yann64andClaude Opus 5.5
b274874139
1,289 discussions, 9,527 archived comments; pages no longer carry the comments themselves. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01YDRjtmAiNpo5mK5N3d7QwZ
123 lines
4.9 KiB
Markdown
123 lines
4.9 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: ICL Personal computer
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categories:
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- Computers
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types:
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- Professional Computer
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origins:
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- United Kingdom
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years:
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- '1981'
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cpus:
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- Intel
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params:
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name: Personal computer
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image: /media/museum/photos/icl_perscomp_system_1.jpg
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company: /companies/icl
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company_name: ICL
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specs:
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- label: NAME
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value: Personal computer
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- label: MANUFACTURER
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value: ICL
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- label: TYPE
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value: Professional Computer
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- label: ORIGIN
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value: United Kingdom
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- label: YEAR
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value: '1981'
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- label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE
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value: None
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- label: KEYBOARD
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value: Full-stroke 102 keys with function keys and numeric keypad
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- label: CPU
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value: Intel or AMD 8085A
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- label: SPEED
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value: 3 MHz
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- label: RAM
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value: 64 KB up to 512 KB
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- label: VRAM
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value: Depending on the video terminal used
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- label: TEXT MODES
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value: 80 characters x 25 lines
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- label: GRAPHIC MODES
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value: None
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- label: COLORS
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value: Monochrome
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- label: SOUND
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value: Beeper
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- label: SIZE / WEIGHT
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value: 50.5(W) x 40.5(D) x 14(H) cm.
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- label: I/O PORTS
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value: 2 x serial ports. Serial printer and keyboard on terminal
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- label: BUILT IN MEDIA
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value: 2 x 5.25'' 256 KB Double sided / Double density FDD
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- label: OS
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value: CP/M or MP/M
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- label: POWER SUPPLY
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value: Built-in power supply
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- label: PRICE
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value: From £1,800
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tabs:
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- photos
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forum_thread: 735
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photos:
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- title: COMPLETE SYSTEM
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subtitle: ''
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text: Complete running system with an ICL dot matrix printer, actually an Oki Microline 82, and a Maplin 300 baud modem.
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image: /media/museum/photos/icl_perscomp_compsystem_1.jpg
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- title: BACK
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subtitle: ''
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text: |-
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**(1)** Keyboard connector\
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**(2)** Parallel printer DB25 connector\
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**(3)** Host/serial DB25 connector\
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**(4)** 2 x serial port. The upper one is dedicated to the video terminal
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image: /media/museum/photos/icl_perscomp_back_1.jpg
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- title: INSIDE SYSTEM
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subtitle: ''
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text: |-
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**(1)** The backplane features 8 connectors and uses a specific RAIR format\
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**(2)** Serial board\
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**(3)** 64 KB memory board. Uses 32 x 4116 RAM chips\
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**(4)** Processor board\
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**(5)** Floppy disk controller board\
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**(6)** Switching power supply unit and large fan\
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**(7)** 2 x 5.25" Tandon FDD. Double side, double density, 48TPI, 780 KB models.
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image: /media/museum/photos/icl_perscomp_inside_1.jpg
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- title: INSIDE VIDEO TERMINAL
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subtitle: ''
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text: The video terminal features a complete computer board including a 8085 processor, ROM an RAM memory, and programmable I/O ports.
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image: /media/museum/photos/icl_perscomp_insideterm_1.jpg
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oc_id: 752
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source:
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url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230607225818/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=752
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date: '2023-06-07'
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---
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In the early 70s, the British government whished an English computer company could compete with the world major manufacturers. Some years later, the ICL company became one of the larger manufacturer of computers in Europe and did really compete with U.S. companies.
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In 1980, before the ICL Personal Computer was born, the company met serious financial problems, the English government paid several million pounds and ICL asked the British RAIR CIE to provide the ICL-PC hardware.
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This ICL Personal Computer is thus exactly the same machine as the [RAIR Black Box](/museum/rair-microcomputer-black-box/) system, a backplane 8085 based system using a serial video terminal as video display, and CP/M (single user) or MP/M (multi-user) operating systems.
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Two series were released. The **PC1** series is the model pictured here. The **PC2** series was the same design case as the [ICL PC Quattro](/museum/icl-quattro/). This used an Intel or AMD 8085AH-2 CPU at 5MHZ
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The model numbers for the PC1 series were:\
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**Model 10** (pictured here) - 64 KB RAM, 2 x 5.25" FDD, CP/M O.S.\
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**Model 30** with a 5 MB hard disc, CP/M O.S.\
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**Model 31** 64 KB RAM, three users, 5 MB hard disc, MP/M O.S.\
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**Model 32** 256 KB RAM, three users, 10 MB hard disc, MP/M O.S.
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Those of the PC2 series were:\
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**Model 15** 64 KB RAM, 2 x 5.25" FDD, CP/M O.S.\
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**Model 25** with a 5 MB hard disc, CP/M O.S.\
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**Model 26** 64 KB RAM, three users, 5 MB hard disc, MP/M O.S.\
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**Model 35** 256 KB RAM, three users, 10 MB hard disc, MP/M O.S.
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**Agnus WR Gulliver** reports us:\
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There were a few simple games written for it, mostly text based (what do you expect, it uses CP/M), but it's main use was of course as an office machine.\
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I recall it being a slow machine to use, even boot-up took about a minute. You had to be very careful with the hard disk because it didn't have auto-parking heads. After it was switched off you had to wait about a minute to switch it on again.
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According to **K.-L. Butte**,there were 3 different models of it marking the 3 major development steps: The first incarnation wit 8085 and MP/M, the second with 8088 and Concurrent CP/M and the third with 8086 and Concurrent CP/M.
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