SC114 RCBus-40pin Z80 SBC/Motherboard Kit

Name: SC114 RCBus-40pin Z80 SBC/Motherboard Kit
SKU: 16339
Price: 46.00 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.90 (17 reviews)

(17 Reviews)

An easy to build Z80 motherboard with RCBus/RC2014 compatible expansion slots

Designed by Stephen C Cousins in United Kingdom

SC114 RCBus-40pin Z80 SBC/Motherboard Kit 1

SC114 RCBus-40pin Z80 SBC/Motherboard Kit 2

SC114 RCBus-40pin Z80 SBC/Motherboard Kit 3

SC114 RCBus-40pin Z80 SBC/Motherboard Kit 4

SC114 RCBus-40pin Z80 SBC/Motherboard Kit 5

SC114 RCBus-40pin Z80 SBC/Motherboard Kit 6

SC114 RCBus-40pin Z80 SBC/Motherboard Kit 7

SC114 RCBus-40pin Z80 SBC/Motherboard Kit 8

SC114 RCBus-40pin Z80 SBC/Motherboard Kit 9

2019-02-27T11:51:09.772Z-SC114 - In use as SBC.jpg

2022-05-26T18:20:33.074Z-SC114 - PCB colours - 3x2.jpg

2019-02-27T12:13:17.862Z-SC114 - Kit of parts.jpg

2020-12-21T14:14:01.707Z-SC114 v1.0 Optional extras - 3x2 - 3618x2412.jpg

2019-02-27T12:13:17.862Z-SC114 v1.0 PCB Image - 4x3 - Green - Top.jpg

2019-02-27T12:13:17.862Z-SC114 v1.0 PCB Image - 4x3 - Green - Bottom.jpg

2019-02-27T13:54:25.269Z-SC114 with 3 modules - labelled.jpg

2019-02-27T13:54:25.269Z-SC114 with LCD - cropped.jpg

2019-02-27T14:01:59.696Z-SC114 minimal assembly.jpg

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An easy to build Z80 motherboard with RCBus/RC2014 compatible expansion slots

The aim of this design is to make entry into the RCBus/RC2014 universe easier and more reliable, by using fewer components, less soldering, fewer configuration jumpers, and fewer circuit boards. Thi…

Features

Z80 running at 7.3728 MHz
128k bytes RAM (second 64k not easy to use, so best consider it to be 64k usable)
32k bytes ROM, which can be paged out with the usual write to port 0x38
Simple bit-bang serial port to get you started
Four RCBus-2014 40-pin (RC2014 compatible) bus sockets
Simple reset button (no power-on reset or reset debounce)
LED for power and status indication
Runs the Small Computer Monitor, with ROM BASIC and the CP/M loader included
Comprehensive documentation

The idea is that you can build the board without even fitting those tedious RCBus/RC2014 sockets, then test it with the simple bit-bang serial port. This only involves assembling the components shown in the close-up picture above. That's 5 chips + oscillator + 6 pin header + a few Rs and Cs + LED + reset button.

It looks like this takes about 175 solder joints. This sounds a lot but is way fewer than a typical RCBus/RC2014. There should be a good chance of such a simple circuit working first time. If it doesn't work then it is a relatively simple circuit to troubleshoot. The onboard LED can flash results of the self-test, so a serial port problem will not look like a dead processor.

You can then add the four 40 pin RCBus/RC2014 module sockets. So that's a further 160 solder joints, but it is incremental assembly thus relatively easy to work out where any new fault is.

The next step would be to build and test a proper serial port, such as the official Z80 SIO module. Then, if you want CP/M, all you need to add is the official Compact Flash module and a Compact Flash card with the standard RC2014 CP/M distribution installed. All this is supported by the ROM with no configuration required.

You can even add backplanes from the modular backplane range, although their functionality is limited by the single row standard 40 pin expansion socket on the motherboard.

The motherboard has relatively few components and is thus quite a cheap build, so if it does not prove expandable enough it is not a big deal to discard it, take the useful modules and move to a Pro-style system.

Documentation

This product has a user guide and an assembly guide. The Small Computer Monitor has a user guide and a detailed tutorial. The documentation can be found at www.smallcomputercentral.com

Compatibility

This computer conforms to the RCBus specification v1.0 for RCBus-2014 40-pin systems.

