--- title: Acorn Computer BBC Master Compact categories: - Computers types: - Home Computer origins: - United Kingdom years: - '1986' cpus: - MOS 65C02 params: name: BBC Master Compact image: /media/museum/photos/acorn_bbc-master-compact_1.jpg company: /companies/acorn-computer company_name: Acorn Computer specs: - label: NAME value: BBC Master Compact - label: MANUFACTURER value: Acorn Computer - label: TYPE value: Home Computer - label: ORIGIN value: United Kingdom - label: YEAR value: September 1986 - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE value: BBC Basic - label: KEYBOARD value: Full-stroke QWERTY keyboard, 10 function keys, arrow keys, numeric keypad - label: CPU value: MOS 65C02 - label: SPEED value: 1.8 MHz - label: RAM value: 128 Kb - label: ROM value: 64 Kb + Sideways expansion - label: TEXT MODES value: 80 x 32/25 (2 colors) / 40 x 32/25 (2 or 4 colors) / 20 x 32 (16 colors) / 40 x 25 (Teletext display) - label: GRAPHIC MODES value: 640 x 256 (2 colors) / 320 x 256 (4 colors) / 160 x 256 (16 colors) - label: COLORS value: 16 (8 colors + flashing option) - label: SOUND value: 3 channels, 7 octaves - label: I/O PORTS value: BNC video out, RGB video out, RS232 (optional), Econet port (optional), Printer port (36-pin Centronics), Disk-drive connector (Centronics), expansion edge connector - label: POWER SUPPLY value: PSU Built in to base. - label: PERIPHERALS value: Expansion units were produced, apparently. Came with 3.5'' 600K disk drive as standard. - label: PRICE value: Around £600 (UK, 1986) tabs: - adverts - hardware - emulators - links forum_thread: 712 adverts: - title: 'ACORN AD #1' subtitle: '' text: |- Advert said:\ Success in the future will depend upon confidence in using new technologies. That's why a computer in the home has to be more than just an interesting diversion or even a useful tool. It has to an investment in tomorrow for you and your children... Courtesy of **8bs.com** image: /media/museum/pubs/acorn_mastercompact_pub_1.jpg - title: 'ACORN AD #2' subtitle: '' text: |- Advert said:\ This attractive package inherits the traditions of the famous Model B BBC microcomputer which is used by children in almost every school in the United Kingdom as well as colleges, hospitals, laboratories, factories, offices, banks and shops. Courtesy of **8bs.com** image: /media/museum/pubs/acorn_mastercompact_pub_2.jpg - title: 'ACORN AD. #3 (NOV. 86)' subtitle: '' text: |- Advert said: The BBC Master Compact's educational software, takes children from their first grasp of words and numbers to A-level and beyond.\ In 84% of U.K. schools, children are already growing up with BBC micros.\ With a BBC Master Compact at home, your child's ability with computers will progress in leaps and bounds... image: /media/museum/pubs/acorn_mastercompact_pub_3.jpg hardware: - title: VOLTMACE DELTA CONTROLLERS subtitle: '' text: 'Voltmace modified its Database videogame system controllers to be sold for micro-computers, mainly Acorn systems : BBC and Electron (with Plus-1 interface). As the keypad was of no use anymore, it was reduced to only 3 fire buttons.' image: /media/museum/hardware/voltmace_joysticks.jpg emulators: - title: The BBC Lives ! url: http://www.nvg.org/bbc/emulators.php3 platform: MS DOS text: This excellent site has a complete list of Acorn systems emulators links: - title: Acornusers.org url: http://www.acornusers.org/ text: The acornusers.org server hosts several Acorn web sites - title: comp.sys.acorn.games FAQ url: http://www.landfield.com/faqs/acorn/games/ text: newsgroup FAQ - title: RetroBBC url: http://www.strafom.force9.co.uk/bbc/Retrobbc/Index.htm text: Mainly a software archive. Cool ! - title: The BBC and Master Computer Public Domain Library url: http://8bs.com/ text: Lots of stuff to see and download - title: The BBC Lives! url: http://bbc.nvg.org/ text: The net's largest site catering for enthusiasts of Acorn's range of 8-bit micros - title: The Stairway to Hell url: http://www.stairwaytohell.com/ text: Electron and BBC support. Excellent site with a lot of stuff ! - title: The Unofficial Acorn Computer User WWW Server url: http://www.poppyfields.net/acorn/ text: '' - title: Web Wiz CAPTCHA url: http://www.webwizcaptcha.com text: Programming of Acorn computers related: - /museum/acorn-computer-atom - /museum/acorn-computer-bbc-master - /museum/acorn-computer-bbc-master-aiv - /museum/acorn-computer-bbc-model-a-b-b - /museum/acorn-computer-electron oc_id: 729 source: url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230327021045/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=729 date: '2023-03-27' --- In 1986 the Acorn Business Computer range was long gone, and Olivetti - Acorn's new owners, having been forced to increase their stake from 49 to 80 per cent of the firm - were concentrating on making Acorn more profitable. The case for the 65C816-based Communicator was retained and given a basic box, housing a PSU and disk drive, to make a standard-looking 3-box computer system based around the BBC Master architecture. Also marketed in Europe as the **Olivetti Prodest PC 128 S** (S for Sistema), the Master compact differed from other computers in a number of annoying ways. Most confusing was the decision to keep the computer in the keyboard, with suitable reductions in available interfaces and features such as the real-time clock - making the Master Compact rather like a grown up Electron (however, home marketing would unfortunately not be attempted - it would have been considerably more successful). The 'CPU' was connected via a large ribbon cable and a jack plug. The monitor connected to the 'keyboard'. It was, to be blunt, a mess. However, the system did introduce the 3.5" drive as a standard to the 8-bit BBC range and featured all the usual Master enhancements plus a mouse/joystick port. As a school computer - the traditional market - it differed just enough to make it relatively unpopular, lacking the user and 1MHz bus ports used by many educational devices, and being (by nature of its smaller case) somewhat easier to steal and damage. The Compact was discontinued very early on, the introduction of the A305 Archimedes offering a similar 'format' of machine, but with all the benefits associated with Acorn - expandability, speed, and reliability. The original one-box Master 128 continued to sell until 1993... Olivetti were to get their own back for the Compact - Acorn sold a branded version of the Olivetti M19 'PC Compatible', a rather dated 8088-based machine. The Olivetti Prodest 128 can be seen in the kid's film 'Treasure Island in Space' - an Italian production, most likely. The computer is recognizable by its blue and white display. --- Info, texts and picture by **Richard Kilpatrick**