Sorry all, in the part about video I referred to it as component instead of composite. You can use component in a Spectrum and it's something I will do a video on at a later date, but this build uses composite video. If you enjoyed the video please subscribe www.youtube.com/@RetroTeaTime?sub_confirmation=1
It's great to see so much love for Spectrum! I was a CPC boy myself, but I can never deny the Spectrum as the *Seminal* computer for so many of my generation! I've recently been catching up on the demo scene, as that was certainly seminal in my own life and career as a hobbyist and professional programmer! Well, I watched this Spectrum (128k) demo very recently and I have to see ... if anyone is sweeping up the floor and find a loose jawbone, then please let me know - I've not seen mine since it hit the floor after watching this ... th-cam.com/video/_gjikUuc6Yw/w-d-xo.html Thank you for a great video RT, it's wonderful to see such passion, diligence and love spent on older hardware that has clearly still got a trick or two up its sleeves! I mean, it's not just enough that they managed to pull off screen scrolling so smooth that you'd think there was dedicated hardware, but the colours it portrays are phenomenal!
I did enjoy afternoons at my school chum who had a CPC playing Renegade and 720, although I think he got that dreaded 50 games tape once and that wasn't fun. Thanks for the link, will definitely give a watch, the demo scene is pretty amazing. There are a few of the old Amiga demo guys on Twitter too these days who usually have some interesting stories.
... it's amazing that 5 years after I redrew this PCB there are people who are building new Spectrums using it :) It was worth it - mission accomplished :D Regards - PABB
Hey PABB, AMAZING to hear from you. Could you email me if you get a chance at retro@lostretrotapes.com about your board, I love it and thank you so so so much for creating it and helping us do these fantastic projects.
In the spirit of the original Sinclair design philosophy, maybe integrate the replacement sub boards into the main board, thus making it a combined THT/SMT board, perhaps with room for 4 ring 3.5mm sockets . The one hard to replace chip near the video output might be split into subcircuits of available chips. For a keyboard cost reduction, consider carbon pads on the back of the rubber with each button shorting 2 PCB pads with no foil layer.
@@johndododoe1411 I am considering making a new PCB optimised for all the upgrades and new parts. Will do a video and obviously offer it open source for others when I do
A few years ago, when looking in my parents' attic, I found my old Spectrum from 1983, I cleaned it and of course replaced the keyboard membrane, and connect it to a TV, no signal but the keys "clicked". I removed the RF modulator and connected to a composite port et voila, it still works as new. I also found a lot of old tapes and a lot are still working, what a great little machine.
What a great story and fantastic the keys still worked. A lot of the time the keyboard connector needs replacing. But so good these machines last such a long time and continue to work
@@RetroTeaTime When compared even to high end today's computers, those old and cheap machines still work fine nearly 40 years after they were built. I have an old Toshiba T3200 from 1987-88 ? and all the capacitors had to be replaced and this machine was 10x more expensive than the speccy.
First, Perifractic builds a Commodore 64 with 100% all new parts (some of which just became available), and now this. It is a great time to be a retro enthusiast.
It's actually a terrible time to be a retro enthusiast. Most the old hardware is dying or disposed of. Those that aren't are massively overpriced on ebay, and of course are full of leaking capacitors etc. Many of these new parts are not equivalent to the originals. The remakes of the SID chip, for example, are far inferior. The great time to be a retro enthusiast was 20 years ago. You had to almost pay someone to take this stuff.
@@bradallen8909 True, the price of retro has got to ridiculous levels. Remember the time you could find CRTs left unloved on the street and the local school fete had boxes of C64s and Spectrums for 50p
@@bradallen8909 anecdote time: indeed in 2000 a co-worker asked me if I like old crap, I said yes, the next day he gifted me a 1571 in-box in great condition! Try that in 2023
WOW! Absolutely incredible. Your attention to detail is amazing. My introduction to computing was with the ZX81 (a much loved xmas present). I was lucky to upgrade a few years later to a 48K Spectrum+. Thanks for the video, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
@@RetroTeaTimezx81 was also my first computer, a birthday present. My favourite was mazogs. Also moved onto the spectrum, but the version for that, maziacs, never quite felt as good
I was more talking about the rest of the build, the recreation of manuals, creating the horizons tape etc. The board I agree is a pretty simple soldering job
I skipped over the 128k as a kid as we couldn't afford the upgrade so soon after the 48k, but did look longingly at the 128k only games such as Where Time Stood Still in Crash Magazine
Thats the plan! They just take a HUGE amount of time to plan out, suffer through numerous broken builds, recreating manuals, boxes, in pack cassettes etc. Hope to have a new one out in the next couple of months.
What a fantastic video. So many parts you did to make this complete. Absolutely enjoyed watching this. I hope you feel proud of your amazing achievement. I certainly do for you fella.
A great job and great attention to detail. So much nostalgia for me in one video. Seeing the Psion loading screen from the Horizons tape instantly transported me back in time.
Really happy you got some happy memories from it. Seeing that loading screen for the first time as a kid was magical, I had a magic box that let me control the TV. Every time I see the loading strips, hear those loading tones, or flick through a Crash magazine it is a memory of that wonderful time.
Great job! I haven't come across something like this before, but you have done an amazing job of explaining a lot of information in a concise and easy-to-understand manner. I'm really interested in learning more about these retro builds.
Thank you. Glad you found it interesting, the main point of the video and website was to help people understand more and in a clear and free way and thrilled you think have successfully done that.
Oh did they, not found any images of the manuals in bags. Will have to take a new look around to check. Thanks for the tip! Yes the power pack was a hell of a thing, especially compared to the size of the Speccy. And annoyingly centre negative so they weren't easy to replace.
@@RetroTeaTime I do miss my rubber 48k speccy. Manic miner, Chuckie Egg, Ahh Diddums were some of the early games we had. Amazing what could be done with so little power esp the games nearing the end of the speccys life. Fairly indestructible (we dropped ours down the stairs a few times) but found that a few drinks spillages just before the warrantee ran out did the trick.
This video took me back in time... back in the 1980s I had the ZX81, with the "big" 16kb extension module :-D, but could not afford to switch to the ZX Specturm or any of the Commondors
Hopefully you are playing with it now. I have one sitting in the box still that I need to unpack and get playing with, so many projects to do first though...
@@RetroTeaTime Yes and no. Millions of motherboards are shipped, every year, from Taiwan with a 2032 lithium battery pre-installed. No issue. But I've found that US customs are extremely prickly where the UK is concerned. I import and export electronics and the UK is easily the worst in terms of customs. I've had deliveries from the USA to UK rejected due to a spelling mistake in the item description. There appears to be a tit-for-tat vendetta going on - very childish in my view - but orchestrated primarily from the USA end. Is this part of ongoing trade negotiations / battles I wonder? Either way, the most officious bastards in the UK are in Scotland. They are the devil. Easier to import to England and then ship up to Scotland.
@@RetroTeaTime Yes. They have now decided to change the shipping company (I believe the problem shipper was UPS). Given that computers, laptops and just about every mobile device has a battery, I really cannot understand what is the problem?
Without checking, £400 for this build is cheaper than the original price when adjusted for inflation. Of course £400 can buy you a very basic laptop which is hugely more capable in comparison to a ZX Spectrum. For those interested, it is nostalgia at an affordable price. My entire career in computing can be traced back to my exposure to, and programming of the ZX Spectrum. Your build is the closest to the perfect recreation of my childhood experience I have ever seen.
When I did the calculation I did include the whole print cost etc in the final cost, as I didn't see the point in doing it just for individual manuals etc when there is a min order qty on each. I think if you made a few then the unit cost might drop to around £330. Glad you enjoyed the build, I think a lot of us owe our careers in computing and technology to the little Speccy, my parents absolutely believe it was the best present they could have ever got me. Amazing to think it was responsible for so much innovation and careers.
@@RetroTeaTime The price of a Spectrum NEXT! But at least your way you will actually see something for your money! The NEXT has now turned into a scam and no one, myself included, will *ever* see something for their money.
@@SteveTeeIridium-Plus I have a 1st round Kickstarter Next. And it's a great machine, if you are in the 2nd round I am 99.9999% sure you'll get it sometime this year, they were absolute victims to the chip shortage it seems.
This was my first ever computer that I taught myself Sinclair Basic and ZX Machine code once I was over slow basic. Fast forward 40 years and I still love it. Still program though not in Basic.
@@RetroTeaTime Many years ago, when they used to have them, I attended a Spectrum specific show in London and bought THE book for machine code for the Spectrum. I also was invited to meet the author - a 17 year old boy. Seeing this kid so enthusiastic inspired me to learn and also to transition to x86 machine code later on once the IBM PC became available. Very useful.
