RC2014 Mini CP/M Upgrade Kit

Name: RC2014 Mini CP/M Upgrade Kit
SKU: 21442
Price: 79.00 USD
Availability: OutOfStock
Rating: 4.79 (6 reviews)

(6 Reviews)

Turn your RC2014 Mini in to a full Z80 based CP/M homebrew computer, complete with compact flash storage

Designed by RFC2795 Ltd in United Kingdom

$79.00

Out of Stock

Sold out since Apr 05, 2024

Turn your RC2014 Mini in to a full Z80 based CP/M homebrew computer, complete with compact flash storage

This is the last kit available. When it is gone, it is gone. Note that this is for the original RC2014 Mini. It will not fit the RC2014 Mini II The RC2014 Mini is a simple 8 bit Z80 based single boar…

This is the last kit available. When it is gone, it is gone. Note that this is for the original RC2014 Mini. It will not fit the RC2014 Mini II

The RC2014 Mini is a simple 8 bit Z80 based single board computer. In its standard form it runs Microsoft BASIC or SCM Z80 monitor ROM.

This RC2014 Mini CP/M Upgrade Kit transforms a standard RC2014 Mini [0] in to a CP/M machine with 64k of RAM, pageable ROM, compact flash storage and even adds an expansion slot too.

As the Operating System of choice before the IBM PC and MSDOS took the lead, there is a wealth of CP/M software available from programming languages such as Pascal or BBC BASIC, to office productivity tools like Wordstar and dBase II, and games including Zork or Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, and lots lots more.

The kit contains a 4 layer PCB with the surface mount compact flash socket pre-soldered, and all of the through-hole components needed to upgrade your RC2014 Mini. The only modification[1] needed to the Mini is the removal of the ROM and 3 jumpers. The CP/M upgrade kit boosts the memory from 32k to 64k and gives the ROM a paging function which is needed to boot CP/M. A new ROM is supplied with the kit, which contains;

Microsoft 32k BASIC
SCM R4
CP/M 2.2
SCM R1

The CP/M Upgrade Kit fits directly above the RC2014 Mini on PCB standoffs, and connects through to the Mini below via the expansion header. A keyboard passthrough connector also connects through the CP/M Upgrade Kit so that you can still use the Universal Micro Keyboard on top. Two expansion headers are available on the CP/M Upgrade Kit. A 64MB compact flash card[2] is included which has CP/M installed, along with the essential transient applications.

Note [0] The RC2014 Mini, or the other expansion modules shown for illustration are not included with this kit.

Note [1] If you soldered a right angle header to your RC2014 Mini then this will need to be removed to fit the CP/M Upgrade Kit above the Mini. If you fitted straight pins or socket then this is fine.

Note [2] The photos above show a 128MB compact flash card, not 64MB which is supplied

RC2014 is a trademark of RFC2795 Ltd.

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RFC2795 Ltd Shipping Policy:

Products are normally shipped next working day, however during busy periods this may extend slightly.

Tracked or Tracked & Signed options are available to most locations. This may not get your kit to you any quicker, but it adds peace of mind that you know where it has got to.

It is your responsibility to pay any import duty or other taxes where appropriate.

Important note for European Union customers Tindie is unable to comply with new EU tax regulations, so unfortunately I am no longer shipping to the EU via Tindie, but do sell them through a website which is does handle the VAT and tax payments.

Review Breakdown

Average Ratings

Product: (4.67)

Documentation: (4.67)

Shipping: (5.00)

Communication: (4.83)

Havard | Feb. 11, 2021

Essential accessory for the RC2014 Mini

I bought this together with the RC2014 Mini. The RC2014 was a breeze to assemble, the CP/M Upgrade Kit came together even easier.

The reasoning for buying this card was to get the RC2014 to run CP/M. But, what I didn't understand when I bought it (no, I didn't read any further after I realized that this module would give me CP/M), was that the Mini does not have any storage. As important as CP/M support was to me, storage is kind of essential.

With this module, I can choose whether to boot the RC2014 into BASIC or CP/M. As the storage is only available within CP/M, and it's possible to load MS Basic from there (by transferring the correct file to the CompactFlash card). Which is why my RC2014 boots directly into CP/M.

In my view, the CP/M Upgrade Kit transforms the RC2014 Mini from a fun project to a useful computer. And I saw that the Backplane-5 can be added to this module, there's a risk that Spencer will get more of my money. ;)

Kyle | Feb. 9, 2021

Great addition to the RC2014 Mini

I bought this with the RC2014 mini kit to start with a CP/M-capable machine right off the bat.

The instructions were well-written and easy to follow; I had no trouble (besides rusty soldering skills) putting it together. Once I built it and removed the unnecessary parts from the Mini, it worked like a champ.

The CP/M included is a bit barebones. I got a copy of UNARC.COM and ZDE from the Multicomp archive (https://obsolescence.wixsite.com/obsolescence/multicomp-fpga-cpm-demo-disk), and also installed a copy of the HITECH C compiler, Turbo Pascal, and Z80FORTH to round it out. Getting DOWNLOAD.COM to properly transfer took a bit of work; I ended up tweaking the C program to add some delays to the transfer to make sure everything made it over okay. Still hunting for a working XMODEM, but I think once I add in the SIO/2 board that'll be easier.

I've spent hours in CP/M, and I expect to spend many more. Great kit!

Stephen | Jan. 13, 2021

Excellent hardware upgrade. Software disappointing.

Kit: well produced, adequate documentation, easy to build, makes the RC2014 Mini into a useful CP/M system. Had one quality problem with the mounting of the CF adapter to the board - at least one of the surface-mounted connections was not soldered. Was simple to fix once detected.

CP/M delivery: The supplied CF card booted without problem. A small subset of the CP/M system programs is included: why not all of them? A download program was included to enable you to manually download the rest of CP/M, and any other programs you require, but requires a Windows application to build the download package. No Linux or Mac version (that I could discover). If already providing a few programs, why not fill up the card with the full CP/M system, BIOS/ROM source code, third party utilities, CP/M text games, editors, compilers, etc? An XMODEM file transfer program or equivalent should be included which would work with most home computer types.

If the purpose (my assumption) of this system is to be an easy upgrade for less technical users, easier to build and bring up than an RC2014 bus-based system, the lack of out of the box software support prevents that.

Gassås Ab | Dec. 7, 2020

The RC2014 Mini is fantastic!

I loved everything about it... from the building of the kit to the reliving of my CP/M memories from my childhood!

Scott | Nov. 22, 2020

Great expansion

Really enjoyed having the RC2014 mini but being able to turn it into a full CPM machine was fantastic.

Adam | Oct. 17, 2020

Upgrade your RC2014 Mini

Easy build and looks great sitting on top of my RC2014 mini, also gives a quality weight and feel to the RC2014 mini kit.
I've not used CP/M before, so this is totally new and I'm enjoying the learning process with this kit.
Great communications and the kit arrived the very next day (both seller and I are in the UK).

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$79.00