Sinclair ZX80 / ZX81 / Z88 Forums

Thanks for the photos, moggy. Do you think my design with the outer loops would make it possible to attach the stylus using a (dowel, pin, whatever) to mount it to the loop in such a manner as to hold it securely?

Also, do you know the ID of the spring part of the stylus?

Thanks

To answer your last question first the service manual can be found here if that helps, I don't know of any part no's though.

https://spectrumforeveryone.com/wp-cont ... Manual.pdf


I have to say first of all that I have an irrational hatred of these bloody printers having had eight of the buggers over the years that managed to print zero of nothing before meeting their maker so it's Alphacom 32/Timex 2040 all the way for me although I may have the best hoard of silver paper in the UK.

But to answer sensibly I would say mould the post as part of the belt if possible because..

A) the belt whips round at a hell of a lick and an external loop might catch on something and rip off.

B) The post is mounted in such a way as to allow the styli to track along a thin metal strip in the upper case as part of the circuit and offsetting the post to the outside of the belt could mean it may not track correctly or snag on something seeing as space is very tight inside the printer.

C) A dowel may just move ever so slightly side to side in the loop causing the styli to move out of position as it drags over the metal strip and /or paper making the printout more unreadable than it normally is.

Also one of the reasons the original belts were so thin and flimsy is because the capstans ride in thin walled cheap plastic bearings and were driven by a relatively weak motor and if you make your belts too sturdy with too much tension it could easily break the bearing walls and the motor may not be able to even turn the capstans so a trade off between sturdiness and light tension would be needed I would have thought and not forgetting, the small radii the belt will have to translate means it will need to be very thin and very flexible .

I seem to remember the belts were a defined size with no elasticity in them so it wasn't a case of a slightly smaller belt stretched over the capstans it was a one size fit if that makes any sense?

I am probably wrong about this but it's something to bear in mind I suppose.

Mhudson52,

mhudson52 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 03, 2018 4:25 pm I don't have a printer to test fit it on, so if someone Stateside would like to give it shot, let me know.

I have a working TS2040 and I am on the same side of the "pond" as you are!

Cheers,

DesSony

mhudson52 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 03, 2018 4:25 pm would like to give it shot, let me know. Shipping to the UK costs a little over $14 USD.

I wouldn't try this one. Teeth and belt itself are too thick. This will not work at all
The picture you've post before shows how sharp are teeth. At the base it's about 1mm and at the top of tooth the width is much less than 1mm, probably 0.4..0.5mm

I wouldn't try this one. Teeth and belt itself are too thick. This will not work at all
The picture you've post before shows how sharp are teeth. At the base it's about 1mm and at the top of tooth the width is much less than 1mm, probably 0.4..0.5mm

Here is one of the photos I dredged up showing some of the detail on how the stylus is attached.

Thanks for the input. From everybody. Trying to assimilate all of this into a truly workable result is indeed a challenge! But I shall continue.

Mike

dessony wrote: ↑Wed Apr 04, 2018 3:44 am Mhudson52,

mhudson52 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 03, 2018 4:25 pm I don't have a printer to test fit it on, so if someone Stateside would like to give it shot, let me know.

I have a working TS2040 and I am on the same side of the "pond" as you are!

Cheers,

DesSony

I thought the TS2040 was an Alphacom 32 - a different printer to the ZX Printer.....

mhudson52 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 03, 2018 4:25 pm Here is the first print of the ZXprinter belt using Ninjaflex Cheetah 1.75mm filament. I don't have a printer to test fit it on, so if someone Stateside would like to give it shot, let me know. Shipping to the UK costs a little over $14 USD.

It's hard to photograph something black and shiny, but here goes:

100_5547.JPG100_5545.JPG

Hi, I am in Canada and I have two zxprinters so I can test your replacement belt. I can also send you some old belt fragments including the stylus attachment and the actual stylus (as long as you return the stylus back as I only have two).

François

François, if you could, that would be awesome! Photos and descriptions go a long way, but nothing is better than having it in your hands. The stylus and its attachment are the key elements missing, and a piece of the original belt material will help with achieving the correct thickness as well as the shape and size of the teeth.

I can absolutely assure you that everything will be returned safe and sound.

I will PM you my mailing address.

Thanks again for your generous offer!

Mike

RWAP wrote: ↑Wed Apr 04, 2018 6:32 pm

dessony wrote: ↑Wed Apr 04, 2018 3:44 am Mhudson52,

mhudson52 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 03, 2018 4:25 pm I don't have a printer to test fit it on, so if someone Stateside would like to give it shot, let me know.

I have a working TS2040 and I am on the same side of the "pond" as you are!

Cheers,

DesSony

I thought the TS2040 was an Alphacom 32 - a different printer to the ZX Printer.....

It was the last time I looked and works on a totally different principal being a thermal, not a spark printer.


Sites which incorrectly describe it and its mode of operation ,like this one below, don't help.....

http://rk.nvg.ntnu.no/sinclair/computer ... htm#ts2040

Moggy and RWAP,

Thank both of you for turning my head to a side.

DesSony