This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Acorn System 1" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR(November 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
7.5V+ from external PSU through onboard 5V regulator
Dimensions
160 x 100mm two stacked boards
Successor
Acorn System 2, Acorn Atom
The Acorn System 1, initially called the Acorn Microcomputer (Micro-Computer), was an early 8-bit microcomputer for hobbyists, based on the MOS 6502 CPU, and produced by British company Acorn Computers from 1979.
The main parts of the system were designed by then-Cambridge-undergraduate student Sophie Wilson,[3] with a cassette interface designed by Steve Furber.[4] It was Acorn's first product, and was based on an automated cow feeder.[3][disputed – discuss]
It was a small machine built on two Eurocard-standard circuit boards and it could be purchased ready-built or in kit form.
one card (shown right) with the I/O part of the computer: a LED seven segment display, a 25-key keypad (hex+function keys), and a cassette CUTS interface (the circuitry to the left of the keypad)
the second card (the computer board - see below), which included the CPU, RAM/ROM memory, and support chips
the two boards were interconnected by a semi-flexible, multi-conductor cable, known by its commercial name 'Spectra Strip'
the whole assembly was held together by four 2.5mm × 20mm nylon screws and clear plastic spacing tubes for rigidity.
Acorn System 1 Rear (CPU) Board
Main Components (left to right)
Top Row: INS8154 RAMIO Integrated Circuit (for keyboard and display), 6502 CPU, 2 × 2114 1024×4 RAM, 2 × 74S571 512×4 PROM, RAM/ROM expansion socket, second INS8154 for peripheral expansion (optional extra with the kit version).
Bottom row: 1 MHz clock crystal, 4 × TTL logic chips providing address decoding for the memory and I/O expansion, 5V regulator.
The smaller empty socket in the middle of the board was used to set the memory map of the RAM, ROM and I/O expansion by fitting or soldering wires between various positions according to the instructions in the Acorn System 1 Technical Manual.
The three semi-circular legends on the bottom left of the board marked positions for optional push switches to trigger the board's RESET, IRQ (Interrupt ReQuest) and NMI (Non Maskable Interrupt) lines.
Almost all CPU signals were accessible via the standard Eurocard connector on the right-hand side of the board. This connector was not fitted/supplied as standard with the kit version.
The System 1 front board was used as the control panel for the fictional computer Slave in the 1981 series of the BBC science-fiction series Blake's 7.
^Meyer, David (November 19, 2010). "Dead IT giants: A top 10 of the fallen". ZDNet. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
^"ACORN COMPUTERS. PRICE LIST MARCH 1979". Acorn Computers. March 1979. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
^ abGoodwins, Rupert (April 25, 2011). "Acorns land at Bletchley Park: PHOTO Acorn System 1". ZDNet. Retrieved November 23, 2011. Acorn's first product was the Acorn System 1, based on an automated cow feeder designed by Sophie (nee Roger) Wilson as part of her degree course at Cambridge in 1977.
^http://www.stairwaytohell.com/articles/SG-SophieWilson.html Sophie Wilson - 2007 Interview with Stuart Goodwin
The AcornSystem1, initially called the Acorn Microcomputer (Micro-Computer), was an early 8-bit microcomputer for hobbyists, based on the MOS 6502 CPU...
The AcornSystem was a series of modular microcomputer systems based on rack-mounted Eurocards developed by Acorn Computers from 1979 to 1982, aimed primarily...
not join the other Acorn employees at Market Hill until a little while later. The Acorn Microcomputer, later renamed the AcornSystem1, was designed by...
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...
AcornSystem BASIC and Atom BASIC are two closely related dialects of the BASIC programming language developed by Acorn Computers for their early microcomputers...
The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a series of microcomputers designed and built by Acorn Computers Limited in the 1980s for the Computer...
The Acorn Atom is a home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd from 1980 to 1982, when it was replaced by the BBC Micro. The BBC Micro began life as an...
include: Acorn Computers Acorn Eurocard systemsAcornSystem1Acorn Atom BBC Micro Acorn Electron BBC Master Acorn Archimedes RiscPC Acorn Network Computer...
RISC OS (/rɪsk.oʊˈɛs/) is a computer operating system originally designed by Acorn Computers Ltd in Cambridge, England. First released in 1987, it was...
The Acorn Electron (nicknamed the Elk inside Acorn and beyond) was a lower-cost alternative to the BBC Micro educational/home computer, also developed...
Econet was Acorn Computers's low-cost local area network system, intended for use by schools and small businesses. It was widely used in those areas, and...
Acorn TV is a British-American subscription video streaming service offering television programming from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand...
The acorn worms or Enteropneusta are a hemichordate class of invertebrates consisting of one order of the same name. The closest non-hemichordate relatives...
System One, System I or System1 may refer to: AcornSystem1, 8-bit microcomputer by Acorn Atari System1, an arcade game hardware platform by Atari Cromemco...
successor to the A5000, fitting into Acorn's range between the A4000 and Risc PC600, featuring a 32 MHz ARM7500 system-on-a-chip (SoC) and either 2 MB, 4 MB...
Filing System (ADFS) is a computing file system unique to the Acorn computer range and RISC OS-based successors. Initially based on the rare Acorn Winchester...
Risc PC was a range of personal computers launched in 1994 by Acorn and replaced the preceding Archimedes series. The machines had a unique architecture...
Disc Filing System (DFS) is a computer file system developed by Acorn Computers, initially as an add-on to the Eurocard-based AcornSystem 2. In 1981,...
The Acorn Business Computer (ABC) was a series of microcomputers announced at the end of 1983 by the British company Acorn Computers. The series of eight...
The Acorn Communicator is a discontinued business computer developed by Acorn Computers. Mentioned in the computing press in late 1984 as the C30, previewed...
The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) is an international collection of autonomous community-based organizations that advocates...
The Acorn Online Media Set Top Box was produced by the Online Media division of Acorn Computers Ltd for the Cambridge Cable and Online Media Video on...
The Acorn Network Computer was a network computer (a type of thin client) designed and manufactured by Acorn Computers Ltd. It was the implementation of...
The Machine Operating System (MOS) or OS is a discontinued computer operating system (OS) used in Acorn Computers' BBC computer range. It included support...
lowercase as arm, formerly an acronym for Advanced RISC Machines and originally Acorn RISC Machine) is a family of RISC instruction set architectures (ISAs) for...
pre-built machines in relatively small numbers in the mid-1970s. These systems were primarily used for teaching the use of microprocessors and supporting...
RISC OS, the computer operating system developed by Acorn Computers for their ARM-based Acorn Archimedes range, was originally released in 1987 as Arthur...
RISC iX is a discontinued Unix operating system designed to run on a series of workstations based on the Acorn Archimedes microcomputer. Heavily based...
set-top-boxes, as well as later Acorn personal computers. Tablet and laptop manufacturers have learned lessons from embedded systems and smartphone markets about...
Global Information
