Sorry for bumping an old topic, but I've been having a go at fixing Rob's Speak & Read.
Power board has definitely gone - took it out and tested it on some a dfferent, definitely working Speak, and it didn't work..
I replaced the Read's power board for a working one, which lets the Read turn on, but mostly it only shows a row of full stops on the screen. Once it flashed up 'Spell' on the screen. Very briefly though, and haven't been able to get it to do it since. No sound happening at all.
Other things I've tried - soldering the pitch up/down knob on, to give a bit of range in case something's up with the clock resistors, and switching that component that goes by the power board. Both to no success.
Anyone encountered a similar fault, and know what else I could try to fix it? Or is it likely a lost cause?