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

---
title: ICL OPD - One Per Desk
categories:
- Computers
types:
- Professional Computer
origins:
- United Kingdom
years:
- '1984'
cpus:
- Motorola MC 68008
params:
  name: OPD - One Per Desk
  image: /media/museum/photos/icl_opd_1.jpg
  company: /companies/icl
  company_name: ICL
  specs:
  - label: NAME
    value: OPD - One Per Desk
  - label: MANUFACTURER
    value: ICL
  - label: TYPE
    value: Professional Computer
  - label: ORIGIN
    value: United Kingdom
  - label: YEAR
    value: '1984'
  - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE
    value: None
  - label: KEYBOARD
    value: Full stroke 73-key with numeric keypad
  - label: CPU
    value: Motorola MC 68008
  - label: SPEED
    value: 7.5 MHz
  - label: CO-PROCESSOR
    value: Sinclair ULA gate array chip
  - label: RAM
    value: 128 KB (extensible to 640 KB)
  - label: VRAM
    value: 32 KB
  - label: ROM
    value: From 128 KB to 352 KB
  - label: TEXT MODES
    value: 42 / 64 / 84 chars. x 24 lines
  - label: GRAPHIC MODES
    value: 256 x 256 (8 colors) / 512 x 256 (4 colors)
  - label: COLORS
    value: '256'
  - label: SOUND
    value: TI TMP5220C speech synthesiser / built-in loudspeaker
  - label: SIZE / WEIGHT
    value: 44 (W) x 26.5 (D) x 6.8 (H) cm
  - label: I/O PORTS
    value: RS232 (2), QL Network (2), Joystick (2), ROM extension, RAM extension
  - label: BUILT IN MEDIA
    value: Two microdrives
  - label: OS
    value: Q-DOS
  - label: POWER SUPPLY
    value: Power is supplied by the monitor
  - label: PERIPHERALS
    value: Dual 3.5'' Floppy disc drive unit, Terminal adapter, various software in ROM cartridges
  - label: PRICE
    value: Unknown
  tabs:
  - photos
  - hardware
  - software
  - emulators
  - links
  forum_thread: 285
  photos:
  - title: INSIDE THE OPD
    subtitle: ''
    text: |-
      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.
    image: /media/museum/photos/icl_opd_inside_uc_1.jpg
  - title: REAR
    subtitle: ''
    text: |-
      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.
    image: /media/museum/photos/icl_opd_backside_1.jpg
  - title: OPD MOTHERBOARD
    subtitle: ''
    text: |-
      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
    image: /media/museum/photos/icl_opd_motherboard_1.jpg
  hardware:
  - title: INSIDE THE FLOPPY DISK UNIT
    subtitle: ''
    text: 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.
    image: /media/museum/hardware/inside_fd.jpg
  - title: INSIDE THE COLOR MONITOR
    subtitle: ''
    text: The same power supply is used for both monitor and computer.
    image: /media/museum/hardware/inside_display.jpg
  screenshots:
  - title: OPD BOOT SCREEN
    subtitle: ''
    text: |-
      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
    image: /media/museum/software/boot_screenshoot.jpg
  emulators:
  - title: Q-Emulator for Windows 95
    url: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Heights/1296/winql.html
    platform: Windows
    text: ''
  - title: QLAY - SINCLAIR QL EMULATOR for Windows95, DOS
    url: http://web.inter.nl.net/hcc/A.Jaw.Venema/
    platform: Windows
    text: (Available for Linux)
  - title: QEmulator
    url: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Heights/1296/q-emulator.html
    platform: Apple
    text: ''
  - title: UQLX Homepage
    url: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Bay/2602/uqlx_main.html
    platform: Unix / Linux
    text: ''
  - title: QLem
    url: http://rand.thn.htu.se/~johan/qlem.html
    platform: Atari
    text: The QL Emulator for Atari ST/TT/Falcon
  - title: Sinclair Emulation Homepage
    url: http://users.aol.com/autismuk/sinclair.htm
    platform: Other platform
    text: ''
  links:
  - title: ICL OPD - Article from David Tebbutt, Personal Computer World 12-84
    url: http://www.presshere.com/html/pw8412.htm
    text: ''
  - title: Web Wiz CAPTCHA
    url: http://www.webwizcaptcha.com
    text: Sinclair computers
  oc_id: 275
  source:
    url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230406084723/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=275
    date: '2023-04-06'
---

This strange mixture between telephone and computer is actually a [Sinclair QL](/museum/sinclair-ql-quantum-leap/) (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](/museum/merlin-tonto/)) and Australia (Telecom Computerphone).

---

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.