I decided to unearth my ZX Spectrums and see if any of them still work. I have three;

• A 48k Spectrum
• A 16k Spectrum
• A 128k Spectrum +3

The Spectrum +3’s diskdrive drivebelt had perished, but I repaired it with another from eBay. Unfortunately the tape/sound connector had broken and I don’t think the repair we did has been successful. The Spectrum can hear the sound, but doesn’t recognise it as being loading data.

The 16k Spectrum has trouble producing a stable image,  and when loading anything produces the amusing

M: Ramtop no good

error message meaning “hey! You can’t fit 48k of data into my 16k of RAM”. I had much more luck with my 48k Spectrum though. It doesn’t give a stable image with sound, but if I mute the TV the Spectrum’s internal beeper works fine and the image is as clear as an RF modulated signal can be.

The 16 year old tapes I was using; a mixture of Your Sinclair, Crash and “Spectrum Games Compilation” that had been sat in my cousin’s garage for years. Some of them were mine from when I was younger Tape loading success was about 10%, so about right for a Spectrum then

Need to work out a neat way to cable the whole lot up. I don’t fancy the idea of leaving 20 year old power supplies plugged into the mains without supervision.