website/content/museum/acorn-computer-bbc-master-compact.md

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

title	categories	types	origins	years	cpus	params
Acorn Computer BBC Master Compact	Computers	Home Computer	United Kingdom	1986	MOS 65C02	name image company company_name specs tabs forum_thread adverts hardware emulators links related oc_id source BBC Master Compact /media/museum/photos/acorn_bbc-master-compact_1.jpg /companies/acorn-computer Acorn Computer label value NAME BBC Master Compact label value MANUFACTURER Acorn Computer label value TYPE Home Computer label value ORIGIN United Kingdom label value YEAR September 1986 label value BUILT IN LANGUAGE BBC Basic label value KEYBOARD Full-stroke QWERTY keyboard, 10 function keys, arrow keys, numeric keypad label value CPU MOS 65C02 label value SPEED 1.8 MHz label value RAM 128 Kb label value ROM 64 Kb + Sideways expansion label value TEXT MODES 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 value GRAPHIC MODES 640 x 256 (2 colors) / 320 x 256 (4 colors) / 160 x 256 (16 colors) label value COLORS 16 (8 colors + flashing option) label value SOUND 3 channels, 7 octaves label value I/O PORTS BNC video out, RGB video out, RS232 (optional), Econet port (optional), Printer port (36-pin Centronics), Disk-drive connector (Centronics), expansion edge connector label value POWER SUPPLY PSU Built in to base. label value PERIPHERALS Expansion units were produced, apparently. Came with 3.5'' 600K disk drive as standard. label value PRICE Around £600 (UK, 1986) adverts hardware emulators links 712 title subtitle text image ACORN AD #1 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** /media/museum/pubs/acorn_mastercompact_pub_1.jpg title subtitle text image ACORN AD #2 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** /media/museum/pubs/acorn_mastercompact_pub_2.jpg title subtitle text image ACORN AD. #3 (NOV. 86) 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... /media/museum/pubs/acorn_mastercompact_pub_3.jpg title subtitle text image VOLTMACE DELTA CONTROLLERS 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. /media/museum/hardware/voltmace_joysticks.jpg title url platform text The BBC Lives ! http://www.nvg.org/bbc/emulators.php3 MS DOS This excellent site has a complete list of Acorn systems emulators title url text Acornusers.org http://www.acornusers.org/ The acornusers.org server hosts several Acorn web sites title url text comp.sys.acorn.games FAQ http://www.landfield.com/faqs/acorn/games/ newsgroup FAQ title url text RetroBBC http://www.strafom.force9.co.uk/bbc/Retrobbc/Index.htm Mainly a software archive. Cool ! title url text The BBC and Master Computer Public Domain Library http://8bs.com/ Lots of stuff to see and download title url text The BBC Lives! http://bbc.nvg.org/ The net's largest site catering for enthusiasts of Acorn's range of 8-bit micros title url text The Stairway to Hell http://www.stairwaytohell.com/ Electron and BBC support. Excellent site with a lot of stuff ! title url text The Unofficial Acorn Computer User WWW Server http://www.poppyfields.net/acorn/ title url text Web Wiz CAPTCHA http://www.webwizcaptcha.com Programming of Acorn computers /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 729 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230327021045/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=729 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.

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Info, texts and picture by Richard Kilpatrick