The RCBus specification includes RCBus-2014 (both RC2014 standard 40-pin bus and RC2014 enhanced 60-pin bus) and also the full 80-pin RCBus. The 80-pin RCBus provides support for advanced Z80 features, such as the interrupt daisy-chain, as well as support for other processor families.

The Kit

The contains everything you need to build the motherboard, except solder, tools, and cleaning materials. To use the completed motherboard you require a USB to serial adapter (5-volt power and 5-volt signals), a computer, and a terminal program, such as Tera Term. The ROM is supplied programmed with the Small Computer Monitor.

If you have any doubts about sourcing a suitable USB to serial adapter, you might like to include this option with your kit.

Printed Circuit Board

The printed circuit board is available on its own here.

Notes

This product is supplied as a kit of parts that require assembly.
It is your responsibility to pay any import duty or taxes charged by your home country.
This product is designed for hobby use and is not suitable for industrial, commercial, or safety-critical applications.
This product is made in accordance with the "designed for RC2014" labelling scheme.
RC2014 is a trademark of RFC2795 Ltd.

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Review Breakdown

Average Ratings

Product: (4.94)

Documentation: (5.00)

Shipping: (4.88)

Communication: (4.76)

Marco | April 23, 2024

Great Project kit!

I purchased this Kit for a bit of nostalgia as my father and I put together a kit form Z80 computer in the garage in the early 80's (Dick Smith Super 80 kit in Australia). This kit brought back many fond memories of learning to solder properly and then programming my first BASIC programs. The kit was very easy to put together and worked first time, (unlike the earlier kit that had to go in for repair and mods to function :-) ). I am very happy with this product and am now going to buy more cards to add to its functionality and fun. Great job!!

Vassilios | Oct. 3, 2023

SC114 feedback

Very happy with this motherboard kit. Arrived quickly, securely packaged; excellent documentation on website and superb support by Steve. Kit easy to build and using SCM adds a lot of value to the board.

Randall | Aug. 17, 2022

Awesome little Z80 kit.

Great simple Z80 retro computer that was easy to build and a joy to get going.

It was as lucky door prize for retro computing fair we held in out local city and the eventually winner was excited to get it and learn about the world of Z80 computers.

Once more a beautiful bit of retro computing design.

Randall.

Nick | Jan. 28, 2022

Excellent kit

This kit represents a considerably cheaper introduction to the world of RC2014 than the official kits. Once built, it worked perfectly first time. Well packaged and documented and excellent quality. I've since purchased two more kits (SC129 and SC139) and will be adding the compact flash adapter soon. Definitely worth 5 stars across the board.

Christian | July 28, 2021

Easy assembly, quick start for the RC2014 ecosystem.

The SC114 is a single board computer based on the Z80 CPU. It's got onboard RAM, ROM (with a simple monitor and BASIC), reset circuitry, address decoder, and a simple 9600 baud TTL serial port. The assembly took me under an hour, and was relatively painless. The photographic BOM included with the board was sufficient to get up and running, but there's a full step-by-step assembly guide on the SCC website. Once I had everything soldered and socketed, PuTTY connected to the serial port on the first try. Type HELP from there!

Stephen was a great merchant, he was willing to adjust my order to include a different peripheral after I placed my order. Plus, the website really is comprehensive. The package arrived in a very slim (no extraneous packaging) box and got to the US from the UK in record time. I'll definitely be trying out a Z180 from Stephen some day.

The only thing keeping me from giving this five stars across the board - the motherboard is powered only via the TTL serial port or through an RC2014 expansion card port. Stephen does sell a power module, I'll probably order one.

Agustin | July 25, 2021

Excellent kit

Very good quality of the components, I assembled it and it worked at first without problems. The documentation on Stephen's page is excellent.
I added a Serial I / O module and CF Storage # 61 to run CPM and it works fine.

Robert | July 3, 2021

Great kit, easy build

This kit went together very quickly and easily. It powered up and ran first try. Highly recommended. A great starter system.

Marian | June 20, 2021

very good, works great!

I received this board almost simultaneously with a Z80-MBC2 board: while SC114 worked flawlessly, Z80-MBC2 did not (error transferring program), so I would rather recommend this board to any other Z80 computer version!

