This gives the sense how bad it was, I got it for the case and the case alone because I was planning to build the raspberry pi zero ii project from the retro shack onto it and got curious Found the pla out on the last pin and reinserted, then 12v line missing and had to reinstate the transistor which had been soldered with a warm axe put out the call for help and this legend was the man who answered, Lee was a legend for taking this on
This is James who sent the cremated remains of a ZX Spectrum to me. Imagine trying to fix this through text messages! "there's big lumps of solder under the ROM" That would have been fun 🤣
@@MoreFunMakingIt "there's a bodge wire under the chip" "ok, obviously a broken trace james, no need to panic" "no the trace looks fine" "James, your obviously taking the Mick, please don't message me again, I'm a busy man" 🤣🤣
One of my new must watch channels! A great blend of humour and electronics that I barely understand! But here I am watching again... I can't wait for part 2! 😁
Well I guess the whole thing is the result of extraordinary talent, a 400+ °C ...hot iron from the car workshop, and... long term storage under a cottage on the beach? Great job on the videos!
I couldn’t help but laugh at the humour and even I, a complete non electrical person, could see that you have a real multi part project here. Now time for me to get back to my fine, precise, delicate brain surgery with my blunt hedge trimmer.
for knackered sockets like that i find cutting them into strips of 4 pins and using a clamp and hot air from the other side to get them out in pieces, then desoldering braid to clear the holes. loving the dedication on this beast of a board.
26:35 this is a good case for enamelled wire. You could pass that through the via, down through the socket hole, and then off to wherever else the trace connected to... and solder at all points. The enamel insulates it but would burn away where you make the solder joints. I recycled a lot of mine from old CRT deflection coils and deguass coils continuing to watch with much interest!
On holiday on the Scilly isles and this video is a terrific was to recover from exposure from the wind, rain, sea spray and sun! Very enjoyable video Lee, looking forward to the next episode!
Ah, the fabled crispy banded resistor. If you consult the "Exotic Resistor Manual Volume 2 Revision 3 Sub-revision 7" you will find that a crispy band on a resistor indicates a resistance of anywhere between 0 ohms and into the hundreds of meg-ohms. You need to compare the darkness of the crispy band against the official chart to know the value. Alternatively, one can employ the use of a multi-meter, however, the ERMV2R3SR7 does caution against taking such extreme measures.
@@MoreFunMakingIt Well, TH-cam isn't wrong for suspecting me of spam. I don't have any in the house, but I certainly could. TH-cam is just being cautious.
Excellent job Lee! I've watched all the episodes, for some reason watching this one last. I can't believe all the mess under the ICs. Very enjoyable video series.
Whoever it was that attacked that poor Speccy with a blowtorch makes me feel so much better about my own soldering skills, so I guess that's something. At least it's in the best possible hands now. 🙂 Can't wait for part 2!
It's really hard to know what happened to it. I'm sure it was worked on by multiple people, some of the work is reasonable. But someone got themselves into a mess, and instead of stopping and getting help they just went wild. Part 2 is well under way!
Quite amazing to see the evolutions of your knowledge and understanding in the experiences you've shared. Guided is one thing, but you've took the tools, resources and time and made your own style, work and system. Something as bad as this really highlights that journey! Look forward to Pt 2 😊
by the looks of that spider mod, it looks like whoever did that mod wanted the benefits of a socket with the troubles of being soldered directly onto the board
Found your channel through RMC and going through your back catalogue as it were! Watching this while I'm working, and I couldn't believe the repair of a perfectly working trace at 25:30 ! Who does that?
That’s very very bad! You did a already incredible job to this point, and I still don’t get it for these wires and not needed repairs. Seriously what the heck ? 😅😂
Always be careful when resurrecting an old Spectrum from death. You never know what it is going to do. I have seen documentaries on television where humans were brought back to life and some of them had cravings for the flesh of healthy good looking teenagers. If a Spectrum is resurrected then maybe it starts cannibalizing other computers, laptops and tablets.
