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The British Broadcasting Corporation Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a

series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn
Computers in the 1980s for the BBC Computer Literacy Project. Designed with an
emphasis on education, it was notable for its ruggedness, expandability, and the
quality of its operating system. An accompanying 1982 television series, The
Computer Programme, featuring Chris Serle learning to use the machine, was
broadcast on BBC2.
BBC Micro
BBC owl.svg
BBC Micro Front Restored.jpg
BBC Micro Model A/B (standard configuration)
Developer
BBC
Manufacturer
Acorn Computers
Type
8-bit home computer
Release date
December 1, 1981; 40 years ago
Lifespan
1981–1994
Introductory price
£235 Model A, £335 Model B (in 1981)
Discontinued
1994; 27 years ago
Units sold
Over 1.5 million
Media
Cassette tape, floppy disk (optional) – 5+1⁄4-inch (common) (SS/SD, SS/DD,
DS/SD, DS/DD), 3+1⁄2-inch (rare) (SS/DD, DS/DD), hard disk also known as
'Winchester' (rare), Laserdisc (BBC Domesday Project)
Operating system
Acorn MOS
CPU
2 MHz MOS Technology 6502/6512
Memory

16–32 KiB (Model A/B)

64–128 KiB (Model B+)
128 KiB (Master)
Plus 32–128 KB ROM, expandable to 272 KiB

Storage

100–800 KB (DFS)
160–1280 KB (ADFS floppy disks)
 20 MB (ADFS hard disk)

Display
PAL/NTSC, UHF/composite/TTL RGB
Graphics

640×256, 8 colours (various framebuffer modes)

78×75, 8 colours (Mullard SAA5050 Teletext chip)

Sound

Texas Instruments SN76489, 4 channels, mono

TMS5220 speech synthesiser with phrase ROM (optional)

Input
Keyboard, twin analogue joysticks with fire buttons, lightpen
Connectivity
Printer parallel, RS-423 serial, user parallel, Econet (optional), 1 MHz bus,
Tube second processor interface
Power
50 W
Predecessor
Acorn Atom
Successor
Acorn Archimedes
Related articles
Acorn Electron

After the Literacy Project's call for bids for a computer to accompany the TV
programmes and literature, Acorn won the contract with the Proton, a successor of
its Atom computer prototyped at short notice. Renamed the BBC Micro, the system was
adopted by most schools in the United Kingdom, changing Acorn's fortunes. It was
also successful as a home computer in the UK, despite its high cost. Acorn later
employed the machine to simulate and develop the ARM architecture.

While nine models were eventually produced with the BBC brand, the phrase "BBC
Micro" is usually used colloquially to refer to the first six (Model A, B, B+64,
B+128, Master 128, and Master Compact); subsequent BBC models are considered part
of Acorn's Archimedes series.
HistoryEdit
The BBC Micro team in 2008

During the early 1980s, the BBC started what became known as the BBC Computer
Literacy Project. The project was initiated partly in response to an ITV
documentary series The Mighty Micro, in which Christopher Evans of the UK's
National Physical Laboratory predicted the coming microcomputer revolution and its
effect on the economy, industry, and lifestyle of the United Kingdom.[1]

The BBC wanted to base its project on a microcomputer capable of performing various
tasks which they could then demonstrate in the TV series The Computer Programme.
The list of topics included programming, graphics, sound and music, teletext,
controlling external hardware, and artificial intelligence. It developed an
ambitious specification for a BBC computer, and discussed the project with several
companies including Acorn Computers, Sinclair Research, Newbury Laboratories,
Tangerine Computer Systems, and Dragon Data.[1]

The introduction of a specific microcomputer to a more general computer literacy

initiative was a topic of controversy, however, with criticism aimed at the BBC for
promoting a specific commercial product and for going beyond the "traditional BBC
pattern" of promoting existing information networks of training and education
providers. Accusations were even levelled at the Department of Industry for making
the BBC "an arm of Government industrial policy" and using the Computer Literacy
Project as a way of "funding industry through the back door", obscuring public
financial support on behalf of a government that was ostensibly opposed to
subsidising industry.[2]

