                        SPECTRUM +3 SELF DIAGNOSTIC TESTS

The Spectrum +3 test software comes on a rom board.  This should be plugged into the
Expansion I/O slot of the +3. The +3 should also have a loopback cable plugged into the
KEYPAD and RS232 sockets, two joysticks plugged in, and monitor, TV and audio amp
connected.

Turn the machine on. One of two things will happen.

1) A test card with some text will appear. Follow the instructions on the screen.
2) No text or testcard. In this case, note the color of the edge of the screen. It will
either be a steady color or flashing regularly with a predominant color. Consult the
table below to find out which RAM chip has (probably) failed.


             Color    STEADY    FLASHING

             BLACK   IC 17     IC 32
             BLUE    IC 18     IC 31
             RED     IC 19     IC 30
             MAGENTA IC 20     IC 29
             GREEN   IC 21     IC 28
             CYAN    IC 22     IC 27
             YELLOW  IC 23     IC 26
             WHITE   IC 24     IC 25


If you follow the instructions on screen from the first occurrence, then everything should be
self-explanatory, The RAM test, if it finds a fault, will give two numbers. The first is the
address at which the fault was found, and the second is the bank of memory which contained the
address. If the address is zero, then it is probably not a RAM fault, but a paging hardware
problem. Note that there is no way to fail the keyboard test - if a key won't respond then you
can progress no further.

The cassette test comes in two parts. The first cassette test is similar to the ULA sound test,
and is the last test in the ROM program. The tone it asks you to hear is much quieter than the
other noises. The second cassette test comes on a tape and is used when the BASIC is
running. Turn on the Spectrum, wait for the menu to appear and then press ENTER. Then start
the test cassette. After a short while, the words PROGRAM: Loading... should appear, and
shortly afterwards some instructions will appear on the screen. Follow these to test the
cassette unit.