@@MoreFunMakingIt Lovely, thank You. I'm binge watching all the videos of this repair (and other videos of yours). Incredible but instructional and entertaining this repair. Great job Sir.
Just started watching this series.. im sure it's going to be "fun" :) Just so you know, the ZTX313 is not critical for the spider mod. A BC546 will work just fine
In fact, most of the transistors in the Spectrum are not critical. The only exception really is the ZTX650 in the voltage converter circuit - ZTX653 is still made (just has a higher voltage rating) and is the only real replacement there. ZTX 313 and BC184 can be replaced by BC546. ZTX213 likewise by a BC556. The ZTX450 seen driving the speaker can be replaced with a BC337-40. Watch for different pinouts.
I have 13 hours of raw footage that's just like this, except without the funny bits and special effects, and with a lot more "old man talking to himself and breaking wind" Maybe I should have that as a Patreon perk 🤔🤣
@@MoreFunMakingIt a whole second channel with just the raw footage uncut would be epic. I would definitely watch atleast. Could call it "More Fun Making It Raw". 😆
Maybe that's something I would do in the future. Its still a lot of work, I'd still have to go through and make sure there were no personal details shown by accident etc.
Looks like one of mine... Tbh the way that board disintegrates has made me worry about the recap I'm about to attempt on my ish2! Amazing how b0rked a board can be while still looking reasonable from a cursory glance.
They're so fragile. A good way to learn how to desolder super carefully! You should be fine with a recap. Watch for some of the holes in the heavy ground sections being tough to clear. You can always follow that solder and poke the leg of the new cap into the hole. Good luck!
I have a family spectrum 48k with a output from the modulator that is black and white and distorted. Should I replace the modulator? Replace caps that are in it?
Modulator is probably fine. If it's a modern TV it's probably just struggling to tune in. The best thing to do is convert it to composite instead. Then if the picture is still bad you know you have a problem
That's a ZX Dandanator. They're a bit tricky to get hold of, the licence doesn't allow selling of them so you need to either make one yourself or get someone else to make it. Probably easier to buy a dedicated diagnostic cart. They're not too expensive on eBay.
It's probably missing the point, but would it be better to yank all the components and solder them onto a brand new board? I see they're very inexpensive.
@@MoreFunMakingIt Love it! Pure dedication, and I thank you in advance for my shot of vicarious dopamine when you succeed. Also looking forward to seeing the old-parts, new board :)
Yup! There's so much more wrong with it, you'll see in the next 2 episodes. Some of the things... You might see one in a bodged repair, but all of them is just bizarre.
This gives the sense how bad it was, I got it for the case and the case alone because I was planning to build the raspberry pi zero ii project from the retro shack onto it and got curious
Found the pla out on the last pin and reinserted, then 12v line missing and had to reinstate the transistor which had been soldered with a warm axe
put out the call for help and this legend was the man who answered, Lee was a legend for taking this on
This is James who sent the cremated remains of a ZX Spectrum to me.
Imagine trying to fix this through text messages! "there's big lumps of solder under the ROM"
That would have been fun 🤣
@@MoreFunMakingIt "there's a bodge wire under the chip"
"ok, obviously a broken trace james, no need to panic"
"no the trace looks fine"
"James, your obviously taking the Mick, please don't message me again, I'm a busy man"
🤣🤣
One of my new must watch channels! A great blend of humour and electronics that I barely understand! But here I am watching again... I can't wait for part 2! 😁
Thanks Matteus 😁😁😁
Keep watching and you'll soon learn enough to do what happened to this Spectrum 🤣
@@MoreFunMakingIt 😂
Also. The editing in this episode is superb! Don’t think we didn’t notice that.
Nawww. Thanks mate. It's nice to know it's appreciated.
That was equally enjoyable and horrifying! Nice one Lee, looking forward to the rest!
