Tindie

For YM2149 Sound Card for RC2014 Retro Computer

I bought the more expensive pro version which initially seems a bit expensive, however I wanted that over the cheaper versions for the following reasons. 1) Many people seem to want the easier to build versions so there is less soldering, but I actually wanted a fairly serious soldering project so I could play with a new iron I had recently bought, so the more bits to solder on the more enjoyment for me. 2) I can see the appeal of having a cheaper version that can run BASIC, but I figured I wouldn't be satisfied unless I could run a full-on OS. Sure enough this project provides hours of fun because not only do I get the enjoyment of building it and seeing it work, it is also simple enough that you can understand what is happening in your computer. I can see and understand how the serial ports are working and the data is being addressed and moved about, which I find fascinating. Additionally being able to run CP/M means I can do a sort of archaeology involving learning and understanding this old OS, and also see the lineage that pokes through to modern systems. I can also play and enjoy old Infocom games, and I have the option of bolting more things on in the future. One slight problem is that there isn't complete hand-holding step-by-step build instructions, so you do need to think a bit about what you're doing, but a bit of problem solving just added to the enjoyment for me, others may get a bit frustrated. Thoroughly recommended piece of kit.

Charles | Feb. 4, 2019

Excellent!

My daughter recently built an RC2014 Pro (with a little help from me) and I thought the addition of a bit of audio might be fun. I'm somewhat familiar with AY/YM based cards having designed / produced a Mockingboard clone for the Apple II...

...the kit arrived today (sooner than expected) so I thought I'd solder it up and get it working as a surprise. The well laid out and labeled board made it very easy to assemble - I only had to refer to the docs on github for resistor and IC positioning, and jumpers. The github page is also very well done and usage instructions + links to software well very welcome - it's nice to be able to start playing with the minimum of hassle. I'm also happy to report the card itself functions perfectly with very good sound quality.

Yes, my daughter was very pleased and has spent a good deal of time today downloading and playing .pt3 files between sessions of Zork.

Most certainly a worthwhile purchase for anyone who has a RC2014 and ears. :-)

Many thanks,

Rémy | Feb. 4, 2019

Congratulation, a real good and interesting product.

I found everything excellent in all aspects. Documentation is a bit messy, in pieces it is to be worked out like a puzzle ! It reveals to be adequate at the end.

David | Jan. 31, 2019

My review of RC2014

For CP/M Upgrade Kit for RC2014 Classic or Classic II

The kit arrived in short order and was packaged very well. I ordered the RC2014 Pro and added the I/O, twin joystick and Pi zero boards. The boards were nicely laid out and easy to solder. I am a PCB Designer and Electronics Engineer so I had very little assembling everything. I got things working first time although it was a struggle to find and collate the documentation on line. I would like to offer my thoughts regarding the kit.

As an exercise in soldering it was easy but tedious. I swapped all the IC sockets for machined pin ones. The pageable Rom board has provision for a zif socket but if fitted per the silkscreen, the handle will hit a couple of IC’s due to their height in their sockets. I ended up turning it 180 degrees so the handle is pointing out from the board. This of course works but you have to remember to put the rom chip in the same direction (which is 180 degrees on the zif socket). Also, the holes for this socket on the board could be bigger. I had some zif sockets that had much wider pins and would not fit. I ended up canaballizing a couple of other sockets to get it to fit. Having the handle stick out from the board is also not ideal as it is too easy to flip it and unseat the rom. I completed the extended slots by adding a 20 pin header to every slot. That way I can put things just where I need them. The cards with a single row connector should still be using a double row connector.
The reason is that mixing single and double row connectors results in uneven height and the holes by the chamfer on each board don’t line up. Also, the double row is much more stable and the boards don’t tend to lean over and touch each other. I added a 7805 with a heatsink but it would be nice to be able to switch between it and the USB. Replace all the jumpers with dip switches on the edge of the boards so I don’t have to keep removing them to reconfigure. I could see this project as a SBC that, instead of a backplane, was a single board that had individual sections that could be populated according to whatever you need. Some other boards that I think would be useful (and I see they were available at some tme) would be an IDE interface, 4X20 LCD or small graphic display, I2C expander, sound card.
Anyway, good job Spencer.

Martin | Jan. 17, 2019

RC2014 cp/m upgrade kit

The CP/M upgrade kit arrived very quickly, it's a long trip here to the colonies ;-). Unpacking the kit revealed a very precisely packaged product. It's clear great attention to detail has been taken. I've assembled the 64k paged ram board, the paged rom board and the CF adaptor board. I've built dozens of kits over the years and this is as good as any of them. I found the documentation a little fragmented, but have rewritten it (as I have for my other rc-2014 boards). Other than that minor complaint the kit is great value for money and I would recommend it to any one wanting to build a Retro CP/M system or upgrade their basic RC-2014 system. It's probably a bit difficult for a beginner, but as I have 30+ electronics experience, building the kit was a breeze. A highly recommended kit. Smarting...

