Using ZX Spectrum on LCD TV or Monitor

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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yang
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Using ZX Spectrum on LCD TV or Monitor

Post by yang »

Hello,

My ZX Spectrum setup in the 1980s was with a MC Cassette player and CRT TV. As I do not own the CRT TV anymore, I am interested if the picture setup can somehow be made for LCD TV/Monitor, what kind of adapters would I need to buy for that, and is Raspberry PI usefull in transcoding the signals or similar? And regarding the sound loading of the programs, can the MP3 player be also used with some kind of an analog output, how could that be used together with the Android mobile phone for example? Some setup manuals or similar would be appreciated. Thank you for the hints.
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Re: Using ZX Spectrum on LCD TV or Monitor

Post by PeterJ »

If you have an.older flatscreen TV which still has an analogue TV tuner you may be luck and it will just work. You can also do what is called a composite mod to the original Spectrum which in turn can be wired to a SCART cable which makes things easier.

The later Sinclair models, and all the Amstrad models can be furnished with a SCART lead which can be purchased on eBay.

There are many hardware experts on this forum who I'm sure will be able to provide more technical detail than I can.

There are specialised Android apps which convert the emulator file as a WAV file, although I have never had much luck as the volume is not high enough.

I use a program call Tape2Wav from the Fuse Utilities, then play this via VLC with a stereo 3.5mm plug on the PC side, and a 3.5mm plug on the Spectrum side. It is a case of experiments until you get the volume right.

You can also buy relatively cheap boards that fit onto the back of your Spectrum and you place the games onto an SD card and you can load the game instantly.
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Re: Using ZX Spectrum on LCD TV or Monitor

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Re: Using ZX Spectrum on LCD TV or Monitor

Post by PeterJ »

I purchased one of the cassette MP3 things from AliExpress. It was rubbish IMHO and went in the bin. There seemed to no place of finding your place on the tape and the results were patchy.

Far better of buying something from ByteDelight or similar and you get instant loading. Again IMHO.

https://www.bytedelight.com/?product=br ... enjoy-mini
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Re: Using ZX Spectrum on LCD TV or Monitor

Post by hikoki »

^^^
Sort your files : http://www.anerty.net/software/file/DriveSort/
or just use .m3u playlist files
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Re: Using ZX Spectrum on LCD TV or Monitor

Post by PeterJ »

hikoki wrote: Fri Jun 22, 2018 7:52 pm ^^^
Sort your files : http://www.anerty.net/software/file/DriveSort/
or just use .m3u playlist files
Have you tried using one [mention]hikoki[/mention]? I would be interested in your experience of it too.
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Re: Using ZX Spectrum on LCD TV or Monitor

Post by hikoki »

^^^
Do or do not there is no talk or rather the other way around I'm afraid.
I think [mention]Alessandro[/mention] had one
Last edited by hikoki on Fri Jun 22, 2018 9:13 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Using ZX Spectrum on LCD TV or Monitor

Post by PeterJ »

You lost me there I'm afraid [mention]hikoki[/mention]
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Re: Using ZX Spectrum on LCD TV or Monitor

Post by hikoki »

I'm just talking from what I've read on some Amazon review (m3u playlists work on this device) and this thread where users recommended software to sort files in a safe way so mp3 (wav as well?) files can be found in the order you want.
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Re: Using ZX Spectrum on LCD TV or Monitor

Post by PeterJ »

hikoki wrote: Fri Jun 22, 2018 9:03 pm I'm just talking from what I've read on some Amazon review (m3u playlists work on this device) and this thread where users recommended software to sort files in a safe way so mp3 (wav as well?) files can be found in the order you want.
Thanks for expanding [mention]hikoki[/mention]. Reading the reviews I remembered it was also a pain having to convert everything to MP3 Format. I will stick with the DivMMC Enjoy Mini.
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Re: Using ZX Spectrum on LCD TV or Monitor

Post by hikoki »

Yes, it would be good to know if wav files are supported as well.
I think this gizmo is not for instant loading as in Divide, Dividemmc, and other TR-DOS compatible interfaces.
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Re: Using ZX Spectrum on LCD TV or Monitor

Post by PeterJ »

I seem to remember, and the the reviews seem to confirm this, it was it MP3, and it would load at normal tape speed. Good for nostalgia value I suppose if you own a +2!, but much better solutions exist.
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Re: Using ZX Spectrum on LCD TV or Monitor

Post by Alessandro »

hikoki wrote: Fri Jun 22, 2018 8:04 pm ^^^
Do or do not there is no talk or rather the other way around I'm afraid.
I think @Alessandro had one
No, I just used a car stereo cassette adapter for the +2A - other models had data fed straight into the EAR socket. Chinese general stores here still sell them for € 3 each if I remember correctly.
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Re: Using ZX Spectrum on LCD TV or Monitor

