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

Jay | April 19, 2020

Great kit

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

This is a great kit. It was easy to assemble and works very well. I bought the SC126 earlier but bought this one because it is very portable. I didn't use the other as much because it was a large open circuit board. I can take this from room to room with my laptop. I wish the USB connector was also in the case, but that's a minor complaint for a great kit.

Theo | April 18, 2020

Little black dressed Z180

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

Very nice build, exciting to do but not difficult. Worked first time of course, as I come to expect from SCC designs. I chose the case design in black, and it looks very smart, with a black USB cable coming out of it. And this little Z180 board is very functional out of the box, lots of software already available in ROM and more easy to add via the SD card. Good quality Z180 kit, very detailed instructions, the pretty case is a tight fit of course but that is actually a strong selling point.
I copied the suggestions of Phillip Stevens below to hide an FTDI adapter inside the box, and it works as described. Only thing I did different is that a removed the black plastic spacers at the bottom of those header pins after straightening and shortening them to make an even easier fit.

David | April 17, 2020

Great little kit

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

Clearest and most comprehensive set of instructions I've seen yet on anything bought from tindie. Everything from component identification to assembly is very clear and precise.

Kit was straightforward to assemble and worked first time.

Anatoly | April 14, 2020

A Great kit for a Z180 system with expansion capability

For SC203 RCBus Modular Z180 Computer Kit

After building a number of RC2014 Z80 systems and boards, I saw this system kit and decided to go for a Z180 system. As usual the documentation was very good with all the parts included and easy to follow instructions for both assembly and setup. The Z180 board and 512k Memory boards were very straightforward to assemble and solder. The 6 slot backplane took a bit longer because of the dual row 2x40 connectors. The 3 slot backplane board is a nice extra. It is supplied as a bare board, but I had enough components around to build it up as well. As usual, I inspected all solder joints and cleaned the boards with IPA. After installing all the IC's, I was ready to apply first power. The system come up with no issues. The firmware included both the SCM or WBW ROM. It's nice to have either to choose from with just a jumper option. Overall I'm very pleased with the SC203 System. A nice addition the to RC2014 family.

Bruce | April 13, 2020

An affordable quality Z180 project for beginners or anyone

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

The kit is a very well documented, easy to build system. It is a sharp looking quality product that can be built in a few hours. It provide endless possibilities for retro-computing experimentation with CP/M, ZPM, FreeRTOS, Forth, Basic or any other system hat can be loaded from storage (micro-SD card). I love how small and portable it is. This is my first non-simulated CP/M system and look forward to learning on real hardware and firmware. I see my oscilloscope and logic analyzer getting exercised. The documentation and friendly ecosystem makes all the difference.

Stephen | April 12, 2020

Nice mini system from Mr Cousins.

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

It makes an excellent mobile CP/M system when connected to a light laptop, netbook, etc which acts as a serial terminal.. The SC131 is small enough to fit in a pocket and can use a single USB cable to provide power and serial connections. Non-volatile storage is limited to a single micro SD card (not supplied).

It's nice to have everything you need to produce a cased system in a single kit.

The kit is easy to build, although a little more fiddly than its bigger cousins such as SC126 and SC131, but should not be beyond anyone who can tie their own shoelaces.

The optional TTL to USB serial adapter delivered with my system was DOA, but I used an Adafruit USB to TTL Serial Cable (Product ID 954) which I already owned instead. In retrospect I would use this solution instead of the external adapter board which is offered with the kit.

I highly recommend this system for those who don't feel they need the possibility of expansion and are content with the slower speed of an SD card.

Alexander | April 12, 2020

Good z80 sbc!

For SC126 Z180 SBC/Motherboard Kit for RCBus

Fair price especially for full kir, works flawless, very good extension capabilities.
Sent fast and well packed.
Like it a lot 👍 and recommend if you want to make fast / extensive and useable cpm sbc.

Phillip | April 4, 2020

Ideal portable z80/z180 development platform, with CP/M.

