Timex Sinclair Spectrum Remakes Page

The first. The Busy's RGB shmiddt filter At first, you must have a RGB monitor, or a D/A converter. All orginal 128 models and Pentagons compete this.

Then you buy 74S04 chip (this is the best ^tm model, but if you find hard to find one, then you can use 74LS04.
do NOT ^tm use 74LSD04 chips, because vision will be distorted, and strange things may appear on the screen :)

THE ^tm pinout of 04 is very simple :

14 ? right ?
I is for each gate's input, Q is for each gate output .
But 04 is a inverter! Oh. Shit. No problem. When we connect 2 inverters together, we will get a... regenerator.
You get it ? NO?
Ah... count of chips does not math? Ofcoz. We have R G B BRII and SYNC, and in each 04 are 6 inverters,
connected togetger - 3 regenerators... But hey? cannot we take 2 chips ? Yes. We can.
So we have it!
Just break lines (just before diodes) with those signals, and connect there regenerator.
So even someone without a RGB monitor can have filtered output
But... does it have sense ? Second. Malyrules's color cut. Oh. I have a monochromatic monitor... (crying) and i code much, and make graphics, and these fucking colours cannot just stay in place... they float (dying)

No. There is a solution other, than buying bulk of anti-halucinogen drugs.
There are :

Two possiblities One is : You have an not RGB compilant computer.
Second is: You haveRGB compillant computer.

I can handle both of them. But one i never did good (ask Jordan)

If you have a standard computer (a 48 k, Timex 2048/2128, remaked 48) remake is simple.
Just diassembly it, and find a Crystal (not a Crystal - woman, and not a Crystal - diamond, or ruby. Just
a whole-metal thing, with two pins, and in size of digit of a speed display in your pC)
You must be able to read, in case of remake. In this Crystal (Quartz) must be wrote something like 4. something,
eg 4 MHz , coz at that frequency (4.something) color is coded. NO. It is NOT Z80 clock. Clock is
generated by ULA, and ula have she's OWN crystal.
Sometimes the Crystal is hard-soldiered to the board, so the number cannot be readed.
And because of this, and because of feedback from people who cannot read :) there is special way to find colour-Crystal.
It is simple. Just short one of them. If collor will disappear - you are in home, if whole video - this is not right Crystal.

And if you have it - you can make a S.W.I.T.C.H.
A S-witch is easy to make, if you have Timex 2048/2128. You can place a flat switch on Monitor output.
In other computers - i prefer do a rotating-switch (it looks like a potentiometr in a cover, but it is a switch. ask in a store)
and place it on a modulator, and then make hole (SMALL!) , so you will be able to rotate it. I mean hole in the left-hand
side of computer, not the top!
Aha! Switch should just short this Crystal. And wires to this switch should be short-as-possible, because long ones may
produce interferences, when color is used.

If you have a RGB compillant computer - there are two solutions.
1.is simple. Simply bend (or cut, but DO IT WITH CARE, TEA 2000 IS VERY EXPENSIVE) two last
(as i remember good) pins. You can check them simply by shorting them with wet (salived) finger.
Do not touch ULA. She can understand it in bad intences :)
Switch - at own risk - i tried it, but even short cables causes TEA 2000 to lose color.
2.is complicated.
I will tell you only main idea, coz making it all work does trouble on different computers,
You see - From RGB and BRII signal you can do a D/A converter.
As i remember, there is a problem getting Bright to look allright.
A! and output of this D/A should be shorted to the SYNC trough
a resistor (about 200 ohm, but this can be vary, on resistors you used to make D/A)

