Z80 Testing the 80s Way
According to [MTSI], if you used a Z80 chip back in the 1980s, it almost certainly passed through the sole Fairchild Sentry 610 system that gave it the seal of …read more Continue reading Z80 Testing the 80s Way
Category Archives: z80
Strange English Teaching Computer Might Have Been Big in Japan
[Ctrl-Alt-Rees] bought something strange on an auction site: a Japanese Cefucom-21 from 1983. No? Didn’t ring a bell for us either. The legend on the front boldly proclaims: “CCI Multipurpose …read more Continue reading Strange English Teaching Computer Might Have Been Big in Japan
DIY Core Rope Memory Z80 Demonstrator Generating a Fibonacci Sequence
We’ve seen a few retro products using core rope memory, such as telephone autodiallers. Obviously, we’ve covered the Apollo program computers, but we don’t think we’ve seen a complete and …read more Continue reading DIY Core Rope Memory Z80 Demonstrator Generating a Fibonacci Sequence
No Z80? No Problem!
Earlier this year Zilog stopped production of the classic 40-pin DIP Z80 microprocessor, a move that brought a tear to the eye of retro computing enthusiasts everywhere. This chip had …read more Continue reading No Z80? No Problem!
Internet Appliance to Portable Terminal
Few processors have found themselves in so many different devices as the venerable Z80. While it isn’t powerful by modern standards, you can still use devices like this Cidco MailStation …read more Continue reading Internet Appliance to Portable Terminal
Baldur’s Gate III Comes to the TRS-80 Model 100
To say that Tandy’s TRS-80 Model 100 was an influential piece of computer hardware would be something of an understatement. While there’s some debate over which computer can historically be …read more Continue reading Baldur’s Gate III Comes to the TRS-80 Model 100
CP/M on an Eight Line Display
How many lines do you need on a CP/M terminal? More is usually better, of course, but the MicroOffice RoadRunner managed with an 8-row, 80-column LCD screen. That may sound …read more Continue reading CP/M on an Eight Line Display
Protoboard Z80 Computer Teaches the Basics
As curious people, we’re all incredibly fortunate to live in an age where information can so easily be obtained. If you want to learn how something works, from a cotton …read more Continue reading Protoboard Z80 Computer Teaches the Basics
The Z80 Is Dead. Long Live The Free Z80!
It’s with a tinge of sadness that we and many others reported on the recent move by Zilog to end-of-life the original Z80 8-bit microprocessor. This was the part that …read more Continue reading The Z80 Is Dead. Long Live The Free Z80!
End-Of-Life for Z80 CPU and Peripherals Announced
In a Product Change Notification (PCN) published on April 15, Zilog (now owned by Littelfuse) announced the End of Life for a range of Z80 products, specifically virtually all of …read more Continue reading End-Of-Life for Z80 CPU and Peripherals Announced