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

I was lucky enough to get one of the early systems, and documented my build here.
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/retro-comp/T-Z6CfPsFBM/gxidXENQAwAJ

Whilst it is a small neat package, I thought I could make the SC131 a bit neater and "robust" by a bit of tweaking.
Essentially, I put the FTDI adapter inside the case, so that all that leaves the case is a USB pigtail with a male A Connector.
Then nothing at all can go wrong. It can plug directly into any computer. And there's nothing to break off.

First, a saw cut through the back panel to let the USB cable out.
I thought putting the connector inside and using a cable relief (cable tie) was the best option available.
I've done another inside photo with the cable running down the edge of the case the way I prefer.
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/retro-comp/T-Z6CfPsFBM/qPlGWR4EBgAJ

The final result is a "Customline" edition of the SC131.

Karl Albert | April 2, 2020

Great Product for beginners

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

As usual from this seller, a brilliant product.
This is not a product for someone wanting a system to expand and modify, it is very limited in that way.
But it gives the full CP/M experience and is one of a few kits which is perfect for beginners.

Victor Valerievich | April 2, 2020

Great!

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

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

Richard | April 2, 2020

Great Kit

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

Really pleased with this little kit. I don’t think many people will have problems with it.

The only mod I think I will carry out is to add an RTC.

Glad there are people around who supply good quality kits like this.

Gerd | March 22, 2020

Very good job!

For SC126 Z180 SBC/Motherboard Kit for RCBus

Built as described ... well, something like that. Switched on - yes, I had to think about setting the jumpers and you should do that beforehand - but it works.
Hats off, because there is a lot of work in development, documentation and so on - and criticizing is quick. Very good job - what I can say about everything I bought here.
Gerd

Stephen | March 17, 2020

Very happy 😃

For SC128 Modular Backplane Kit for Z50Bus

Excellent quality kit that went together with no problems. Highly recommended................................................................

Stephen | March 15, 2020

Great computer kit, highly recommended.

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

Product: Perfect for an easy-to-implement CP/M system. Single board design minimises the amount of soldering. High performance (by CP/M standards). Not so good if you need maximum expansion possibilities, but two expansion slots still provides a reasonable amount of leeway.
RomWBW is included which means bringing up a new system is very simple.

Shipping: Shipped the next day, small package sent through normal mail. Took about a week to reach Switzerland.

Documentation: The best!

Communications: First class. Steve Cousins helped me sort out several problems via his website email.

Vincenzo | March 13, 2020

Top-quality kit at an unbeatable price

For SC126 Z180 SBC/Motherboard Kit for RCBus

The SC126 is one of the best amateur retrobrew kits available today. You get the full monty pack: a very high-quality kit, excellent documentation and build instructions (available from the constructor's website), and a quite powerful and extensible Z180 machine, which can run CP/M and FUZIX. And all of that at a very reasonable price, compared with all the other RC2014-compatible kits. Stephen is a very kind person, and replies to emails promptly.

This is probably not a kit for total beginners at soldering, since there are a few hundreds through-hole pins to solder, but it's definitely a very good option as your second project.

Matthew | March 9, 2020

Excellent Boards.

For SC202 Boards for a flexible Z80 computer

Easy to understand and easy to read. Good Durable builds for each board. Going to be a blast to build. Thank You!

George | March 4, 2020

A very excellent microcomputer

For SC126 Z180 SBC/Motherboard Kit for RCBus

Everything was working perfect. The documentation was very detailed.
It reminds me my first single board microcomputer which was build around the SC/MP chip in 1980's
Thank you Steve!

Bill | March 3, 2020

SC130 RomWBW CP/M Computer Kit for RC2014

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

This amazing kit is a creation of Stephen Cousins.

In my opinion, the best that's available in it's class. It has a micro SD card for storage, enabling the user to read & write files to & from it.
You can run programs directly from the card with no issue.

The PCB has a small footprint. The kit is excellent for beginner (with supervision), to intermediate soldering ability. All components are through hole.
There is excellent documentation for parts checking included with the kit, with excellent documentation online.

Lastly, it is excellent value for money. Mine worked first go & I've been enjoying it's use ever since.

I highly recommend this kit.