Excellent work, well done! I remember unpacking my Spectrum in 1983 I think, and still have about 3/4 of it today! Including the upper polystyrene part of the box, the cardboard shell, the OG power supply and the computer, albeit without the metal top plate. I bought a replacement plate and must get it stuck back on after doing a composite mod, although my soldering skills are rubbish! I remember packing it all away and unpacking it again fairly frequently - I loved the feel of doing this, and strangely recall some of the manuals being ring-bound and that scratching against the polystyrene, although maybe that's from a different system or console. Anyway good work and I look forward to seeing more videos!
Many thanks, really happy you enjoyed. A bit of double sided tape is good for the faceplate. You are right, 95% of the manuals were ring-bound and I am trying to get the printer to allow me to ring-bind them in future, currently 12 pages too long.
Cool stuff. I bought the more sexy ZX Spectrum + in '84 along with cassette player, two micro drives and a joystick. 🥰 Heady days! I loved that thing to bits at the time, later adding the Tatung Einstein for the princely sum of £500, which was a lot! Man those were exciting days. It was all still all relatively new, loads of different companies making loads of different stuff on loads of different OS's. Nobody knew who would win or fail, innovation out the ying-yang, everything incompatible with everything else 😂 Great times!
Tatung Einstein, wow that was a bit snazzy! Never used one myself, what were they like? Wasn't it a fun time though, innovation was just so fast paced, and everything was so exciting and new.
@@RetroTeaTime The Einstein was a lot of fun, having a real keyboard, Xtal DOS, floppy drives, 3" double sided, not the standard 3.5" types. I had two drives, the 80 column display card and the Tatung 14" monitor, so I basically spent closer to £900 on it.. 🤦♂️ Still, I had many good years with it until I bought my first Amiga in 1989. Yeah, tons of innovation. Everyone was trying out whatever they could, it was the true wild west of computing, much of it lasting into the 1990's. Sadly it's all become utterly generic and dull now. Glad I was there when it was still exciting and fun. 👍😎
@@GazzaBoo that was a decent chunk of change for the time! Totally agree with the comment about how it's all become generic now. There is some decent movement with the indie games scene though which is encouraging. But I think we really miss something people not growing up with type in listings and POKEing our way through games.
@@RetroTeaTime 😂 I totally forgot Poke and Peek! I used to enter the program code they printed in Spectrum magazines every month at the time when I was trying to learn basic. It never worked as I'd inevitably type something wrong, the Spekky's odd way of entering code didn't help much either, that's why I liked the Einstein so much. A real keyboard and fast floppies with good basic was a joy, and the sound was much better, as was picture quality with a proper monitor. Still, can't fault the Spekky for the price and fun it gave me.
Fantastic! I'm a C64 Amiga fanboy but my first ever computer was a zx81 and loved it. Travelled far and wide, as far as Brighton by train to find games that worked with 1k haha. Spent many happy hours playing Glug Glug on my cousin's Spectrum 48k whenever I visited. Great video!
@@RetroTeaTime glug glug, you play a deep sea diver if memory serves. Nobody has ever heard of it haha. Look forward to you covering those machines with great interest. If it's anything like this video it will be great!
Had a few games of Glug Glug at lunchtime. It was actually really fun! It had some Jetpac vibes and I had a rather fun little blast with it. Easy to pick up, and overall pretty decent. Looking at the release date too I wouldn't be surprised to see it in a couple of episodes time in Bytes, the show on my other channel www.youtube.com/@lostretrotapes
@@RetroTeaTime haha, excellent! Now sub’d to Bytes too which looks amazing and looking forward to working my way through those. Ah, let the feeling of nostalgia commence. 🙏
Amazing! Seeing it all takes me right back to when I was a young lad. That loading screen for the Horizons tape really hit home to me, I hadn't seen it in 40 years!
Thank you and glad you enjoyed the build. Seeing that Horizons tape load for the first (and second and third) times on the family television was like magic as a child
lol I nearly drowned in the waves of nostalgia washing over me as I watched this. I was not expecting to see Manic Minor today. Forty years ago. Where did all the time go?
Don't, time just seems to fly past these days. Just seems a few years ago I was eagerly reading Crash and trying to clear Manic Miner. Glad you enjoyed it
Nice work. Especially trying to make it feel very authentic. The ZX Spectrum 48k was my first computer. I remember have it “upgraded” to ZX Spectrum+ by changing the keyboard and casing.
What a fantastic video! I received my ZX Spectrum 48K for Christmas 83. I still have fond memories of sitting in my mum & dads kitchen with it hooked up to a 14 inch portable tv and then spending hours trying to get games to load! And Manic Miner!...so glad you choose that game to test your ZX. I too still play it today every now and then. Did you know on the original ZX if you turned the music off the game ran much faster due to lightning the load on the CPU!
I didn't know that, but I have to turn off the music these days, it just doesn't sound as imporessive as it did back in 84! Am currently remaking it in Godot which I will make a video of
Wow, this is incredible! I think someone with fond memories of a keen interest on discovering the Speccy would just love unboxing that. I had seen the pics of the manual on twitter and wasn't sure about it without the ring binding, but seeing you flick through it here it looks brilliant and would be awesome on its own as a replacement. Hats off sir!
Thanks for saying! Just fixed a +2 tape deck the other day, sometimes I wish I had one instead of being paranoid the cassette recorder attached to the 48k would play up.
The ZX Spectrum 16K was my first ever computer and I still have one, but not the original machine I had back then. Very fond memories of playing games and typing in magazine listings. You did an amazing job recreating everything that came in the original packaging, but you forgot to include the cassette and TV leads!
The cassette leads and TV leads are in the box, I just didn't show them as well they are rather boring! You can find links to where I got them in on the website at www.lostretrotapes.com/zx-spectrum-issue-3b-parts-list/
Where did you buy or get the lego set from. I also had tonnes of the stuff back in the 80's. I would pay for a Spectrum 48k Lego set. (Mind Blown) i Was 10 when i got my 48k, year later my dad brought my dot matrix printer. then in 1986 brought me the Disc Drive and joystick with kempston rom cartridge. Was into this so much i thought the Rs232 was some sort of what we call now days internet. ;)
I still have one, alongside the Sinclair QL (128 KB) and the tiny programme cartridges!! I remember the mod to extend the 16KB memory to 48KB, as well as to change the display port to monitor, instead of a tely . Priceless work you've done!!
This is amazing! Really nice job. I went a cheaper, easier route, and bought a refurbed Spectrum with composite mod, and sourced the manuals separately, which included both the introduction and the ring-bound main manual. The manuals are stamped as coming from a branch of Boots in Eastbourne in 1984, which was interesting. I don't have the whole box unfortunately, just the batterered polystyrene part. I've had a lot of fun revisiting the machine, especially loading tapes via a ZXTapeUI device (despite having a DivMMC) as I just love that iconic loading sequence. I never had a Spectrum back in the day, as I just couldn't afford one and had to go for a ZX81 instead (I have a refurbed one of those too). But I went round my friends houses and played on theirs, so I've got huge nostalgia for the Speccy, and of course the ZX81. The ultimate heresy is I first tried my refurbed Spectrum on my C64 1702 CRT monitor, and it looked great. You have to use these old machines on CRTs to get the authentic experience in my opinion.
The refurbished route is by far the more sensible option! But when was being sensible fun! Really glad you got hold of a Spectrum though after all these years, what was the first game you played on it after all those years? I love the tape sequence, but sometimes the DivMMC is just too easy when I just want that hit of Manic Miner and the mug of tea is starting to get cold. Absolutely correct about the CRT giving the best experience, and that holds for pretty much every computer and console up until the modern Xboxes and PlayStations. Even the original PS looks much better on a CRT.
@@RetroTeaTime I think the first game I loaded when I got the Spectrum was 3D Starstrike because I was gobsmacked when I saw that game running at a computer club back in the day. I had a C64 by then and I was insanely jealous because it had no chance of running a game like that, and Ioved the original Star Wars Arcade (I now have an Arcade1Up Star Wars cab which had to be imported which scratches that itch!). I also played favourites like Jet Pac, Chuckie Egg, 3D Death Chase and others. I'm not a fan of Manic Miner though I did load it up to have a quick play. I also went through the Horizons tape which was really nostalgic as I can remember loading that at a friend's house on their machine, sitting on the carpet in front of their living room TV. I even typed in a few examples from the manual and the muscle memory kicked in, remembering the keyword and various shift combos, as I used to type in some magazine games on my mates machines. Classic!
