Josh at 20:22, 8 August 2026

2026-08-08T20:22:46Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:22, 8 August 2026
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	[[Category:Sinclair Computers]]		[[Category:Sinclair Computers]]
	~~[[Category:1986 Computers]]~~

Josh: /* Architecture */

2026-08-08T20:22:32Z

Architecture

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:22, 8 August 2026
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	\|-		\|-
	\| Zilog Z80A @ 3.5469 MHz \|\| CPU		\| Zilog Z80A @ 3.5469 MHz \|\| CPU
	~~\| -~~
	\|-		\|-
	\| ULA \|\| Video, keyboard scan, tape I/O and the beeper. Late machines may use a soldered '''Amstrad 40056''' instead of the usual Ferranti part		\| ULA \|\| Video, keyboard scan, tape I/O and the beeper. Late machines may use a soldered '''Amstrad 40056''' instead of the usual Ferranti part
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	\|-		\|-
	\| TEA2000 \|\| Colour encoder		\| TEA2000 \|\| Colour encoder
	~~\| -~~
	\|-		\|-
	\| Amstrad 40057 \|\| Dual joystick port interface		\| Amstrad 40057 \|\| Dual joystick port interface
	~~\| -~~
	\|-		\|-
	\| 128 KB DRAM \|\| Eight 16 KB banks, paged into the Z80's address space		\| 128 KB DRAM \|\| Eight 16 KB banks, paged into the Z80's address space

Josh: /* Architecture */

2026-08-08T20:21:22Z

Architecture

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:21, 8 August 2026
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	== Architecture ==		== Architecture ==

	{\| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:~~100~~%; text-align:left;"		{\| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:70%; text-align:left;"
	\|+'''Sinclair ZX Spectrum +2 main devices'''		\|+'''Sinclair ZX Spectrum +2 main devices'''
	! Device !! Function		! Device !! Function

Josh: /* Board revisions */

2026-08-08T20:21:14Z

Board revisions

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:21, 8 August 2026
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	Two boards were used in the grey +2:<ref name="sfe" />		Two boards were used in the grey +2:<ref name="sfe" />

	{\| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:~~100~~%; text-align:left;"		{\| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:70%; text-align:left;"
	\|+'''Grey ZX Spectrum +2 boards'''		\|+'''Grey ZX Spectrum +2 boards'''
	! Board !! Notes		! Board !! Notes

Josh: Create ZX Spectrum+/+2 page set (service manuals + community repair sources, cited)

2026-08-08T20:17:34Z

Create ZX Spectrum+/+2 page set (service manuals + community repair sources, cited)

New page

{{Infobox computer
| name = Sinclair ZX Spectrum +2
| image = [[File:Sinclair ZX Spectrum Plus 2.jpg|250px]]
| caption = Sinclair ZX Spectrum +2 (1986), the grey Amstrad-built model
| manufacturer = Amstrad (under the Sinclair brand)
| type = Home computer
| release date = 1986
| discontinued = 1988 (superseded by the +2A)
| price = £149 (1986)
| cpu = Zilog Z80A @ 3.5469 MHz
| memory = 128 KB RAM (8 × 16 KB banks)
| storage = Integral "Datacorder" cassette deck
| display = 256×192 pixels, 32×24 characters, 15 colours
| sound = AY-3-8912A (3 channels) plus ULA beeper
| dimensions = 46 cm × 18 cm × 5 cm
| weight = 1.8 kg
| os = Sinclair BASIC (128 BASIC and 48 BASIC) in 32 KB ROM
| predecessor = [[Sinclair ZX Spectrum 128]]
| successor = [[Sinclair ZX Spectrum +3]]
| codename = —
| model = Z70500 Issue 3, Z70700 Issue 1
}}
The '''Sinclair ZX Spectrum +2''' is a 128K home computer released in 1986. It was the '''first Spectrum produced by Amstrad''', following Amstrad's purchase of Sinclair's computer product lines in April 1986, and is distinguished from its successors by its '''grey case''' and integral cassette deck.<ref name="wp">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZX_Spectrum "ZX Spectrum"], Wikipedia.</ref><ref name="sfe">[https://www.spectrumforeveryone.com/technical/zx-spectrum-models/ "ZX Spectrum Models"], Spectrum for Everyone. Source for the PCB history, the Z70500/Z70700 board details, the reverse-engineering origin, the Amstrad 40057 joystick IC, RAM contention behaviour and the poor PCB quality note.</ref>

