My first spectrum! I found one at a car boot sale way back when I was a kid, I took it home and I was hooked! (when my parents would let me use their bedroom TV of course)
I had a Spectrum+, but it didn't start that way. I originally received the rubber keyed Speccy back in Christmas 1984. After 3 weeks or so it completely stopped working and my Dad sent it back to Boots to get it repaired. After 6 months we had heard nothing so my Dad went in to Boots, looking to find out what happened and they gave him the + as a replacement. What I only discovered in recent years is that the rubber keyed Speccy was discontinued in Jan/Feb 1985 and I reckon that must have been how my original Speccy got lost. I liked the +, especially the introductory tape which I thought was a marked improvement over the original one. Demolition, the +'s answer to the original Thru The Wall, is a superb wee breakout game, given that it was written in BASIC it plays very well indeed.
I think the Plus looks great, though it doesn’t hold the same nostalgia for me as the original _dead flesh_ rubber key design. That said, I did pick up an empty Plus case recently to house a Harlequin (ZX Spectrum clone) board and I really love it. It fits perfectly… _apart_ from the RGB out (which of course the 48K never had) but I couldn’t bring myself to drill that 35 year old plastic just to expose the extra socket! I suppose I’ll stick with composite video for now; the fuzzy grunginess is all part of the charm after all.
I was not aware of that model, it looks super slick: there is definitely something to that QL-like keyboard esthetic which makes it look both modern and dated, as in "from a particular era", not as "outdated". In a sense that style looks like it will stay forever futuristic and serious at the same time while staying forever outside of the limits that current designers will dare to explore. I actually wonder why Sinclair did not think of offering only the case + keyboard for sale to incite penniless spongy-membrane Spectrum owner to spend some cash in exchange for a reduction of their suffering. I am fairly confident a lot of those creatures would have pounced on the occasion even though on your video the keys seem to be a little bit wobbly ! 😉 Thanks for the video Chinny!
Nice to see the + model get a bit of a look in. Not as iconic as the original model but still quite stylish. I can still remember seeing one on display at Boots bundled with a Cheetah 125 joystick. That must have been just before the +2 came out.
128k+1 toastrack, the rolls royce of the series, very valuable especially if there's no engraved "A" on the back of it next to the serial number because if no "A" then Its a Sinclair boy, with an "A" on it then It's bought amstrad stock, I have 3 sinclair toastracks, beautiful model.
Thats interesting. I didn't consider Amstrad sold Toastrack +128 machines. But I guess it should be obvious they would sell off old stock. I just had a look at my +128 machine and it does have the A on the back.
I never understood the love for the Plus or Toastracks, the keyboards were awful for them and just feel like a typical Sinclair bodge to try and keep up with the competition! Like you said, the +2 is the one to go for. Better build quality and the keyboard is actually usable. However, I think the best is the +2B, it’s got a few improvements, doesn’t have the AY sound level problem and importantly it’s in black. But I suppose a lot of people think Amstrad machines are heresy, but the reality was they really knew how to make solid machines with keyboards that were actually usable!
The +2 is just a better machine. Proper keyboard and datacorder for the same kind of money that Sinclair wanted for just a bare 128. For sure the +2 and +3 keyboard is the cheapest feeling in the entire Amstrad range (but it's made to a price) but it's streets ahead of the Sinclair models and even machines like the Atari XE and Commodore Plus/4. In fact it struck me in the mid 90's that many premium chunky 486 laptops had keyboards that didn't feel that different to the +2 and +3.
I had the original 48k spectrum and upgraded to the 128k shortly after release. My only regret was selling the 128 and a nice collection of games I’d bought for it, 😖
Before they came along with a better keyboard, people actually did all they could to avoid coding on it. Famously, Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy were coded on different computer altogether, and crossed over via serial. Much as I love the Speccy, that rubber keyboard must have been a nightmare for writers and coders. 😀 Thanks for the video!
@@Ian45968 Manic Miner I think. Not sure about Willy. I know Matthew Smith had graduated to the Tatung Einstein IIRC but that may have been for Megatree.