Can't remember 3D Starstrike, off to download it and give it a go. Not tried the 1up cabs yet, have a pretty complete New Wave collection, Space Ace arrived today which looks great and I am very bad at
Amazing! To be honest, I had my retro urge a long time ago, but I went the Pi4 route, and have almost every console up to the PS1 on a single SSD, neatly housed in the NesPi4 case. However, when I heard this cost you 400 notes I nearly spat my coffee out, ha! But you being a tuber, I totally get why you did this. And let's face it, anyone who was around for these old computers would get a real kick watching anything like this. Good job, Bud! *EDIT:* 269 Subs? A travesty!! Allow me to make you 270 ;)
Thank you and glad you enjoyed it. And many thanks for the sub, it's really nice to see people want to see more, have a few ideas for some new videos that I have started to plan out. The Pi route is so much easier (and cheaper!), and I do have emulators on my PC, my Steamdeck and Mister, but there is something about the rubber keys that playing Manic Miner on any other keyboard just isn't the same. With the cost when I totalled it up I think I was like you and nearly spat my tea over the room, the build had taken quite a few months so all expenses were pretty spaced out, anyone just looking for a computer to play their old games are better off on SinclairForSale and getting a tested old machine, but to be honest, the project was never about that, more of a personal challenge and making sure the future of the Spectrum was still viable, and something very fun. It was important not to keep all the info to myself, I want anyone who wants to recreate this be able to, so thats the real reason behind the video and putting everything up on the site.
@@RetroTeaTime Thanks for replying. My mum bought us the 48k when I was a kid, and, like you, those rubber keys, even now, are incomparable. There was something about _that_ rubber ... extremely tactile and satisfying. I remember waking up stupidly early and sneaking downstairs to play games before my brother and sister woke up ... fond memories, lol. Chuckie Egg, Manic Miner, and HeliChopper (to name but a few) were some of my favs, and they were crazy addictive, so I laughed when you mentioned you have to play Manic at least once a month! Anyways, I wish you the best, and all the success in the world with your channel. But, I suspect, due to that very last paragraph of yours ... You're gonna do just fine ;)
Did you do both Side A and Side B of the Horizons tape? Anyway, the amount of quality production being put into this, that actually amazes me. It genuinely looks like the original. Simply amazing!
Decided to go for an Oric instead, which had a nicer keyboard and better spec, but it just didn't have the software support, so soon ended up trading it for a Spectrum, a bundle of games, and a Kempston Pro Joystick - Happy days! Great to see one put together in such great detail - fantastic effort! My only disappointment was not getting to hear the loading screen noises!
By far the best video I recently watched, and what an amazingly detailed project! I built a 48k myself during lockdown, if only I had such a great guide at that time. I even got the same reproduction box (very good) and (flimsy) polys. Now looking forward to your next videos! Thanks👏😊
That's very kind of you to say. Did you build your one from scratch or rescue parts from an existing Speccy? Am currently working on a new, better box and absolutely better polys, just in talks with a couple of companies to see who can do the best job and then hopefully be able to put the artwork files up on the site with a link on where to get them made.
@@RetroTeaTime I built one from scratch, an issue 3 pcb purchased on ebay. Sourcing all new components was a pain, your guide with the links for retailers will really help anyone wanting to build one! The box is okay but, yes, polys from consoleboxes are not sturdy enough. New manuals and tape labels is just amazing. Excellent project!
@@dopierrexzx6956 Yeah, the Polys are coming out to be the hardest part of it all, the consoleboxes ones as you said are OK but not great. I found one place to make them better, but they need a minimum order of 100 pieces. Could do that and try and resell them but it's a big undertaking!
Awesome job, ZX Spectrum Charles! I'm CMB 64 Charles :) I actually still have my Commodore 64 from back then. The 64 was my 2nd computer, prior to that I had a ZX81, which I sold to a friend. I wish I had kept that computer. Here's a sub to help get you to 1k 😁
Like you, the first computer I owned was a BBC Micro (Model B), purchased with my own money at the age of 16 in 1984. I was doing an electrical / electronics apprenticeship at GEC in Preston, Lancashire. I did buy a second hand ZX Spectrum 48k from a friend a few years later, right at the end of the ‘Spectrum era’, and I had a floppy disk drive unit for it… and I still have it along with all the accessories, although I have not tested it for around a decade. I suspect many of the capacitors are blown now! Prior to buying the BBC Micro, I was lucky enough to have been loaned a TRS-80 with disk drives and a full size printer, when I was 13 around 1981/82. I taught myself programming in BASIC and learned to use VisiCalc which is generally considered to be the first spreadsheet application. I consider myself very lucky to have been able to use the TRS-80 for around 2 years. It set me up for my career, and my first job after finishing my apprenticeship had the title “Spreadsheet Programmer”. I was literally employed solely to program spreadsheets in 1991! It set me up for life, and I’m still in the IT business now aged 55.
Subscribed. Because this is the daft sort of thing I do. I am collecting parts for a model aircraft flown by a world champion, and period radio control that he used. Will i fly it ? Yes. Like him ? not a chance!
Love it, doing daft things is just so much fun. And who cares if you have fun and hopefully people have fun watching or recreating! Your project sounds awesome, hope you manage to find everything and the maiden flight goes well
1st one we had was the rubber keyd one, after a couple of years heavy use the metal cover peeled of from the heat lol. Next one I had was the 128k+ vast improvement over the original, longer loading times for better sound and games, also had the integrated tape player.
This is crazy. What a fantastic build! My first PC was the C64. It came with a bad disk drive that needed to be returned. Gratz on this video. So good!
Thank you for watching! Check the website and the bill of materials page for where I get the ear and mic plugs. You managed to build one from scratch yet?
@@RetroTeaTime no, not really! I like to repair them and build new parts for them. I'm currently working on a VGA project for ZX Spectrum. I know there are VGA projects out there already, but I have fun working on them from scratch.
This is beautiful, it is pleasure to watch. (Imagine you are ZX Spectrum fan and your love gives you this as a christmas gift :D including the "building a brand new ZX Spectrum"... 🎄💥🔥♥❤❤)
@@RetroTeaTime I can bet people will now be asking me if we offer such kits ;) I won't, since for example I can't resell some of the modules (already discussed it with Charlie and others), though maybe that might change one day. Wonderful project though!
Anything you sell that is in my BOM drop me a message and I'll link to your place in it, I've bought quite a few things off the shop in the past and happy to link to it. Shame you can't sell Charlie's vULA. Glad he is shipping to the UK though again, I went through a patch I had to ship it to my brother who lives in Australia and wait for him to remember to post it to me, sometimes took months!
i loved my speccy 48k, it was that little machine that started me off in computers, programming in basic, here youve basically recreated to perfection what i had in 1983/4, well done, though was a bit worried in using the heat to shrink the wrapping around the tape, wouldnt that of also affected the actual tape?
I don't remember the Horizons tape coming with the Spectrum when I got mine direct from Sinclair, was that a later addition after they got their initial backlog caught up? I do remember there was something like a month to two month wait for the computer to arrive after I'd sent off my postal order.
Everyone I spoke to while researching this said they got a Horizons tape with their 48k. Maybe some of the very early packs didn't have it? Mine definitely did as Thro the Wall and Rabbits and Foxes was my main entertainment until I saved up enough pocket money to visit Woolies and get a copy of Hungry Horace or something. I wish I could remember my gaming timeline in the early days, but I absolutely remember all 3 Horace games, Flight Sim, The Hobbit, Sinclairs Space Invaders (which I remember taking back to the shop as it wouldn't load and they checked it in front of me, of course it loaded, and I was sent on my way) and of naturally the best game of all time, Manic Miner.
@@RetroTeaTime Did you know that Matthew Smith originally developed Manic Miner on a Tandy (Radio Shack). Not sure if it was the Tandy Model III or a TRS-80 though, but they were both based on the Z80, so good for ZX Spectrum development. He was definitely a coding genius. Loved your ZX Spectrum build. I still have my original ZX Spectrum 48k that I bought second hand around 1985. I’m not sure if it still works though; haven’t fired it up for nearly 10 years.
That was an awesome build! 👍 Looks 'almost' identical to the very many, many Spectrums that were sold through the little computer shop where I worked in around 1982..! Not sure if you know, or if it's even possible to recreate today (and at a reasonable price!), but the polystyrene packaging was actually moulded, and in the piece for the lid was a large Sinclair logo moulded into it..! It'd be fantastic if you could find a way to recreate that! 🙂
Many thanks and glad you enjoyed it. And working in a computer shop in the early 80s was my idea of heaven while I was at school! Yes the polys are the weakest part of the build at the moment, I have been trying different suppliers, but as you said the fact they were originally moulded makes it a lot harder. Going to continue with my search and hopefully have an update if I am successful.
another possibility is to build the 'harlequin' clone board, uses bog standard logic chips, no ULA required, but theres A LOT of chips in it!! there has also been a version made using an Altera CPLD instead of the ULA
Yup, I have made a couple of Harlequins and they are a fun build and of course fit in the case as well. For this build though I wanted to see how close i could get to the original chipset and board as possible with new produced materials
@@RetroTeaTime i have several 'empty' harlequin boards, various versions, plus 2 of the Altera based 'clones' (zx max 48 and zx max 128) havent got round to assembling them yet!
