New Build ZX Spectrum - The PCB

First thing we need is a PCB to base everything around. Thanks to the hard work of Pabb he has redrawn the Issue 3B board and has made Gerber files available for use with a PCB company to print and send to you.

You need to find a company to produce these, couple of choices I have used in the past are PCBWay and JLCPCB. We will be using JLCPCB in the example below.

You want to get a quote for a 2 layer board:

First thing is to upload the Gerber file you downloaded earlier, click this button on JLCPCB and upload it

Then for each options choose:

Base Material: FR-4
Layers: 2
Dimensions: 213.1 mm* 129 mm
Qty: However many you want
Different Design: 1
Deliver Format: Single PCB
PCB Thickness: 1.6
PCB Colour: Your choice
Silkscreen: White
Surface Finish: HASL(with lead)
Everything else can be left as defaults

Once this is done, click Add To Cart and it will go off to be checked by the manufacturing company and sent to production. Be aware though, the lead times for these can be quite long, especially if you choose a slow shipping method to save money.

Once it arrives you’ll have a board like this and ready to start adding components