Functionally the +2 is a repackaged [[Sinclair ZX Spectrum 128|Spectrum 128]]. Amstrad engineers reverse-engineered a Sinclair 128 in considerable haste in order to have a machine ready for Christmas 1986 — work that began before the sale of Sinclair to Amstrad had formally completed.<ref name="sfe" />

== What Amstrad changed ==

Compared with the Spectrum 128 "Toastrack", the +2 adds:<ref name="sfe" /><ref name="tyne">Tynemouth Software, [http://blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2017/06/spectrum-128k-2-grey-repairs.html "Spectrum 128K +2 Grey Repairs"]. Source for the RAM IC mapping between 48K and +2 numbering, the AY/TEA2000/40057 chip roles, typical current draw, and repair observations.</ref>

* An integral '''"Datacorder"''' cassette deck, replacing the external tape recorder.
* Two '''joystick ports''' using the Sinclair (not Atari) pinout, driven by the '''Amstrad 40057''' — essentially the MT62001 used in the Interface 2.
* A conventional grey case with a proper keyboard, in place of the Toastrack's separate heatsink and rubber-key styling.

Everything else — the Z80A, the ULA, the 128 KB banked RAM, the AY-3-8912A sound chip and the 32 KB ROM — is carried over from the 128.<ref name="sfe" />

== Board revisions ==

Two boards were used in the grey +2:<ref name="sfe" />

{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:100%; text-align:left;"
|+'''Grey ZX Spectrum +2 boards'''
! Board !! Notes
|-
| '''Z70500 Issue 3''' || The Taiwanese-built board, manufactured by Amstrad's contract manufacturer Orion. Uses the '''Amstrad 40058'''. A slightly later revision is marked "0500 Issue 3" with only minor layout changes and no functional difference.
|-
| '''Z70700 Issue 1''' || The UK-built board. Functionally identical to the Z70500 but uses mostly '''axial capacitors''' and other UK-sourced components, and carries the '''PCF1306P''' where the Z70500 has the Amstrad 40058. It is thought this board existed to use up components Amstrad inherited from ex-Sinclair suppliers.
|}

'''Board quality is a genuine concern.''' The PCB quality on the Amstrad-produced Sinclair boards is notably poor, and '''great care is needed when replacing components to avoid lifting pads or tracks'''.<ref name="sfe" /> This is covered in the soldering section of the [[Sinclair ZX Spectrum +2 General Maintenance]] guide.

== Architecture ==

{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:100%; text-align:left;"
|+'''Sinclair ZX Spectrum +2 main devices'''
! Device !! Function
|-
| Zilog Z80A @ 3.5469 MHz || CPU
| -
|-
| ULA || Video, keyboard scan, tape I/O and the beeper. Late machines may use a soldered '''Amstrad 40056''' instead of the usual Ferranti part
|-
| AY-3-8912A || Three channels of sound in addition to the ULA beeper; also provides bit-banged serial I/O
|-
| TEA2000 || Colour encoder
| -
|-
| Amstrad 40057 || Dual joystick port interface
| -
|-
| 128 KB DRAM || Eight 16 KB banks, paged into the Z80's address space
|}

Sources: Spectrum for Everyone and Tynemouth Software.<ref name="sfe" /><ref name="tyne" />

'''RAM numbering.''' This catches people out: many diagnostic tools report faults using 48K Spectrum IC numbers. On the +2, the '''upper set IC17–IC24 corresponds to IC15–IC22''' on a 48K Spectrum, and the '''lower set IC25–IC32 corresponds to IC13–IC6''' — note the reverse order.<ref name="tyne" />

'''Sound balance.''' As with all the 128K range, the mixing of the AY's three channels against the ULA beeper is not well balanced, and ULA sounds are usually much louder.<ref name="tyne" />

'''RAM contention.''' On the 128 and the grey +2, banks 1, 3, 5 and 7 are contended and 0, 2, 4 and 6 are uncontended — the opposite of what the official 128 specification stated. Software written against the real behaviour of these machines can therefore misbehave on the later +2A/+3, whose architecture matches the original specification.<ref name="sfe" />