Many thanks! If only, that would be fun wouldn't it. But as Blur once sang, we are safe in the knowledge there will always be a bit of my heart devoted to it
I restore the original ZX Spectrum 48K boxes and make it complete with the original manuals, cables and PSU. For me I want the original not a cheap remake. Have also restore the Toastrack and the ZX Spectrum Plus. Have enough working original chips such as the ULA, ROM and AY. The only thing use a new is the ZX-HD and DivMMC Enjoy! Pro One. Use a mint old Slipstream Data Recorder with original ZX Spectrum 48K tapes. Such as Jetpac, Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy, Skool Daze, Alien 8 and Ant Attack. All are working and are 1ste releases. Have also a brand new HARLEQUIN 128K REV 2D in a ZX Spectrum Plus case. Have more and a lot of spare parts. Now I have the ZX Interface 2 with the original ROM Games cartridges. And seek for the Interface 1, 8x ZX MicroDrives and a ZX Printer. Hope that I can buy Issue 5 board. Which is the only board to complete my collection.
The DivMMC is a wonderful bit of kit. I hope you have a very large wallet for the Issue 5, don't think I have ever seen one come up for sale and would imagine if one does it's will be eye watering price.
Nice ! Watching this reminds me I have a CF 2GB HDD adaptor with my one . But I haven't used it for years, hopefully it still works... Its all in the loft... I think 🤔 😢
I'm a big fan of the Timex-Sinclair 2068 computer. It has the added sound and graphics modes. Nobody made use of the extra graphics modes, although I did a little in a video game that I wrote.
I'd say a cheap $3 multimeter won't hurt. It could be easier and faster to use that one to check the values of the resistors. It can also be used to check if there's a short to the ground, and if there's something wrong with the machine, then it could be used to check the voltages.
Absolutely. I really should in hindsight have shown my pre and post power checks using a multimeter that I have documented on my site. Will add them to the followup video
I can take a look at it. The drive will be an issue I know already, but maybe we can replace that with a modern SD reader. It would be a fun build though if possible.
Wow. Great effort! I spent so much time on my Spectrum in the 80’s. My first software ‘job’ used some machine code from an article in Your Spectrum magazine to create a rolling display of screens advertising mortgages which was used in a local bank. Later I studied software engineering at Imperial College, where one of my lecturers was Steve Vickers. And about a year or so ago I finally finished Manic Miner (running on a PSP using Fuse) with frequent saves & restores the start of each level… I never finished Jet Set Willy though. Thanks for the video!
Well I am incredibly jealous you have finished Manic Miner, but can you do it without save states! Thats the real challenge... And to have Steve Vickers as your tutor, wow. Did you know who he was at the time?
I won a national computer competition sponsored by Barclays Bank in 1983, having written a program that displayed adverts for goods in a local Mace shop. Happy days!
In the video I used one that you can buy online, a brand new reproduction box and polys, it is linked on my website. However not 100% happy with the quality, the material for the box is not exactly like the old box, and the artwork on the front could be better, so I've started reconstructing it. The first print attempt though, although looked great had some slightly incorrect dimensions so I was not able to use it for the video. Am working on fixing up the issues, as soon as they are fixed I'll make a follow-up video on the box, and also put all the artwork files up on the site for you to all use.
Absolutely amazing. Why not get into painting as well ? I’m sure you would do a great job replicating a Picasso or other artist. You’d probably get well payed for it :D
Unfortunately, i've failed to even solder 20 pins on the RPI0 for my ZX Spectrum NGO. Glad somepeople is making a modern Speccy for talentless duck like me. Love my NGO!
Sorry all, in the part about video I referred to it as component instead of composite. You can use component in a Spectrum and it's something I will do a video on at a later date, but this build uses composite video. If you enjoyed the video please subscribe www.youtube.com/@RetroTeaTime?sub_confirmation=1
Many thanks, glad you enjoyed it and looking forward to making more
It's great to see so much love for Spectrum! I was a CPC boy myself, but I can never deny the Spectrum as the *Seminal* computer for so many of my generation!
I've recently been catching up on the demo scene, as that was certainly seminal in my own life and career as a hobbyist and professional programmer!
Well, I watched this Spectrum (128k) demo very recently and I have to see ... if anyone is sweeping up the floor and find a loose jawbone, then please let me know - I've not seen mine since it hit the floor after watching this ...
th-cam.com/video/_gjikUuc6Yw/w-d-xo.html
Thank you for a great video RT, it's wonderful to see such passion, diligence and love spent on older hardware that has clearly still got a trick or two up its sleeves!
I mean, it's not just enough that they managed to pull off screen scrolling so smooth that you'd think there was dedicated hardware, but the colours it portrays are phenomenal!
I did enjoy afternoons at my school chum who had a CPC playing Renegade and 720, although I think he got that dreaded 50 games tape once and that wasn't fun.
Thanks for the link, will definitely give a watch, the demo scene is pretty amazing. There are a few of the old Amiga demo guys on Twitter too these days who usually have some interesting stories.
... it's amazing that 5 years after I redrew this PCB there are people who are building new Spectrums using it :)
It was worth it - mission accomplished :D Regards - PABB
Hey PABB, AMAZING to hear from you. Could you email me if you get a chance at retro@lostretrotapes.com about your board, I love it and thank you so so so much for creating it and helping us do these fantastic projects.
@@RetroTeaTime ... you did a great job - I'm impressed :)
In the spirit of the original Sinclair design philosophy, maybe integrate the replacement sub boards into the main board, thus making it a combined THT/SMT board, perhaps with room for 4 ring 3.5mm sockets . The one hard to replace chip near the video output might be split into subcircuits of available chips.
For a keyboard cost reduction, consider carbon pads on the back of the rubber with each button shorting 2 PCB pads with no foil layer.
@@johndododoe1411 I am considering making a new PCB optimised for all the upgrades and new parts. Will do a video and obviously offer it open source for others when I do
Sir, you have my honest cat foot salute! o7
I lost my ZX Spectrum in a war. But I still remember the day I got it. What a magical moment. Thanks for helping me relive it!
My pleasure, glad you enjoyed it and it brought back some fabulous memories
A few years ago, when looking in my parents' attic, I found my old Spectrum from 1983, I cleaned it and of course replaced the keyboard membrane, and connect it to a TV, no signal but the keys "clicked".
I removed the RF modulator and connected to a composite port et voila, it still works as new.
I also found a lot of old tapes and a lot are still working, what a great little machine.
What a great story and fantastic the keys still worked. A lot of the time the keyboard connector needs replacing. But so good these machines last such a long time and continue to work
@@RetroTeaTime When compared even to high end today's computers, those old and cheap machines still work fine nearly 40 years after they were built.
I have an old Toshiba T3200 from 1987-88 ? and all the capacitors had to be replaced and this machine was 10x more expensive than the speccy.
First, Perifractic builds a Commodore 64 with 100% all new parts (some of which just became available), and now this. It is a great time to be a retro enthusiast.
I do plan a C64 build but building on what has been done adding the manuals and box etc for the future
It's actually a terrible time to be a retro enthusiast. Most the old hardware is dying or disposed of. Those that aren't are massively overpriced on ebay, and of course are full of leaking capacitors etc.
Many of these new parts are not equivalent to the originals. The remakes of the SID chip, for example, are far inferior.
The great time to be a retro enthusiast was 20 years ago. You had to almost pay someone to take this stuff.
@@bradallen8909 True, the price of retro has got to ridiculous levels. Remember the time you could find CRTs left unloved on the street and the local school fete had boxes of C64s and Spectrums for 50p
Do you guys also watch Perifractic on mute?
@@bradallen8909 anecdote time: indeed in 2000 a co-worker asked me if I like old crap, I said yes, the next day he gifted me a 1571 in-box in great condition! Try that in 2023
Have seen the ZX Touch. Looks Amazing And I Have one. In 1984 i also got one for Christmas. Nice to see How they have Progress now hitting 50yrs.
Yup, think we are all hitting that magic 50!
WOW! Absolutely incredible. Your attention to detail is amazing. My introduction to computing was with the ZX81 (a much loved xmas present). I was lucky to upgrade a few years later to a 48K Spectrum+. Thanks for the video, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Really happy you enjoyed it.
What a lovely present to receive. What was your favourite game on the ZX81? Monster Maze?
@@RetroTeaTimezx81 was also my first computer, a birthday present. My favourite was mazogs. Also moved onto the spectrum, but the version for that, maziacs, never quite felt as good
Will check it out on the ZX81
I can remember when these came out wow a blast from the past I think my late dad brought one home mind you I have 4 sisters so we'd argue over it 😂
@@RetroTeaTimeI remember manic miner
Incredible video!!! Amount of effort that went into this is breathtaking. Brings back the memories...
Many thanks! I don't think you'll ever forget your first (computer)
Wonderful memories of learning computing with this little gadget ... And Clive was a true genius.
Wasn't he, so inspirational
I love that you remade all the packaging and manuals. We need more of this in the world.
