Stephen C Cousins

3,397 orders since Sep 20, 2018

Stowmarket, Suffolk, United Kingdom

Ships from United Kingdom.

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Overall Rating:

Review Breakdown

Average Ratings

Product: (4.97)

Documentation: (4.90)

Shipping: (4.91)

Communication: (4.92)

All Reviews

Nick | Jan. 28, 2022

Excellent kit

For SC114 Z80 Motherboard Kit for RC2014/RCBus-40pin

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.

Duncan | Jan. 12, 2022

Very functional kit, easy to assemble, great documentation

For SC131 Pocket-sized Z180 RomWBW CP/M computer kit

5 stars for everything. The item was with me in under 48 hours from ordering before Christmas, I doubt it could have got to me any quicker so top marks for shipping speed. The product itself contains a number of different boot up options; the built in ROM is loaded with various languages and operating systems. The documentation is exemplary - at each stage, red outlines are shown on a picture of the board so there can be no mix-ups with components. A visual Bill Of Materials is also a great help. Everything went together well, the "test as you go" advice using the LED indicators was very helpful and gave confidence during the build. In total it took about 1.5-2.0 hours to make the kit which worked right first time. I'm delighted with it.

Joseph | Jan. 11, 2022

Excellent small CP/M computer

For SC131 Pocket-sized Z180 RomWBW CP/M computer kit

I simply could not be happier with this kit. All components were provided, as well as excellent assembly instructions. If you are looking for a simple, attractive, cp/m all-in-one kit, this is a great choice. Thanks!

Jonathan | Jan. 4, 2022

Fantastic Kit

For SC131 Pocket-sized Z180 RomWBW CP/M computer kit

This is a fantastic computer kit. It was simple to assemble (requiring soldering - but only of large through-hole components). The circuit board is well marked. The instructions are crystal clear and guide you through each step in the build process. All required parts were included in the kit. The case is a great addition and adds to the overall "polish" of the kit.

Overall, I am very satisfied with the quality of the kit and would recommend this to anyone who is interested in building a peppy little z180 computer.

Joseph | Dec. 3, 2021

Buy this, build this, have all the fun.

For SC131 Pocket-sized Z180 RomWBW CP/M computer kit

First off, the quality and attention to detail of this kit is excellent. The board is of excellent quality, and all the components are carefully packaged. The inventory of parts was perfect- Nothing missing or damaged. The illustrated color sheet included in the package makes an initial inventory of the parts a snap.

Assembling the kit was a pleasure. I took my time and double checked each detail as I went along. Though I have an electronics background and experience building many kits, I followed the assembly guide step by step. The clearly silkscreened board made component placement a breeze. Everything worked perfectly on first power-up.

This is an excellent kit that's fun to assemble. The final product is a tiny, fast and genuinely useful computer.

I have to say, the inclusion of an enclosure on this project helps to make this little jewel a lot more useful. Nearly all the small computer kits here on Tindie and elsewhere could take a lesson here. I'm not afraid to take this with me and share it with friends- I just toss it in a little zip case, and away we go. Having it in a small, sturdy and attractive case really adds shine to this little gem!

That being said, this is not a kit for a beginner. The excellent instructions have everything the experienced tech needs to build this little treasure with no trouble. But the close fit of the components requires at least intermediate soldering skills and careful attention to detail, and the PLCC socket can be a little tricky. The instructions, though very well written, lack a lot of information that would help the beginner- Static precautions, for instance, are never mentioned. Hints like bending the leads inward on the DIP components to help put them in their sockets, and more detail on hooking up the FTDI adapter would really help the newer kit builder.

All in all, I highly recommend this excellent kit. You'll end up with a fast little CP/M (or Z-System or FORTH or ROM BASIC) computer that you can slip in a backpack and enjoy anywhere!

Megan | Oct. 19, 2021

I'm quite pleased!

For SC131 Pocket-sized Z180 RomWBW CP/M computer kit

The kit came to the US in a little under 3 weeks, for COVID times I'm quite happy with that. The notification that it was sent reached me the day after I put in the order. Clearly, Mr. Cousins is on top of his game.

