Cassette tape, floppy disk (optional), ROM cartridge (optional)
Operating system
Acorn MOS v1.0
CPU
Synertek SY6502A clocked at 2MHz when accessing ROM and 1 MHz when accessing RAM
Memory
32 KB RAM, 32 KB ROM
Display
RF modulator, composite video, RGB monitor output, 160×256 (4 or 16 colours), 320×256 (2 or 4 colours), 640×256 (2 colours), 320×200 (2 colours – spaced display with two blank horizontal lines following every 8 pixel lines), 640×200 (2 colours – spaced display)
Graphics
Ferranti Semiconductor Custom ULA
Sound
Tone and noise generation
Input
Keyboard
The Acorn Electron (nicknamed the Elk inside Acorn[1] and beyond[2]) was a lower-cost alternative to the BBC Micro educational/home computer, also developed by Acorn Computers Ltd, to provide many of the features of that more expensive machine at a price more competitive with that of the ZX Spectrum.[3] It had 32 kilobytes of RAM, and its ROM included BBC BASIC II together with the operating system. Announced in 1982 for a possible release the same year, it was eventually introduced on 25 August 1983 priced at £199.[1]
The Electron was able to save and load programs onto audio cassette via a supplied cable that connected it to any standard tape recorder that had the correct sockets. It was capable of bitmapped graphics, and could use either a television set, a colour (RGB) monitor or a monochrome monitor as its display. Several expansions were made available to provide many of the capabilities omitted from the BBC Micro. Acorn introduced a general-purpose expansion unit, the Plus 1, offering analogue joystick and parallel ports, together with cartridge slots into which ROM cartridges, providing software, or other kinds of hardware expansions, such as disc interfaces, could be inserted.[4] Acorn also produced a dedicated disc expansion, the Plus 3, featuring a disc controller and 3.5-inch floppy drive.[5]
For a short period, the Electron was reportedly the best selling micro in the United Kingdom,[6] with an estimated 200,000[7] to 250,000 machines[8] sold over its entire commercial lifespan. With production effectively discontinued by Acorn as early as 1985,[9] and with the machine offered in bundles with games and expansions, later being substantially discounted by retailers, a revival in demand for the Electron supported a market for software and expansions without Acorn's involvement,[10] with its market for games also helping to sustain the continued viability of games production for the BBC Micro.[11]
^ abCite error: The named reference acornuser198307_elk was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"The Acorn Electron". Acorn Electron World. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
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^"Spectrum Toppled". Electron User. Vol. 3, no. 5. Database Publications. February 1986. p. 7. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
^"Olivetti cash revives Acorn". Home Computing Weekly. 30 July 1985. p. 1. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
^"Is a new model on its way?". Electron User. Vol. 3, no. 9. June 1986. p. 5. Retrieved 27 November 2020. They figure that if the public wants Electrons, and more than 250,000 have been sold so far, then the time may be ripe to bring out an enhanced model
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The AcornElectron (nicknamed the Elk inside Acorn and beyond) was a lower-cost alternative to the BBC Micro educational/home computer, also developed...
which were especially popular in the UK, including the AcornElectron and the Acorn Archimedes. Acorn's BBC Micro computer dominated the UK educational computer...
Following is a list of AcornElectron games, with original publishers. Contents: Top 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 3D Bomb Alley...
Acornsoft was the software arm of Acorn Computers, and a major publisher of software for the BBC Micro and AcornElectron. As well as games, it also produced...
Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up arcade video game, developed and released by Taito in Japan and licensed to Midway Manufacturing for overseas distribution...
1986 by Superior Software. This was followed by Codename: Droid and an AcornElectron conversion of Stryker's Run in 1987. The name Reflections was first...
(video game), a 1982 computer game by Acornsoft for the BBC Micro and AcornElectron Arcadians (theater group) a theater group located in Wollongong, Australia...
required host environment and licensing. While the ARM processor in the Acorn Archimedes is a 32-bit chip, it only had 26-bit addressing making an ARM/Archimedes...
System, or BBC Micro, is a series of microcomputer designed and built by Acorn Computers Limited in the 1980s for the Computer Literacy Project of the...
include: Acorn Computers Acorn Eurocard systems Acorn System 1 Acorn Atom BBC Micro AcornElectron BBC Master Acorn Archimedes RiscPC Acorn Network Computer...
original game and Jet Set Willy II were released for the BBC Micro, AcornElectron, MSX, Commodore 16 and Commodore 64. A differently expanded version...
company Acorn Computers used non-standard disk formats in their 8-bit BBC Micro and AcornElectron, and their successor the 32-bit Acorn Archimedes. Acorn however...
Spy Hunter is a vehicular combat developed by Bally Midway and released for arcades in 1984. The game draws inspiration from the James Bond films and was...
BBC Micro and AcornElectron in 1988, the Apple II series in 1989, the Amiga and Atari ST (as Last Ninja Remix) in 1990, and the Acorn Archimedes in 1991...
Acorn Archimedes is a family of personal computers designed by Acorn Computers of Cambridge, England. The systems are based on Acorn's own ARM architecture...
Arkanoid is a 1986 block breaker arcade game developed and published by Taito. In North America, it was published by Romstar. Controlling a paddle-like...
The Acorn Communicator is a discontinued business computer developed by Acorn Computers. Mentioned in the computing press in late 1984 as the C30, previewed...
Questprobe featuring The Hulk was released on May 1, 1984, for the AcornElectron, Apple II series, Atari 8-bit computers, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, Dragon...
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