The spectrum is the only computer I bought twice. First time in mid 1984. The trouble was that to use on a french secam tv you had to use an adaptator in the expansion port. And it seemed that just moving this adaptator (my theory) a bit could totally fry the computer. So it fried a first time, got another and it fried too. I then bought a C64 that I sold (big mistake) and an amstrad that I sold too (smart move). Then in 1986 I felt some nostalgia of the spectrum days (at 14 YO!) and bought a spectrum +. After a few months it fried too... The american computers I had, C64, ST, amiga were far more reliable.
I've just bought one of these as my first spectrum (waiting for it to materialise from the post). I have hand problems and wanted to avoid the rubber key experience but still have a smallish footprint.
The speccy will always be the 48k rubber key to me. I would hate to program on one although my friend s grandad typed out loads of magazine games on one, but I used to have loads of fun playing games on the 48k 😁
My friend had a plus - I wrote a crap pacman clone and crap art editor entirely in basic on it. The only 128 i've ever seen in person was owned by a girl who used to live down the road from me growing up (who was completely disinterested in computers). I have a rubber keys 48 now, but chinny is right - the +2 is the best to own. Of course, my dream machine would be a Commodore 128D. Harumph! Harumph!
Use the ZX Spectrum + case for the Harlequin 128K Rev2D. And the ZX Spectrum 48K case for the Harlequin 48K RevG. And use the ZX Spectrum 128K Toastrack refurb by bytedelight with the ZX-HD, DivMMC PRO ONE and the ZX-AY. Use the Toastrack only for 128K Demos. And the Harlequin 48K/128K for TAP Games on a old Slipstream Datarecorder. Sometimes with the SmartCard V2.
Ah thanks Chinny, this was my very first computer! To think of the amount of coding I used to do on this given that keyboard now 😊- mind you probably a bit easier with my little 8 year old fingers! Thanks again this gave me that nice warm nostalgia feeling.
@@chinnyvision I looked around at some images and you are right they all seem the same. Must be a false 30 year old memory when I opened my 48K and 48K+ side by side. If that is the only false one I am cool with that.
Never a Spectrum guy, despite the ZX 81 being my first Micro. I had the Atari 800XL at the time and mates were all C64 owners, which meant i went to that system next, bar 3 of them. An Electron owner.. A C16 owner And one had a 48K Spectrum, still rember the dead flesh keyboard, remember he had games wise, The Fall Guy,JetPac, that's all i can remember.
Upvote for the C64 comment. Down voting Speccy owners can meet me after last bell behind the science block. ST owners, Amiga rules and you can bring it on too.
It's a National Semiconductor video modulator chip. Some Spectrums were shipped with an alternative TI part in its place though. The ULA generates the intensity and colour component signals which that chip then generates a PAL signal from.
My first spectrum! I found one at a car boot sale way back when I was a kid, I took it home and I was hooked! (when my parents would let me use their bedroom TV of course)
A lot of things can be said about the ZX Spectrum, but this little computer sure did find it's way into the hearts of a lot of people.
I had a Spectrum+, but it didn't start that way. I originally received the rubber keyed Speccy back in Christmas 1984. After 3 weeks or so it completely stopped working and my Dad sent it back to Boots to get it repaired. After 6 months we had heard nothing so my Dad went in to Boots, looking to find out what happened and they gave him the + as a replacement. What I only discovered in recent years is that the rubber keyed Speccy was discontinued in Jan/Feb 1985 and I reckon that must have been how my original Speccy got lost.
I liked the +, especially the introductory tape which I thought was a marked improvement over the original one. Demolition, the +'s answer to the original Thru The Wall, is a superb wee breakout game, given that it was written in BASIC it plays very well indeed.
I think the Plus looks great, though it doesn’t hold the same nostalgia for me as the original _dead flesh_ rubber key design. That said, I did pick up an empty Plus case recently to house a Harlequin (ZX Spectrum clone) board and I really love it. It fits perfectly… _apart_ from the RGB out (which of course the 48K never had) but I couldn’t bring myself to drill that 35 year old plastic just to expose the extra socket! I suppose I’ll stick with composite video for now; the fuzzy grunginess is all part of the charm after all.
