bit rendition of "I'm a Lumberjack and I'm okay" to play continuously.

The Spectrum sound was so beepy, do you miss it enough to make the repair?

Service the keyboard for dust etc and put a Sizif 512 inside use an extender for the sd card, magic button and reset button routed out one of the legs. Don't worry about the DB9 on the sizif it takes an actual Kempston interface through the edge connection

What makes that mains plug dangerous and illegal is'nt the fact it's not moulded, it's that it has'nt got the insulation around the Live and Neutral pins. If you have a plug with insulation around the Earth pin then get rid of it immediately. Whatever it's connected to will not be Earthed. :)

Fix the speaker, shelve it. Until you get a minter model. Also check seriel number - many like early ones, but maybe one of the very last. So there is that to look into.

Recap, fix speaker, mod it and use it. I can’t see the point in putting it back in the box and sticking it on a shelf. Put the box on the shelf, if you like!

i bought a 48K issue 2, came with a WH Smith cassette player, cost me about £50 .. all looked ok at first but no sound and no games loaded. It turned out it needed a new ULA which at £35 was over half of what i paid for it, i could have bought a modern equivalent but due to 'that virus' no one had any in stock ... moral of the story is, if you have a working ULA in that thing then you'd be strongly advised to look after it, they're becoming rarer than rocking horse poo

I recently bought a speccy + case. Is it the norm that where the membrane clamps are, you get a ever so slight bulge on the top? I notice in this vid there appears to be very slight bumps on the top?

I'd change the caps, do the composite mod, and use it as my daily driver 48k speccy.

speaker looked damaged to me when the camera was looking at the side. looks like someone poked something through the hole at the bottom.

I don’t get the nostalgia for later Spectrums. The rubber-keyed-wonder machines were great, but after that, they were resting on their laurels while competitors innovated. Good find, though.

I''ll be in dilemma too.. you couldn't go wrong which ever way... but.. if you choose the first option.. I'll get to see the video of that recapping, speaker replacement and all the stuff that you do with it... OOhh!! what a dilemma...

I bought a boxed Spectrum Plus for much less. Then I found a boxed rarer Sinclair Spectrum + with a Spanish keyboard, not the Inves clone, and I have both of them in my collection.

Please replace the speaker so you have a fully working spectrum. If you use the same original speaker its still in original state! IMHO recapping these kinds of electrolytic capacitors is not needed. Recapping is only needed for capacitors that are in a hot place, and have dried out and have developed an internal resistance or have leaked dielectrics and that is unusual with these kind of caps, it only happens with much larger caps in the supply etc. You can do patches , but make sure they can be reversed. Have fun with your nearly mint Sinclair ZX Spectrum+ 48K. You could check if this is the original Spectrum + manual, or an aftermarket product, but my guess is that it is the original booklet. Cassette cables are not really needed, (because of the sd-card loading device, and the plethora of sources where you can find software for it) but if you somehow still need to load something from cassette you can still buy TRS (Tip Ring Sleave Jack plug) cables cheaply, finding mono ones (with TR plugs) might be a bit harder, but stereo cables will work as well.

Make the mods and enjoy the heck out of the old games on it. I had Timex/Sinclair 2068 and wish I still had it just to play Fighter Pilot and Tomahawk on it and not to mention the stuff I wrote for it. What a fun time but I was also 40 years younger LOL!

Nice find. I say refurbish it and use it. Computers are meant to be used not looked at.

Yes, that's the original Doring Kindersly Spectrum+ manual. Very much dumbed down with almost no programming information.

Capacitor changes shouldn't really be needed on this vintage. It's become (honestly) a bit of a bore that it's one of the first things that need doing.

Good deal! Cheers

Too many other things really to consider. If it was me. Test the power supply. Research what was in the box. Replace the speaker. That's it. If you have all the stuff in the box and a genuine power supply and an of the period speaker I would shelve it as you have already working models. If your not going to keep as a shelve item go mad and refurbish. To me mib is the manuals and machine and power as it was and being an opened unit you dont know if the manual or power is as it was purchased. Research will be key but I have a feeling that manual is not the one back in the day so not really a shelf item is it ?

i got lucky on ebay 6 years ago and got a boxed samsung made spectrum 48k + for just £12.50 had to take keyboard apart to get it to work.The samsung models have better better membranes its a different material ,Now all the retro machines have gone up to stupid prices you did well finding it so cheap in 2021 do all the mods you want to it .

There’s plenty of on the shelf museum pieces around, the Speccy is not a rarity. Fix the speaker and do the recaps and cv mod, then let’s see the Plus played with!

It really depends what you want to do with it. If you intend on using it then I'd say fill your boots and sort everything out. Much better to have something that you can enjoy and without the fear of the magic smoke potentially paying you a visit at any point. If you just want to display it, I'd probably still sort the speaker. That way at least if you want to use it in the future it should at least work. I'm not sure a machine with a busted speaker really counts as mint anyway.

