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Second Channel: A Timex Sinclair 2608, aka the ZX Spectrum of North America (Patreon)

Published:
2022-10-15 00:32:43
Imported:
2023-03

Content

Hello my patrons! On the next SMMC video, we have a lovely donation of a Timex Sinclair 2608. This is an oddball machine that was sold here in North America which was essentially a ZX Spectrum but configured for NTSC and with an added cartridge slot! It's a neat machine and in this video I test it out and see if it's even working. 

Direct link: https://youtu.be/bkAACiczHWo

Files

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On today's video, we have a a Timex Sinclair 2068, also known as the ZX Spectrum of North America. It's a neat machine and a bit uncommon. -- Video Links Timex Sinclair 2068 Service Manual: http://www.polylith.com/~brendan/ClassicComputers/Timex/image/TS2068TM.PDF Adrian's Digital Basement Merch store: https://my-store-c82bd2-2.creator-spring.com/ Support the channel on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/adriansdigitalbasement Adrian's Digital Basement (Main Channel) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE5dIscvDxrb7CD5uiJJOiw -- Tools Deoxit D5: https://amzn.to/2VvOKy1 http://store.caig.com/s.nl/it.A/id.1602/.f O-Ring Pick Set: (I use these to lift chips off boards) https://amzn.to/3a9x54J Elenco Electronics LP-560 Logic Probe: https://amzn.to/2VrT5lW Hakko FR301 Desoldering Iron: https://amzn.to/2ye6xC0 Rigol DS1054Z Four Channel Oscilloscope: https://www.rigolna.com/products/digital-oscilloscopes/1000z/ Head Worn Magnifying Goggles / Dual Lens Flip-In Head Magnifier: https://amzn.to/3adRbuy TL866II Plus Chip Tester and EPROM programmer: (The MiniPro) https://amzn.to/2wG4tlP https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33000308958.html TS100 Soldering Iron: https://amzn.to/2K36dJ5 https://www.ebay.com/itm/TS100-65W-MINI-Digital-OLED-Programmable-Soldering-Iron-Anti-static-Structure/113382669853 EEVBlog 121GW Multimeter: https://www.eevblog.com/product/121gw/ DSLogic Basic Logic Analyzer: https://amzn.to/2RDSDQw https://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-Logic-DSLogic-Basic-Analyzer-16Ch-100MHz-4Ch-400MHz-Xilinx-Spartan-6-FPGA/202543965672 Magnetic Screw Holder: https://amzn.to/3b8LOhG https://www.harborfreight.com/4-inch-magnetic-parts-tray-90566.html Universal ZIP sockets: (clones, used on my ZIF-64 test machine) https://www.ebay.com/itm/14-16-18-20-24-28-32-40-pin-IC-Test-Universal-ZIF-Socket-Fs/303206721971 RetroTink 2X Upconverter: (to hook up something like a C64 to HDMI) http://www.retrotink.com/ Plato (Clone) Side Cutters: (order five) https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-2-5-10PCS-Micro-Scissor-125mm-PLATO-170-Electronics-Cutter-Side-Cutting-Pliers/163458746184 Heat Sinks: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32537183709.html Little squeezy bottles: (available elsewhere too) https://amzn.to/3b8LOOI --- Links My GitHub repository: https://github.com/misterblack1?tab=repositories Commodore Computer Club / Vancouver, WA – Portland, OR – PDX Commodore Users Group https://www.commodorecomputerclub.com/ --- Instructional videos My video on damage-free chip removal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQVjwPsVFd8 --- Music Intro music and other tracks by: Nathan Divino @itsnathandivino

Comments

Anonymous

That's really fun to see! The 48K Spectrum was my intro to computing, and whilst I moved up to a Spectrum +3 (a 128KB with a builtin 3" floppy disk drive). Ultimately I lusted after a C64, and it only took me until 2021 before I actually got one of my own. Looking at your video, and from experience, the blink rate is clearly commensurate with NTSC (I guess my brain has the flash rate permanently etched from childhood), so it looks like it's probably just going to run at a higher frame rate. I'd be very interested to see if it is capable of loading UK/European cassettes because of the difference in timing affecting the loading routine; it may affect speedloaders more than the regular ROM routine. Really fascinating to see the QFP ULA as well. I wonder how it compared against the UK models. I'm quite envious of seeing this now! Whilst the 48K ROM had no diagnostic routine, there are some things you can look out for on powerup. The video region follows the 16KB ROM and is 6KB image + 2KB colour attribute storage; during powerup it will wipe this memory so you may be able to spot memory faults by looking at the screen alone (though only part of the memory). Secondly, the tape blockwrite routine sits at address 1267 (decimal), so "RUN USR 1267" will move straight into that routine, triggering audio and coloured border stripes, giving you a partial indicator of functioning colour and working audio. Anyhow, really keen on seeing more of this machine.!

Anonymous

I grew up with this machine. I knew its memory map, hardware and OS inside out. I made expansion hardware, and modified the OS to use the extra screen modes. If you need help, feel free to contact me. It needs a Timex HOME ROM. What you have is a ZX Spectrum ROM. The daughter board and bodges are factory. The TS2068 had bank selection hardware, and the ROM and cartridge port used different memory banks. The best description of the TS2068 is Timex improved the original Sinclair Spectrum design. It was better, but that made it incompatible. Hence likely why it failed. The joysticks were propriety and used the sound chip's parallel port. The Timex Technical Manual is available https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-5878266