The kit itself couldn't have been easier to put together. I spent about 3 hours on it including a couple of breaks. The instructions are very good, but if you've got even the most basic assembly skills you'll find that it's obvious which parts go where and in what order. I found that the SD card adaptor mounts with less fussing if one takes the pin headers out of it and replaces them with regular straight headers rather than straightening and shortening the pins it comes with. The whole kit is clearly high quality and extremely well designed and thought through. And even though I ignored the instructions until the very end, it booted right up. It's really not a hard build, rather it's a nice way to spend an afternoon after you've gotten your responsibilities out of the way.

I'm looking forward to getting to grips with a CP/M machine, and seeing what kind of fun I can have with it. Thank you for making such a graceful and inexpensive little kit to tinker with.

Claudiu | Oct. 10, 2021

Excellent retro computing starter kit

For SC130 RomWBW CP/M Computer Kit for RCBus-40pin

Simple and clear documentation on how to assemble the kit and use it. Excellent starter kit for showing to young ones how a computer works.

Adrian | Oct. 1, 2021

A great assortment of PCBs to extend your RC2014

For Pick'n'Mix Boards for RCBus/RC2014

I'm really happy with the high quality of the PCBs and I was impressed by how quickly they arrived. The documentation is very extensive, even including fault good finding instructions. So I'm really looking forward to populating all the boards when my tube of 74HCT688s arrive, and to learn some more Z80 assembly!

Aleksandr Vladimirovich | Sept. 15, 2021

Nice kit.

For SC129 Digital I/O Kit for RC2014/RCBus-40pin+

Great kit! Packaged great. Сomprehensive documentation. Easy to assemble. The seller is a sociable and reliable person.

Aleksandr Vladimirovich | Sept. 15, 2021

Nice kit.

For SC103 Z80 PIO Module Kit for RC2014/RCBus-40pin+

Great kit! Packaged great. Сomprehensive documentation. Easy to assemble. The seller is a sociable and reliable person.

Huw | Aug. 30, 2021

Fantasic kit, just buy one!

For SC131 Pocket-sized Z180 RomWBW CP/M computer kit

I haven't built it yet - it's in the to be built queue. Kit was well packaged and delivered when I expected. Hopefully it will get built next weekend (not much to do during lockdown other than gardening so this will be a priority :-))

Stuart | Aug. 29, 2021

A very nice, neat and powerful CP/M computer project!

For SC131 Pocket-sized Z180 RomWBW CP/M computer kit

Well, first of all I ordered the SC131 from Germany on Wednesday 11 August 2021 and it arrived on Saturday the 21st August, so just 10 days, which was a lot sooner than I expected considering the Brexit supply issues that I kept hearing about, where I had to pay about €17= in customs duty, etc., so not too bad!

This is a very well thought out and neat design, it took me several hours to solder using a fine soldering iron, I took my time to do it neatly, I then cleaned the PCP with PCB cleaner, and examined the circuit board, for dry joints, shorts, etc. with no issues found. I then carried out the initial recommended tests before inserting the IC's, again without any issues.

After inserting the IC's, I thought I would test it using a terminal emulation program, but something wasn't right, as I was not getting the boot screen, and the reset and status LED's were flashing, so I then went though the trouble shooting guide, but again I couldn't find any issues, so I inspected the board again, again I could find anything obviously wrong.

However, the supplied USB cable is a bit short, so I had used a slightly longer lead from another project that apart from being slightly longer, appeared to be exactly the same, so I thought well let try using the supplied USB cable just in case, and sure enough, the unit immediately displayed it test and boot screen, so I then installed the PCB in its very neat case without too much difficulty and tested the unit again without any problems.

I am very impressed with this very neat and interesting project together with its website documentation, etc. and to now be an owner of such a powerful CP/M machine. Many thanks for all of the work required in making such a nice project available to the hobby and retro computer community!

Kevin | Aug. 28, 2021

Great Kit, Great Instructions

For SC130 RomWBW CP/M Computer Kit for RCBus-40pin

Kit arrived in the US after about a week. Board is very well labeled, and laid out for easy assembly. Very complete documentation, including tests for every step. I did not read the directions, and got *extremely* lucky I placed the z180 socket rotated 180 degrees (90 might have been really bad). I socketed the z180 in the correct orientation and it worked - so if you buy this kit and think you know what you are doing, you better pay attention to that at the very least.

If you aren't skilled at reading color codes on resistors, definitely use a multimeter on r10 and r13 to determine which is which.

I had a lot of fun putting this kit together. So much so I will probably buy the s126 kit rather than a rc2014 RTC module, and gift this one to a friend.