It's not in perfect condition and certainly not all original. The PSU is for the older rubber key variant. There are scratches and marks on the casing. Not all the leads are there. The box is shabby and the lower poly is shot at. I would say get it upgraded with replacing the caps and a mod to composite at least.

If the case and keys are good then KEEP it. Don’t display it in the sun light because the white key writing will turn yellow with tile time!

Upgrade it out the wazoo. If there's going to be any work done which you haven't done before, this is the one to do it on and learn.

absolute steal, great condition . not sure about the power supply, looked like it said it was a 1amp the original brick is a 1.4 amp . using that expansion device is going push it a bit close i would think ? .. ohh you cant leave it without a voice...

I say fix it up at least as without a working speaker it's not complete anyway. To me that keyboard membrane looks as if it has already been replaced the original one would have been more yellow coloured and not as shiny from what I've always seen, plus there would have been at least some cracks in the plastic even if not broken.

Regardless of what you decide, I don’t like the idea of putting it back in the box. We already know plastics, pvcs, styrofoam etc all react with each other, and the original box is rarely ever a good storage idea. I say display the box on the shelf, and do a full cleanup, a new power supply, speaker replace and quick recap then use the hell out of it for the next 20 years. Perhaps make it your “primary” Speccy for the next 12-24 months creating loads of content for your channel that no doubt we will all watch eagerly.

I would at least fix the speaker so it is in full working order. No need to start modding if you are not going to use it.

For this price - lucky you!😉

My Speccy Plus user guide has a price of £4.95 on the back cover.

That keyboard membrane has been replaced.. what is going on?

The ZX + was one of the best looking micros that was made. It's too bad they never cought on in the states.

It's a rare beast - the RF modulator wasn't rusty!

I don't see why you need to go through all that diagnostic and upgrade stuff when the speaker issue is NOT a difficult problem to solve.

At least fix the speaker. They aren't really museum pieces. I have one that is in great shape, so lots of people have them. Fix it up and enjoy it.

yeah that manual came with it.

Just fix the speaker. Then use it.

I'm not fussed for 'museum pieces' these machines were meant to be used.

I'd modify it- it's not mint enough for a displaypiece, keys show wear at tear and such.-

"Mint in box" = needs to be returned to Dixons if my experience is anything to go by. ;)

do all the upgrades

if it was me, i would refubrish anything that is dodgy or broken and play with it as is, but let it live in the box on the days you not use it let's face it it is not a unused unit, so there is no aded value in keeping it in current state, the tape , and book different story, but it is like buying a clasic car with all the factory accesories you can use it as daily driver and kill it in due time, keep it as a clasic car for events and special ocasions or store it as if there was no other units of it's kind left in the wild for me it is the 2nd option, nice unit for special ocasions, daily driving is out of the question due to how world evolved and museum piece is well too far gone for safe keeping

It’s crying out to be used! You know you want to! Light use and it’ll last a while I’d imagine! After all it’s what your channel is about surely? So yes I’d say get the soldering iron plugged in! 😉

You lucky bastard 😲

Repair and upgrade the unit. It's not as if there aren't museum examples of Spectrums out there,...

New caps

Keep it as original as possible, but fix what needs to be fixed. That means repairing the speaker. I am generally against recapping just for the heck of it, but for a machine as mint as this one this would really spoil the mintness.

My advice to you is send it to me then you won't have that dilemma

You can, if it's Linux Mint. Otherwise I wouldn't trust any mint in a box claims. Especially if it's an actual mint.

Package missing BASIC manual and audio cable. 10 RESTORE 1986

Get the sound working correctly and then leave it as a fully functioning ‘original’ machine.

You probably have loads of spectrums so maybe just keep this one in an original condition save for the speaker 😉

Machines like this are meant to be used, not to waste away on a shelf. Even machines in museums can be used by visitors; so change away.

Fix it

rip the insides out and install a pi 3

it needs to be played..put the box on the shelf..

Personal opinion replace the speaker only leave everything else original

Hmm... seems I'm in the minority after voting to leave it as is. Shame really, I'd of thrown in a bag of replacement caps in the box and cleaned the case & keys; and stored it away. Anyway, if the poll continues the way it is... Mod the sweet jebus out of it!!! :D

Replace speaker.

Its missing the tape leads and the bottom of the case is scratched as well as the wonky speaker so not really mint. Never really understood people who buy a computer, console or game then leave it sitting in its box on a shelf, and dont get me started on those numpties who dont even open the box. These things are meant to be played and enjoyed, they are much more than glorified ornaments.

why not put it in the bin

refurb it

Definitely not "Mint" with that scuff on the bottom case.

I am going to have to say it, but you lucky bugger.

Give it that "much loved look" with a hammer. No self respecting Speccy should look "mint" after 40 years.

I hate collectors because they drive prices up.use it or loose it. Don't shelve it.

Changing the capacitors in this machine does not make any sense. The quality in the mid 1980s was reasonable, and the chances are high that this almost 40 year old capacitors will live longer than modern capacitors from China. Do never repair anything which is not broken! Which means of course: Replace the loudspeaker.