[analog31]

While not a how-to guide, the Z80 book by William Barden and published by Howard Sams, has been placed online. I believe the same book was printed and sold by Radio Shack.

I read that book after Don Lancaster's TTL Cookbook, also published by Howard Sams. That was around 1981, while I was in high school, and I had practically no electronics knowledge before that. Those books were extremely clearly written, and even today provide the foundation of my knowledge of microprocessors and digital logic. I never actually built or programmed a Z80 machine, but the basic knowledge was readily applicable to 6502 and 8088 hardware and software, and even to today's microcontrollers.

Because of the relative simplicity of those systems, I think they are still a good place for anybody to start. Those articles by Steve Ciarcia too. What a genius, at making the microcomputer revolution accessible to hobbyists.

I loaned those books to my best friend, who vanished with them when his family became missionaries, but I don't think he did it out of malice. I'm glad that I can find them online today, just to take me back to those exciting years.

[XtalJ]

Agree, I have the Z-80 Handbook by William Barden, and it is really well written and contains a lot of information without being a tutorial :)