I need a better title for these posts otherwise real-soon-now I’ll be up to part 194.  So anyway, I decided to check out the inside of the new Spectrum (I’m going to have to start giving them names, so the new one is, sold-as-working).  So, I decided to check the inside of sold-as-working, since it looked like some of the keys weren’t working.  Turns out that it’s unlikely to have been caused during transit, and either the seller was fibbing, or that screen-shot of the full output is from a long time ago.  Anyway, not-to-worry, I had my eyes open before I started buying these things.

So, sold-as-working looks okay from the front.  The top lettering has lost most of the white, and on closer inspection, the bottom right of the keyboard metal plate has an odd dent.  More on that later.  The case looks okay, and the connectors look pretty clean.  We know it generally works because the output is very clear.  No sign of rust on the screws, but I’m not convinced they’re originals.

If you look at that last shot, of the TV connector, the case looks like it’s a little bit separated.

Anyway, I took the case apart, and sure enough, one of the screws is not like the others (it’s a wood screw for a start).  The board looks okay.

And now we know it’s an Issue Two board.

Once it was all apart, I checked over the keyboard connector ribbons, and it’s clear where the problem lies.  Both ribbons have cracks in the lower ends, and I thought I could maybe get away with just a snip, but then I found the real issue.

That split in the smaller of the two ribbons is pretty much half way up, so if I snipped it, there’s no way I’d be able to actually plug it in as well.  We’ll be needed a new membrane then.  Of course, fitting the membrane is a challenge because you need to take the metal plate off.

Oh wait, wasn’t it dented?

And true enough, someone else has already had a go.  Maybe this is a new membrane, or maybe someone just tried taking the plate off, but that glue looks ‘interesting’.  It looks like the dent is the only place it’s still actually glued firmly to the plastic, so I’m going to have to be careful getting that off, and then getting it cleaned and glued down again.  But, I’m pretty sure that’s why I bought these things in the first place?

The other part of the big parcel with this Speccy was a bunch of games.  They are here in all their glory!

Well, I wanted a project …