Many thanks, it was really fun and something I hadn't seen done in full before
I like how you're explaining what you're doing as if anyone watching is crazy enough to do this for themselves
Yeah, it certainly isn't for everybody (anybody?)
Why wouldn't they? Any experienced solderer could assemble one of these boards in a day, no problem.
I was more talking about the rest of the build, the recreation of manuals, creating the horizons tape etc. The board I agree is a pretty simple soldering job
the 128k was my first ever machine, I would put operation wolf on load before going to school, and hope it was loaded when I got back, happy times
I skipped over the 128k as a kid as we couldn't afford the upgrade so soon after the 48k, but did look longingly at the 128k only games such as Where Time Stood Still in Crash Magazine
Sir Clive was a genius.
Wasn't he. Hard to think of something else that probably had such a huge impact on so many people's lives
It's amazing the lengths us Speccy fans will go to to recreate that fateful birthday or Christmas! Few outside the hobby would understand!
Yup, they were fun exciting days. Was a great time trying to recreate them
This is a great step by step instruction guide. I sure wish all board projects came with a video from Retro Teatime.
Thats the plan! They just take a HUGE amount of time to plan out, suffer through numerous broken builds, recreating manuals, boxes, in pack cassettes etc. Hope to have a new one out in the next couple of months.
What a fantastic video. So many parts you did to make this complete. Absolutely enjoyed watching this. I hope you feel proud of your amazing achievement. I certainly do for you fella.
Many thanks for such a lovely comment. It was a really fun build to research, create and do, and looking forward to the next one.
A great job and great attention to detail. So much nostalgia for me in one video. Seeing the Psion loading screen from the Horizons tape instantly transported me back in time.
Really happy you got some happy memories from it. Seeing that loading screen for the first time as a kid was magical, I had a magic box that let me control the TV.
Every time I see the loading strips, hear those loading tones, or flick through a Crash magazine it is a memory of that wonderful time.
Great job! I haven't come across something like this before, but you have done an amazing job of explaining a lot of information in a concise and easy-to-understand manner. I'm really interested in learning more about these retro builds.
Thank you. Glad you found it interesting, the main point of the video and website was to help people understand more and in a clear and free way and thrilled you think have successfully done that.
Not only enjoyed, but am impressed too, with the quality of the crafting.
Awesome to hear, really happy you enjoyed it
I recall the manuals came in bags also. Power pack was like a half brick. Ahh the memories
Oh did they, not found any images of the manuals in bags. Will have to take a new look around to check. Thanks for the tip!
Yes the power pack was a hell of a thing, especially compared to the size of the Speccy. And annoyingly centre negative so they weren't easy to replace.
@@RetroTeaTime I do miss my rubber 48k speccy. Manic miner, Chuckie Egg, Ahh Diddums were some of the early games we had. Amazing what could be done with so little power esp the games nearing the end of the speccys life. Fairly indestructible (we dropped ours down the stairs a few times) but found that a few drinks spillages just before the warrantee ran out did the trick.
This video took me back in time... back in the 1980s I had the ZX81, with the "big" 16kb extension module :-D, but could not afford to switch to the ZX Specturm or any of the Commondors
Hope you eventually got one in the end
I'm waiting for my Spectrum Next Edition 2 to arrive. But watching this video, I am totally in awe.
Hopefully you are playing with it now. I have one sitting in the box still that I need to unpack and get playing with, so many projects to do first though...
@@RetroTeaTime Nope. I would be surprised if the unit arrives before February. USA customs seem to be targeting imports from Britain. Not sure why.
@davidgapp1457 is that the battery issue?
@@RetroTeaTime Yes and no. Millions of motherboards are shipped, every year, from Taiwan with a 2032 lithium battery pre-installed. No issue. But I've found that US customs are extremely prickly where the UK is concerned. I import and export electronics and the UK is easily the worst in terms of customs. I've had deliveries from the USA to UK rejected due to a spelling mistake in the item description. There appears to be a tit-for-tat vendetta going on - very childish in my view - but orchestrated primarily from the USA end. Is this part of ongoing trade negotiations / battles I wonder? Either way, the most officious bastards in the UK are in Scotland. They are the devil. Easier to import to England and then ship up to Scotland.
@@RetroTeaTime Yes. They have now decided to change the shipping company (I believe the problem shipper was UPS). Given that computers, laptops and just about every mobile device has a battery, I really cannot understand what is the problem?
Without checking, £400 for this build is cheaper than the original price when adjusted for inflation. Of course £400 can buy you a very basic laptop which is hugely more capable in comparison to a ZX Spectrum. For those interested, it is nostalgia at an affordable price.
My entire career in computing can be traced back to my exposure to, and programming of the ZX Spectrum. Your build is the closest to the perfect recreation of my childhood experience I have ever seen.
When I did the calculation I did include the whole print cost etc in the final cost, as I didn't see the point in doing it just for individual manuals etc when there is a min order qty on each. I think if you made a few then the unit cost might drop to around £330.
Glad you enjoyed the build, I think a lot of us owe our careers in computing and technology to the little Speccy, my parents absolutely believe it was the best present they could have ever got me. Amazing to think it was responsible for so much innovation and careers.
@@RetroTeaTime The price of a Spectrum NEXT! But at least your way you will actually see something for your money! The NEXT has now turned into a scam and no one, myself included, will *ever* see something for their money.
@@SteveTeeIridium-Plus I have a 1st round Kickstarter Next. And it's a great machine, if you are in the 2nd round I am 99.9999% sure you'll get it sometime this year, they were absolute victims to the chip shortage it seems.
This was my first ever computer that I taught myself Sinclair Basic and ZX Machine code once I was over slow basic. Fast forward 40 years and I still love it. Still program though not in Basic.
One of my projects for this year is to learn ZX Machine Code. I never moved from Basic as a kid.
@@RetroTeaTime Many years ago, when they used to have them, I attended a Spectrum specific show in London and bought THE book for machine code for the Spectrum. I also was invited to meet the author - a 17 year old boy. Seeing this kid so enthusiastic inspired me to learn and also to transition to x86 machine code later on once the IBM PC became available. Very useful.
It was so cool that so many people were inspired to start programming careers especially by people around the same age as them
Excellent work, well done! I remember unpacking my Spectrum in 1983 I think, and still have about 3/4 of it today! Including the upper polystyrene part of the box, the cardboard shell, the OG power supply and the computer, albeit without the metal top plate. I bought a replacement plate and must get it stuck back on after doing a composite mod, although my soldering skills are rubbish! I remember packing it all away and unpacking it again fairly frequently - I loved the feel of doing this, and strangely recall some of the manuals being ring-bound and that scratching against the polystyrene, although maybe that's from a different system or console. Anyway good work and I look forward to seeing more videos!
Many thanks, really happy you enjoyed. A bit of double sided tape is good for the faceplate.
You are right, 95% of the manuals were ring-bound and I am trying to get the printer to allow me to ring-bind them in future, currently 12 pages too long.
Cool stuff.
I bought the more sexy ZX Spectrum + in '84 along with cassette player, two micro drives and a joystick. 🥰 Heady days! I loved that thing to bits at the time, later adding the Tatung Einstein for the princely sum of £500, which was a lot! Man those were exciting days. It was all still all relatively new, loads of different companies making loads of different stuff on loads of different OS's. Nobody knew who would win or fail, innovation out the ying-yang, everything incompatible with everything else 😂
Great times!
Tatung Einstein, wow that was a bit snazzy! Never used one myself, what were they like?
Wasn't it a fun time though, innovation was just so fast paced, and everything was so exciting and new.
@@RetroTeaTime The Einstein was a lot of fun, having a real keyboard, Xtal DOS, floppy drives, 3" double sided, not the standard 3.5" types. I had two drives, the 80 column display card and the Tatung 14" monitor, so I basically spent closer to £900 on it.. 🤦♂️
Still, I had many good years with it until I bought my first Amiga in 1989. Yeah, tons of innovation. Everyone was trying out whatever they could, it was the true wild west of computing, much of it lasting into the 1990's. Sadly it's all become utterly generic and dull now.
Glad I was there when it was still exciting and fun. 👍😎
@@GazzaBoo that was a decent chunk of change for the time! Totally agree with the comment about how it's all become generic now. There is some decent movement with the indie games scene though which is encouraging. But I think we really miss something people not growing up with type in listings and POKEing our way through games.
@@RetroTeaTime 😂 I totally forgot Poke and Peek! I used to enter the program code they printed in Spectrum magazines every month at the time when I was trying to learn basic. It never worked as I'd inevitably type something wrong, the Spekky's odd way of entering code didn't help much either, that's why I liked the Einstein so much.
A real keyboard and fast floppies with good basic was a joy, and the sound was much better, as was picture quality with a proper monitor. Still, can't fault the Spekky for the price and fun it gave me.
Very impressive 👍Great job reproducing and reprinting the manuals, they look really good 🙂
Thank you. All those years as a Mac artworker in the past paid off at last!
