ZX Spectrum fans might be interested in a new project which has been published by shred.zone documenting the process of making a modern replica of the British ZX Spectrum 8-bit personal computer. First launched by Sinclair Research Ltd. in the United Kingdom in 1982 the ZX Spectrum was designed by Sir Clive Sinclair, a pioneer of the British home computer industry. It was equipped with a Z80 microprocessor and had either 16 kilobytes of RAM or 48 kilobytes of RAM.
The PC was popular thanks to its affordable price which may dig accessible to a wide range of people as well as its large library of games and software. One of the distinctive features of the ZX Spectrum is its rubber keyboard. The ZX Spectrum continued to be popular throughout the 1980s, but it eventually lost ground to more powerful 16-bit machines like the Commodore Amiga and Atari ST.
Build a ZX Spectrum
“For the required components, I assembled a bill of materials. It contains as many new components as I could find, but some rare parts are long out of production. They can still be found as NOS parts at online marketplaces, or they can be replaced with replacement types or replicas (like the Retroleum Nebula or vRetro vLA82).
I bought the original board without any case. But luckily, there are replica cases, keymats, membranes, and faceplates on the market, so I could assemble a brand new outerior. Of course, I chose a transparent case, so the nice black mainboard could be seen from the outside. Well, at least a bit. The new replica motherboard is made by PABB and can be ordered from PCBWay. And there it is, an (almost) new ZX Spectrum in mint condition.”
“While almost all of the standard components are still available, some components are rare by now. You will need all of the listed components (except of those marked optional). We recommend that you try to get the components marked as Rare first, so you won’t waste your money on standard components if you fail to get all the rare ones.”
“If you are new to electronics and soldering, there are easier ways to build your own ZX Spectrum. For example, there are kits for the Harlequin 48K and Harlequin 128K clone that include all components and detailed assembly instructions.”
Source : AB : shred.zone
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