Andrew | July 31, 2021

Amazing project!

For SC126 Z180 SBC/Motherboard Kit for RCBus

I wanted to build a RC2014 or compatible kit for some time, the second I saw this I knew it was the one to get. Instructions were well written, there was no confusion in what part went where, and the only issues I came across were caused by myself during assembly. I'm glad that this has been my first CP/M machine, I've been having a blast expanding it, I have no regrets with my purchase, and I wouldn't be afraid to recommend this to anyone else!

Christian | July 28, 2021

Easy assembly, quick start for the RC2014 ecosystem.

For SC114 Z80 Motherboard Kit for RC2014/RCBus-40pin

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

For SC114 Z80 Motherboard Kit for RC2014/RCBus-40pin

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.

Agustin | July 25, 2021

Excellent kit, simple and very useful.

For SC129 Digital I/O Kit for RC2014/RCBus-40pin+

Very good quality of the components, I assembled it and it worked at first without problems. the documentation on Stephen's page is excellent.

David | July 11, 2021

Quite happy with it.

For SC140 Z180 Processor Card Kit for Z50Bus

I'm a bit blown away by how capable this is out-of-box. I am using kits like this one to build my own tools, and I don't really expect a tremendous amount of utility from the included operating systems on most of them, but I can already tell that the included software is going to prove invaluable in learning how to develop for 8-bit systems.

It gives you plenty of execution environments to get started with; including Basic, Forth, CP/M and it even comes with a nice game.

I really like how compact this board is.

The documentation is robust and complete. Kit is neatly packed and and well labelled.

Merchant was able to answer technical questions I had about the peripheral ecosystem. Merchant's blog is a tremendously rich source of knowledge. Highly recommended.

Robert | July 3, 2021

Great kit, easy build

For SC114 Z80 Motherboard Kit for RC2014/RCBus-40pin

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

Mogens | June 30, 2021

SC137 Board: Really good I2C solution

For Pick'n'Mix Boards for RCBus/RC2014

I got the SC137 I2C bus master board, and I am using it in an SC114 Z80 computer with CP/M 2.2, and software drivers written in Turbo Pascal 3.
Perfect for running a small LCD, or any other I2C devices and sensors you might like to add to your RC2014 system.
High quality PCB, easy to mount and solder components, quick shipping, good packaging.
Highly recommended!

Craig | June 23, 2021

Excellent !

For SC202 Boards for a flexible Z80 computer

Great set of boards. Well designed and amazing documentation. My system is now up and running Thanks !!!

Marian | June 20, 2021

very good, works great!

For SC114 Z80 Motherboard Kit for RC2014/RCBus-40pin

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)

Egor | June 16, 2021

Great kit for beginners!

For SC130 RomWBW CP/M Computer Kit for RCBus-40pin

I was eager to try something of retro-/homebrew flavour, but: 1) I have no experience in this field, 2) I have no soldering skills (nothing aside audio jacks and .1" connection pins), 3) I have little budget to spend.
So, SC130 became my project of choice:
1) It's affordable. One of the most affordable kits on the market, I would say.
2) It's easy to build. The overall design is simple, the layout is clear, the online build instruction is very straightforward. There are not many small descrete components, no SMDs, most soldering points are for DIP sockets and pin headers - it's hard to get in wrong. I was totally new to resistor color encoding and nearly mistook one for another but noticed it in time. It took about two hours from uboxing to fully working board - with no skills and cheapest soldering kit from Ali.
3) It's flexible. You have 2 UARTs and SPI from the start - to connect SD storage and communicate. And RC2014 bus for huge variety of expansions.
4) It's powerful. 512K of RAM&ROM, fast Z180 CPU, fast UARTs, memory banking, RC2014&ROMWBW compatibility - you won't be limited in your projects.
And there is actually a whole "model line" of RC2014 bus boards from SCC - 3 models, you can easily choose the most suitable in terms of affordability, fuctionality and complexity. Well done!

Patrick | June 13, 2021

Nice kit! Fast shipping!

For SC130 RomWBW CP/M Computer Kit for RCBus-40pin

Very happy with my purchase. Kit works very well. Shipping to Canada was very fast! Highly recommend!