You can't find manual online ? need an award ?
Why are old people so weird ?
@@lucasRem-ku6eb It wasn't that the manual wasn't online, it was doing something fun and creative physically.
Fantastic! I'm a C64 Amiga fanboy but my first ever computer was a zx81 and loved it. Travelled far and wide, as far as Brighton by train to find games that worked with 1k haha. Spent many happy hours playing Glug Glug on my cousin's Spectrum 48k whenever I visited. Great video!
Thanks. Hoping to do both of those machines in the future. Will check out Glug, doesn't ring a bell.
@@RetroTeaTime glug glug, you play a deep sea diver if memory serves. Nobody has ever heard of it haha. Look forward to you covering those machines with great interest. If it's anything like this video it will be great!
Had a few games of Glug Glug at lunchtime. It was actually really fun! It had some Jetpac vibes and I had a rather fun little blast with it. Easy to pick up, and overall pretty decent. Looking at the release date too I wouldn't be surprised to see it in a couple of episodes time in Bytes, the show on my other channel www.youtube.com/@lostretrotapes
@@RetroTeaTime haha, excellent! Now sub’d to Bytes too which looks amazing and looking forward to working my way through those. Ah, let the feeling of nostalgia commence. 🙏
Amazing! Seeing it all takes me right back to when I was a young lad. That loading screen for the Horizons tape really hit home to me, I hadn't seen it in 40 years!
Thank you and glad you enjoyed the build. Seeing that Horizons tape load for the first (and second and third) times on the family television was like magic as a child
Amazing attention to detail! Really enjoyed every minute, thanks Mike 🇬🇧
Many thanks! Glad you enjoyed it
Amazing. A pristine looking Speccy.
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it! It is rather mint indeed!
lol I nearly drowned in the waves of nostalgia washing over me as I watched this. I was not expecting to see Manic Minor today. Forty years ago. Where did all the time go?
Don't, time just seems to fly past these days. Just seems a few years ago I was eagerly reading Crash and trying to clear Manic Miner. Glad you enjoyed it
Nice work. Especially trying to make it feel very authentic.
The ZX Spectrum 48k was my first computer. I remember have it “upgraded” to ZX Spectrum+ by changing the keyboard and casing.
Glad you enjoyed it. I think I weirdly prefer the rubber keys to the + keyboard!
So did I - wished I had kept the rubber keyboard now. I think I sold it to a friend who wore his rubber keyboard out playing games on it.
Build a new one!
Incredible stuff! Brilliant to see it all come together and the end product is a thing of beauty!
Glad you enjoyed it. Was very pleased with how it turned out, hopefully can do some more improvements over the next few months to make it even better!
Hi from Russia. ZX Spectrum the Best! :)
My model 1991 and work-work-work! you model 2023 :)
Greetings! You are right, it is the best!
Being an electronics engineer this was good for my retro soul
Glad you enjoyed it and wasn't too much a busman's holiday!
What a fantastic video! I received my ZX Spectrum 48K for Christmas 83. I still have fond memories of sitting in my mum & dads kitchen with it hooked up to a 14 inch portable tv and then spending hours trying to get games to load!
And Manic Miner!...so glad you choose that game to test your ZX. I too still play it today every now and then. Did you know on the original ZX if you turned the music off the game ran much faster due to lightning the load on the CPU!
I didn't know that, but I have to turn off the music these days, it just doesn't sound as imporessive as it did back in 84! Am currently remaking it in Godot which I will make a video of
Wow, this is incredible! I think someone with fond memories of a keen interest on discovering the Speccy would just love unboxing that. I had seen the pics of the manual on twitter and wasn't sure about it without the ring binding, but seeing you flick through it here it looks brilliant and would be awesome on its own as a replacement. Hats off sir!
Many thanks, and also I might have found a printer who can ring bind. Will do a follow-up with a few more improvements if so
Well done. Might see this on Antiques Roadshow at so point.
That would be pretty awesome!
This is amazing! my friend had the 48k and i had the 128k +2 great days playing these machines.
Thanks for saying! Just fixed a +2 tape deck the other day, sometimes I wish I had one instead of being paranoid the cassette recorder attached to the 48k would play up.
Amazing work! I still have my original ZX Spectrum but maybe I build him a companion one day!
Give it a go, it is a very fun project
I love how the top and bottom of the case and the keyboard just appear out of nowhere.
It is just like magic!
Interesting video and actually quite relaxing, thanks! Happy ZX Spectrum day.
Many thanks! Glad you enjoyed it and happy spectrum day to you too. It is looking good for 41
The ZX Spectrum 16K was my first ever computer and I still have one, but not the original machine I had back then. Very fond memories of playing games and typing in magazine listings. You did an amazing job recreating everything that came in the original packaging, but you forgot to include the cassette and TV leads!
The cassette leads and TV leads are in the box, I just didn't show them as well they are rather boring! You can find links to where I got them in on the website at www.lostretrotapes.com/zx-spectrum-issue-3b-parts-list/
got mine Christmas 1984. Thanks dad R.I.P
What a lovely gift. Hope you had many years of enjoyment with it
@@RetroTeaTime i did. so much so i brought the Emulator for the PC the other week. Brought Back memories For Windows 10 its Called Speculator 8.0
Yup, that is by far the best emulator out there. Enjoy! What are you playing at the moment?
Where did you buy or get the lego set from. I also had tonnes of the stuff back in the 80's. I would pay for a Spectrum 48k Lego set. (Mind Blown) i Was 10 when i got my 48k, year later my dad brought my dot matrix printer. then in 1986 brought me the Disc Drive and joystick with kempston rom cartridge. Was into this so much i thought the Rs232 was some sort of what we call now days internet. ;)
I still have one, alongside the Sinclair QL (128 KB) and the tiny programme cartridges!! I remember the mod to extend the 16KB memory to 48KB, as well as to change the display port to monitor, instead of a tely . Priceless work you've done!!
Have never had a QL. Have a complete collection of the traditional Spectrum range but really should get a QL
That is a project that goes above and beyond expectations. Great fun to watch 😮
It was a really fun build to research and make. Really glad you enjoyed it.
This is amazing! Really nice job. I went a cheaper, easier route, and bought a refurbed Spectrum with composite mod, and sourced the manuals separately, which included both the introduction and the ring-bound main manual. The manuals are stamped as coming from a branch of Boots in Eastbourne in 1984, which was interesting. I don't have the whole box unfortunately, just the batterered polystyrene part.
I've had a lot of fun revisiting the machine, especially loading tapes via a ZXTapeUI device (despite having a DivMMC) as I just love that iconic loading sequence. I never had a Spectrum back in the day, as I just couldn't afford one and had to go for a ZX81 instead (I have a refurbed one of those too). But I went round my friends houses and played on theirs, so I've got huge nostalgia for the Speccy, and of course the ZX81. The ultimate heresy is I first tried my refurbed Spectrum on my C64 1702 CRT monitor, and it looked great. You have to use these old machines on CRTs to get the authentic experience in my opinion.
The refurbished route is by far the more sensible option! But when was being sensible fun! Really glad you got hold of a Spectrum though after all these years, what was the first game you played on it after all those years?
I love the tape sequence, but sometimes the DivMMC is just too easy when I just want that hit of Manic Miner and the mug of tea is starting to get cold.
Absolutely correct about the CRT giving the best experience, and that holds for pretty much every computer and console up until the modern Xboxes and PlayStations. Even the original PS looks much better on a CRT.
@@RetroTeaTime I think the first game I loaded when I got the Spectrum was 3D Starstrike because I was gobsmacked when I saw that game running at a computer club back in the day. I had a C64 by then and I was insanely jealous because it had no chance of running a game like that, and Ioved the original Star Wars Arcade (I now have an Arcade1Up Star Wars cab which had to be imported which scratches that itch!).
I also played favourites like Jet Pac, Chuckie Egg, 3D Death Chase and others. I'm not a fan of Manic Miner though I did load it up to have a quick play.
I also went through the Horizons tape which was really nostalgic as I can remember loading that at a friend's house on their machine, sitting on the carpet in front of their living room TV. I even typed in a few examples from the manual and the muscle memory kicked in, remembering the keyword and various shift combos, as I used to type in some magazine games on my mates machines. Classic!
Can't remember 3D Starstrike, off to download it and give it a go. Not tried the 1up cabs yet, have a pretty complete New Wave collection, Space Ace arrived today which looks great and I am very bad at
It is is a pleasure for my eyes to see yellow resistors, not those crappy blue ones with hair like legs.
Yup, I do much prefer the yellow ones
Really enjoyed the video. I'm amazed that you can still get the Z80!
It's a fantastic chip, long may they continue to manufacturer it!
