ZX Spectrum 48+

So the 48k Spectrum was the first computer I had access to at home. However, it was the 48k rubber key model which later got put into an aftermarket DK’Tronics case.

I remember this first time I saw a 48K+ advertised though and instantly fell in love with the design. Rick Dickinson did a brilliant job with the looks of this machine. It looked so futuristic compared to the other offerings of the time. The keyboard in particular just looked so special.

Alas, I never got to own one growing up so was really happy to add this to my collection. I did go a bit overboard at the time and think I actually have about 4 of these in various states of repair which I need to go through at some point. But my main one is fully boxed and in great condition along with its original price tag on the box for £178.95.

The one thing that did annoy me with the 48k series was its implementation of BASIC. You would find a listing in a magazine, sit down at your computer and get ready to type in the first line “10 INPUT A$”, great now all you need to do is spend 20 minutes scanning every key on the keyboard looking for the INPUT command and then remembering if you needed to press Shift or Symbol Shift etc to get to it. In 48k BASIC you couldn’t just type the word input. This was changed in 128k BASIC and made life much easier for me. The only one I could ever remember was J”” (Load “”)

I still have a rubber keyed speccy here but it has seen better days and so I haven’t added it to my archive yet. I think its future holds a new keyboard membrane and maybe a new metal faceplate for the keyboard surround. It was an awful thing to type on though, typing quickly wasn’t really on the cards.

Catalog Information

Number in collection	4
Hardware Condition	Excellent/Average/Fair/Fair
Box Condition	Excellent/NA/NA/NA
Modifications and Accessories	N/A
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