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yann64andClaude Opus 5.5 b274874139 All machines linked to their forum thread (full comment import)
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5.8 KiB

title, categories, types, origins, years, cpus, params
title categories types origins years cpus params
ACT Apricot Xi
Computers
Professional Computer
United Kingdom
1984
Intel 8086
name image company company_name specs tabs forum_thread emulators links docs related oc_id source
Apricot Xi /media/museum/photos/act_apricot-xi_1.jpg /companies/act ACT
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NAME Apricot Xi
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MANUFACTURER ACT
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TYPE Professional Computer
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ORIGIN United Kingdom
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YEAR 1984
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KEYBOARD Full-stroke keyboard, 101 keys, 8 function keys, 6 dynamic function keys (membrane keys)\ Built-in 40 characters x 2 lines LCD screen
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CPU Intel 8086
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SPEED 4,77 Mhz
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CO-PROCESSOR Intel 8089 (for in/out tasks), 8087 optional arithmetic co-processor
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RAM 256k, up to 768k
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TEXT MODES 80 x 25, 132 x 50 (character matrix 10 x 16)
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GRAPHIC MODES 800 x 400
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SOUND 1 tone channel
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SIZE / WEIGHT Main unit : 42 x 32 x 10 cm\ Main unit : 6,4 kg / Monitor : 4,1 kg / keyboard : 1,5 kg
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I/O PORTS RS232c, Centronics, 2 x Apricot expansion slots
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BUILT IN MEDIA 1 or 2 x 3''1/2 disk-drives (315k or 720k), 5Mb, 10Mb & 20Mb hard-disks
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OS MS-DOS 2.0, CP/M 86, Concurrent CP/M\ UCSD p-system in option
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POWER SUPPLY Built-in PSU
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PERIPHERALS 1 additional 3''1/2 disk-drives, trackball, printer, plotter
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PRICE Xi10 : 6090 (France, september 85)
emulators
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494
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APE Plus : Apricot Emulator http://www.ansible.demon.co.uk/ai/ape.html MS DOS Commercial emulator that emulates PC/Xi/Xen, the `F' Series, and the Apricot FP Portable
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QDAE http://www.seasip.info/Unix/QDAE/ Multiplatform QDAE is a Quick and Dirty Apricot Emulator for Linux, Windows and MacOS X. This version emulates the Apricot F1; it may support other F-series Apricots as well.
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ACT Apricot computers support page http://www.actapricot.org/home/ Useful infos. Some links might be outdated
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ACT Apricot Computers Yahoo Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/actapricot/ Discussion list for the ACT Apricot computers.
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USER PROMPT APRICOT GUIDE ISSUE 1 http://www.actapricot.org/support/ /media/museum/docs/couvs/act_apricot-user-prompt_1.jpg [**USER PROMPT APRICOT GUIDE ISSUE 1**](http://www.actapricot.org/support/)written by UserPrompt Guides  compiled/archived by Jonathan Marsters\  type of document : PDF\  source : [www.actapricot.org](http://www.actapricot.org)
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USER PROMPT APRICOT GUIDE ISSUE 2 http://www.actapricot.org/support/ /media/museum/docs/couvs/act_apricot-user-prompt_2.jpg [**USER PROMPT APRICOT GUIDE ISSUE 2**](http://www.actapricot.org/support/)written by UserPrompt Guides  compiled/archived by Jonathan Marsters\  type of document : PDF\  source : [www.actapricot.org](http://www.actapricot.org)
/museum/act-apricot-f1
/museum/act-apricot-f2-f10
/museum/act-apricot-pc
/museum/act-apricot-portable
/museum/act-apricot-xen
500
url date
https://web.archive.org/web/20221203215321/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=500 2022-12-03

The Xi was the hard-disk version of the cream-coloured Apricot PC.

The keyboard could be clipped to the underside of the machine, and a little cover would slide over the front panel to conceal the floppy drive. A handle then slid out of the front (just under the ridge) that allowed it to be carried very easily.

A colour screen was available - a re-packaged 10" Sony Trinitron screen that almost nobody bought because it was so expensive.

The mono screens had an anti-glare coating consisting of a very fine nylon mesh stretched over the screen and held in place by the bezel. Anybody who made the mistake of spraying glass cleaner on it would regret it, as the cleaner just clogged up in the pores of the mesh and left a nasty stain on the screen, which could only be removed by dismantling the monitor in order to rinse the mesh in water.

Model Xi5 : 256 KB RAM + 5 MB hard-disk + 315k disk-drive
Model Xi10 : 256 KB RAM + 10 MB hard-disk + 720k disk-drive
Model Xi20 : 512 KB RAM + 20 MB hard-disk + 720k disk-drive
Model Xi20s : 1 MB RAM + 20 MB hard-disk + 720k disk-drive

There was also a very rare model - coloured pale grey, which had a hard drive of 50 MB or thereabouts.

Dave Ridley reports:
Used to fix these machines, one very common problem on Apricot Xi was "wobbly screen" reported by user. The answer was to make a "bacofoil sandwich" as we called it! Take one aluminum foil strip, cover with packing tape to insulate, solder an earth wire onto one corner and stuff inside case, under where the screen sat. Hey presto, no wobble induced by PSU in main unit! Also the disk drives were prone to clogging up and getting generally dirty.

Technical tip from Charles Verrier:
Taking any Apricot PC to bits required a bit of care...
The rear panel had 3 or 4 screws, one of which fitted into the metal 'bridge' that ran the width of the machine, and held the PSU and disk drives above the motherboard, which filled the base of the case.
The bridge was partially supported by this real-panel screw, and would drop about half a centimetere when it was removed.
The only way to reassemble the thing was to turn the unit upside down so that the bridge screw hole would re-align with the real panel.
Happy days!