I do not know what the above stars really mean, especially "Communication"? communication with S. Cousins (none, because not needed) or communication between my computer and the board? (OK)

James | Jan. 28, 2021

It's really fantastic

I'm one of those who didn't grow up with the machines the RC2014 design was inspired by, so when I wanted to get into hardware that wasn't a microcontroller, I grabbed one of these, due to the low cost and obvious simplicity.

The build process is very easy and quick, thanks in no small part to the stellar documentation. The quality of the boards is very good, and the entire kit went together for me in less than two hours (it even worked on the first boot!)

I also had a lot of questions, since usually my RAM, ROM and CPU aren't separate entities sharing a single bus, and Stephen was very kindly able to offer me answers and the tools to look for more information. With this kit, I went from knowing relatively little about the whole enterprise to designing some of my own add on boards for specific projects I wanted to tackle.

I really can't recommend the SC114 (or probably any board Stephen makes) enough!

Kurt | June 22, 2020

SC114

A very good product.
Simple construction thanks to a very good description.
The support is excellent.
All around a successful product.
Unreservedly recommended.

Kurt

Mogens | May 23, 2020

Excellent Quality

I got my SC114 kit after about one week, everything carefully packed.

The kit is very high quality, and very well documented. If you read and follow the instructions, the kit is easy to assemble (very little soldering experience needed).
The software included in the ROM is also excellent, and quickly gets you started in either BASIC or Z80 assembler.

To me, this is a fun trip down memory lane; I was hacking along on the ZX81 in assembler nearly 40 years ago... I have been playing with some of the nice Z80 software emulators, but nothing beats the feel of coding to the "bare metal"!
Also, I like the simplicity of the kit, which actually makes it possible to understand how everything works in detail at the hardware level.

Thank you very much for a great kit - I highly recommend it for everyone who wants to try REAL retro-computing.

Miodrag | April 25, 2020

Great product

Very easy to build with complete assembly instructions, so even plain beginners can solder it.
Complete SBC for those that would just like to try out but also with ability to expand.
Great documentation and communication from Stephen side.

Victor Valerievich | April 2, 2020

Great!

Great kit. Good quality pcb and a very good and simple circuit.
Delivery to Russia 14 business days.

Harold | Oct. 4, 2019

Stephen C Cousins has a range of well documented products.

A lot of work has gone into the design and support of the products from scc.me.uk. If you care to visit you will be greeted by a wide range of options, with detailed instructions and links to other places to explore relating to RC2014.

Both hardware and firmware have been meticulously documented for function and their interrelationship with other devices for the path you have chosen within RC2014.

With my product the assembly was easy and it nearly worked first time. The trouble shooting section quickly led me to the problem I had created for myself and I was up and running within about ten minutes.

The level of support for such a small investment is staggering. scc.me.uk is a hidden gem in plain sight.

Craig | Sept. 18, 2019

Loved the kit!

It went together quickly and without fault. With the well planned spacing and layout, there were very few opportunities for solder bridges. The silk screening clearly defines where parts should go and in what orientation.

David | June 12, 2019

Another excellent kit from Steve Cousins

Although I already have several RC2014 backplanes, I am looking forward to use this for some prototyping projects. As usual, extremely quick shipping and excellent communication. Steve responds to questions quickly and with great humor and understanding.

Craig | May 8, 2019

This is a great product

I got this board last week, put it together in an evening, and have been playing with it since. Before I got this kit, I had not been exposed to Z80 programming at all, so all of this has been a wonderful learning experience.

This board is simple to put together. Mr. Cousins is also the author of the SC Monitor program which is preinstalled on the ROM. SC Monitor is great to use. Uploading code to it is easy. And the monitor, itself, contains an API to make programming a bit easier. The documentation for the board and the monitor is very clear and easy to understand.

My setup is using a raspberry pi connected to the SC114 with a usb to ftdi adapter. The adapter powers the sc114. I have an assembler set up on the pi. I can build code into a hex file on the pi, copy the hex file text and paste it directly into SC Monitor. I can then type 'g' to execute, or step through the code, dissasemble, etc.

This board is a GREAT way to get into the world of retro computing, especially the RC2014. I highly recommend it.

Mr. Cousins was extremely prompt in shipping my kit. He shipped it in less than 24 hours. I live in the US, and it took 7 business days to arrive.

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