New zxpand+s on sell mah retro

ZX80 / ZX81 hardware and software offered for sale or swapping
Moggy
Posts: 3231
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 2:00 pm

Re: New zxpand+s on sell mah retro

Post by Moggy »

Fully endorsed to build and sell ZXpands by the ZXpand creator Charlie Robson is all I can tell you, and you would have to see how his feedback goes to ascertain how good a trader /builder etc he is.

LATE EDIT.

Just noticed that the 8-bit B-port doesn't look to be readily accesable on this version should anyone wish to make use of it.
pcbnow
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2022 2:21 pm

Re: New zxpand+s on sell mah retro

Post by pcbnow »

Hi, the listing on Sellmyretro is fully legit. Actually, two ZXPANDs are left for sale and more come in a few weeks.
I have re-created the listing to enable selling multiple items. It didn't work for some reason and I had to re-list every time when sold a single item.

https://www.sellmyretro.com/offer/details/63279
Last edited by pcbnow on Sat Dec 17, 2022 12:21 pm, edited 4 times in total.
pcbnow
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2022 2:21 pm

Re: New zxpand+s on sell mah retro

Post by pcbnow »

IMG_20221217_122351.jpg
RWAP
Posts: 1348
Joined: Thu May 08, 2008 8:42 am
Location: Stoke-on-Trent, UK
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Re: New zxpand+s on sell mah retro

Post by RWAP »

Yes, the listings are legitimate and endorsed by Charlie (SirMorris) - so seeing the ZXPand back in production is excellent news.

For those based in the UK - the problem of international shipping from the EU to the UK is a real pain in the a**e. Strictly, anyone selling to the UK needs to register for and collect UK VAT. This is actually a legal requirement from the HMRC now - so it is unclear how much longer Royal Mail will continue to collect the VAT and recharge buyers.

By contrast, the EU have left it as optional as to whether a seller has to register to collect EU VAT (mainly because they have to appoint someone in the EU to deal with the tax authorities, which means it is very expensive to do this).

At the moment, the alternative is that I could collect payment and order from pcbnow - but with two lots of paypal fees, plus my own time sorting out the accounting side, this means I would have to add my own handling charges etc, so you would end up paying me £105 for a ZXpand - deduct paypal fees of about £4.50 and VAT (£17) on the updated purchase price - gives about £10 to cover my admin. You could reducce it to £100 if you paid by BACS direct to my bank.
Spinnetti
Posts: 253
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2020 11:29 pm

Re: New zxpand+s on sell mah retro

Post by Spinnetti »

I have 3 generations of this board from Charlie, and this does indeed appear to be the very latest version.
Zeddy: ZX80, ZX81/ZXpand, TS1000/ZXpand, TS1500/Zxpand+
Speccy: 48k, +, +2, +3, TS2068, "Bare Metal" Pi, Next KS2, IF1/Microdrives/Vdrive/Light Gun/VGA-Joy
QL: Minerva/QL-VGA/Custom PSU
C5: 24v, LiFE battery, Disc brakes
Moggy
Posts: 3231
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 2:00 pm

Re: New zxpand+s on sell mah retro

Post by Moggy »

Spinnetti wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 3:14 pm I have 3 generations of this board from Charlie, and this does indeed appear to be the very latest version.
I have 6 versions of the spand with a one off prototype shortly to be added and have noted the following.

This version now being sold has reverted back to the twin side by side regulator setup of the early spand+ (V5.0) meaning an excessive hot spot at the regulators if a power supply greater than 7.5V is used, V5.1 had the regulators placed on opposite sides of the board which helped slightly. This version has the D type joystick port in place of the IDC fitting found on issue 5.0 and 5.1 boards and supposedly lacks the 3.3v found at the joystick port yet is fitted with a 3.3v regulator so not sure what component that is supplying. An EPROM (2c256?) as found on issue 1 and issue 3 spands is also fitted as I understand there is a shortage of the chip usually found in this location on the plus versions. Whether this affects the ability to update any new firmware, should it become available, I have no idea.

Also absent are the AY chips B-port solder points as found on V1.0 V3.0 V5.0 and V5.1.
pcbnow
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2022 2:21 pm

Re: New zxpand+s on sell mah retro

Post by pcbnow »

this board is based on the latest issue 5.3 not having port B of AY-3-8910 exposed exactly as the 5.3 reference. For those needing the use of it, pads of AY is the option. Overheating of LDO regulators doesn't seem to be a big issue since I'm powering my Zeddy / ZXPAND 6.0 from 12V power supply (internal 7805 replaced with SMPS) all day without any issues. Powering it on a long run from 12V might be an issue but 9V or less is safe. The EPROM type is about availability, I'm not against using Winbond W27C512 instead 27C256 in future. SMD type SRAM is replaced with widely available fast SRAM in DIP package.
Moggy
Posts: 3231
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 2:00 pm

Re: New zxpand+s on sell mah retro

Post by Moggy »

Can you confirm if the use of an EPROM affects any firmware updates that may come along or is that a different part of the circuitry ?
As for the regs I'll agree to disagree on that one as personally I prefer cooler running as my zeddies are continuously run for up to 8 hours at a time hence I use 7.5v as Charlie also recommends not 9 or 12v.
A final point is the 3.3v line present at the serial port?
pcbnow
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2022 2:21 pm

Re: New zxpand+s on sell mah retro

Post by pcbnow »

3V3 supply rail is not available on D type connector and the onboard EPROM/EEPROM update is tricky from hardware point of view thus not considered for further firmware updates. W27C512 EEPROM is less of an effort for off-board updates, some customers prefer that option just to be on a safe side.
I don't think of major HW updates, adding new hardware features would anyway lead to a complete board redesign and EPROM update.
27C256 EPROM is fine, firmware update doesn't rely on changing its content.
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