Category: Uncategorised

This is part of the huge bundle of Amstrad things that Henry and I brought home. Apart from the complete machines I have this box of parts to sort through. There are all kinds of goodies in here!

This time I’m taking a look at a ZX Spectrum 128K +2 “Grey” that belongs to Paul. According to the handwritten label on the machine, it was working—but the tape deck wasn’t. Turns out, it’s the other way round. In this video, I dig into the fault, work through the diagnostics, and try to get it back to full working order.

Join me as I rummage around in a big bag of Retro castoffs. This is all stuff that Paul Universal Retro Boss wanted to get rid of to make some room for more retro goodies. I gladly took it off his hands and had great fun going through all the weird and wonderful things inside.

I had a mooch around the Bring n Byte sale at Cambridge Centre for Computing History. My aim was to take £50 and see if I could buy something “weird”.
Best laid plans and all that!

What’s the best thing to do on a sunny day at the seaside?
Visit shortcircuit.org.uk of course!
Join me and my pal Thomas as we poke around a vintage computer “Gallery” and chat to the amazing people behind it.
We also had ice creams and a lovely seaside lunch.

ZX Spectrum Repair – No Sound, Faulty DRAM, and a Bad Capacitor In this episode of More Fun Fixing It, I take on a ZX Spectrum 48K (Issue 3) with several issues: no sound, corrupted video output, and suspected RAM faults. What’s covered in this video: Investigating and fixing the missing audio Tracing colour issues back to a fault in the video circuitry (TR8) Identifying and replacing a failed ceramic capacitor Swapping out a faulty upper RAM chip at IC17 Running diagnostics to confirm the repair This Spectrum needed a bit of everything—logic probing, component swapping, and some trial and error. But by the end, it’s back up and running with clean video and working sound. This repair is part of the ongoing restoration series on the channel, focusing on bringing vintage systems back to life. If you’ve worked on a similar repair or have a Spectrum with issues, feel free to share your experience in the comments.

This episode is sponsored by the lovely PCBWay!

Join me as I bring a classic ZX Spectrum 48K Issue 3 back to life in this satisfying retro repair session! This vintage machine, nicknamed Mellow Yellow, suffered from display issues caused by a faulty ceramic capacitor near TR8 and a failed DRAM chip at IC17. Watch the full video to see the full diagnosis, repair process, and successful restoration. Perfect for Spectrum fans, retro computing enthusiasts, and anyone who loves seeing 80s tech revived.

This episode is sponsored by the lovely PCBWay!

Paul and Andrew join me for a chat all about papery nostalgia.

I love finding vintage bodges, and this one really was fun to dig into. What was hiding under that tape was hilarious!

Want to see how my weekend went? Hours of driving. Hotel room trying to kill me. AMAZING Retro Festival. Superb fun!