After the well-known ‘rubber keyed’ Spectrum came the ZX Spectrum+. I never encountered one during my childhood, probably because they came out a little later, but also because I was perfectly happy with my 48K. The Spectrum+ is a 48K with a ‘proper’ keyboard – nothing wrong with the ‘rubber keys’ ;). Either way, I wanted one for my collection, so off to eBay again, and it wasn’t long before a boxed Spectrum+ was sitting on my bench.
My first impressions were that it was in good condition, but very dirty. Voltages checked out fine, a good sign, but no picture when I plugged it into my TV. I decided to perform the standard composite upgrade first given my success with this in the past. And guess what? It worked – another dodgy tv out circuit.
Well, that was easy. Now for the standard future proofing, recapping, and replacement of the linear power regulator with a switched regulator.
As a final upgrade, I fixed a heat sink to the ULA to improve its chances of working for a few more years. Pleased with that – fully working mint Spectrum+ Issue 6A from 1984. The only thing left was a good clean, especially the keyboard.
I knew it was all going too well – on reinstalling, the keyboard membrane completely failed 🙁 Luckily, as with most Spectrum parts, a new membrane was easily sourced on the internet.
Time for some proper testing.
It was now ready to join my others on the Spectrum shelf …
Job complete.