Back in the day I owned all 3 ... I had an Amstrad CPC 464+, a C64 and of course my old Speecy+. I miss those.
"I've lost all concept of time". As everyone watching nods their head in agreement :)
I was not aware of that model, it looks super slick: there is definitely something to that QL-like keyboard esthetic which makes it look both modern and dated, as in "from a particular era", not as "outdated". In a sense that style looks like it will stay forever futuristic and serious at the same time while staying forever outside of the limits that current designers will dare to explore.
I actually wonder why Sinclair did not think of offering only the case + keyboard for sale to incite penniless spongy-membrane Spectrum owner to spend some cash in exchange for a reduction of their suffering. I am fairly confident a lot of those creatures would have pounced on the occasion even though on your video the keys seem to be a little bit wobbly ! 😉
Thanks for the video Chinny!
They did offer the case as an upgrade. A standard 48k board goes straight in.
Nice to see the + model get a bit of a look in. Not as iconic as the original model but still quite stylish. I can still remember seeing one on display at Boots bundled with a Cheetah 125 joystick. That must have been just before the +2 came out.
128k+1 toastrack, the rolls royce of the series, very valuable especially if there's no engraved "A" on the back of it next to the serial number because if no "A" then Its a Sinclair boy, with an "A" on it then It's bought amstrad stock, I have 3 sinclair toastracks, beautiful model.
Thats interesting. I didn't consider Amstrad sold Toastrack +128 machines. But I guess it should be obvious they would sell off old stock.
I just had a look at my +128 machine and it does have the A on the back.
@@andyukmonkey Still valuable but minus the "A" then it would be worth even more.
First computer we had in our house.
I never understood the love for the Plus or Toastracks, the keyboards were awful for them and just feel like a typical Sinclair bodge to try and keep up with the competition! Like you said, the +2 is the one to go for. Better build quality and the keyboard is actually usable. However, I think the best is the +2B, it’s got a few improvements, doesn’t have the AY sound level problem and importantly it’s in black. But I suppose a lot of people think Amstrad machines are heresy, but the reality was they really knew how to make solid machines with keyboards that were actually usable!
The +2 is just a better machine. Proper keyboard and datacorder for the same kind of money that Sinclair wanted for just a bare 128. For sure the +2 and +3 keyboard is the cheapest feeling in the entire Amstrad range (but it's made to a price) but it's streets ahead of the Sinclair models and even machines like the Atari XE and Commodore Plus/4. In fact it struck me in the mid 90's that many premium chunky 486 laptops had keyboards that didn't feel that different to the +2 and +3.
I had the original 48k spectrum and upgraded to the 128k shortly after release. My only regret was selling the 128 and a nice collection of games I’d bought for it, 😖
There's always an emulator, but it's not the same
The 128k versions are worth a pretty penny nowadays.
Before they came along with a better keyboard, people actually did all they could to avoid coding on it. Famously, Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy were coded on different computer altogether, and crossed over via serial. Much as I love the Speccy, that rubber keyboard must have been a nightmare for writers and coders. 😀 Thanks for the video!
Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy were coded on a TRS-80.
@@Ian45968 Thanks! I'm quite sure I read "Dragon" in some article, but the TRS-80 makes more sense.
@@Ian45968 Manic Miner I think. Not sure about Willy. I know Matthew Smith had graduated to the Tatung Einstein IIRC but that may have been for Megatree.
The spectrum is the only computer I bought twice. First time in mid 1984. The trouble was that to use on a french secam tv you had to use an adaptator in the expansion port. And it seemed that just moving this adaptator (my theory) a bit could totally fry the computer. So it fried a first time, got another and it fried too. I then bought a C64 that I sold (big mistake) and an amstrad that I sold too (smart move).
Then in 1986 I felt some nostalgia of the spectrum days (at 14 YO!) and bought a spectrum +. After a few months it fried too...
