Comment by rwmj

2 days ago

Don't just plug it in! The power supply and/or VRM can fail in ways that deliver bad voltages to components. You might want to watch some of Lee's[1] videos first on how to bring up a ZX81 safely, or ask in his discord community for more help.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/@MoreFunMakingIt/videos

Thanks for the tip! If/when I do I'll try to use a bench power supply so I can put a current limit on it.

That is why my Timex 2068 has never left the box since around 1990.

Better admire for what it was and use an emulator instead.