Another nice project that’s currently in version 3 is the Z80-MBC project. Currently version 3 is very sophisticated and becoming a real computer, I like the smaller version the Z80-MBC2 and even the original Z80-MBC. Version 2 is a very easy to build Z80 Single Board Computer with a SD as “disk emulator” and with a 128KB banked RAM for CP/M 3 (but it can run CP/M 2.2). It has an optional on board 16x GPIO expander, and uses common cheap add-on modules for the SD and the RTC options. It also has an “Arduino heart” using an Atmega32A as EEPROM and “universal” I/O emulator (like the Arduino Mega board in the above project) although it’s a little harder to find a programmed Atmega32A because this chip can only be programmed using an ISP programmer. But you can buy this computer board as a complete kit on the Internet. You can use the programming tools of CP/M, but this acts more like a real Z80 full computer system. But it is still low cost (around 70 euro) and a nice way to see what programming was like in the “old days”.
This is company in Germany where you can order the PCB: https://www.pcb4diy.de/de/
You can download and read all the source code, the schematics and build instructions on the project site.
Go to project page on hackaday.io website.
You can find most of the parts in this webshop.
VT100 terminal
To use this board you will need some kind of terminal emulation, it is possible to connect the board with a TTL to Serial USB cable to the computer and then use f.i. Putty but if you want a standalone system it is nice to connect a real VT100 (VGA) terminal board. I build my terminal board from a kit, but the project also has its own terminal board.
