RC2014 Community Newsletter
Issue 55
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In This Issue
 
  • Rear Panel
  • Retro Challenge 2024
  • 3D Printed Micro case
  • Pong on RC2014
  • z80kits Shipping
  • USB C Is Coming!
  • Blue Box Expansion
  • OSHCamp Update
  • Community support
  • Feedback

Social Stuff
Z80 Kits Shop Z80 Kits Shop
Website Website
Mastodon Mastodon
GitHub GitHub
You are receiving this email because you signed up to the RC2014 Community Newsletter or have bought an RC2014 homebrew computer, and I think you'll enjoy reading this - However, I fully understand that nobody likes spam.  That is why here at RC2014 Towers we are fully GDPR compliant and you can change your preferences at any time with the link at the bottom

Blue Box Rear Panel

After several iterations and tweaks, the Rear Panel for the 110x250x190 Blue Box enclosure is finally available. Well, nearly. Orders will be taken from Friday 13th. This design features a matching PCB to the Front Panel kit and has a combination of open access to the RC2014 as well as an array of Port Covers to bring out the connections you need.
In addition to the choice of port covers, an Enhanced Bus connector will allow you to plug in an extra module outside of your case.

Retro Challenge 2024/10

I took part in my first Retro Challenge 10 years ago now, building a little Z80 based computer that I used the hashtag for. (See my original entry!).

Well, for the 10th anniversary, not only will there be a specific RC2014 section to enter, but I will be sponsoring a prize for the winner of that section. It will be RC2014 related and pretty special. Keep an eye on to find out.

Things kick off on 1st October, so you haven't got long to get your entry in. Sign up here and good luck!

3D Printed RC2014 Micro Case

This neat little 3D printed case was designed by Robin Wilson and is a great way to protect your RC2014 Micro or RC2014 Micro Plus. You can print your own with the files on MakerWorld
.
Last month the Dual Paddle Analogue Module was launched, and to take full advantage of it, Shiela Dixon has written a faithful port of Pong using an RC2014 and TMSEMU graphics module.

z80kits Shipping Update

Please be aware that z80kits will not be shipping any orders between 27th September and 6th October. Shipping will resume on 7th October, although a backlog may mean some delays. Please note that general support will be limited during this period too.

USB C Coming to the RC2014

Despite our love for old fashion retro stuff here at RC2014 Towers, sometimes it is nice to keep up with the times. Word on the street is that all the cool kids use USB C these days.

So if you buy a full RC2014 kit from z80kits.com, the optional USB adapter supplied will no longer be the old Micro USB connector as we're switching to USB C.

A big thanks to 8086.net for the update.

3D Printable Expansion Box

This great addition to the Blue Box enclosure was designed by SocketWrench to house the mains adapter and VGA to HDMI converter. Read about the design process and download the stl files to print your own.
And if you have done anything with your Blue Box enclosure or Front Panel kit that you would like to share, please get in touch

OSHCamp

OSHCamp was great this year, and it was really good to catch up with RC2014 owners old and new. Feedback from my talk was good, and that should be online to share soon. There are a few kits from the workshop left over, so I will get those listed on z80kits next month.

Community Support
Got a question about the RC2014? A project you want to share with other RC2014 users?  Need to find some software that runs on your RC2014?  Or just want to see what other RC2014 owners are up to?

Google Groups and GitHub are starting to become vibrant parts of the RC2014 infrastructure.  Why not join up today?  No Google account needed!

For fresh content follow RC2014 on Mastodon for RC2014 news accompanied by other retro computing or cool electronics stuff. Some content is still posted on @ZXSpectROM on Twitter but note that it is checked infrequently these days.

Feedback

We'd love to hear feedback about your RC2014, this newsletter or anything else.  Please use the email or Google Group links at the top of this email to get in touch. And if you're working on anything cool with an RC2014, I'd love to know.
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