Cheers & great job Stephen !!!

Bill

Francis | Feb. 25, 2020

Wonderful kit, documentation and support

For SC126 Z180 SBC/Motherboard Kit for RCBus

This kit quality level is the highest you can imagine from a hobbyst. Documentation for assembling is precise and exhaustive, and Stephen is always willing to help.

To put this respectable and powerful Z-80 derivative computer in a nice case, I replaced the power LED and button and the 8 status LEDs by header pins so I could have them on the front panel linked by simple Dupont wires. This is something you could decide before assembling if you want to avoid unsoldering them afterwards, especially the power button. On the other hand, this kit is so inexpensive that you could also consider buying another one!

Be sure to check the tests Stephen has put in his assembling instructions. There are no difficult solder points, but they are quite numberous so patience and calm will be your allies rather than excitation and speed, which will come when you first power the computer on.

This kit gives you a complete and powerful retro computer with a lot of possibilities and peripherals. Be sure to check Stephen site for his design tutorial series, and the LCD and I2C code examples that fit this computer perfectly and open perspectives.

The 2 sockets could be a limit for you, although the SC126 is already fitted with what is generally using 4 or 5 sockets on a classical RC2014 computer. Should you need more sockets, Stephen has a choice of backplane boards which can expand the SC126.

I choosed Spencer Owen's PiZero Terminal (look for this on Tindie)to have a keyboard and an HDMI screen, but this kit can talk to any computer terminal software right off the box.

Probably my best buy since I started to learn electronics 4 years ago.

Daria | Feb. 15, 2020

Wow! ... Fantastic product and great documentation!

For SC126 Z180 SBC/Motherboard Kit for RCBus

I was not let down at all by this economical yet quality computer kit. It's very functional, easy to build and works a treat. Love the balance of features and the low cost! I ... love this little machine and it's got fantastic documentation behind it to not only help you assemble and troubleshoot, but to operate and expand. I would _highly_ recommend this computer kit for anyone interested in getting started in the retrobrew scene.

Thanks for making this and for giving us such a fantastic kit Steve!! <3

Cheers~

Stephen | Feb. 14, 2020

All you need for small system

For SC116 3-slot Backplane Kit for RC2014

I used it with Karl Brokstad's Z180 Micro Kit to produce a fully functioning system with one spare slot. I'll eventually fill that slot with a digital I/O board to get some switches and winky lights.

Not much else to say: it's just a cut down version of the other backplanes, and just as good.

James | Feb. 7, 2020

SC103 is an excellent Z80 PIO Card

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

The address decoding is tight - no issues with overlapping io addresses. The ability to configure IM2 behavior is greatly appreciated. The documentation leaves no gaps for building and configuring the card. The example is so generous in detail, pictures and source code as to make other provider support pale in comparison.

Colin | Feb. 7, 2020

A quality and professionally produced kit.

For SC126 Z180 SBC/Motherboard Kit for RCBus

This kit is extremely comprehensive in every detail, components, peripheral options, hardware and pcb all of excellent quality and complete.
The build instructions and other related documents are professionally written and very easy to follow giving a fully operational CP/M - z180 computer.
Coupled with the well supported ROMWBW firmware the result is a powerful combination.
This has been for me a very satisfying build project and enjoyable experience.

James | Feb. 7, 2020

Both style boards were perfect...

For Modular Backplane Boards for RC2014

They are complete with all the configuration options needed to utilize the USR pins on the back plane. The build was trivial in complexity. The documentation leaves no gaps for building and configuring the card.

Timothy | Feb. 7, 2020

A well thought out, fun kit.

For SC126 Z180 SBC/Motherboard Kit for RCBus

I bought this as hands-on introduction to Z80-ish programming, CP/M, and peripheral integration. It was also a way to play with Wordstar and other programs I dimly remember. With serial ports, I2C and SPI SD card interfaces pulled out to headers, I think the system has more than enough expansion slots to add other functions. I made Rotten Snow's "Storage Module using Compact Flash (for RC2014)" -- also available on Tindie -- for CF expansion and it works fine with this motherboard.