== Power supply ==

Like the 128, the +2 takes an external unregulated supply and generates its own rails on board: a '''7805''' produces +5 V, and an inverter around transistors of the '''ZTX650/ZTX213''' family — the same arrangement used on the 48K Spectrum — produces ±12 V, here used for the video output and the pseudo-RS232 drivers rather than for RAM.<ref name="tyne" /><ref name="sm128">''ZX Spectrum 128 Service Manual'', Sinclair Research Ltd. Source for the on-board power supply description, the rails and their loads, the expansion-connector supplies, the clock frequencies and the basic-checks procedure. The grey +2 is functionally a repackaged Spectrum 128.</ref>

The 128's on-board supply derives:<ref name="sm128" />

* '''+5 V''' from the 7805.
* '''+12 V''' from the TR4/TR5 inverter, rectified and smoothed by D15/C44.
* '''−12 V''' from a charge pump (C111/C112, D28/D29) off the same square wave.
* '''−5 V''' from the −12 V rail via zener D19, for the expansion port.

A working +2 draws roughly '''800 mA to 1.2 A''' depending on the type of RAM fitted, which makes a current-limited bench supply a useful diagnostic aid.<ref name="tyne" />

== Circuit diagrams ==

Amstrad did not publish a service manual for the grey +2. Because it is functionally a repackaged Spectrum 128, the '''ZX Spectrum 128 Service Manual''' is the closest official documentation, and its circuit diagrams describe the same architecture.

{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:80%; text-align:center;"
! Circuit diagram (sheet 1) !! Circuit diagram (sheet 2)
|-
| [[File:Sinclair ZX Spectrum 128 circuit diagram (sheet 1).png|400px]] || [[File:Sinclair ZX Spectrum 128 circuit diagram (sheet 2).png|400px]]
|-
! Circuit diagram (sheet 3) !! The machine
|-
| [[File:Sinclair ZX Spectrum 128 circuit diagram (sheet 3).png|400px]] || [[File:Sinclair ZX Spectrum Plus 2 front.jpg|400px]]
|}

== How the +2A and +2B differ ==

The black '''+2A''' and '''+2B''' that followed are '''not''' minor restylings of the grey +2 — they are different machines built on the [[Sinclair ZX Spectrum +3|+3]] platform, and repair information does not carry across. The key differences:<ref name="sfe" />

* They use the '''Z70830''' board (shared with the +3, with the floppy components unpopulated) or the '''Z70833''', a cut-down board with the floppy area physically absent.
* Most of the ULA, discrete logic, PCF and 40057 functions are consolidated into a single '''Amstrad 40077''' gate array.
* The '''DC-DC converter is deleted'''. The rails come directly from a new power supply using a '''6-pin DIN''' connector instead of the 2.1 mm barrel jack — so grey +2 and +2A power supplies are '''not interchangeable'''.
* RAM changes from sixteen 64 Kbit × 1 devices to '''four 64 Kbit × 4''' devices.
* The split-bus arrangement moves inside the gate array, so external peripherals can no longer drive the keyboard.
* Contention matches the original 128 specification, which is why some software written on real 128/grey +2 hardware sounds wrong on a +2A.
* The Z70830 has a '''known audio design error''' causing heavily distorted output, corrected on the later Z70833.

== General maintenance ==
{{Main|Sinclair ZX Spectrum +2 General Maintenance}}

The Datacorder belts, the fragile Amstrad PCB, the keyboard membrane and the grounding of the tape deck are the main jobs. See the [[Sinclair ZX Spectrum +2 General Maintenance]] guide.

== Troubleshooting ==
{{Main|Sinclair ZX Spectrum +2 Troubleshooting Guide}}

Most real-world +2 faults are the Datacorder, RAM, and the audio hum caused by poor grounding on Taiwanese-built boards. See the [[Sinclair ZX Spectrum +2 Troubleshooting Guide]].

== Capacitor replacement ==
{{Main|Sinclair ZX Spectrum +2 Capacitor Replacement Guide}}

See the [[Sinclair ZX Spectrum +2 Capacitor Replacement Guide]].

== See also ==

* [[Sinclair ZX Spectrum+]] — the 1984 48K machine
* [[Sinclair ZX Spectrum]] — the original
* [[Sinclair ZX Spectrum Keyboard Membrane Repair]]

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Sinclair Computers]]
[[Category:1986 Computers]]

Sinclair ZX Spectrum +2 - Revision history

Josh at 20:22, 8 August 2026

Josh: /* Architecture */

Josh: /* Architecture */

Josh: /* Board revisions */

Josh: Create ZX Spectrum+/+2 page set (service manuals + community repair sources, cited)