In 2026, a terminal usually means software running on a computer. Earlier terminals combined a serial port, keyboard and screen. Older systems printed text on a teletype. Hackaday's Jenny List reported on September 21, 2026, that Sheila Dixon is rebuilding this setup for the RC2014 retrocomputer in the project titled "MCU-less teletype terminal using alphacom printer".

Dixon chose an Alphacom thermal printer for the output. Sir Clive had released a notoriously poor thermal printer for the ZX81, and Alphacom soon appeared as a third-party alternative. It connected to the ZX bus through the expansion port and was driven by ROM routines linked to BASIC commands.

An MSX keyboard was used first. Dixon later made a keyboard with retro typewriter keycaps. She connected the Alphacom to the RC2014's Z80 bus in the same way as on the ZX81. After some initial problems, she created ROM routines that let it provide the RC2014's terminal output. An 8255 I/O port card scans the keyboard.

Hackaday also notes that it previously used a Sinclair printer without damaging it for an April Fools' joke during the pandemic. The site has reviewed several RC2014 models, most recently in 2019.