James | May 24, 2021

A wonderful little kit

For SC131 Pocket-sized Z180 RomWBW CP/M computer kit

I can't recommend this kit highly enough. Brillianly designed, packaged, documented and excellent value for money. Took me 3 hours to put together, but only because I havn't built anything like this for 30+ years. Enjoyed every minute of it and haven't stopped playing with CP/M apps over the weekend. Would definitely buy other kits from Stephen Cousins.

Ed | May 14, 2021

Great lockdown present for self!

For SC126 Z180 SBC/Motherboard Kit for RCBus

Quality PCB, no missing components and even a choice of connectors provided.

Worked first time, online documentation is very good.

Delivered quickly.

What more can I say? If you need a CP/M machine in your life and know which end of a soldering iron gets hot, then this is probably the one you need!

Niels | April 27, 2021

Great Product!

For SC110 RCBus-40pin+ Serial and Timer Kit for RC2014

This kit is quite easy to assemble and very well documented. I use it to connect all sorts of serial devices to the second port of the module, including the RC2014 WiFi module. Documentation is very well done and the quality of the PCB and the parts is very good. I can strongly recommend this module to anyone looking for a SIO/2 module with software configurable clock speeds.

Vasily | April 18, 2021

Good quality and fast delivery

For Components for RCBus, RC2014 and Z50Bus

Would be nice to mark flash chips with their content - as seen on the image on the product page.

If you live in EU, take your chance to get tax-free items before 1-July when the 22 EUR duty free limit will be eliminated.

Edward, Chi Yuen | April 16, 2021

Briefly review for SC108 Z80 Processor Module Kit for RC2014

For SC108 Z80 Processor Kit for RC2014/RCBus-40pin+

I like this kit and the received product's quality is very GOOD!!! I will re-order the other RC2014 kit from this excellent supplier again if I find my needs later. Thank you!

Kurt | April 13, 2021

SC406

For SC406 I2C Temperature Sensor Kit (TC74)

I have bought some kits from the SC400 series and can write that the boards are very good.
This module works and my LCD (also I2C with SC407) shows the ambient temperature of my workplace.
Thanks for the good series. I have a lot of fun with this.
Kurt

Vasily | April 11, 2021

Very good value for money

For Pick'n'Mix Boards for RCBus/RC2014

Good quality PCBs, detailed documentation including BOM, volume pricing starts with second PCB.

Unfortunately, from this year I have to pay extra 24% from UK purchases, so it becomes too expensive to buy full kits. Getting bare PCBs and collecting missing components from Mouser/Digikey/Arrow (all have free shipping on orders over 50 EUR and they are delivered on about 3rd day after purchase) is now a significantly cheaper option.

And if you live in EU, take your last chance to get tax-free boards before 1-July when the 22 EUR duty free limit will be eliminated.

Richard | April 6, 2021

No complaints whatsoever

For SC126 Z180 SBC/Motherboard Kit for RCBus

The sc126 motherboard is a great kit. All the parts clearly identified and I had it up and running within a few hours. Lots of great CP/M options to work with and the 2 on board Monitors work very well and are very useful with built-in help information. I have constructed a parallel ports interface for my own projects which works now and I still have to check out the many options and projects available which work using the I2C ports supplied as extras. Lots of fun so far!
Thanks to Mr S.C.!

Bruce | March 27, 2021

SC126 Z180 SBC / Motherboard Kit.

For SC126 Z180 SBC/Motherboard Kit for RCBus

Great kit!
It did take some time to locate all of the documentation to do the following:
- Locate driver for serial port FT232R USB UART FTDI at nematicslab-dot-com
- Create a C: drive for an 8 megabyte CP/M partition

Performance
Disk speed is very good, as is the 18MHz Z180.
Lots of disk space to work on assembler projects

Future Extensions
OS
I plan to create MP/M 1.1 & MP/M 2.1 OS allowing up to 7 consoles/users to demonstrate pre-emptive, real-time, multi-tasking conditions found in 1980s systems such as the Altos 580.
Hardware
The expansion bus will be used to add various floppy & SMD drives as well as serial, parallel and general purpose interfaces.

Summary

Well designed & executed Z180 kit with excellent performance and room to expand with additional hardware & software applications.

Douglas | March 26, 2021

sc203 is just the right amount of computer

For SC203 RCBus Modular Z180 Computer Kit

The kit was complete and easy to build, everything fired-up perfectly the first time. Since I was developing a "console-only" CP/M (CP/NET) solution, this minimal computer was perfect.

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