The involvement of the BBC in microcomputing also initiated tentative plans by the
independent television companies of the ITV network to introduce their own
initiative and rival computing system, with a CP/M-based system proposed by Transam
Computers under consideration for such an initiative by the Independent Television
Companies Association at a late 1983 meeting. The proposed machine would have been
priced at £399, matching that of the BBC Model B, and was reported as offering 64
KB of RAM, a disc interface, and serial and parallel interfaces, itself being a
"low-cost development" of an existing machine, the Transam Tuscan, which included
dual floppy drives and cost £1,700.[3] This proposal was voted down by the ITV
companies citing a possible contravention of the companies' obligations under
broadcasting regulations prohibiting sponsorship, along with concerns about a
conflict of interest with advertisers of computer products.[4] Despite denials of
involvement with ITV from Prism Microproducts, the company had already been
pursuing a joint venture with Transam on a product rumoured to be under
consideration by the broadcasting group.[5] This product, a business system
subsequently known as the Wren,[6] had reportedly been positioned as such an "ITV
Micro" towards the end of 1983, also to be offered in a home variant with ORACLE
teletext reception capabilities. However, not all ITV franchise holders were
equally enthusiastic about scheduling programmes related to microcomputing or about
pursuing a computer retailing strategy.[7]

The Acorn team had already been working on a successor to their existing Atom
microcomputer. Known as the Proton, it included better graphics and a faster 2 MHz
MOS Technology 6502 central processing unit. The machine was only at the design
stage at the time, and the Acorn team, including Steve Furber and Sophie Wilson,
had one week to build a working prototype from the sketched designs.[8] The team
worked through the night to get a working Proton together to show the BBC.[9]
Although BBC expected a computer with the Zilog Z80 CPU and CP/M operating system,
not the Proton's 6502 CPU and proprietary operating system,[10] the Proton was the
only machine to match the BBC's specification; it also exceeded the specification
in nearly every parameter.[1] Based on the Proton prototype the BBC signed a
contract with Acorn as early as February 1981; by June the BBC Micro's
specifications and pricing were decided.[11] As a concession to the BBC's
expectation of "industry standard" compatibility with CP/M, apparently under the
direction of John Coll, the Tube interface was incorporated into the design,
enabling a Z80 second processor to be added.[12] A new contract between Acorn and
BBC Enterprises was agreed in 1984 for another four-year term, with other
manufacturers having tendered for the deal. An Acorn representative admitted that
the BBC Model B would not be competitive throughout the term of the renewed
contract and that a successor would emerge.[13]

The OS ROM v1.0 contains the following credits (code here):

(C) 1981 Acorn Computers Ltd.Thanks are due to the following contributors to the
development of the BBC Computer (among others too numerous to mention):- David
Allen,Bob Austin,Ram Banerjee,Paul Bond,Allen Boothroyd,Cambridge,Cleartone,John
Coll,John Cox,Andy Cripps,Chris Curry,6502 designers,Jeremy Dion,Tim Dobson,Joe
Dunn,Paul Farrell,Ferranti,Steve Furber,Jon Gibbons,Andrew Gordon,Lawrence
Hardwick,Dylan Harris,Hermann Hauser,Hitachi,Andy Hopper,ICL,Martin Jackson,Brian
Jones,Chris Jordan,David King,David Kitson,Paul Kriwaczek,Computer Laboratory,Peter
Miller,Arthur Norman,Glyn Phillips,Mike Prees,John Radcliffe,Wilberforce Road,Peter
Robinson,Richard Russell,Kim Spence-Jones,Graham Tebby,Jon Thackray,Chris
Turner,Adrian Warner,Roger Wilson,Alan Wright.

Additionally, the last bytes of the BASIC ROM (v2 and v4) include the word "Roger",
thought to be a reference[citation needed] to Sophie Wilson, known at the time as
Roger.[14]
Market impactEdit
Keyboard of a Model B, one of two very similar designs used on the model

The machine was released as the BBC Microcomputer on 1 December 1981, although
production problems pushed delivery of the majority of the initial run into 1982.
[11][15][better source needed] Nicknamed "the Beeb",[16] it was popular in the UK,
especially in the educational market; about 80% of British schools had a BBC
microcomputer.[17][18]

BYTE called the BBC Micro Model B "a no-compromise computer that has many uses
beyond self-instruction in computer technology". It called the Tube interface "the
most innovative feature" of the computer, and concluded that "although some other
British microcomputers offer more features for a given price, none of them surpass
the BBC ... in terms of versatility and expansion capability".[19] As with Sinclair
Research's ZX Spectrum and Commodore International's Commodore 64, both released
the following year, in 1982, demand greatly exceeded supply. For some months, there
were long delays before customers received the machines they had ordered.

