In about an hour I'm going to be taking to Twitch once more, kicking off a new project for the next few Tuesday evenings: assembling a limited-edition @rc2014 kit from a couple of years back. It's been staring accusingly at me from Goods Inward for far too long, so let's get it built!

That'll be at https://twitch.tv/baljemmett from around 2120 BST, and will definitely involve me asking chat to identify colours for me (#spoilers) so hopefully at least some of you will be there!

I've just released my first #game!!

#TMSnake for CP/M compatible #rc2014 computers with a #tms9918a video module and (optionally) a #AY89XX or #YM2149 sound module. It also optionally supports the #Tynemouth #joystick module.

https://megagumbo.itch.io/tmsnake

#snake
#gamedev
#retrogaming
#retorcomputing
#itchio

I made a thing … and it actually seems to work, so far! I sourced some chips from eBay, definitely the IDT 7132, and wasn’t expecting it to work but woohoo! Also, no 20pF capacitors for the crystal and I currently have 18pF on there and seems to be ok so far …
Need to source the #RC2014 right angle connector from somewhere as I can never find a female one when I take 5 secs to look. I have the Tynemouth Software joystick card ready to go too.

While I had my #Meshtastic node on the workbench I thought I might as well hook it up to a CP/M board, so here's me sending and receiving using an SC126 designed for the #RC2014 ecosystem.

https://smallcomputercentral.com/rcbus/sc100-series/sc126-z180-motherboard-rc2014/

Hey @rc2014 my RC2014 Mini II Picasso is beautiful! And it booted up correctly first time! (don't know if I was a little disappointed to not be troubleshooting! ;-) )

Now it's time to connect it to other things... the fun awaits! :-)

I have a breadboard 6502 (ala Ben Eater) that's dying to meet it.

Printing a base for my #RC2014

I've written up how I got my ZX Printer compatible Alphacom 32 printer working on my #rc2014

https://www.robertprice.co.uk/robblog/using-a-zx-printer-on-an-rc2014/

This kit has the most sculptural soldering I’ve been called on to do!
#RC2014

Out there, in the worrying world of today is a little #Zilog #Z80 computer with a mere 64KB of #RAM and running the #1970s CP/M operating system.

This little machine is connected to the #intertubes and it's serving a #singleuser #bulletinboardsystem for you, the worrying souls of #yesteryears to visit.

Take a break from today, connect like it's 1985 - here on RC-BOX BBS, the world's first and (currently) only #rc2014 based bulletin board system in the world!

Check out the #alttext or my #profile info for information on how to connect.

#bbs
#rc2014bbs
#rcbox

Whilst it is still before midday in some time-zones, I just want to share the good news that the new #RC2014 Mini II Picasso has gone on display at the Tate Modern art gallery!

You can get your very own piece of art from #z80kits right now https://z80kits.com/shop/rc2014-mini-ii-picasso/

Remember, you can't spell UART without ART

Now that April Fool's morning is well and truly over, I'm pleased to confirm that @rc2014 isn't pulling your leg - well, not about the existence of the #RC2014 Mini II Picasso, at least.

https://oldbytes.space/@rc2014/114261520883071259

How do I know? Here's my hands-on review of the thing. Spoiler: it's *lovely*.

https://www.hackster.io/news/science-art-and-nostalgia-combined-hands-on-with-the-rc2014-mini-ii-picasso-8686eb339d59

I read a report recently that confirmed that straight PCB traces, right angle, and orthogonally placed components can actually make electrons sad and slow them down. They much prefer the excitement of whizzing along curvy traces, particularly if they end up going in to a chip at a random angle. And bright colours really make them want to work harder.

So I will be updating all #RC2014 kits with design philosophy. The first to be done is the RC2014 Mini II Picasso. You can pick one up now at #z80kits
https://z80kits.com/shop/rc2014-mini-ii-picasso/

I think most of you that are interested in #RC2014 stuff are already subscribed to the RC2014 Newsletter. Which is great because I am really excited with the content of the one coming out next week.

If you're not subscribed, and would like a roundup of exciting RC2014 news in your inbox once a month or so, you can subscribe here https://rc2014.us13.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=9794c5b78f76285b2bc1ff7bd&id=21fa309286

This morning I've added more products to my new "quickshop" page to make ordering in the UK easier and a lot more convenient.

https://www.samcoupe.com/quickshop.htm

Buy It Now buttons added for the range of hardware I've designed and released for use with #RC2014 and compatibles (such as #ZXSpectrum and #SAMCoupe via my bus interfaces, MicroBeast, Minstrel 4D, systems with RC2014 / RCbus expansion ports)

Released in June 2020:
SID SOUNDCHIP Interface
- Use the famous #C64 soundchip with your #Z80 system. Also works with ARMSID and SwinSID. Includes 50/60/100Hz interrupt generator.

Released in July 2020:
GRAPHIC OLED Interface
- Add a 128 x 32 OLED module to your project.

Released in September 2021:
ZX TRUE TONE (ZXTT)
- 1.7734MHz Clock oscillator for use with Ed Brindley's YM/AY Soundcard.

Also available on my Tindie and eBay stores - see profile. Plus much more information on: https://2014.samcoupe.com

There's a product design review going on at #RC2014 Towers this morning and the team are putting their suggestions forward for the power LED circuit.
#LegoMinifigForScale

You know you're making progress when you send a pull request to the forth2012 test suite. Admittedly, it's a small fix to a tiny bit of code that wouldn't compile for a case-sensitive implementation, but....

My new #RC2014 Dual Clock and Reset module arrived in the post from @rc2014 earlier today.

I thought I'd try filming the build, so here is roughly 30 minutes of construction time compressed down to 5 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWGb-0BYP6k