The TEC-1 is a Z80 based microprocessor trainer kit that was published by Australian electronics magazine Talking Electronics in the early 1980's. This example was purchased at the Gippsland Gate Radio and Electronics Club Hamfest at Cranbourne on the 19th of August 2003. The original TEC-1 hardware design and monitor ROM software were developed by John Hardy. The circuit board was laid out for publication by Ken Stone, who made some improvements to the circuit during the process. Ken developed a number of projects for the magazine, which still appears to exist in some forms at www.talkingelectronics.com.
The original owner of this machine has fitted an internal transformer under the board and a mains toggle switch on the side of the case, although this needs tidying up for safety.
By replacing a missing 20K trimpot at top right with a pair of 10K resistors the TEC-1 booted up without any problems. I typed in a couple of short hex programs from the magazine, there is some keybounce so the keys will need a clean.
Publication of Talking Electronics magazine by editor and publisher Colin Mitchell began in 1981 and I have most of the original issues. Issue 11, featuring a colour photo of the TEC-1, is shown below.
