So I have two of these, managed to get the first one for a good price as it had been mislabled as a ZX Spectrum. This one did not need much done to it to get it working. First the PSU was dead, turned out the original transformer had burned out. Just replaced that with a new transformer salvaged from something else.

The composite mod just required a singal transistor. This was because it was a later 1982 model ZX81 sold for about £50 post Spectrum, I have the original reseet. The keyboard also needed trimming down as it had brioken. It has since broke again & will be replaced.

So I got a second one for a good price, came with some homemade hardware, hand drawn scematic & a homemade keyboard I used for my Acorn Electron portable project. The ZX81 was in poor condition & has mod damage to the case. I had plans to restore it from the begining, maybe even tune it into a laptop. Restoring it is what ended up happening. The keyboard was the least of this machines issues.

This unit does not containe any components of note unlike my other ZX81.

So both keyboards have arrived which will hopefuly have a longer shelf life, not that 30-40 years is a bad shelf life. But how long are these reproductions going to be made for.

Anyway I will cover putting these in one of the machines even though I will do both as the proccess is the same for both computers.