Richard | Jan. 14, 2019

Excellent product but documentation needs improvement

For RC2014 ZED - Homebrew Z80 Computer Kit

Overall, this is a fun kit but it is definitely for the intermediate to advanced kit builder; mostly for the impressive number of solder points but also for the basic documentation. I wouldn't advise this kit if you can't follow a schematic, for example giving this as a gift to a young relative who only knows the basics of soldering will have a hard time.

There isn't a full-color binder included, documentation is on the developer's website and various places on the web. If building the kit for CP/M it is important to read this document first: https://rc2014.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/RC2014-Pro-Jumper-Settings-CPM.pdf It will explain which cards are to receive double header pins.

Communication is A+. Spencer is awesome and responds very quickly to questions and offers great advice. The kit itself (once it was working) is a joy use. My advice is to please spend a few hours to update and clean up the docs.

Jonathan | Jan. 6, 2019

Fun build and a good start for greater things.

Went together over the Christmas break, everything needed was in the box, just add solder. Easy build by following the online dokko. The SMD compact flash socket with its tiny pins was ready soldered so that saved a bit of a fiddle. Everything else is just standard through hole 0.1" components. If you are OK with veroboard you can build one of these.

I bought the 8 slot version and my set up takes up 7 of them so you may want to think about getting the back plane pro version with its 12 slots although I suppose it's easy enough to make an extension with some ribbon cable and veroboard.

Loaded a disk image (I used 'CP/M inc transient apps SIO2' image and Win32DiskImager to load it) onto the compact flash card easily enough, (ordered the blank card by mistake DOH!) .

Remember that the PI zero uses micro USB on the go, not normal micro USB. I spent a while playing with different USB keyboards before I realized I was using the wrong adapter. (It'll say 'can't find the keyboard' if you use the wrong one).

After getting the correct USB on the go adapter it booted up first time and I'm now in this strange world that is almost but not quite completely unlike DOS.

A real fun project all in all. Just the thing for beginning digital hardware design and microprocessor interfacing. It won't be long before there are all kinds of things hanging off it.

Paul | Dec. 23, 2018

Full Pro Kit and Pi Zero

For Backplane Pro for RC2014 - Z80 Homebrew Computer

Everything supplied arrived quickly and well packaged, circuit boards are good quality. - lots of fun to build - had 1 issue (my own fault - put the 74HCT04 in upside down on the ROM card). Boots OK to CPM from the Compact Flash card - Now for more fun - running some programs and learning more about the Z80.

Dave | Dec. 19, 2018

Perfect for more advanced RC2104 setups

I just built up the Backplane Pro I received. All the parts were well packed and went together fine. This backplane has all pins connected through and the extra headers for more complex configurations. The PCB is top quality.

Nils-Arne | Nov. 4, 2018

Well worth the money.

Everything as expected and shipped as quick as should be. Quality is OK.

(BTW, I seldom place 5 stars.)

Jeffrey | Sept. 9, 2018

Complete kit!

I just received my RC2014 Pro computer kit. It was well packaged in a box about the size of a book. Everything inside is organized and well protected. It is not just a box of parts. The kit is totally complete. I was surprised that there is even a compact flash memory card included. That is quite an expense part. The kit would have still been a good value without the memory chip. Now it is on to construction.

Mike | Aug. 18, 2018

An amazing little machine (though don't expect handholding)

For Raspberry Pi Zero Serial Terminal for RC2014

Ordering and delivery was a dream - despatch was almost instantaneous, and arrived safely in Austria a few days later. I'd say this kit is not for the novice. You need to figure out quite a few component placements and values for yourself with the aid of the mostly comprehensive documentation on the RC2014 website, and definitely aren't walked through construction step by step. Figuring things out is part of the fun anyway, right?

That said, construction is not difficult due to the modular nature of the computer. Some boards are trickier than others and the backplane is an excellent exercise in soldering practice as it involves about 600 joints, but once it's done you have a beautiful little machine that drips with potential for fun Z80-mungous fun. I mean, it runs CP/M and you can play Zork on it. How cool is that?

It would be nice to have a proper addressable video card in order to play with graphics, but other than that pretty much everything you need is right here.

Daniel | Aug. 6, 2018

I wish to have a better documentation

The module is very simple to put together and work at the first time I plug I didn’t have a keyboard to test yet. I have order a pi zero from Amazon but is coming from China and after two week arrived

Daniel | July 20, 2018

Best Buy

For B-Grade RC2014 PCB selection

Yes , this Grade B pcb is the Best Buy if you want to learn more about 8 bits computer because you have to find your self what is wrong , where is the mistake and for me in that way is much more easy to learn.

Duncan | July 16, 2018

Great Boards

Enjoyed building this boards, easier to use online documentation as it is in colour and a bit clearer. Otherwise perfect. Thanks

Andrew | July 9, 2018

Excellent - highly recommended

Excellent quality product, arrived very quickly and well packaged.
I would say my soldering skills were beginner level only but the assembly was pretty straight forward - and a great way to improve my skills.
My only criticism would be that I found some of the documentation a little confusing and incomplete in places - but in hindsight, part of the fun was probably figuring it out!
After assembly I got it running pretty quickly - a couple of soldering errors to correct and jumpers to configure correctly, no real dramas.
In the meantime I've been tinkering with CP/M, BBC Basic and some Z80 assembly, all good stuff...takes me back...

