BYTE: Part 11a - Whatever now?

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The Clueless Engineer

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Published on October 25, 2022 3:14:59 AM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMQhhY_0wmI

Duration: 18:00

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So this probably is starting to seem a bit silly, but there's a good reason.

{If you're new here ... these machines are ZX Spectrum clones from Moldova, built in the early 90s}

This Red BYTE appears to be brand new, came with a new-in-box Веста ИМ-01 (Vesta IM-01) joystick, or "manual manipulator" ... plus another type of power supply.

This time the PSU is branded with BYTE using the same Westminster/Data 70 type font as on the Spectrum BYTE. The Red BYTE has a more rounded font. The PSU case colour also resembles the Spectrum BYTE.

So now I'm no closer to understanding the history of these two apparently concurrently-produced models.

The serial numbers I have now are:

[1] Red: serial 246, date 02/92
[2] Spectrum: serial 2378, date 05/93
[3] Red: serial 1137, date 06/94
[4] Red: serial 2687. date 07/94

I'm refurbishing the power supply - pretty simple ... this time it's a full wave rectifier instead of a bridge rectifier ... as we're using a toroid we just need two rectifying diodes (2Д202В ... 2D202V) ... one for the negative-going voltage and one for the positive-going voltage, with the centre-tap of the toroid being the ground voltage level I guess.

There's a linear regulator (КРЕН5А == 7805) and accompanying 47µF capacitor, and a 4700µF smoothing capacitor.

I'll keep the diodes and replace all the other parts with modern versions. This should ensure a reliable 5V power supply.