RISC OS DIY Kits A computer system and a project - in one! Our DIY concept is all about giving you the satisfaction of building your own modern RISC OS computer, without the headaches that usually come with kit assembly. These are complete packages containing everything you need - case parts, carrier board, Compute Module, heatsink, NVMe drive, and any necessary adapters - ready to be put together in under a couple of hours. No soldering, specialist tools, or deep technical know-how required; if you can use a screwdriver and follow clear instructions, you can build one. The cases themselves are cut from high-quality oak-veneered MDF, often with acrylic panels, and are supplied untreated and film-protected. This means you can leave them natural, stain them for a classic finish, varnish for protection, or even decorate them in your own unique style. The idea is that it’s your computer, so it should look the way you want. Inside, the components are state-of-the- art, including NVMe storage and the latest Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4, pre-configured to run RISC OS straight away. Building the system yourself is not just cheaper than buying it pre-built, but also a more personal experience. You’ll understand your machine better, gain confidence in upgrading it later, and enjoy the sense of achievement when it powers up for the first time. And because the design is open and flexible, you can change parts, add features, or even trade in for a new kit in the future. It’s a hands-on, creative, and future-proof way to own a RISC OS system that’s truly yours. What exactly do I get in the kit? You get all of the parts that you need to build the computer system: all of the case parts, the carrier board (which is different depending on the model), the Compute Module, a heatsink, an SD card (if needed), and a pre-formatted NVMe drive and any adaptors needed. And some easy-to-follow instructions. The only thing you’ll need to buy separately is a power supply, and we can help with that, if you want. Does it include a keyboard, mouse and monitor? You’ll be wanting a printer thrown in next! No, sorry, we just couldn’t do that and keep the prices as low as we wanted. Most off-the-shelf USB keyboard and mouse kits will just work, as will most HDMI monitors and TVs. If you need help with sourcing any of this, we’re happy to oblige. What tools do I need? A screwdriver. That’s it. What skills do I need? The ability to follow simple instructions! And knowledge of how to use a screwdriver. You don’t need to be able to solder, or be an electronics engineer - consider it simple “building brick” type levels of difficulty. Who is it aimed at? If you’ve got this far, it’s clearly aimed at you! And anyone who fancies just putting their own little (but very powerful and modern) RISC OS computer together. It could be great fun to do with your children, grandchildren, even your parents(!) over a couple of hours. Why would I build my own, when I can buy one pre-built? For starters, it will save you a bit of money! Quite a bit of money. And you get the satisfaction of putting it together yourself, or with someone else. You can customise the case. You’ll also see how easy it is to upgrade parts and change components. It takes away some of the mystery of opaque black or silver boxes where you can’t see inside. How long does it take to build? Times vary, but we think most could be built within a couple of hours, comfortably. Even including a bit of a tea break. Will I need to configure it all? Not really, it will just run once it’s built. We pre- configure it that way. But the beauty of RISC OS is that it can be tweaked to work as the user wants, not as the OS dictates. We even provide over 2GB of software to help you do this. What is the case made of? It’s made of laser-cut oak-veneered MDF with occasional acrylic panels on the larger models. The case materials are untreated, and covered in protective film/paper when you receive them. Once you’ve peeled this off, you can treat them to any finish you like. We personally prefer a nice wipe over with Jacobean Oak woodstain to really bring out the grain. But feel free to gloss, varnish, emulsion, lacquer, crayon or do whatever to them - it’s your case, you choose! Could I have a different material? Certainly. We have designs for glass-effect acrylic cases, coloured acrylic cases, metallic cases - anything that comes in sheets, really. We wouldn’t recommend paper though - robustness might be an issue! Is it just a basic computer system? Absolutely not! It uses the same components that you’d find in “double the price” pre-built systems from other vendors. We use the latest state-of-the- art components and electronics from some very major players, and we’ve made sure all of our systems run with the latest storage medium - NVMe. We install our own FreeNVMe drivers (as adopted by RISC OS Open for inclusion with RISC OS itself) as standard, but if you wanted to use a paid-for commercial driver, it would probably work too. But we’ve never felt the need to try. One thing, though, our systems all run BBC BASIC so I guess they are BASIC systems! Does it require a custom ROM build? No. It uses the standard builds for the Raspberry Pi from the RISC OS Open downloads area. So you can run a stable build, or the latest nightly beta. It’s up to you, depending on your level of comfort with RISC OS. What if I want to upgrade my system later? We really hope you do! It’s kind of the point! If you wanted to upgrade to another system later, maybe a pre-built system, we can try to reuse some of your components to keep the prices down. Or we can offer you a good trade in for your existing system. If you just wanted to upgrade the carrier board, case, memory, storage, or network capabilities on your existing system, we could help with that too. Whilst we want you to feel happy to upgrade your own system, because you’ve already seen how it’s put together, most people just buy a second system. Again, we’re happy to help!

DIY ONE Bargain priced NVMe DIY system

DIY TWO With extra connectivity built in

DIY THREE Premier NVMe kit system

DIY ZERO Just the basics, but pre-configured.