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Test of the correct operation of a Acorn Archimedes A420/I

May 25th, 2014 No comments
Test of the correct operation of a Acorn Archimedes A420/I

This is a test done for a dear friend to check if the Acorn Archimedes A420/I is working properly. The RGB scart cable is homemade by me to connect to a Commodore 1085S monitor.

Gallery:

The Acorn Archimedes was Acorn Computers’ first general purpose home computer to be based on their own ARM architecture. Using a RISC design with a 32-bit CPU (26-bit addressing), at its launch in June 1987, the Archimedes was stated as running at 4 MIPS, with a claim of 18 MIPS during tests. The name is commonly used to describe any of Acorn’s contemporary designs based on the same architecture, even where Acorn did not include Archimedes in the official name.

The first models were released in June 1987, as the 300 and 400 series. The 400 series included 4 expansion slots (although a two slot backplane could be added to the 300 series as an official upgrade, and third parties produced their own 4 slot backplanes) and an ST506 controller for an internal hard drive. Both models included the Arthur operating system operating system (later replaced by RISC OS as a paid-for upgrade), BBC BASIC programming language and an emulator for Acorn’s earlier BBC Micro, and were mounted in two-part cases with a small central unit, monitor on top, and a separate keyboard and three-button mouse. All models featured onboard 8 channel stereo sound and were capable of displaying 256 colours on screen.

Four models were initially released with different amounts of memory, the A305, A310, A410 and A440. The 540 was unveiled in September 1990, and included higher speed SCSI and provision for connecting Genlock devices. The 300 and 400 were followed by a number of machines with minor changes and upgrades.

source: wikipedia

Acorn Electron Software cassette (#2)

June 3rd, 2010 No comments

Thanks to monkimann.

Click here for my Acorn Electron computer.

Click here for the Acorn Electron Software cassette (#1)

Some fixes for the Acorn Electron Data Recorder ALF03

May 9th, 2010 1 comment

Some fixes for the Electron Data Recorder ALF03.

  • Fixed the output Audio.
  • Replace the belt.
  • Clean the tape head and fix the Azimuth.
  • Fixed the Powersupply cable.
  • Self made RGB Cable.
  • Self made Data Recorder Cable (DIN 7 PINs).

Click here for my Acorn Electron computer.

Acorn Electron Data Recorder ALF03

May 7th, 2010 3 comments
Acorn Electron Data Recorder ALF03

Autopsy:

Thanks to monkimann.

from wikipedia:

The Acorn Electron is a budget version of the BBC Micro educational/home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd. It has 32 kilobytes  of RAM, and its ROM includes BBC BASIC along with its operating system.

The Electron was able to save and load programs onto audio cassette via a supplied converter cable that connected it to any standard tape recorder that had the correct sockets. It was capable of basic graphics, and could display onto either a television set, a colour (RGB) monitor or a “green screen” monitor.

Click here for my Acorn Electron computer.

Click here for the Operating Instructions.

source: wikipedia

Acorn Electron Software cassette

May 7th, 2010 2 comments

Thanks to monkimann.

Click here for my Acorn Electron computer.

Acorn Electron User Guide

Thanks to monkimann.

Click here for my Acorn Electron computer.

Acorn Electron Boxed

April 18th, 2010 No comments
Acorn Electron

Autopsy:

from wikipedia:

The Acorn Electron is a budget version of the BBC Micro educational/home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd. It has 32 kilobytes  of RAM, and its ROM includes BBC BASIC along with its operating system.

The Electron was able to save and load programs onto audio cassette via a supplied converter cable that connected it to any standard tape recorder that had the correct sockets. It was capable of basic graphics, and could display onto either a television set, a colour (RGB) monitor or a “green screen” monitor.

At its peak, the Electron was the third best selling micro in the United Kingdom, and total lifetime game sales for the Electron exceeded those of the BBC Micro. There are at least 500 known games for the Electron and the true total is probably in the thousands[citation needed]. The hardware of the BBC Micro was emulated by a single customized ULA chip designed by Acorn.

It had feature limitations such as being unable to output more than one channel of sound where the BBC was capable of three-way polyphony (plus one noise channel) and the inability to provide teletext mode.

The ULA controlled memory access and was able to provide 32K × 8 bits of addressable RAM using 4 × 64K × 1-bit RAM chips (4164). Due to needing two accesses to each chip instead of one, and the complications of the video hardware also needing access, reading or writing RAM was much slower than on the BBC Micro.

This meant that although ROM applications ran at the same speed, there was a substantial speed decrease on applications running from RAM.

source: wikipedia

Acorn BBC Model B + 1gb HD + 64 KB SideWays RAM + Disk Drive

October 10th, 2009 No comments
BBC Model B

Autopsy:

Download Acorn product brochure.

from Wikipedia:

Acorn LogoThe BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers for the BBC Computer Literacy Project, operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Designed with an emphasis on education it was notable for its ruggedness, expandability and the quality of its operating system. The Acorn Proton was a pre-existing project at Acorn to succeed the Atom home computer.

It was then submitted for, and won, the Literacy Project tender for a computer to accompany the TV programmes and literature. Renamed the BBC Micro, the platform was chosen by most schools and became a cornerstone of computing in British education in the 1980s, changing Acorn’s fortunes. It was also moderately successful as a home computer in the United Kingdom despite its high cost. The machine was directly involved in the development of the ARM architecture which sees widespread use in embedded systems as of 2009.

While nine models were eventually produced with the BBC brand, the term “BBC Micro” is usually colloquially used to refer to the first six (Model A, B, B+64 and B+128, Master 128, Master compact), with the later models referred to as the Archimedes series.

In the early 1980s, the BBC started what became known as the BBC Computer Literacy Project. The project was initiated partly in response[1] to an extremely influential ITV documentary series The Mighty Micro, in which Dr Christopher Evans from the National Physical Laboratory predicted the coming (micro) computer revolution and its impact on the economy, industry, and lifestyle of the United Kingdom.

source: wikipedia bbc games archives bbcdocs.com retroclinic.com