Third. The COVOX for AY. by Malyrules It is also simple. You must just look to the Pinout section of my site, and print somewhere output (D0-D7, data, whatever)
of your AY. You do not know which AY you have ?
If you have short one - you have AY-3-8912 AND COVOX WILL BE MONO
If you have long one - you have AY-3-8910 AND COVOX WILL BE STEREO
Now you must buy resistors. I think you will have a problem, coz no-one want to sell them not in bulk,
but - there is solution. Remember when was in school ? You remembr OHM rule ?
Anyway... there is a simple sub-law, that when joining two same resistors in serial, they will have
2* resistance, than one. And when joining in paraell, then resistance is divided by 2.
So you can buy in-bulk one, or two types, not 8.
I suppose, you buy smallest avaliable with pins (or - if you are tricky - those for surface-mount)
So they will fit connected directly to AY.
And how 2 connect ? Simple.
Each port (in long AY there are two. In short - only one) have 8 bits numbered from 0 to 7
You connect eg. 1K resistor to the PA7 (or PB7 if it is 2nd port in long AY) and to the
PA6 you connect 2K, to PA5 - 4K, PA4 - 8K, and so on.
This is simplest soultion, for better - go to DAC MAKERS HOMEPAGE [--Dead link: http://www.dnc.net/users/collver/dac.htm ]
The output you must connect to the ground trough a small resistor (eg. 5K) and then, trough a
10K (or bigger) resistor to a A or B channel If you have mono, you must use 2 resistors, to
connect signal to both channels, otherwise you short channels...
Extra channels are avaliable by setting bit 6 and 7 in register 7 of a AY (OUT 65533,7 OUT 49149,%11SOMETHING)
And then you can use them as a volume-ports, but in registers 14 and 15 (OUT 65533,14 OUT 49149,DATA)
So if you will find any Sample player, one or two channels of the sampletrack can be swapped to 8-bit, by
simply changing registers, for example - 8 to 14 and 10 to 15 (A-8 B-4 C-8), or - for short AY
9 to 14 (A-4 B-8 C-4) . ABC stereo (1986) Simple. Cut - off, or bend A B C pins (look to pinout section) of your AY.
Then take Sound A trough a 1K resistor to the LEFT point
Sound C trough a 1K resistor to the RIGHT point
Sound B trough a 1K resistor to the LEFT point, and trough a 1K resistor to the RIGHT point

Take RIGHT point trough a 2K resistor to a GND
Take LEFT point trough a 2K resistor to a GND
take LEFT point trough a 1uF capacitor to the LEFT CHANNEL OUTPUT
take RIGHT point trough a 1uF capacitor to the RIGHT CHANNEL OUTPUT.
Enjoy.
For ACB simply swap Sound C with Sound B. I suppose a S-Witch.
If you want a SPEAKER to be audible, simply take a lead from EAR or MIC (if you want sound from both, you must
do same for both) and connect it trough a 100K resistor to the LEFT point and trough 100K resistor to the
RIGHT point (like Sound B)

Afterall scheme :

EAR-----------------*----*
                    |    |
SOUND A----1K----* 100K 100K
                 | |    |    POINT LEFT 1uF
SOUND B----1K----*--*---------------------||---LEFT OUTPUT
      |             |    |                1uF
      *----1K----*-------*----------------||---RIGHT OUTPUT
                 | |    |    POINT RIGHT
SOUND C----1K----* 2K 2K
                    |    |
GND-----------------*----*

And that's all.

Timex 2048/2068/2128 KEYBOARD This idea was described into TIMEX? section.
TIMEX? CONNECTING 3,5 pC drive AS "A" Many people have 5,25 drives, and a pC, which drive is used... for installations, or even not (latest drivers
are grabbed from Inet...) But... There is problem. If someone will connect a pC drive to the ANY FDD
system (altrough, it is simple to make a tape) it is half of the luck...
Most of pC drives doesn't have jumpers, so you are not able to set drive to A, and you stuck with this
big 5,25 drive, which you probably throw out of desk, if you only know solution to switch pC drive to A.
Solution is simple. Just take the tape, and localize the red wire... you must call she "1" and start counting
each one. Then cut 10 and 12, and simply swap them just before your drive (10 to 12 , 12 to 10)
if your drive is only one - you can stop here. If you want use other drives - just change their jumpers
to the correct number, and remember, theat A is swapped with B above your swapping.
If you want connect two 3,5 pC drives - one must be below swapping, and will automatically B one. STANDARIZING +3 Oh. There will be lotsa...
At first - you must make _ROMCS line.
I never had +3 scheme (now i have), and that's because i used my own invention, insead of wiring strangelly
_ROM1CS and _ROM2CS, which i tried, and never done...
My solution is :
Take 20 pin of each ROM and bend them (or cut) and connect them together,
then take a 2K resistor, connect it to connected _OE's and then to GND, then wire connected
together _OE's, and wire them to _ROMCS.
It works with all diode-based _ROMCS enablers i know, exepting MASTERFACE 2B, but i think, that
rather this Master is fucked...
Now you should do +9V onto edge connector (expansion I/O)
This should be in it's lower row, at position 25 (on the short part, next to slot)