The board is a nice 2-layer PCB with white silk-screening for parts placement. I really like that the chip and component positions are also appear on the bottom silkscreen. The bottom print also includes the pin-outs for the RAM and flash chips as well as the assorted serial I/O headers. Those a nice touches. Assembly was straightforward and the kit included a number of straight and angled headers, leaving some build options available. The parts-count was spot-on and you'll end up with some spare headers.

Getting the board running was relatively pain-free. Setting the configuration jumpers caused the most concern and needed a number of passes through the manuals. That's just the trade-off between simplicity and flexibility. I think Stephen opted to leaving options open for users. The system is pretty well documented and it's easy to find the schematic, board layout, various manuals and software sources. There is also a user forum for this. I'm slowly working my way through the ROM options and monitors...

Nice job, Stephen!

David | Jan. 24, 2020

A Great Design, Well Documented, and Simple to Build

For SC126 Z180 SBC/Motherboard Kit for RCBus

First impressions mean a lot. What hit me first about this kit is how compact the design is: at overall dimension of 4" X 6.5" (101 mm X 165 mm), this system is quite compact. It took a couple of days on and off for me to build, but the documentation is clearly written (especially the assembly guide, troubleshooting guide, and user's guide), so making the checks necessary to ensure a successful build before power up are duck soup for anyone who knows how to use a multimeter.

The soldering is somewhat fine work, so having an iron with a finer tip and good heat transfer is imperative. With my aging eyes, use of a stand magnifier was very helpful, but someone with normal vision will find no challenges so long as they are familiar with good soldering and electronic construction techniques. One strong suggestion: READ and FOLLOW the assembly guide. This is the best path forward to a successful build.

There are provisions on the board for such niceties as a remote reset switch, and multiple paths for supplying system power (5 VDC at less than 0.1 a), obvious signs the designer anticipated people building these systems into cases. I definitely have plans for mine.

The included firmware makes this machine truly versatile, able to boot straight to BASIC, FORTH, Z-System, CP/M 2.2, the system Monitor, or from systems stored on any available bootable media (microSD card in my case).

CP/M is an 8-bit system that usually only has 64K of RAM available, and most CP/M systems back in the day ran around 2 to 6 MHZ, with the latter being rare. . This design, with its Z180 CPU, is capable of operating all day long from a USB battery pack (I'm using a 10,000 ma-hour pack presently) at 18.432 MHz, so very fast, and very powerful for an 8-bit system.

Be aware that a serial terminal is needed to communicate with this system. The optional serial adapters sold for the board are well worth having, and will make interfacing this system to serial terminal emulator software like minicom or TeraTerm a simple matter.

My kit took about two weeks to get to the Gulf Coast of the United States from the UK, probably because of heightened security associated with current events (U.S. Customs probably suspected it was a noo-kyoo-lur dee-vice...), but most folks get their kits a bit sooner. It was packed well, and arrived with all components in good condition, ready to go.

There is a strong but small community on the net supporting this system and doing interesting things with it. I hope to see you there!

Oscar | Jan. 17, 2020

Fantastic kit!

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

I really enjoyed putting this together. It is simple, you can't really go wrong. But I did go wrong anyway (I soldered stuff on the wrong side of the PCB) and Steve sent me a replacement PCB within a day. But back to the kit itself, it is pretty much the ultimate CP/M computer in terms of performance. It's even plenty fast enough to run the unix-like fuzix, with multi-user multitasking. thanks to the RC2014-style expansion connectors, there's plenty of scope for adding more hardware fun.
Great design, I don't think you'll find a more attractive Z80/Z180 machine anywhere. If you have any interest in the Z80 or CP/M, this is the kit to get.
I did a more thorough review here: http://obsolescenceguaranteed.blogspot.com/2020/01/sc130-perfect-cpm-computer-kit-at-50.html

Mark | Dec. 30, 2019

Great kit - a lot of fun!