Thank you Mike! There's a lot more to come 😜
I hope you're able to sleep tonight 😁
Excellent work! Nice to watch someone who knows how to do repairs
I've always been a decent bodger 😂
Wow, what a mess! Nice repair so far and a very enjoyable watch. Keep up the great work!
Thank you!
Glad you're enjoying the mess 😁
Well I guess the whole thing is the result of extraordinary talent, a 400+ °C ...hot iron from the car workshop, and... long term storage under a cottage on the beach? Great job on the videos!
I like to think there was an element of malicious intent.
Or cold revenge.
But I agree with the likely toolset.
Thanks for the kind comment 😁
Can’t wait for part 2. Thanks.
Neither can I! 🤣
Thank you for watching 😁
Good time of day to you :D I used to fall asleep to those videos, listening to his diagnostics :D
He does have a very calming voice. Like an educational presenter from the 70's.
Wow.. just shocking but I'm totally riveted to it. Can't wait to see the next!
Cheers Steve! Work on the next TWO episodes is well under way 😁
What a great video. 👍 so many issues in that board, and bodge repairs on things that didn't need repairing. 😄
Thank you! It was certainly interesting. The most work I've put into a repair so far 😅
I couldn’t help but laugh at the humour and even I, a complete non electrical person, could see that you have a real multi part project here.
Now time for me to get back to my fine, precise, delicate brain surgery with my blunt hedge trimmer.
If you heat up that hedge trimmer and use it on a Spectrum this is probably what would happen!
for knackered sockets like that i find cutting them into strips of 4 pins and using a clamp and hot air from the other side to get them out in pieces, then desoldering braid to clear the holes. loving the dedication on this beast of a board.
Before I got the desolder station I used the same method you mentored.
Now I love an excuse to moo a part off the board 🤣
Android Roy's speech from Blade Runner seems appropriate.... "I've... seen things... you people.... wouldn't believe"
Oohhhhh! I might use that in the next episode!
Fantastic watch mate I can't wait to the thrilling final installment of.... "SPECTURM IN PERILLLL!!!!" Said in my best 50 tv voice 😅😉🏴👍
Oooh. I wonder if I can work Flash Gordon into it!
Thanks mate. I think you'll like the next one too!
26:35 this is a good case for enamelled wire. You could pass that through the via, down through the socket hole, and then off to wherever else the trace connected to... and solder at all points. The enamel insulates it but would burn away where you make the solder joints. I recycled a lot of mine from old CRT deflection coils and deguass coils
continuing to watch with much interest!
Another great tip!
lol...what a mesh!!!!! I am in the middle of fully socketing my first Speccy and I have to say.....this type of mesh demands considerable effort.
Good luck with your Spectrum! :D
I'm reminded of the Simpsons episode where Sideshow Bob takes a rake to the face every time he takes a step.
Soooo many rakes. In later episodes you'll see some I put there myself!
On holiday on the Scilly isles and this video is a terrific was to recover from exposure from the wind, rain, sea spray and sun! Very enjoyable video Lee, looking forward to the next episode!
Oh wow! Hope you're having a fantastic time 😁
@@MoreFunMakingIt it's a lovely place, highly recommend - although there is a distinct lack of retro computers on the isles 😋
They'll be there somewhere. You just have to look harder 😉
You got my multiple accents down perfectly ;) Great video as always matey
Cheers Johnny!
I just channeled my inner "grumpy old man" which also happens to be my outer persona 😜
This makes me feel much better about my bodges (the ones that can't be categorised as "repairs" 😁)
It's a service we provide 🤣
Ah, the fabled crispy banded resistor.
If you consult the "Exotic Resistor Manual Volume 2 Revision 3 Sub-revision 7" you will find that a crispy band on a resistor indicates a resistance of anywhere between 0 ohms and into the hundreds of meg-ohms. You need to compare the darkness of the crispy band against the official chart to know the value. Alternatively, one can employ the use of a multi-meter, however, the ERMV2R3SR7 does caution against taking such extreme measures.
