Spectrum +3 missing menu screen

For experts to discuss very technical stuff and newbies to ask why the Spectrum they bought off ebay doesn't work.
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Valedictor
Drutt
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2018 10:54 am

Spectrum +3 missing menu screen

Post by Valedictor »

Dear all

Last night I powered up a +3 that has been inactive for over 20 years I would say.

It took many resets to finally get the basic 48k screen.

I would say that only one reset out of 6 or 7 gives me the white 48k screen with Amstrad at the bottom.

All other reset attempts give me a range of weird and wonderful results, such as flashing coloured blocks or odd coloured screens with random snippets of text or characters.

No matter how many times I try, I can never get the 128k screen with the little menu of options.

Is this potentially resolvable for someone with virtually zero knowledge of the inner workings, or is likely that the hardware responsible for the 128 functionality is damaged and needs a professional fix?

Would there be any benefit whatsoever in opening it up and giving it a gentle dusting down, or would I likely be wasting my time?

Any advice gratefully received, thank you!
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1024MAK
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Re: Spectrum +3 missing menu screen

Post by 1024MAK »

If/when it gets to what is known as the copyright screen, does typing keys produce anything on screen?

It is most likely to be a hardware fault with either a RAM chip, or the circuitry that selects which part of which ROM chip is active. Or maybe it is a relatively simple fix, such as a fault in the reset circuit.

But without some more information, it's just a guessing game...

Mark
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Valedictor
Drutt
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Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2018 10:54 am

Re: Spectrum +3 missing menu screen

Post by Valedictor »

Hi Mark, thanks for that - yes, it does allow me to type just fine on that screen (once I can get a reset to produce the screen of course)
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