ZX Spectrum +3
A Spectrum with a 3-inch floppy drive and CP/M.
The 1987 ZX Spectrum +3 swapped the cassette recorder for a 3-inch floppy drive, with the +3DOS system and the ability to run CP/M Plus. It has a new 64 KB ROM and an Amstrad gate array.
Floppy disks instead of cassettes
In 1987 Amstrad launched the +3, in black, with a 3-inch floppy drive in place of the tape recorder, the same format as its CPC 664 and 6128 and its PCW word processors. It cost £249.
Each side of a 3" disk holds 180 KB. Loading a game now took seconds instead of minutes, although most games kept coming out on cassette, which you connected through a socket on the side.
Inside
The board is new: the ULA gives way to an Amstrad gate array, and the ROM grows to 64 KB (four of 16 KB) to include +3 BASIC and +3DOS. The floppy controller is a NEC µPD765.
With its own system disk, the +3 runs CP/M Plus, which gave it access to professional software such as word processors and spreadsheets.
The changes to the ROM and timing brought some problems: certain 48K games do not work, and the expansion port changed, which left out some older peripherals.
Trivia
- 10 REM
3" disks were rare and expensive outside the Amstrad world. Today, the drive belt is one of the parts replaced most often.
- 20 REM
The +3 was the last new Spectrum to be launched; production of the family ended in 1992.
- 30 REM
There are now adapters for fitting 3.5" drives or memory cards in place of the 3" drive.
Inside, in 3D
The machine in 3D, built from our pixel portrait. X-ray lifts the case and leaves the board, with the electrolytic capacitors where they really sit, and a button to replace them.
Sources
- [1]ZX Spectrum +3 · Planet Sinclair (NTNU)
- [2]ZX Spectrum +3 Manual del usuario · Amstrad / Investrónica (manual original), 1987
Try it
Choose “128 BASIC” with ENTER. Here commands are typed letter by letter: try PRINT "HELLO" and ENTER. Quotes are Ctrl + P.
This machine runs here as a Spectrum 128K, which it is compatible with.
Emulation by JSSpeccy 3 (GPL-3.0). The Spectrum ROM belongs to Amstrad, which allows it to be distributed with emulators.
© 1982 Sinclair Research Ltd
The family: Sinclair
- 1977 Science of Cambridge MK14
- 1980 Sinclair ZX80
- 1981 Sinclair ZX81
- 1982 ZX Spectrum 16K / 48K
- 1984 ZX Spectrum+
- 1984 Sinclair QL
- 1985 ZX Spectrum 128
- 1986 ZX Spectrum +2
- 1987 ZX Spectrum +3
- 1987 ZX Spectrum +2A / +2B
- 2017 ZX Spectrum Next
Compared with the other models
| Model | Year | Processor | Memory | Video | Sound | System |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Science of Cambridge MK14 | 1977 | SC/MP · 4,43 MHz | 256 B | LED 7 segmentos | — | Monitor 512 B |
| Sinclair ZX80 | 1980 | Z80A · 3,25 MHz | 1 KB (16 KB) | TTL · 32 × 24 mono | — | 4K BASIC |
| Sinclair ZX81 | 1981 | Z80A · 3,25 MHz | 1 KB (16 KB) | ULA · 32 × 24 mono | — | 8K BASIC |
| ZX Spectrum 16K / 48K | 1982 | Z80A · 3,5 MHz | 16 / 48 KB | ULA · 256 × 192 | Beeper 1 bit | 48 BASIC |
| ZX Spectrum+ | 1984 | Z80A · 3,5 MHz | 48 KB | ULA · 256 × 192 | Beeper 1 bit | 48 BASIC |
| Sinclair QL | 1984 | 68008 · 7,5 MHz | 128 KB | ZX8301 · 512 × 256 | 8049 · beeper | QDOS + SuperBASIC |
| ZX Spectrum 128 | 1985 | Z80A · 3,55 MHz | 128 KB | ULA · 256 × 192 | AY-3-8912 · 3 ch | 128 BASIC |
| ZX Spectrum +2 | 1986 | Z80A · 3,55 MHz | 128 KB | ULA · 256 × 192 | AY-3-8912 · 3 ch | 128 BASIC |
| ▶ ZX Spectrum +3 | 1987 | Z80A · 3,55 MHz | 128 KB | Gate array · 256 × 192 | AY-3-8912 · 3 ch | +3 BASIC + +3DOS |
| ZX Spectrum +2A / +2B | 1987 | Z80A · 3,55 MHz | 128 KB | Gate array · 256 × 192 | AY-3-8912 · 3 ch | +3 BASIC |
| ZX Spectrum Next | 2017 | Z80N (FPGA) · até 28 MHz | 1 MB | FPGA · HDMI / VGA | 3 × AY + DAC | NextZXOS |
Let me know when one arrives: ZX Spectrum +3
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