Just found your comment on the suspect spam bin!
Not sure what youtube found suspicious 😂
@@MoreFunMakingIt Well, TH-cam isn't wrong for suspecting me of spam. I don't have any in the house, but I certainly could. TH-cam is just being cautious.
@@burritocodes it's better to be safe when dealing with highly processed tinned meats of questionable origins.
Excellent job Lee! I've watched all the episodes, for some reason watching this one last. I can't believe all the mess under the ICs. Very enjoyable video series.
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it 😁
I have a new video coming soon™ about an Amstrad in a sorry condition.
A good story to tell with this one too.
Whoever it was that attacked that poor Speccy with a blowtorch makes me feel so much better about my own soldering skills, so I guess that's something. At least it's in the best possible hands now. 🙂 Can't wait for part 2!
It's really hard to know what happened to it. I'm sure it was worked on by multiple people, some of the work is reasonable. But someone got themselves into a mess, and instead of stopping and getting help they just went wild.
Part 2 is well under way!
Quite amazing to see the evolutions of your knowledge and understanding in the experiences you've shared. Guided is one thing, but you've took the tools, resources and time and made your own style, work and system. Something as bad as this really highlights that journey! Look forward to Pt 2 😊
Thank you Jonathan! 😁
Yet another repair of a repair. Gotta love cleaning up behind idiots that certainly made everything WORSE.
Fixing others mistakes is always a messy business.
The missing keyboard seems to be an improvement...
by the looks of that spider mod, it looks like whoever did that mod wanted the benefits of a socket with the troubles of being soldered directly onto the board
I think this was one of those "seemed like a good idea at the time" occasions.
Found your channel through RMC and going through your back catalogue as it were! Watching this while I'm working, and I couldn't believe the repair of a perfectly working trace at 25:30 ! Who does that?
Welcome cave dweller! 😁
Love you videos. You're so funny ... definitely adds to watchabillity of the videos
Awww, thank you Roxy! Thats very kind of you to say
That’s very very bad! You did a already incredible job to this point, and I still don’t get it for these wires and not needed repairs. Seriously what the heck ? 😅😂
I wish I knew!
Wait till you see the rest! There's so much more. :D
Brilliant video. just remember Its not Blue Tack, its "Smurf Poo"
Mark Fixes Stuff's crack team of legal experts will be burying me under a sea of litigation if I tread on his toes!
@@MoreFunMakingIt Oh well it was fun to think about it.
Ooooh, a cliffhanger!
I know. Felt a bit bad about that 😂 But everyone seems to be on board with it 😁
@@MoreFunMakingIt It's ok. This will keep us on the edge of the seat. 🙂
Always be careful when resurrecting an old Spectrum from death. You never know what it is going to do. I have seen documentaries on television where humans were brought back to life and some of them had cravings for the flesh of healthy good looking teenagers. If a Spectrum is resurrected then maybe it starts cannibalizing other computers, laptops and tablets.
Oh no!
What have I done!
😱😱😱😱😱😱
What a state that board was in. I must comment your bodges were extremely neat at this point. (Foreshadowing?)
By the end there was more bodge than board 🤣 It wasn't pretty!
Never solder after 9 pints of cider. That seems to be the lesson here.
Words to live by
I've had days where I would have been much better off locking my soldering iron up for the day, but wow, just wow...
🤣 Its a bit of a mess!
@@MoreFunMakingIt And an epic repair! I'd have given up and posted it on eBay as "Working when parked."
Hahaha! It probably went through a few ebay auctions on its way to me!
Interesting video.
The mention of "dual spur coulomb" at 5:20 is asking to check links in the description, but I seem to miss it?
My deepest apologies. I have now added that link for JoulesperCoulomb's video.
