C1 to C7

These capacitors provide power supply decoupling (or bypass). The fast switching in digital circuits creates spikes on the power supply lines which are suppressed with decoupling capacitors placed at key points on the circuit board.

S1 to S3

This set of connectors are standard 40 pin RC2014 bus module sockets, allowing a range of RC2014 compatible modules to be connected. These include simple digital input and outputs, as well as more sophisticated sound and video modules. The first module to add is probably going to be a serial port, as the one on the motherboard is very limited. The next might well be the Compact Flash module to allow CP/M to be run.

S4

This connector is similar to S1 to S3, but is mounted at right angles. This allows an RC2014 module to be connected horizontally which is sometimes very useful. It also provides a means of adding a modular backplane board, such as SC113, to further extend the system.

P1

This header provides access to the built-in 5 volt (or TTL) serial interface. The pin-out is compatible with the official RC2014 serial port and also many third-party serial devices. These include FTDI style USB to serial adapters, which are used to connect the Z80 system to a modern computer running terminal emulation software.

Pin	Function
1	Ground (GND)
2	Request To Send (RTS) output
3	Vcc (5V)
4	Recieve Data (RxD) input
5	Transmit Data (TxD) output
6	Clear To Send (CTS) input

This port is very basic, providing only a software generated 9600 baud, 8 data bit, 1 stop bit, no parity serial interface. It is designed to provide a very low cost ‘starter’ port to get the system up and running as easily and cheaply as possible. It is suitable for simple applications, but a more capable serial module should be added for sophisticated applications such as running CP/M.

R1

This resistor sets the LED current. You may change this value from about 330R to 1K depending on the type of LED you fit and your preference for brightness. A value of 470R will work fine with just about any LED, so if in doubt use this value.

R2

R2 limits the current from the serial port receive pin, allowing it to pull the Z80 data bus signal D7 up or down when no other devices are active on the bus.

R3

R3 pulls up the Z80 interrupt input (/INT). When a device needs to interrupt the Z80 processor it pulls this line low.

R4

R4 pulls up the Z80 reset input (/RESET). The reset line is pulled low to reset the system.

SW1

This is the reset switch, which pulls down the backplane’s reset signal (/RESET) and thus resets the system. This simple motherboard does not have a power-on reset, so it will usually be necessary to press this button after the system is turned on.

LED1

This LED is a simple status indicator. It is normally on when the power is connected, but it can be controlled by software if required. At reset is will turn on, even if the processor is not running. It will then turn off and on again, indicating the processor is running. If a suitable serial port module is not found in any of the RC2014 sockets, the LED will turn off and on again to indicate the built-in serial port is being used. A log-on message is then sent to the terminal via the serial port indicated.

U1

This integrated circuit is the Z80 Central Processing Unit (CPU). A minimum of an 8 MHz rated part is required, but a faster part can also be used. The CPU is the brains of the board. It is able to execute instructions stored in the read-only memory (ROM) chip U3 or programs downloaded or written to the random access memory (RAM) chip U2.
For further details see the Zilog CPU data sheet.

U2

This is the motherboard’s Random Access Memory (RAM). Although this is a 128k byte RAM chip, the Z80 CPU can only ‘see’ 64k bytes at any given time. The second 64k bytes can be selected in software, but it is quite difficult to use. In practice, it is likely that only 64k will ever be used.

U3

This is the motherboard’s Read Only Memory (ROM). The specific type listed is an Electrically Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), meaning it can have its contents programmed in with an EPROM programmer. The contents then remain fixed. The device specified above cannot be erased and re-programmed.

In order for a computer to do anything useful, it needs some program code to execute. Even reading a program from a disk drive requires program code to perform that read. Thus a computer needs some program code permanently available to execute when it is first switched on. This is the function of the ROM chip.

This motherboard has been designed to have the Small Computer Monitor installed in the ROM chip, although any compatible code can be used instead. Currently, the recommended version of the Small Computer Monitor for this board is v1.0 configuration S2.

U4

This forms part of the address decoding and RAM/ROM paging circuit. The integrated circuit contains three 3-input OR gates. Two of them are combined to partially decode the output port addresses used by the motherboard. The third decodes an active low ROM select signal. The partially decoded output port address is 00XXX0XX, expressed in binary with ‘X’ indicating a bit which can be in either state. This signal is further refined by integrated circuit U5.

U5

This integrated circuit is an 8-bit addressable latch. It has eight outputs which can be individually turned on and off. The partially decoded port address signal from U4 is used to enable latching of data to this chip. The required output is determined by the address lines A3, A4 and A5, and the signal latched to that output is determined by data line D0. The output port addresses, expressed in binary, are thus:

Bits: 7654 3210	Hexadecimal	Function
00XX X0XX		Partially decoded address enabled U5
0000 00XX	0x00 to 0x03	Not used
0000 10XX	0x08 to 0x0B	Status LED (low = on)
0001 00XX	0x10 to 0x13	Not used
0001 10XX	0x18 to 0x1B	Not used
0010 00XX	0x20 to 0x23	Serial port, request to send (RTS)
0010 10XX	0x28 to 0x2B	Serial port, transmit data (TXD)
0011 00XX	0x30 to 0x33	RAM bottom 64k selected (active low)
0011 10XX	0x38 to 0x3B	ROM selected (active low)

X1

This oscillator provides the main 7.3728 MHz processor and bus clock.