Anyone wanna put together a Speccy package for a noob?
Hey all,
Bought a couple ZX Spectrum tape games off eBay a while back. My whole collection soon went into storage and I hadn't unpacked it until recently. Really enjoying playing my Vic-20 and Atari ST again, but I have these Speccy games with no unit to play them on.
Does anyone out there have a unit with the leads they could put together with a couple games for me? I'm in Canada so I guess I'd need some advice as to what to get model-wise (unlike Commodore units there seems to be a lot of variation and revisions, different RAM amounts etc.) Obviously would need to be NTSC as well, so does that mean I'll be looking at Timex units exclusively or can I gun for the venerable 48k+ with the side disk/tape drive?
I budgeted about $50 for this, and eBay is not being helpful in meeting that (lots of deals until shipping gets factored in, I guess cause everything's getting shipped out of the UK.) Plus the Canadian dollar doesn't fare well up against the British pound.
Feel free to email or PM me if you've got a spare unit to sell, maybe with a couple games and peripherals. The budget isn't set in stone, especially if I'd be dealing with one of you guys. I can also assure you it'll get a loving home and I won't be flipping it on eBay. I'd love to eventually use it as a development unit to release a game or two, was doing research on cassette tape manufacturers back when I was doing some simple Vic-20 development so maybe I could turn around and release a game back out to the community? Thanks guys :)
Bought a couple ZX Spectrum tape games off eBay a while back. My whole collection soon went into storage and I hadn't unpacked it until recently. Really enjoying playing my Vic-20 and Atari ST again, but I have these Speccy games with no unit to play them on.
Does anyone out there have a unit with the leads they could put together with a couple games for me? I'm in Canada so I guess I'd need some advice as to what to get model-wise (unlike Commodore units there seems to be a lot of variation and revisions, different RAM amounts etc.) Obviously would need to be NTSC as well, so does that mean I'll be looking at Timex units exclusively or can I gun for the venerable 48k+ with the side disk/tape drive?
I budgeted about $50 for this, and eBay is not being helpful in meeting that (lots of deals until shipping gets factored in, I guess cause everything's getting shipped out of the UK.) Plus the Canadian dollar doesn't fare well up against the British pound.
Feel free to email or PM me if you've got a spare unit to sell, maybe with a couple games and peripherals. The budget isn't set in stone, especially if I'd be dealing with one of you guys. I can also assure you it'll get a loving home and I won't be flipping it on eBay. I'd love to eventually use it as a development unit to release a game or two, was doing research on cassette tape manufacturers back when I was doing some simple Vic-20 development so maybe I could turn around and release a game back out to the community? Thanks guys :)
Post edited by scandolara on
Comments
$50 Candian, won't cut the mustard.. you have to get a number of things..
1) mod the speccy to run at 60hz NTSC easiest way > composite
2)the PSU again is different, you need an adapter to change that OR get one there with the same rating but 110v
and shipping as you know isn't going to be cheap.you could mess around with emulators if you haven't yet.
I'd like to get another c128 , but well all the ones I see are US NTSC ones.. so it's the same for some of us this side of the pond.
The C128 puts out composite video from the monitor port if you have the appropriate lead... then it's just a question of getting a converter for the native power supply. I'm going to Toronto on Dec. 4 for the World of Commodore gathering so if you want me to pick up a working unit there I'm more than happy to. They may even have a PAL unit!
EDIT: Also want to mention I have a fairly modern LG flatscreen TV that was able to play my PAL Atari 2600 games just fine, using my 7800 with RF-out.
I'd Advise you just get a speccy on Ebay and have it shipped over. The composite mod is REALLY easy and there is a guide with photos on here...I'm in NTSC land too and have done several.
As for power any 2amp off the shelf variable power supply will do so long as you hook it up with the correct polarity (also can be found on here) I got a generic one from a local electronics store for $24 or so.
If your PAL 2600 works ok with your flatscreen TV then the speccy will too with the composite mod.
This is like the power supply I use.
http://cgi.ebay.com/COMPACT-VARIABLE-LINEAR-DC-POWER-SUPPLY-3-12V-2a-/350283049216?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item518e7f2900
EDIT:
And here is the composite mod guide (couldn't find it on WOS)...really easy.
http://womblesretrorepairshack.blogspot.com/2008/11/zx-spectrum-composite-video-mod.html
Just to clarify, the 2600 was NTSC but the games were PAL. However, on other TVs the picture would roll with those games but on the LCD they were fine.
In all honesty though, I'm probably going to gun for a Commodore monitor, those things take anything you can throw at them.
Guess I will head to eBay then. I have a bunch of power supplies kicking around with reversible polarity, but I may need to invest in a 2amp one like you said. (picks one up... 600mA.... yup!)
Here's a stupid question though: if the composite mod shoots video through the RF port without the need for all that coaxial cabling bollocks, how would I be getting audio? Or am I completely missing something here?
You'll only get black and white on the commodore monitor (1702 at least) I have changed the speccy crystal out on one to give color but otherwise you'll get a steady image but no color.
Lots of LCD screens auto detect and stop the roll....my Visio TV runs the composite modded speccy fine with full color.
As for audio the speccy has a built in speaker (48k anyway) so doesn't shoot sound through the TV as is...again on my LCD TV it has a 3.5 jack input on it for use with a PC etc (next to the VGA in) I just run a standard 3.5 to 3.5 jack cable from the ear out on the speccy to the in on the audio in on the TV.
http://www.worldofspectrum.org/forums/showthread.php?t=30571&highlight=composite+mod&page=2
I guess with the 3.5in jack I could just plug it into an RCA splitter and plug that into the same input on the television that the composite video is going to. Seems easy enough!