website/content/museum/icl-opd-one-per-desk.md

title, categories, types, origins, years, cpus, params

title	categories	types	origins	years	cpus	params
ICL OPD - One Per Desk	Computers	Professional Computer	United Kingdom	1984	Motorola MC 68008	name image company company_name specs tabs forum_thread photos hardware screenshots emulators links oc_id source OPD - One Per Desk /media/museum/photos/icl_opd_1.jpg /companies/icl ICL label value NAME OPD - One Per Desk label value MANUFACTURER ICL label value TYPE Professional Computer label value ORIGIN United Kingdom label value YEAR 1984 label value BUILT IN LANGUAGE None label value KEYBOARD Full stroke 73-key with numeric keypad label value CPU Motorola MC 68008 label value SPEED 7.5 MHz label value CO-PROCESSOR Sinclair ULA gate array chip label value RAM 128 KB (extensible to 640 KB) label value VRAM 32 KB label value ROM From 128 KB to 352 KB label value TEXT MODES 42 / 64 / 84 chars. x 24 lines label value GRAPHIC MODES 256 x 256 (8 colors) / 512 x 256 (4 colors) label value COLORS 256 label value SOUND TI TMP5220C speech synthesiser / built-in loudspeaker label value SIZE / WEIGHT 44 (W) x 26.5 (D) x 6.8 (H) cm label value I/O PORTS RS232 (2), QL Network (2), Joystick (2), ROM extension, RAM extension label value BUILT IN MEDIA Two microdrives label value OS Q-DOS label value POWER SUPPLY Power is supplied by the monitor label value PERIPHERALS Dual 3.5'' Floppy disc drive unit, Terminal adapter, various software in ROM cartridges label value PRICE Unknown photos hardware software emulators links 285 title subtitle text image INSIDE THE OPD Worth noticing : - 2 free locations for Telephony and RomPack modules\ - The loudspeaker for the telephone and the speech synthesis\ - 2 integrated microdrives All elements are assembled without any screw, only plastic clips. /media/museum/photos/icl_opd_inside_uc_1.jpg title subtitle text image REAR The back of the OPD reveals only 2 removable modules (Telephony and RomPack modules) and two connectors (Video/Power supply and parallel printer). **(1)** Double disk drive unit with a connector for an optional second unit\ **(2)** Small cartridge used to connect the disk drive through the RomPack module.\ **(3)** RomPack module which can house 4 ROM cartridges. Three original ICL cartridges contains the telecommunication software\ **(4)** Connector for a serial printer\ **(5)** Monitor and power supply connector (the power is supplied by the monitor).\ **(6)** Telephony module. It handles a classic phone line and a second line for data transfer.\ **(7-8)** Phone cords. /media/museum/photos/icl_opd_backside_1.jpg title subtitle text image OPD MOTHERBOARD ICL used the Sinclair QL's mother board and transformed it deeply to make it compatible with the specific features of the OPD. The Sinclair Basic ROM were replaced by the operating system of the OPD. The BASIC has thus to be loaded from a disk or MicroDrive tape. **(1)** Monitor and power supply connector\ **(2)** Parallel printer connector\ **(3)** ROM holding the OPD operating system\ **(4)** Motorola 68008 8/16 bit microprocessor running at 7,5 Mhz.\ **(5)** 128 Kb RAM.\ **(6)** Keyboard connector\ **(7)** Telephony Module Connector\ **(8)** Input/Output Sinclair chipsets\ **(9)** Microdrives connector /media/museum/photos/icl_opd_motherboard_1.jpg title subtitle text image INSIDE THE FLOPPY DISK UNIT A 'typical' floppy disk unit including two NEC 3.5" disk drives, a dedicated power supply, and an interface card connected to the OPD through a ROM pack module. /media/museum/hardware/inside_fd.jpg title subtitle text image INSIDE THE COLOR MONITOR The same power supply is used for both monitor and computer. /media/museum/hardware/inside_display.jpg title subtitle text image OPD BOOT SCREEN When OPD is turned on, a menu with 9 options gives access to :\ - Telephony functions\ - Messaging functions\ - Integrated applications : Abacus (spreadsheet), Quill (Word processor), Archives (data base) - Easel (Graphics package)\ - Microdrive and Floppy disk programs and files\ - OPS parameters setting\ - BASIC language from diskette or microdrive\ Every standard applications are identical to those of Sinclair QL /media/museum/software/boot_screenshoot.jpg title url platform text Q-Emulator for Windows 95 http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Heights/1296/winql.html Windows title url platform text QLAY - SINCLAIR QL EMULATOR for Windows95, DOS http://web.inter.nl.net/hcc/A.Jaw.Venema/ Windows (Available for Linux) title url platform text QEmulator http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Heights/1296/q-emulator.html Apple title url platform text UQLX Homepage http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Bay/2602/uqlx_main.html Unix / Linux title url platform text QLem http://rand.thn.htu.se/~johan/qlem.html Atari The QL Emulator for Atari ST/TT/Falcon title url platform text Sinclair Emulation Homepage http://users.aol.com/autismuk/sinclair.htm Other platform title url text ICL OPD - Article from David Tebbutt, Personal Computer World 12-84 http://www.presshere.com/html/pw8412.htm title url text Web Wiz CAPTCHA http://www.webwizcaptcha.com Sinclair computers 275 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230406084723/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=275 2023-04-06

This strange mixture between telephone and computer is actually a Sinclair QL (slightly modified, of course). It is based on the QL motherboard, but with some improvements, namely, ruggedized (in other words, more reliable) Microdrives.

ICL also added some software in ROM: diary, address and phone book, communication software and a terminal emulator. It has a built-in modem and a speech synthesizer.

According to ICL, each executive should have this computer on his desktop !

Two rebadged versions were sold in UK (Merlin Tonto) and Australia (Telecom Computerphone).

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More information from 'Ex Cathedra'
This was a classic design disaster - great ideas, poor execution. The microdrives didn't buffer as the Sinclair ones did, leading to a 7-sec seek time ever time a block was missed. The phone handset was 3/4 size and uncomfortable to use. Overheating was a big problem too, with frequent crashes. The speech synth could answer the phone with a Texas Dalek voice, but couldn't take a message. A fave in-house game at ICL was getting the thing to swear using the limited vocab range...

The main software was Psion xChange - WP, spreadsheet, DB and business graphics. This was in ROM, with the BASIC interpreter on Microdrive - Sinclair QLs were the other way round. xChange was a good package for its day, and actually looks very similar to the built-in packages on the Psion PDAs (3a, 5). The terminal emulation was a VT-type and a PRESTEL (the UK info service operated by the post office).

The system, as did the QL, had basic task-switching - not real multitasking (background tasks didn't run) but at least you were not constantly unloading and reloading programs as on the IBM PCs of the day. A big boon given the problem with the microdrives...

Add-on ROMS were available (your pic actually shows one top right) which made the machine into an ICL7561 terminal emulator. This was a popular configuration as ICL discounted them heavily and they ended up cheaper than the original terminals.