Acorn Business Computer

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The Acorn Business Computer was produced from 1984 by the British company Acorn Computers. The series of eight computers was aimed at the business, research and further education markets.

The system was developed by Acorn essentially as a repackaged BBC Micro with a second processor to complement the Micro's 6502. The Zilog Z80, Intel 80286 and National Semiconductor 32016 were all used as second processors in the various models. Two of the eight models produced, the Personal Assistant (PA) and the Terminal, had no second processor.

The Business Computer was seen as a failure for Acorn, who failed to get a return on the resources lavished on its development. The most successful model was the 210 model, also known as the Cambridge Workstation.

Contents 1 Range and specifications 1.1 Model PA 1.2 Model Terminal 1.3 Model 100 1.4 Model 110 1.5 Model 200 1.6 Model 210/Cambridge Workstation 1.7 Model 300 1.8 Model 310 2 References

[edit] Range and specifications

[edit] Model PA

The PA in the title stands for 'Personal Assistant'.

• 64 KiB RAM.
• Disc Filing System by default.
• 6502 processor running at 2 MHz.
• 4 MHz RAM bus.
• 32 KiB of operating system in ROM with Acornsoft ViewSheet.
• Approx 0.4 MIPS.

[edit] Model Terminal

• 64 KiB RAM.
• No file system by default.
• 6502 processor running at 2 MHz
• 4 MHz RAM bus.
• 32 KiB of operating system in ROM with a VT100 emulator.
• Approx 0.4 MIPS.

[edit] Model 100

• 64 KiB RAM.
• Disc Filing System by default.
• Z80 processor. (6502 processor acting as host for parasite Z80)
• 32 KiB of operating system in ROM. Largely unused being replaced with CP/M.
• Approx 0.4 MIPS.

[edit] Model 110

• 64 KiB RAM.
• Disc Filing System by default.
• 10 MB hard disk.
• Z80 processor. (6502 processor acting as host for parasite Z80)
• 32 KiB of operating system in ROM. Largely unused being replaced with CP/M.
• Approx 0.4 MIPS.

[edit] Model 200

• 512 KiB RAM memory.
• 10 MHz or 8 MHz RAM bus.
• Disc Filing System by default.
• 32016 processor. (6502 processor acting as host for parasite 32016)
• 32 KiB of operating system in ROM. Largely unused being replaced with Xenix.
• Approx 0.4 MIPS.

[edit] Model 210/Cambridge Workstation

Initially known as the 210, this model later became known as the Cambridge Workstation. It was the most popular system in the series.

• 4096 KiB RAM memory.
• 6 MHz RAM bus.
• Disc Filing System by default.
• 10 MB hard disk.
• 32016 processor. (6502 processor acting as host for parasite 32016)
• 32 KiB of operating system in ROM which was a boot loader for PANOS. Largely unused being replaced with Xenix.
• Approx 0.4 MIPS.

[edit] Model 300

• 1024 KiB RAM memory.
• Disc Filing System by default.
• 80286 processor. (6502 processor acting as host for parasite 80286)
• 32 KiB of operating system in ROM. Largely unused being replaced with CP/M, MS-DOS or PC-DOS.
• Approx 0.4 MIPS.

[edit] Model 310

• 1024 KiB RAM memory.
• Disc Filing System by default.
• 10 MB hard disk.
• 80286 processor. (6502 processor acting as host for parasite 80286)
• 32 KiB of operating system in ROM. Largely unused being replaced with CP/M, MS-DOS or PC-DOS.
• Approx 0.4 MIPS.

[edit] References

• "From Atom to ARC - The ups and downs of the development of Acorn", from October, November and December 1988 editions of Acorn User.
• "Full Acorn Machine List", Philip R. Banks, 1999

List of Acorn Computers microcomputers
Microcomputer System • Atom • BBC Micro (aka Proton) • Electron • Communicator • Business Computer • BBC Master • Archimedes range • Risc PC • Network Computer • Set-Top Box • Phoebe