Post by hikoki »

PeterJ wrote: Fri Jun 22, 2018 9:33 pm I seem to remember, and the the reviews seem to confirm this, it was it MP3, and it would load at normal tape speed. Good for nostalgia value I suppose if you own a +2!, but much better solutions exist.
You are right, only mp3 allowed. Anyways I like the gizmo and don't care much about ultrafast loading speeds.
There seems to be a tool to make fast to load mp3 files, K7ZX
These settings are recommended to get good results : http://www.retrowiki.es/viewtopic.php?t ... p100054518
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Re: Using ZX Spectrum on LCD TV or Monitor

Post by hikoki »

Alessandro wrote: Fri Jun 22, 2018 10:01 pm
hikoki wrote: Fri Jun 22, 2018 8:04 pm ^^^
Do or do not there is no talk or rather the other way around I'm afraid.
I think @Alessandro had one
No, I just used a car stereo cassette adapter for the +2A - other models had data fed straight into the EAR socket. Chinese general stores here still sell them for € 3 each if I remember correctly.
Do these adapters make a difference for Spectrums other than +2A models? Do they help with deafness?
Do you use them on 48K models just for the fun of it? :)
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Re: Using ZX Spectrum on LCD TV or Monitor

Post by Alessandro »

hikoki wrote: Sat Jun 23, 2018 9:30 am Do these adapters make a difference for Spectrums other than +2A models?
I casually discovered that with the +2A the tape adapter can feed data to the Datacorder's head without the need to keep the Play key pressed. If you are interested to know more there is an old thread on the WOS forum and a video on Youtube where I demonstrate that.

It's not necessary with the 48K/128K/+3 because data can be fed directly from the PC via the EAR/TAPE socket.

With the +2 you have to press the PLAY key, and turbo loaders can sometimes not work correctly.
hikoki wrote: Sat Jun 23, 2018 9:30 am Do they help with deafness?
:? I don't understand. Anyway, I am not hearing-impaired so I cannot really say.
hikoki wrote: Sat Jun 23, 2018 9:30 amDo you use them on 48K models just for the fun of it? :)
No. :mrgreen:
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Re: Using ZX Spectrum on LCD TV or Monitor

Post by hikoki »

Thanks, I'll give them a good read.
I plan to get a psu and a walkman for a 48K+ that I have somewhere in a box. Loading from cassette again may be fun for a while!
By deafness I mean people complain that sometimes sound is not picked up from apps like teezx, tapdancer, speccy tape. I wondered if this adapter would help someway by filtering the signal.
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yang
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Re: Using ZX Spectrum on LCD TV or Monitor

Post by yang »

Hi,

Thank you all for suggestions, I have ordered the Car stereo cassette adapter, which @hikoki suggested.
Back to the original question - As I don't own the classic old CRT TV anymore, I am interested how I could use either an older LCD Computer monitor with VGA plug or a more recent LCD Computer monitor with HDMI plug? Any idea about this, what kind of adapters would I need to buy? That is for using it with the original ZX Spectrum 48k.
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Re: Using ZX Spectrum on LCD TV or Monitor

Post by stupidget »

Hi,

I got a very nice, boxed Speccy 48k from Gumtree a couple of years ago and sent it this chap to add the composite mod so I can use it on a modern TV:

http://www.mutant-caterpillar.co.uk/shop/

Che
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Re: Using ZX Spectrum on LCD TV or Monitor

Post by PeterJ »

yang wrote: Wed Jun 27, 2018 11:42 am I have ordered the Car stereo cassette adapter, which @hikoki suggested.
I hope you have more luck than I did and all the conversion goes OK. Let us know how you get on.
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Re: Using ZX Spectrum on LCD TV or Monitor

Post by Seven.FFF »

ZX-HD is a good option for HDMI:

https://www.bytedelight.com/?page_id=1800

If you have a 128/+2/+2A/+3 then you can get or make a RGB to SCART cable. Retro Computer Shack is a great place for trustworthy cables. Ian makes sure they have resistors inside with the correct values for the model, whereas a cheap no-name cable may not be so carefully designed. Make sure you pick the cable for the correct Spectrum model, as they are not interchangeable:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/retrocomputershack

RGB-SCART can be further converted to HDMI if you need that. I have one of these, and it works well:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/273200311182

SPECTRA is an external interface for 48/+ models, that outputs an RGB-SCART signal:

http://www.fruitcake.plus.com/Sinclair/ ... erface.htm
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