You can build a new ZX Spectrum for less than the cost of a PS5

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The creator of YouTubeā€™s The Lost Retro Tapes has built his own brand new ZX Spectrum from scratch using all-new partsā€¦


 

The ZX Spectrum celebrates its 41st birthday on the 23 April, and it goes without saying that Sir Clive Sinclairā€™s 8-bit computer ceased production long, long ago. But what if you were to build your own, brand new ZX Spectrum, using almost entirely modern parts? Would such a thing be possible? How much would it cost?

YouTubeā€™s Lost Retro Tapes has the answer to those questions. The channelā€™s creator, Charles Astwood, grew up with the ZX Spectrum, and recently decided to embark on a particularly ambitious project ā€“ to completely reconstruct the ZX Spectrum, from its components to its box, manuals, and Horizons tape of bundled starter software.

Astwoodā€™s website breaks down exactly how he achieved this in glorious detail, including the name and quantity of parts required and where you can buy them yourself.

Incredibly ā€“ given the Spectrumā€™s vintage ā€“ Astwood managed to find modern equivalents or replacements for all the components the project needed. The only part that remained elusive was, he tells us via email, ā€œthe LM1889N chipā€. He says heā€™s ā€œworking on some ideas to take it out completely but nothing has worked so far.ā€

Whatā€™s surprising is the cost. All told, Astwood estimates that his Spectrum costs £412.15 to build. That may sound a lot for a bit of retro tech, but bear in mind that the sum includes the replica box and manuals (total: £110 to print) the reproduction Horizons cassette (£20) and the purchase of an external tape recorder (£30).

If our sums are correct, that means the computer itself cost £262.15 in parts ā€“ which really isnā€™t bad when you consider that the base 16K ZX Spectrum retailed at £125 in 1982. Adjusted for inflation, thatā€™s around £415.

Best of all, Astwood built his ZX Spectrum ā€œfor fun, not profit,ā€ he writes. ā€œThe original build is going to be auctioned off for Evelina Childrenā€™s Hospital.ā€

A full guide to building your own ZX Spectrum can be found on Lost Retro Tapesā€™ website.

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