Milan | July 6, 2018

100% OK

Very nice kit! Quick delivery.
Not only nostalgic 8bit computer. I think it is de-facto standard and hobby platform already. :-)

Birko | June 15, 2018

Amazing product quality

For Z80 CPU v2.1 for Enhanced Bus RC2014

The quality of the PCB is amazing and it is very easy to solder. It is always fun to build such a nice part.

Birko | June 15, 2018

Amazing product quality

The quality of the PCB is amazing and it is very easy to solder. It is always fun to build such a nice part.

Birko | June 15, 2018

Amazing product quality

For RC2014 Dual Clock Module

The quality of the PCB is amazing and it is very easy to solder. It is always fun to build such a nice part.

Filip | June 11, 2018

512k ROM 512k RAM RomWBW module - A must have supplement

For RC2014 Mini - Single Board Z80 Computer Kit

I have procured a single board Z80 computer kit together with this 512k ROM 512k RAM RomWBW module. The kit is great, this supplementary module fits and functions perfectly, is easy to assemble, and arrived in a very sturdy package.

The documentation is more than clear enough to permit fluent integration of the base kit and this memory module.

If you are interested in a Z80 kit with more memory and more programs included, I advise this supplementary module and this company very much. Professionalism as it ought to be everywhere!

Filip | June 11, 2018

Single Board Z80 Computer Kit - Great computer kit

I have procured a single board Z80 computer kit. The kit is great, functions perfectly, is easy to assemble, and arrived in a very sturdy package.

If you are interested in a Z80 kit, I advise this kit/company very much. Professionalism as it ought to be everywhere!

Vitaliy | June 5, 2018

Very good extensible home computer circuit.

For Backplane 5 for RC2014 - Z80 Homebrew Computer

I bought the RС2014 Pro, which was assembled by me in three days. I used Aiyma T12 Digital Soldering Iron Station + T12-K Tip, wired solder 0.7 mm with 63% tin and 37% lead and 223 flux. There were wery happy days. But start was wery poorly, in all configurations! I check my work many times. In the end, I had to replace the 47 uF capacitor in the reset circuit in the dual clock board by 1 uF and the computer begin work perfectly. Perfectly works both in the basic configuration (SBC CP/M) and with the romWBW card. I am very glad! Thanks to the creators and everyone who helps the beginners in the assembly and configuration!
For those who want to remember the past and learn something new!

Colin | May 31, 2018

Works GREAT

Works GREAT
Good Design
Well labeled
High quality PC board with a great solder mask makes it easy to solder on the connectors and other components

Thank-You

R W | April 30, 2018

Excellent module for RC2014 providing choice with RomWBW

I bought this module to give me more choice of CP/M builds on RC2014, allowing use of RomWBW which apart from providing ROM & RAM disk, has support for various disk and CF card add-ons and gives a choice of CP/M 2.2 and Z-System (ZSDOS 1.1).

The usenet group RC2014 is very supportive to newbies with build and debugging advice (not that that is always required). Spencer Owen (RC2014) and Wayne Warthen (RomWBW) are very supportive of their user-base.

I am not an expert, yet managed to build and run without problems, with each card my soldering gets better.

Byron | April 15, 2018

A great computer kit

Great service from Tindie. Arrived on time and as expected. Clear instructions, was a fun project to put together. I'm still adding to it now. Great educational experience. Would recommend to anyone interested in building their own computer kit.

Florian | March 5, 2018

No problems at all

Everything works as expected. One day of soldering fun (at a leisurely pace, I have to admit) and it started up at the first try with an FTDI cable and PuTTY as terminal. Real Retro-fun. Now I have to figure out, what to do next with it...
Really cool kit, Spencer!

Verl | March 2, 2018

RC2014 computer build journal

I like this kit. I like the design. Good quality pcbs & components. Good packaging.
Thank you, Spencer!

Terry | Jan. 28, 2018

Great value

For SIO/2 Dual Serial Module for RC2014

Another great item. Fast and affordable shipping plus great quality components make this a wonderful experience. I normally don't deal with GB for kits and parts but this vendor is excellent. I will be ordering more from Tindie/RC2014 again in the future.

Damien | Jan. 26, 2018

Awesome

I got this for my girl friend as a first computer build digital electronics experience. It is wonderful kit. She has just got the clock module finished. The backplane is what she started with and by the time she was through the first 200 or so connections was soldering like a boss. In the documentation all I would have changed would be to say something about putting the sockets in with the notches facing the screen printing orientation and maybe a little (+) on the led screen printing on the backplane. Neither of these caused problems though and so far the whole thing is going great. Would definitely recommend !

Thierry | Jan. 24, 2018

Super Cool Education Tool