If you have it, just buy : LED (anyway which...)
                                    100 OHM resistor
                                    7809 stabilisator (+9V one)
                                    470uF capacitor
And diassembly your +3, then flip-over keyboard (you are still on the front of +3, flipped keyboard on left-hand side)
then take the left-down corner screw, and unscrew it,
take a grainy-paper, and remove AlO₂ and protecting layer from the metal.
Put there 7809, the pins should go up. (if you have those silicon-heat creams - put them on ofcourse)
Screw the bolt (not too tight...but tight enough)
Take the middle pin, and soldier it to the plate. DO NOT OVERHEAT!
Then soldier the capacitor to the 7809 output, (do not mixup the polarities)
Then soldier the led (with serial 100 OHM ) also to the OUTPUT,
And wire it all up - +12 to the input, ground to ground (NOT plate! middle pin!)
And output to 25 lower row (make SURE you connecting it to proper one... there should be nothing else
on it)
Power up. Diode will light, computer run,
The diode is NOT for effect... it is for discharging 470uF capacitor, so you can safely connect all your hardware as soon,
as the diode will go blind (i fucked my ULA because i hadn't this diode... so better use it!)
And then you can connect all your +9 V hardware, i.e. EPROM programmers, but remember, that your 7809 is very
little, so if you use much power-consument hardware, then simply put it onto bigger than plate radiator.
But such hardware is very rare.
You will notice a little keyboard heating. If the plate will go up to +50 celsius grade (+45 is that high, that you CANNOT
hold your small finger on it for longer, than 2 minutes)
then you probably are this 1/100, and must connect this 7809 somewhere else, i.e. onto +3 aluminium drive.

SAVE-O-RESET If you have +3, or +2A, you can make your own reset, which will reset only Z80, so will behave like a NMI
that many people using. But in +3/+2A NMI is fixed, and anyway - it is very unstable...
So you have just to take your 26 pin (_RESET) of Z80, and make a grounding switch (i.e. microswitch)
This will not affect BANKS when reseting! And if you are in 48 mode, or USR 0 mode, then it will reset... to
this mode! OWN ROM I always had already remaked for eproms machines, with only exeption of +3.(+2A is same... i will say only +3)
And in +3 adding a 48 mode rom is simple, but it will work only in 48 mode (you must have a switch, which will enable
your rom when it is needed (in some cases, eg.FDD 3000 interface, there is no need to switch - computer already starts in
USR 0 mode)

It is simple - after a remake to _ROMCS, you have to to add on a DIL socket onto the right hand side
ROM, and bend the 20 pin. Switch you will make must connect OE from other ROM (hooked also to
_ROMCS - do not forget to remake to _ROMCS!) once to orginal 48 rom , once to your rom.
When EPROM is not selected, his _OE line must be hooked to +5V. You can do this by double
switch (he have one handle, and six pins).
Before you will program your EPROM you must ensure it will work, to do it... turn +3 on.Enable orginal ROM,
reset... +3 menu? OK. enable non-existant yet EPROM - reset - hang ? OK!
Now simply program EPROM. You can do it in any computer service. Just ask for 27128 one, and go to them with
SPECCY.ROM, or 48.ROM , or whatever dump of 48 rom you have (may be my psycho rom. It is 48 compatible)
onto disk (they often use just a pC)
Program the eprom, and voila!
Yes. You can use 27256. Simply you must dump your orginal ROM (you can do it into service, where you will program
a EPROM) and find in one part of this dump 48 basic (will start at DI : i never remember in which part it is :)
Then paste there your ROM, save to disk, and go straight to this service again, but this time ask for 27256.
If you will use 27256 - no switch is needed to run +3, but you will probably would have it to ensure compatiblity
(i.e. my mercury lamp psycho demo will not beep trough +3 drive if rom is incorrect)

After those operations your +3 is almost 100 % compatible, and at least games will work OK.

FIXING M1 AY BUG Do you know, how to do INTERRUPTS?
If yes, then you probably know, that they require 257 byte table.
Some older games, and demos does not work with all hardware, and this is the common reason.
Do you have self-made, or AY in-a-box ?
Then you probably know, that disconnecting this AY will cause this programs work?
If you have short AY - you must cut 20 pin, in long AY's pin 29 must be cutten.
Then insert a normal PNP transistor there (emiter to the input) and BASE trough a 1K resistor
to the M1 . ALL. AY's bug in SCORPION COMPUTERS Scorpions have a firm-bug, and are not capable to playing digitized sound without OR ing 6 bit of each data... ble!
As far i know, there is a solution simply finding how A12 is decoded by AY, and.... cutting it. END IS HERE NO OTHER IDEAS...