Amazing! To be honest, I had my retro urge a long time ago, but I went the Pi4 route, and have almost every console up to the PS1 on a single SSD, neatly housed in the NesPi4 case. However, when I heard this cost you 400 notes I nearly spat my coffee out, ha! But you being a tuber, I totally get why you did this. And let's face it, anyone who was around for these old computers would get a real kick watching anything like this. Good job, Bud!
*EDIT:* 269 Subs? A travesty!! Allow me to make you 270 ;)
Thank you and glad you enjoyed it. And many thanks for the sub, it's really nice to see people want to see more, have a few ideas for some new videos that I have started to plan out.
The Pi route is so much easier (and cheaper!), and I do have emulators on my PC, my Steamdeck and Mister, but there is something about the rubber keys that playing Manic Miner on any other keyboard just isn't the same.
With the cost when I totalled it up I think I was like you and nearly spat my tea over the room, the build had taken quite a few months so all expenses were pretty spaced out, anyone just looking for a computer to play their old games are better off on SinclairForSale and getting a tested old machine, but to be honest, the project was never about that, more of a personal challenge and making sure the future of the Spectrum was still viable, and something very fun.
It was important not to keep all the info to myself, I want anyone who wants to recreate this be able to, so thats the real reason behind the video and putting everything up on the site.
@@RetroTeaTime Thanks for replying. My mum bought us the 48k when I was a kid, and, like you, those rubber keys, even now, are incomparable. There was something about _that_ rubber ... extremely tactile and satisfying. I remember waking up stupidly early and sneaking downstairs to play games before my brother and sister woke up ... fond memories, lol.
Chuckie Egg, Manic Miner, and HeliChopper (to name but a few) were some of my favs, and they were crazy addictive, so I laughed when you mentioned you have to play Manic at least once a month! Anyways, I wish you the best, and all the success in the world with your channel. But, I suspect, due to that very last paragraph of yours ... You're gonna do just fine ;)
I will complete Manic Miner before I die!
@@RetroTeaTime _LMFAO ..._ Given the 'time served' you have demonstrated ... I won't hold my breath, haha!
@@RetroTeaTime Booty!! Remember that bloody game??? Oh my gosh that game made me _MAD!_
Sorry ... it just popped in to my head.
Did you do both Side A and Side B of the Horizons tape? Anyway, the amount of quality production being put into this, that actually amazes me. It genuinely looks like the original. Simply amazing!
I did, you can grab the wav from my site if you would like them. Glad you enjoyed
@@RetroTeaTime Thanks, I'll definitely check it out. :)
I just love the attention to detail!.......Make your next board an issue 5 yellow to annoy everyone :-P
Haha, next one is going to be a nice boring green
Wow, so impressed. Now I need to do this some day!!!
Thank you, you really should, it is great fun
I had the ZX81 as my first computer had memorex 16k ram pack with 7min load time for 3d monster maze - loved it!
And what a game. I wonder if that or Ant Attack could be classed as the first survival horror game?
Decided to go for an Oric instead, which had a nicer keyboard and better spec, but it just didn't have the software support,
so soon ended up trading it for a Spectrum, a bundle of games, and a Kempston Pro Joystick - Happy days! Great to see one
put together in such great detail - fantastic effort! My only disappointment was not getting to hear the loading screen noises!
Thank you! Thought the loading noises might kill more headphone users ears!
Utterly brilliant work
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it
Thought I was building my ZX80 all over again, great video
I missed out the ZX80 by a few years, however I am remaking the experience in a future video, stay tuned.
By far the best video I recently watched, and what an amazingly detailed project! I built a 48k myself during lockdown, if only I had such a great guide at that time. I even got the same reproduction box (very good) and (flimsy) polys. Now looking forward to your next videos! Thanks👏😊
That's very kind of you to say. Did you build your one from scratch or rescue parts from an existing Speccy? Am currently working on a new, better box and absolutely better polys, just in talks with a couple of companies to see who can do the best job and then hopefully be able to put the artwork files up on the site with a link on where to get them made.
@@RetroTeaTime I built one from scratch, an issue 3 pcb purchased on ebay. Sourcing all new components was a pain, your guide with the links for retailers will really help anyone wanting to build one! The box is okay but, yes, polys from consoleboxes are not sturdy enough. New manuals and tape labels is just amazing. Excellent project!
@@dopierrexzx6956 Yeah, the Polys are coming out to be the hardest part of it all, the consoleboxes ones as you said are OK but not great. I found one place to make them better, but they need a minimum order of 100 pieces. Could do that and try and resell them but it's a big undertaking!
@@RetroTeaTime It would be great, just Facebook Spectrum/Sinclair groups alone would be a good place for pre-orders and gathering interest. Top-notch!
Awesome job, ZX Spectrum Charles!
I'm CMB 64 Charles :) I actually still have my Commodore 64 from back then. The 64 was my 2nd computer, prior to that I had a ZX81, which I sold to a friend. I wish I had kept that computer.
Here's a sub to help get you to 1k 😁
Many thanks for the sub and the lovely words. Think we all have computers and games we regret giving away!
You done Sir Clive proud!
Thank you very much, glad you enjoyed it. I met him once in a lift in Kings Cross, he was living in the same block as my partner at the time!
Great job, great video! thank you for this, it is a legendary machine and the legend goes on over the years! cheers!
Many thanks for the lovely comment. It is a wonderful machine
WOW ! This is dedication ! Excellent video ! I enjoyed it from beginning to end ! :D
That is awesome to hear. Glad you enjoyed it.
The ultimate REVERSE unboxing video.
Oh love that, didn't even think to call it that
I never had a ZX Spectrum. I had a BBC Micro instead, but I was working and bought it myself. The 6502 is also still in production.
Never owned a BBC but used it a bit in school. Might have to attempt a new BBC build in the future
Like you, the first computer I owned was a BBC Micro (Model B), purchased with my own money at the age of 16 in 1984. I was doing an electrical / electronics apprenticeship at GEC in Preston, Lancashire.
I did buy a second hand ZX Spectrum 48k from a friend a few years later, right at the end of the ‘Spectrum era’, and I had a floppy disk drive unit for it… and I still have it along with all the accessories, although I have not tested it for around a decade. I suspect many of the capacitors are blown now!
Prior to buying the BBC Micro, I was lucky enough to have been loaned a TRS-80 with disk drives and a full size printer, when I was 13 around 1981/82. I taught myself programming in BASIC and learned to use VisiCalc which is generally considered to be the first spreadsheet application. I consider myself very lucky to have been able to use the TRS-80 for around 2 years. It set me up for my career, and my first job after finishing my apprenticeship had the title “Spreadsheet Programmer”. I was literally employed solely to program spreadsheets in 1991! It set me up for life, and I’m still in the IT business now aged 55.
30 seconds in and I've subbed you.. can't wait to see how this all comes together :)
Many thanks! Hope you enjoyed it, more to come later with an upgraded box
Subscribed. Because this is the daft sort of thing I do. I am collecting parts for a model aircraft flown by a world champion, and period radio control that he used. Will i fly it ? Yes. Like him ? not a chance!
Love it, doing daft things is just so much fun. And who cares if you have fun and hopefully people have fun watching or recreating!
Your project sounds awesome, hope you manage to find everything and the maiden flight goes well
@@RetroTeaTime Thanks Mate. First flight next year, have moved house, you know how that goes.
Would love to hear/see how it goes when you do it! Please report back!
1st one we had was the rubber keyd one, after a couple of years heavy use the metal cover peeled of from the heat lol. Next one I had was the 128k+ vast improvement over the original, longer loading times for better sound and games, also had the integrated tape player.
Ah yes, the +2. Was it the black or grey one you had?
Think it was the grey one, thinking back
I subbed you too! Great video, good banter, fantastic banter. Made my retro day.
Many thanks! Really happy to hear you enjoyed it
amazing professional work
Thank you for saying so, glad you enjoyed it
This is crazy. What a fantastic build!
My first PC was the C64. It came with a bad disk drive that needed to be returned.
Gratz on this video. So good!
Many thanks! A similar project with the C64 is definitely planned for the future
Fantastic video! I've been messing with ZX81s and ZX Spectrums for a while now, and my biggest issue is where to find the EAR and MIC plugs.
Thank you for watching! Check the website and the bill of materials page for where I get the ear and mic plugs. You managed to build one from scratch yet?
@@RetroTeaTime no, not really! I like to repair them and build new parts for them. I'm currently working on a VGA project for ZX Spectrum. I know there are VGA projects out there already, but I have fun working on them from scratch.
Oh that sounds amazing, would love to see it once you are done. Will you be putting it up on GitHub?
@@RetroTeaTime why not? It may take some time, though...😉
This is beautiful, it is pleasure to watch.
(Imagine you are ZX Spectrum fan and your love gives you this as a christmas gift :D including the "building a brand new ZX Spectrum"... 🎄💥🔥♥❤❤)
Fantastic! Glad you enjoyed it
This is absolutely brilliant! Well done 👍
Many thanks, glad you enjoyed. Need to start the next project to entertain with!
