diff --git a/parts/platforms/rc2014.inc b/parts/platforms/rc2014.inc
index 7fd92f0..69b7efa 100644
--- a/parts/platforms/rc2014.inc
+++ b/parts/platforms/rc2014.inc
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 ; classic RC2014 setup (8K ROM + 32K RAM) and a stock Serial I/O module
 
-RAMEND		.equ	0xa000
+; The RAM module is selected on A15, so it has the range 0x8000-0xffff
+RAMSTART	.equ	0x8000
+RAMEND		.equ	0xffff
 ACIA_CTL	.equ	0x80	; Control and status. RS off.
 ACIA_IO		.equ	0x81	; Transmit. RS on.
diff --git a/parts/shell/shell.asm b/parts/shell/shell.asm
index f61ee21..a44939b 100644
--- a/parts/shell/shell.asm
+++ b/parts/shell/shell.asm
@@ -2,8 +2,9 @@
 ;
 ; Runs a shell over an asynchronous communication interface adapter (ACIA).
 
-; *** STATUS ***
-; Incomplete. This just outputs the welcome prompt then halts
+; Incomplete. For now, this outputs a welcome prompt and then waits for input.
+; Whenever input is CR or LF, we echo back what we've received and empty the
+; input buffer. This also happen when the buffer is full.
 
 #include "platform.inc"
 
@@ -11,28 +12,50 @@
 CR	.equ	0x0d
 LF	.equ	0x0a
 
+; size of the input buffer. If our input goes over this size, we echo
+; immediately.
+BUFSIZE	.equ	0x20
+
+; *** VARIABLES ***
+; Our input buffer starts there
+INPTBUF		.equ	RAMSTART
+
+; index, in the buffer, where our next character will go. 0 when the buffer is
+; empty, BUFSIZE-1 when it's almost full.
+BUFIDX		.equ	INPTBUF+BUFSIZE
+
 ; *** CODE ***
 	jr	init
 
 init:
-	di			; no need for interrupts yet
+	; disable interrupts we don't need them
+	di
 
 	; setup stack
 	ld	hl, RAMEND
 	ld	sp, hl
 
+	; initialize variables
+	xor	a
+	ld	(BUFIDX), a	; starts at 0
+
 	; setup ACIA
-	; CR7 (1) - Receive Interrupt enabled
+	; CR7 (1) - Receive Interrupt disabled
 	; CR6:5 (00) - RTS low, transmit interrupt disabled.
 	; CR4:2 (101) - 8 bits + 1 stop bit
 	; CR1:0 (10) - Counter divide: 64
-	ld	a, 0b10010110
+	ld	a, 0b00010110
 	out	(ACIA_CTL), a
 
 	; print prompt
 	ld	hl, d_welcome
 	call	printstr
-	halt
+	call	printcrlf
+
+mainloop:
+	call	readc
+	call	chkbuf
+	jr	mainloop
 
 ; spits character in A in port SER_OUT
 printc:
@@ -55,5 +78,84 @@ printstr:
 	jr	printstr
 	; no ret because our only way out is ret z above
 
+printcrlf:
+	ld	a, CR
+	call	printc
+	ld	a, LF
+	call	printc
+	ret
+
+; wait until a char is read in the ACIA and put it in the read buffer
+readc:
+	; first thing first: is our input buffer full? If yes, we don't even
+	; bother reading the ACIA. Something is wrong: we don't process data
+	; fast enough.
+	ld	a, (BUFIDX)
+	cp	BUFSIZE
+	ret	z		; if BUFIDX == BUFSIZE, our buffer is full.
+
+	call	getbufptr
+
+	; increase our buf ptr while we still have it in A
+	inc	a
+	ld	(BUFIDX), a
+
+.loop:
+	; Read our character from ACIA into our BUFIDX
+	in	a, (ACIA_CTL)
+	bit	0, a		; is our ACIA rcv buffer full?
+	jr	z, .loop	; no? loop
+
+	in	a, (ACIA_IO)
+	ld	(hl), a
+
+	ret
+
+; check if the input buffer is full or ends in CR or LF. If it does, prints it
+; back and empty it.
+chkbuf:
+	ld	a, (BUFIDX)
+	cp	0
+	ret	z		; BUFIDX is zero? nothing to check.
+
+	cp	BUFSIZE
+	jr	z, .do		; if BUFIDX == BUFSIZE? do!
+
+	call	getbufptr
+	; our previous char is in BUFIDX - 1. Fetch this
+	dec	hl
+	ld	a, (hl)		; now, that's our char we have in A
+	inc	hl		; put HL back where it was
+
+	cp	CR
+	jr	z, .do		; char is CR? do!
+	cp	LF
+	jr	z, .do		; char is LF? do!
+
+	; nothing matched? don't do anything
+	ret
+
+.do:
+	; terminate our string with 0
+	xor	a
+	ld	(hl), a
+	; reset buffer index
+	ld	(BUFIDX), a
+
+	; alright, let's go!
+	ld	hl, INPTBUF
+	call	printstr
+	call	printcrlf
+	ret
+
+; Set current buffer pointer in HL. The buffer pointer is where our *next* char
+; will be written.
+getbufptr:
+	ld	hl, INPTBUF
+	xor	b
+	ld	c, a
+	add	hl, bc		; hl now points to INPTBUF + BUFIDX
+	ret
+
 ; *** DATA ***
-d_welcome:	.byte	"Welcome to Collapse OS", CR, LF, 0
+d_welcome:	.byte	"Welcome to Collapse OS", 0