RC2014 Micro Shrinks Z80 Vintage Computing to a Pocket-Friendly Form Factor
The height of 1980s microcomputing technology, crammed into a pocket-size single-board computer soldering kit, the RC2014 Micro is out now.
RFC2795 has launched a new, more compact variant of its popular RC2014 single-board microcomputer — based, in a move designed to appeal to vintage computing enthusiasts, on the venerable eight-bit Z80 processor: the RC2014 Micro.
Where the original RC2014 was a modular, multi-board design inspired by the Altair and other S100-bus systems of yesteryear, the RC2014 Micro is a single-board computer designed to take up as little room as possible. Despite only taking up as much room as a single module for the RC2014, the Micro variant includes a surprising amount of technology which would have been the envy of any hacker in the 1980s: A 7.3278MHz Z80 CPU, 32kB of RAM, an 8kB ROM loaded with Microsoft BASIC and the Small Computer Monitor (SCM) monitor ROM, and backplane support for use many RC2014-compatible modules.
"The original RC2014 has been very popular with the homebrew computer crowd, but the modular nature of it does dictate a lot of soldering, an inefficient use of logic chips and a relatively large footprint," says RFC2795's Spencer Owen of his decision to design the new, more compact variant in a market not exactly as large as for something like the Raspberry Pi. "The RC2014 Micro requires much less soldering, has 4 less ICs and takes up the space of a standard RC2014 module"
"The RC2014 Micro, RC2014 Mini, the Full Monty Modular RC2014 and the individual modules will effectively give you the same computer at the end of the day. If you simply want to build an RC2014 as easily as possible, plug it in and start programming in BASIC or Z80 assembly, then the Micro would certainly be an excellent way to go."
The standard kit, which costs $77, comes with all the components required to get started; an optional $2 upgrade kit adds sockets for the ICs, eight-bank ROM selection jumpers, and a 40-pin expansion connector. Attendees at the Open Source Hardware User Group's OSHCamp 2019 late last month received RC2014 Micro kits as a gift, as part of an assembly workshop which followed Owen's presentation "What's So Good About The Z80 CPU Anyway?"
The RC2014 Micro, along with its Mini and full-size variants, is available now on the RFC2795 Tindie store.