@@MoreFunMakingIt Lovely, thank You. I'm binge watching all the videos of this repair (and other videos of yours). Incredible but instructional and entertaining this repair. Great job Sir.
@@GianlucaRiccardi thank you! 😁
i wonder if whoever attempted to fix this prior to you was using a soldering iron for the first time
For sure! Wait till you see what else they did...
Just started watching this series.. im sure it's going to be "fun" :)
Just so you know, the ZTX313 is not critical for the spider mod. A BC546 will work just fine
Always useful info from you Peter! I'll make a note of that. Enjoy the carnage!
In fact, most of the transistors in the Spectrum are not critical. The only exception really is the ZTX650 in the voltage converter circuit - ZTX653 is still made (just has a higher voltage rating) and is the only real replacement there.
ZTX 313 and BC184 can be replaced by BC546. ZTX213 likewise by a BC556. The ZTX450 seen driving the speaker can be replaced with a BC337-40. Watch for different pinouts.
False, I would absolutely watch two hours of this
I have 13 hours of raw footage that's just like this, except without the funny bits and special effects, and with a lot more "old man talking to himself and breaking wind"
Maybe I should have that as a Patreon perk 🤔🤣
@@MoreFunMakingIt a whole second channel with just the raw footage uncut would be epic. I would definitely watch atleast.
Could call it "More Fun Making It Raw". 😆
Maybe that's something I would do in the future. Its still a lot of work, I'd still have to go through and make sure there were no personal details shown by accident etc.
So it's not just me then. TBH I was a little disappointed that this episode was over so quickly! But at least we have more to look forward to.
Just subscribed, fantastic video!
Thank you Brendon 😁
5:20: That user's username would be a camel-cased "joules per coulomb" = joules [see Wikipedia] per coulomb [see Wikipedia] = J/C.
Hey that’s my old Speccy and no it’s no TypEx, that’s all I’m saying 😂😂😂
IT WAS YOU!!!
@@MoreFunMakingIt 😜I hope you washed your hands afterwards 😜especially since I have had this weird rash for the last 40 years in that area 🤪
Looks like one of mine...
Tbh the way that board disintegrates has made me worry about the recap I'm about to attempt on my ish2!
Amazing how b0rked a board can be while still looking reasonable from a cursory glance.
They're so fragile. A good way to learn how to desolder super carefully!
You should be fine with a recap. Watch for some of the holes in the heavy ground sections being tough to clear. You can always follow that solder and poke the leg of the new cap into the hole.
Good luck!
Men what a lot of issues 😅
So many! Lots to come!
I have a family spectrum 48k with a output from the modulator that is black and white and distorted. Should I replace the modulator? Replace caps that are in it?
Modulator is probably fine. If it's a modern TV it's probably just struggling to tune in. The best thing to do is convert it to composite instead. Then if the picture is still bad you know you have a problem
What is that fancy device you plugged to the back of the spectrum?
That's a ZX Dandanator. They're a bit tricky to get hold of, the licence doesn't allow selling of them so you need to either make one yourself or get someone else to make it.
Probably easier to buy a dedicated diagnostic cart. They're not too expensive on eBay.
It's probably missing the point, but would it be better to yank all the components and solder them onto a brand new board? I see they're very inexpensive.
That's exactly what I'm doing right now with two much less damaged boards.
This one is more about the challenge.
@@MoreFunMakingIt Love it! Pure dedication, and I thank you in advance for my shot of vicarious dopamine when you succeed. Also looking forward to seeing the old-parts, new board :)
It can clearly get infinitely worse.
Did you eventualy got it fixed?
Yup! There's so much more wrong with it, you'll see in the next 2 episodes. Some of the things... You might see one in a bodged repair, but all of them is just bizarre.
I don't have a sofa :(
Any soft furnishings will do!
Moooooo
Moo?
@@MoreFunMakingIt Moo
Moo!1
Blockage!
Wow...
Exactly!