@@RetroTeaTime looking forward to it
Wow that's no short of amazing!!!
Happy you enjoyed it
Crazy! Well done!
Many thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
@@RetroTeaTime I can bet people will now be asking me if we offer such kits ;)
I won't, since for example I can't resell some of the modules (already discussed it with Charlie and others), though maybe that might change one day.
Wonderful project though!
Anything you sell that is in my BOM drop me a message and I'll link to your place in it, I've bought quite a few things off the shop in the past and happy to link to it. Shame you can't sell Charlie's vULA. Glad he is shipping to the UK though again, I went through a patch I had to ship it to my brother who lives in Australia and wait for him to remember to post it to me, sometimes took months!
Excellent video and work! Thanks for sharing
Thank you for saying. Glad you enjoyed it, and hope you like whatever I film next, have a few interesting ideas.
@@RetroTeaTime any retro computer videos are great. Subscribed!
In the early 90's I saw Spectrum keyboards stiched together and sold as bath-matts. 😆
Love it, they certainly would be extremely non-slip!
I'd love to have a go at this. Was the ULA hard to obtain?
No, just have to wait for shipping from New Zealand, all the parts links are on my site in the description. It is a great fun build
What a fantastic video build. 👍🏻
Thanks for saying. Glad you enjoyed it. Hope it inspires you to make something cool
i loved my speccy 48k, it was that little machine that started me off in computers, programming in basic, here youve basically recreated to perfection what i had in 1983/4, well done, though was a bit worried in using the heat to shrink the wrapping around the tape, wouldnt that of also affected the actual tape?
It shouldn't do, it was on its lowest setting, less heat than a hairdryer, which you can also use.
I don't remember the Horizons tape coming with the Spectrum when I got mine direct from Sinclair, was that a later addition after they got their initial backlog caught up? I do remember there was something like a month to two month wait for the computer to arrive after I'd sent off my postal order.
Everyone I spoke to while researching this said they got a Horizons tape with their 48k. Maybe some of the very early packs didn't have it? Mine definitely did as Thro the Wall and Rabbits and Foxes was my main entertainment until I saved up enough pocket money to visit Woolies and get a copy of Hungry Horace or something.
I wish I could remember my gaming timeline in the early days, but I absolutely remember all 3 Horace games, Flight Sim, The Hobbit, Sinclairs Space Invaders (which I remember taking back to the shop as it wouldn't load and they checked it in front of me, of course it loaded, and I was sent on my way) and of naturally the best game of all time, Manic Miner.
@@RetroTeaTime Did you know that Matthew Smith originally developed Manic Miner on a Tandy (Radio Shack). Not sure if it was the Tandy Model III or a TRS-80 though, but they were both based on the Z80, so good for ZX Spectrum development. He was definitely a coding genius. Loved your ZX Spectrum build. I still have my original ZX Spectrum 48k that I bought second hand around 1985. I’m not sure if it still works though; haven’t fired it up for nearly 10 years.
That was an awesome build! 👍
Looks 'almost' identical to the very many, many Spectrums that were sold through the little computer shop where I worked in around 1982..!
Not sure if you know, or if it's even possible to recreate today (and at a reasonable price!), but the polystyrene packaging was actually moulded, and in the piece for the lid was a large Sinclair logo moulded into it..! It'd be fantastic if you could find a way to recreate that! 🙂
Many thanks and glad you enjoyed it. And working in a computer shop in the early 80s was my idea of heaven while I was at school!
Yes the polys are the weakest part of the build at the moment, I have been trying different suppliers, but as you said the fact they were originally moulded makes it a lot harder. Going to continue with my search and hopefully have an update if I am successful.
@@RetroTeaTime : Best of luck! It's awesome what you've done so far!! 👍👍
another possibility is to build the 'harlequin' clone board, uses bog standard logic chips, no ULA required, but theres A LOT of chips in it!! there has also been a version made using an Altera CPLD instead of the ULA
Yup, I have made a couple of Harlequins and they are a fun build and of course fit in the case as well. For this build though I wanted to see how close i could get to the original chipset and board as possible with new produced materials
@@RetroTeaTime i have several 'empty' harlequin boards, various versions, plus 2 of the Altera based 'clones' (zx max 48 and zx max 128) havent got round to assembling them yet!
Great work on your brand new speccy.
Can you make it 1982 again please?
Many thanks! If only, that would be fun wouldn't it. But as Blur once sang, we are safe in the knowledge there will always be a bit of my heart devoted to it
Manic miner was my first introduction to hard games.. back when I was about 3 or 4 years old.
Still trying to complete it 40 years later...
I think I got stuck on Eugene's toilet but not played it in a long time
I restore the original ZX Spectrum 48K boxes and make it complete with the original manuals, cables and PSU. For me I want the original not a cheap remake. Have also restore the Toastrack and the ZX Spectrum Plus. Have enough working original chips such as the ULA, ROM and AY. The only thing use a new is the ZX-HD and DivMMC Enjoy! Pro One. Use a mint old Slipstream Data Recorder with original ZX Spectrum 48K tapes. Such as Jetpac, Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy, Skool Daze, Alien 8 and Ant Attack. All are working and are 1ste releases. Have also a brand new HARLEQUIN 128K REV 2D in a ZX Spectrum Plus case. Have more and a lot of spare parts. Now I have the ZX Interface 2 with the original ROM Games cartridges. And seek for the Interface 1, 8x ZX MicroDrives and a ZX Printer. Hope that I can buy Issue 5 board. Which is the only board to complete my collection.
The DivMMC is a wonderful bit of kit. I hope you have a very large wallet for the Issue 5, don't think I have ever seen one come up for sale and would imagine if one does it's will be eye watering price.
Nice ! Watching this reminds me I have a CF 2GB HDD adaptor with my one . But I haven't used it for years, hopefully it still works...
Its all in the loft... I think 🤔 😢
I think you should venture up to the loft this weekend and see if it still works! And then get some Manic Miner in your life :)
I'm a big fan of the Timex-Sinclair 2068 computer. It has the added sound and graphics modes. Nobody made use of the extra graphics modes, although I did a little in a video game that I wrote.
Oh amazing, is it available to download or lost to time?
Amazing! Love it! 🌈
Thank you for watching and so happy you enjoyed it
I'd say a cheap $3 multimeter won't hurt. It could be easier and faster to use that one to check the values of the resistors. It can also be used to check if there's a short to the ground, and if there's something wrong with the machine, then it could be used to check the voltages.
Absolutely. I really should in hindsight have shown my pre and post power checks using a multimeter that I have documented on my site. Will add them to the followup video
Very well made video mate
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it
Can you do an Amstrad CPC -6128 please? They're both Z80-based of course.
I can take a look at it. The drive will be an issue I know already, but maybe we can replace that with a modern SD reader. It would be a fun build though if possible.
wow amazing work
Thank you so much 😀
Glad you enjoyed.
Wow. Great effort! I spent so much time on my Spectrum in the 80’s. My first software ‘job’ used some machine code from an article in Your Spectrum magazine to create a rolling display of screens advertising mortgages which was used in a local bank. Later I studied software engineering at Imperial College, where one of my lecturers was Steve Vickers. And about a year or so ago I finally finished Manic Miner (running on a PSP using Fuse) with frequent saves & restores the start of each level… I never finished Jet Set Willy though. Thanks for the video!
Well I am incredibly jealous you have finished Manic Miner, but can you do it without save states! Thats the real challenge...
And to have Steve Vickers as your tutor, wow. Did you know who he was at the time?
@@RetroTeaTime yes, but never talked to him about it!
I have one of those and never took it out the case, had planned to put a raspberry pi in it but will just be a display piece now I think
I won a national computer competition sponsored by Barclays Bank in 1983, having written a program that displayed adverts for goods in a local Mace shop. Happy days!
Amazing! Did you get any photos of it running?
Great work
Glad you enjoyed it!
Phenomenal video! It was so fun to watch and your quality of work is excellent.
Quick question, did you make a brand new box for the ZX spectrum?
In the video I used one that you can buy online, a brand new reproduction box and polys, it is linked on my website. However not 100% happy with the quality, the material for the box is not exactly like the old box, and the artwork on the front could be better, so I've started reconstructing it. The first print attempt though, although looked great had some slightly incorrect dimensions so I was not able to use it for the video. Am working on fixing up the issues, as soon as they are fixed I'll make a follow-up video on the box, and also put all the artwork files up on the site for you to all use.
WOW! incredible !!
Many thanks, really appreciate it
Absolutely amazing. Why not get into painting as well ? I’m sure you would do a great job replicating a Picasso or other artist. You’d probably get well payed for it :D
Would love to be able to paint! I can do a good stick man...
Unfortunately, i've failed to even solder 20 pins on the RPI0 for my ZX Spectrum NGO. Glad somepeople is making a modern Speccy for talentless duck like me. Love my NGO!
Stick with it, it gets easier I promise!