[James] sent in this project in which he built a tiny computer with text based OS and a 3Km wireless link. The details are a bit scarce, but he used an N8VEM, a Propeller Pocket Term, a 4 line LCD and an RF Transceiver to build it. It runs CP/M, the text based operating system and uses less than a half of a watt, without the vga monitor. With a total cost of 145 and 4 serial ports for sensors, this thing could come in handy. Especially since its low power consumption could allow it to be solar powered.  You may recall the N8VEM from an earlier post we did.

The N8VEM is a homebrew computer project based on the classic Z80 microprocessor. It’s designed to be easy to build using large TTL DIP components instead of SMD devices. It runs the CP/M operating system and all drives are virtual in RAM/ROM. While the base hardware is interesting, we really like the potential for expansion using a backplane. Have a look at the project’s Hardware Overview to see extra boards like the bus monitor and the prototyping board. We found out about this project on [Oldbitcollector]’s blog; he’s using a Parallax Professional Development Board to create a VT100 terminal for the N8VEM.