Description
The RC2014 Zed Pro Pride is a Z80 kit based on the RC2014 Zed Pro with some of the most popular expansions. This limited edition kit not only takes inspiration from the Pride Flag, but throughout June will raise money for two great Trans and LBGTQI+ charities. For every kit sold in June, £20 will go to Trans Rescue and £20 will go to Rainbow Railroad
Trans Rescue help trans*, intersex, and other people flee places where it is dangerous to be trans. They help them reach places of safety and reasonable quality of life and they do so legally and securely.
Rainbow Railroad is a Canadian charitable organization that helps lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) individuals escape violence and persecution in their home countries. In the past, they have helped individuals from the Caribbean, Central and South America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa through emergency travel support and other forms of assistance.
What do you get?
The RC2014 Pro Pride contains everything that you would get if you ordered the following modules;
- Backplane Pro
- 1×20 SIL Sockets
- Digital I/O Module
- Compact Flash Module
- 128 MB Compact Flash Card
- Z80 CPU Module
- SIO/2 Dual Serial Module
- 512k ROM 512k RAM Module
- DS1302 Real Time Clock Module
- Pi Pico VGA Terminal Module
- Dual Clock Module
- ESP8266 Wifi Module
The price is exactly the same. The operation is exactly the same. Although I’m sure you can see the difference when you look at them!
Where possible, the PCB solder resist colour has been matched to the Pride flag.
On PCBs where Pride flag colours are not an option, the PCB has been through a special dye sublimation process to make it the right colour.
Similarly, the header pins, jumpers, sockets and switches have also been colour matched to the Pride Flag within the colours available.
And, of course, the LEDs are also colour matched where possible too!
I’m sure you’ll agree that this is surely the most beautiful RC2014 ever made. This will look great on your desk, on a mantelpiece, in a display cabinet, or even left in the closet until you’re ready for it to come out.
RC2014 Pro Pride or RC2014 Zed Pro Pride?
The RC2014 Pro and the RC2014 Zed Pro are both great machines, and in their Pride livery, both look fantastic. With 512k ROM, 512k RAM, and running RomWBW the Zed model has a higher spec than the 64k RC2014 Pro. However, the RC2014 Pro beats the Zed Pro on price, and is also an easier machine to understand at a deeper level. It is also better if you want to write your own Z80 code without relying on CP/M. At the end of the day either machine is a great choice that won’t leave you disappointed whichever one you choose. Or, why not both?
Assembly
Please be aware that this is a big kit to assemble. There are 293 individual parts which require around 2200 solder joints. Whilst most of these are easy 0.1″ through-hole joints, the Pi Pico and ESP8266 modules have large surface mount pads. The nature of the dye sublimated boards mean they need a bit more care than normal too, therefore this kit is aimed at those with some experience of soldering.
Telling people which bits go where or what items they are supposed to put in to which holes doesn’t go down well with everybody. Therefor assembly instructions are not included. However, there are generic assembly guides for the regular blue modules on RC2014.co.uk. There is also a guide to assembling your Pride kit to make it look like the images here, although you’re free to swap things around and make your kit your own.
Limited Edition
The RC2014 Zed Pro Pride and RC2014 Pro Pride are limited to 40 of each model. These will be released each Monday of June 2023 in batches of 10 each – Times will be varied to help those in timezones around the world. This should give everybody a fair chance to get one, but if you find they are currently sold out, please wait until next Monday. Kits cannot be pre-ordered, or reserved, or bought on a module by module basis. Sorry.
