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Stephen C Cousins

2,756 orders since Sep 20, 2018

250 Reviews

Stowmarket, Suffolk, United Kingdom

Ships from United Kingdom.

EU countries: Please note Tindie does not collect VAT. You will be charged VAT and a handling fee by your government when the parcel arrives in your country.

Pick'n'Mix Boards for RCBus/RC2014

Pick'n'Mix Boards for RCBus/RC2014

Stephen C Cousins

$7.00

SC126 Z180 SBC / Motherboard Kit for RC2014

SC126 Z180 SBC / Motherboard Kit for RC2014

Stephen C Cousins

$90.00

SC129 Digital I/O Module Kit for RC2014

SC129 Digital I/O Module Kit for RC2014

Stephen C Cousins

$17.00

SC113 Modular Backplane Kit for RC2014

SC113 Modular Backplane Kit for RC2014

Stephen C Cousins

$13.00

SC112 Modular Backplane Kit for RC2014

SC112 Modular Backplane Kit for RC2014

Stephen C Cousins

$18.00

SC130 RomWBW CP/M Computer Kit for RC2014

SC130 RomWBW CP/M Computer Kit for RC2014

Stephen C Cousins

$65.00

Pick'n'Mix Boards for Z50Bus

Pick'n'Mix Boards for Z50Bus

Stephen C Cousins

$6.00

SC114 Z80 SBC / Motherboard Kit for RC2014

SC114 Z80 SBC / Motherboard Kit for RC2014

Stephen C Cousins

$46.00

Modular Backplane Boards for RC2014

Modular Backplane Boards for RC2014

Stephen C Cousins

$7.00

SC115 Prototyping Breakout Module Kit for RC2014

SC115 Prototyping Breakout Module Kit for RC2014

Stephen C Cousins

$10.00

SC103 Z80 PIO Module Kit for RC2014

SC103 Z80 PIO Module Kit for RC2014

Stephen C Cousins

$30.00

SC145 Compact Flash Module Kit for RC2014

SC145 Compact Flash Module Kit for RC2014

Stephen C Cousins

$20.00

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About

Retro computer enthusiast

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Reviews

Review Breakdown

5
202 4
47 3
1 2
0 1
0

Average Ratings

Product: (4.96)

Documentation: (4.88)

Shipping: (4.88)

Communication: (4.90)

Mendel | June 2, 2023

A superbly engineered kit

For SC126 Z180 SBC / Motherboard Kit for RC2014

This is the second of the Stephen Cousins RC2014 motherboard kits I've built. A very nice board, though I prefer the SC130 for its compactness and elegance. Quite a number of build options and versatile for its inclusion of switchable boot ROMs.

I do have a couple of minor quibbles. I don't much care for the bent pin headers protruding over the side of the board, though the customer can substitute straight heads (this requires some planning, in order to avoid blocking the female headers at the ports). And, in the otherwise excellent documentation, one of the final tests requires measuring voltage at a couple of pins of the Z180 socket, but with no pin diagram (68 pins to choose from!). Please add a pin diagram / pictorial to the documentation, Stephen.

I would not recommend this kit to the beginning kit builder, as is of medium+ complexity, with many solder joints. Start with something simpler, such as the SC114, to get some experience soldering and kit building. Or, better yet, start with a very simple and cheap kit, say a 555 LED flasher, with only a few solder joints, and practice, practice, practice soldering. Cold solder joints and bridges are the most common cause of kit failure.

Marginal notation: It would be nice to have a plug-in video board, composite video, VGA, or even HDMI. For that matter, why don't I wish for a keyboard interface?

Summary: An excellent kit for anyone into Z80 or CP/M programming at a very reasonable price.

Mleo | May 12, 2023

Easy to build, well documented kit

For SC130 RomWBW CP/M Computer Kit for RC2014

I've been building kits for over a half century. Started with the venerable Heathkits and continued from there. This has to be the best engineered and documented kit I've ever laid my hands on. Ships in less than two weeks from the UK to the US, thanks to reliable Royal Mail.

Points to watch.
1) Care must be taken in bending the pins of the ICs so they snap into the sockets. Not so easy when you're a senior and your hands are not as steady as they once were.
2) USB ports on some laptops may not supply enough current to power the board reliably. Some Thinkpad models are notorious for this.
3) Be careful to supply 5v and only 5v through the barrel jack. 9v or 12v will damage the ICs and render the board inoperable. I made this mistake and had to replace chips, one by one, in order to restore the board to full function.

Richard | May 5, 2023

Purchased for a Minstrel 4D

For SC129 Digital I/O Module Kit for RC2014

I bought this as an expansion module for a Minstrel 4D.

Easy to assemble and worked first time.

Usual quick delivery and high quality product for this vendor.

Ricky | April 5, 2023

Great Prototype module!

For SC115 Prototyping Breakout Module Kit for RC2014

Very easy to assemble. This is very versatile board that allows you to learn a lot about I/O, decoding, and programming.

Fernando | March 6, 2023

Great kit and great service

For SC126 Z180 SBC / Motherboard Kit for RC2014

The SC126 is one of the best kits you can get if you want to start playing with a CP/M and a Z80 in general (ok, it's a Z180 and it only makes a lot of things simpler). It has everything you could ask for and then something extra, like the 8 diagnostic LEDs. Stephen did a great job designing it, and his attention also shows in the kit itself. It was neatly packed, the PCB labels are clear and helpfull and the instructions provided in his website are clear and thorough. I am now playing with a Z80 again after 35 years and it feels great.

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