For SC126 Z180 SBC/Motherboard Kit for RCBus

The last time I built a kit was in my childhood (which was more than a few years ago) so I was a bit apprehensive. The instructions were remarkably clear. The circuit board very well laid out. The periodic tests instilled a lot of confidence. The best part? It arrived in the mail Friday evening, I sat down Saturday morning and by that evening I had a working cp/m machine right out of the 1980s! Everything worked exactly as advertised. Amazed that this cost as little as it does when compared to other z80 kits out there. Really an amazing value.

Wondering what others are doing for cases?

Stephen | Dec. 22, 2019

Straightforward, well designed, configurable.

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

Also easy to build and with excellent documentation.

Some stuff to make up 100 characters (stupid rule, by the way).

Craig | Dec. 16, 2019

I love it!

For SC126 Z180 SBC/Motherboard Kit for RCBus

I had my kit built in a few hours; within an hour of it being up it was running fuzix.
Thanks to Stephen Cousins for the well designed and documented machine, and to Christopher David Farrar for the write up:
How to create an sd card for booting fuzix on an sc126

In linux do the following steps:

Drop the two image files into a directory or on the desktop.
I chose desktop.

Bring up a bash command prompt.

Change to directoy where you have placed following files:

- c126-0.3.ide
- s32m.z80

enter commands:

sudo dd if=sc126-0.3.ide skip=2 of=/dev/sdb conv=notrunc,fdatasync status=progress

sudo fdisk /dev/sdb

Once in fdisk do the following steps:

- list partitions with p command
- delete any partitions with d command
- create new partition with n command
- specify partition 1 - default
- specify 2048 starting block - default
- specify +64mb or let rest of sd card be used
- change partition type with t command
- specify partition 1 - default
- specify partition type 7e
- write changes to disk and exit with w command

if you create a 64mb partition above instead of using rest of card, you can add
other partitions like a fat16 or fat32. The fuzix should ignore them.

Once back in bash do the following:

enter command:

sudo dd if=fs32m.z80 of=/dev/sdb1 conv=notrunc,fdatasync status=progress

You are finished!!!!! :D

Didier | Dec. 16, 2019

nice product

For SC112 Modular Backplane Kit for RC2014

Nice product, but the second sdcard is not working which make the board usuable alone
RC2014 is nice but seems to be mostly from UK

It's out of the question to buy a products from outside the European Union, with more taxes and more expensive shipping
it is time to have an EU alternative to UK products

some RC2014 boards are already overpriced more than 100€ for a rom/ram board is a rip off

Greg | Dec. 13, 2019

Probably the best retro-kit available

For SC126 Z180 SBC/Motherboard Kit for RCBus

I really like this kit. It is a very capable system on a single board. Less overall pins to solder than some other kits and has greater functionality. Other kits too closely follow the MITS 8800 paradigm: You get it together and you have no storage and limited I/O. The SC126 has mini SD Ram storage. Quality is very high, and the CPU provides integrated peripherals. If you are trying to decide which kit to assemble, look closely at this one.

Gary | Dec. 6, 2019

Amazing product, easy build, super value!

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

Very much enjoyed building this Z180 computer. The sturdy PCB is well laid out, approx 0.070 inches thick, and about 4x4 inches square. Build time was about 3 hours. It has a Meg of physical memory split evenly between RAM and ROM that the Z180 MMU maps into the Z80's logical space (64K). The clock is 18Mhz, so it is quite fast. The PCB has 2 expansion slots that are RC2014 compatible, so you can add RC2014 project boards or backplanes that are available on Tindie. It came with a USB virtual serial port, and an SDCard expansion peripheral that is used as a disk. The RomWBW software includes CPM, a full size floating point BASIC, a Tiny integer BASIC, Forth, and a small monitor so you can explore and play around with the Z180 registers, memory, and I/O The cost was very reasonable at $56USD which included shipping. I live in Atlanta and received the board in less than a week.

Ramon | Dec. 2, 2019

The best kit i have.

For SC126 Z180 SBC/Motherboard Kit for RCBus

Easy to solder (i am 50, and the "new" smd formats are dificult without magnifier, but this was really easy (1 hour and half aprox)

The board is really fast running Z80 code.

Now i want to port MPM to this board.

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