What is it?

MG008 is a tool for RC2014 to enable experimentation with ZX Spectrum peripherals.

Why did you make it?

Because the Spectrum uses a Z80, so does the RC2014, most of the same signals are brought out to their connectors. I thought, "how hard can it be to make an adaptor to allow ZX Spectrum peripherals to work in an RC2014 system?" The answer was: "much harder than I thought". This is the result of working out how to get a whole bunch of peripherals to work with RC2014.

What makes it special?

It is designed to address the following potential problems:

• Both the standard RC2014 Serial I/O and most ZX Spectrum peripherals have incompletely decoded address lines. This means there is a significant likelihood that a peripheral will clash with the RC2014 Serial I/O
• Some peripherals send out a “ROMCS” signal, and then expect to “own” the lower 8k of address space. With a standard RC2014, this will clash with the ROM
• The ZX Spectrum uses all 16 address bits for I/O for some peripheral devices. RC2014 (or at least, the standard BASIC) only uses the traditional Z80 lower 8 bits
• The ZX Spectrum 5V output to peripherals is quite weedy, and many peripherals use the 9V output instead (usually converting it down to 5V using a linear regulator). The RC2014 bus does not feature a 9V line

What's included?

A PCB and all components required are included, including sockets for all ICs. A PDF with full instructions is available at the link below.

What else do I need to know?

MG008 has been designed for RC2014 with reference to the RC2014 Module Template. All pinouts used are in compliance with the RC2014 Module Template.

RC2014 is a trademark of RFC2795 Ltd.

MG008 has been designed for hobbyist use only and is not to be used for safety or business critical applications.

MG008 is designed for experimentation and is not guaranteed to get any given peripheral, or any given mode of operation of a peripheral working. ZX Spectrum software will of course not run on RC2014, so any functions enabled by specific software routines will not work out of the box. Having said that, during the course of designing and making MG008 I have managed to get numerous peripherals working successfully.

Plugging 1980’s peripherals into a RC2014 system is not 100% risk-free, especially if they are not known to be working. It is even possible the RC2014 may be damaged. Having said that, you may wish to plug an unknown-condition peripheral into your RC2014 first, rather than your priceless Issue 0 ZX Spectrum….

The payment of any import taxes and duties will be the responsibility of the Buyer.