The New ROM Antics – Building the ZX Spectrum 128

Re:The New ROM Antics – Building the ZX Spectrum 128 by neilv on Saturday February 03, 2024 @03:43AM (#39238590)

> The rush job was the UK launch of the ZX Spectrum 128, now known as the Toast Rack because of the lake heatsink bolted on the side.

The heat sink fins really add to the aesthetic, and that looks so cool for a small home computer in 1985, who could complain.

(The black NeXT cube wasn't for another few years, and it also cost a prohibitive sum for most homes.)

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Re:The New ROM Antics – Building the ZX Spectrum 128 by nottorp on Saturday February 03, 2024 @07:16AM (#39239620)

Oh, the days a computer could get away with just a heatsink instead of 20 fans...

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Re:The New ROM Antics – Building the ZX Spectrum 128 by bewilderbeast on Saturday February 03, 2024 @07:57AM (#39239936)

The heatsink cools the LM7805 power regulator, not the CPU. In the original 48k Spectrum, the heatsink was internal.

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Re:The New ROM Antics – Building the ZX Spectrum 128 by nickt on Saturday February 03, 2024 @10:32AM (#39241244)

And if you use a modern switch-mode replacement, you don’t need a heat sink at all.

I know some folks like to put small heat sinks on the ULA though.

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Re:The New ROM Antics – Building the ZX Spectrum 128 by SomeoneFromCA on Saturday February 03, 2024 @02:23PM (#39243811)

Soviet clones had ULAs built from individual 74xx ics. No need for heatsinks!

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Re:The New ROM Antics – Building the ZX Spectrum 128 by nickt on Saturday February 03, 2024 @07:56PM (#39246405)

Excellent! I need to mess around with them at some point.

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Re:The New ROM Antics – Building the ZX Spectrum 128 by egypturnash on Saturday February 03, 2024 @11:47AM (#39242064)

looks at the Macbook Air she's typing this on now

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Re:The New ROM Antics – Building the ZX Spectrum 128 by nottorp on Saturday February 03, 2024 @12:45PM (#39242757)

Well, that's an outlier. Even the M2 Mac Mini I typed the previous post on has a fan.

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Re:The New ROM Antics – Building the ZX Spectrum 128 by qingcharles on Saturday February 03, 2024 @12:23PM (#39242508)

Would it even be legal now?

As a child I burned myself continuously on that mofo.

I was running that Z80 hard though :)

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Re:The New ROM Antics – Building the ZX Spectrum 128 by neilv on Saturday February 03, 2024 @03:17PM (#39244316)

    o/~ played it till my fingers bled o/~

"Summer of '85"

    o/~ hacked it till my hand flesh grilled o/~

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