The american computers I had, C64, ST, amiga were far more reliable.
I've just bought one of these as my first spectrum (waiting for it to materialise from the post). I have hand problems and wanted to avoid the rubber key experience but still have a smallish footprint.
Hi I have one of these how do you load games etc..?
The speccy will always be the 48k rubber key to me. I would hate to program on one although my friend s grandad typed out loads of magazine games on one, but I used to have loads of fun playing games on the 48k 😁
My friend had a plus - I wrote a crap pacman clone and crap art editor entirely in basic on it. The only 128 i've ever seen in person was owned by a girl who used to live down the road from me growing up (who was completely disinterested in computers). I have a rubber keys 48 now, but chinny is right - the +2 is the best to own. Of course, my dream machine would be a Commodore 128D. Harumph! Harumph!
Use the ZX Spectrum + case for the Harlequin 128K Rev2D. And the ZX Spectrum 48K case for the Harlequin 48K RevG. And use the ZX Spectrum 128K Toastrack refurb by bytedelight with the ZX-HD, DivMMC PRO ONE and the ZX-AY. Use the Toastrack only for 128K Demos. And the Harlequin 48K/128K for TAP Games on a old Slipstream Datarecorder. Sometimes with the SmartCard V2.
You deserve to have 65k subs not 6.5k!!! Damn youtube algorithm!!!
Quality not quantity.
Early 2000s i got one of these bnib for £5 at a car boot and threw it out a few yr later!!!!!!
Why throw it out?
@@Retrohertz being young at the time i wasnt aware of the value etc lol
Ah thanks Chinny, this was my very first computer! To think of the amount of coding I used to do on this given that keyboard now 😊- mind you probably a bit easier with my little 8 year old fingers! Thanks again this gave me that nice warm nostalgia feeling.
I still prefer the + keys over the rubber 48k. Amstrad models had the best keyboards though!
Only let down by the irritating keyboard layout they inherited.
My first computer was a 48K+ but I upgraded to a Commodore 64 a year or so later... It was nice to see one up close again in the video... Cheers...
Upgrade? What upgrade??😂
I LOVE ZX SPECTRUM !!!
Rubber key speccy is more than a computer it’s an icon of the 80s
I think the speaker was larger (and louder) than the original too.
It isn't as far as I can see. Remember the speaker is on the board and the board is exactly the same.
@@chinnyvision I looked around at some images and you are right they all seem the same. Must be a false 30 year old memory when I opened my 48K and 48K+ side by side. If that is the only false one I am cool with that.
The speaker got louder after the issue 2 motherboard.
Never a Spectrum guy, despite the ZX 81 being my first Micro.
I had the Atari 800XL at the time and mates were all C64 owners, which meant i went to that system next, bar 3 of them.
An Electron owner..
A C16 owner
And one had a 48K Spectrum, still rember the dead flesh keyboard, remember he had games wise, The Fall Guy,JetPac, that's all i can remember.
It does look gorgeous. Such a shame that Amstrad went for Helen Keller instead of Rick Dickinson for their Spectrums.
They did end up hiring him for the PPC512 and 640.
Programming on the C64 in the UK at least was barely a thing, coding on the rubber key speccy on the other hand... everyone did it!
Upvote for the C64 comment. Down voting Speccy owners can meet me after last bell behind the science block. ST owners, Amiga rules and you can bring it on too.
It was of course a comment made in jest. After all, the Amstrad is better.
That's definitely not a TI video chip - the Spectrum doesn't have a video chip - the ULA bitbangs the video signal.
It's a National Semiconductor video modulator chip. Some Spectrums were shipped with an alternative TI part in its place though.
The ULA generates the intensity and colour component signals which that chip then generates a PAL signal from.
See ZX Guessers answer. It processes what the ULA sends it into a workable video signal.
@@chinnyvision Ah, you confused me - I thought you were implying it had a proper TI video chip like the MSX - if only!
The 64 is Better !!
Thank you for that insightful and important contribution.
@@chinnyvision welcome chinny !!