Efforts were made to market the machine in the United States and West Germany.[20]
By October 1983, the US operation reported that American schools had placed orders
with it totalling $21 million.[21] In October 1984, while preparing a major
expansion of its US dealer network, Acorn claimed sales of 85 per cent of the
computers in British schools, and delivery of 40,000 machines per month.[22] That
December, Acorn stated its intention to become the market leader in US educational
computing.[23] The New York Times considered the inclusion of local area networking
to be of prime importance to teachers.[23] The operation resulted in advertisements
by at least one dealer in Interface Age magazine,[24] but ultimately the attempt
failed.[25] The success of the machine in the UK was due largely to its acceptance
as an "educational" computer – UK schools used BBC Micros to teach computer
literacy, information technology skills.[1] Acorn became more known for its model B
computer than for its other products.[26] Some Commonwealth countries, including
India, started their own computer literacy programs around 1987 and used the BBC
Micro, a clone of which was produced by Semiconductor Complex Limited and named the
SCL Unicorn.[27][28][29]

Production agreements were made with both SCL in India and distributor Harry Mazal
in Mexico for the assembly of BBC Micro units from kits of parts, leading to full-
scale manufacturing, with SCL also planning to fabricate the 6502 CPU under licence
from Rockwell.[30] According to reporting from early 1985, "several thousand Beebs
a month" were being produced in India. Meanwhile, the eventual production
arrangement in Mexico involved local manufacturer Datum, aiming to assemble 2000
units per month by May 1985, with the initial assembly intended to lead to the
manufacture of all aspects of the machines apart from Acorn's proprietary ULA
components. Such machines were intended for the Mexican and South American markets,
potentially also appealing to those south-western states of the US having large
Spanish-speaking populations.[31] Ultimately, upon Acorn's withdrawal from the US
in 1986, Datum would continue manufacturing at a level of 7000 to 8000 Spanish-
language machines per year for the North and South American markets.[25]

The initial strategy for the BBC's computer literacy endeavour involved the
marketing of the "Acorn Proton-based BBC microcomputer for less than £200".[32] The
Model A and the Model B were initially priced at £235 and £335 respectively, but
increased almost immediately to £299 and £399 due to higher costs.[33] The Model B
price of nearly £400 was roughly £1200[34] (€1393)[35] in 2011 prices (or around
£1600 today). Acorn anticipated the total sales to be around 12,000 units, but
eventually more than 1.5 million BBC Micros were sold.[18][36]

The cost of the BBC Models was high compared to competitors such as the ZX Spectrum
and the Commodore 64, and from 1983 on Acorn attempted to counter this by producing
a simplified but largely compatible version intended for home use, complementing
the use of the BBC Micro in schools: the 32K Acorn Electron.[37]
DescriptionEdit
Hardware features: Models A and BEdit
Rear of the BBC Micro. Ports from left to right: UHF out, video out, RGB, RS-423,
cassette, analogue in and Econet.

A key feature of the BBC Micro's design is the high-performance RAM it is equipped
with. A common design note in 6502 computers of the era was to run the RAM at twice
the clock rate as the CPU. This allows a separate video display controller to
access memory while the CPU is busy processing the data just read. In this way, the
CPU and graphics driver can share access to RAM through careful timing. This
technique is used, for example, on the Apple and the early Commodore models.[11]
[38][33]

The BBC machine, however, was designed to run at the faster CPU speed, 2 MHz,
double that of these earlier machines. In this case, bus contention is normally an
issue, as there is not enough time for the CPU to access the memory during the
period when the video hardware is idle. Some machines of the era accept the
inherent performance hit, as is the case for the Amstrad CPC, Atari 8-bit family,
and to a lesser extent the ZX Spectrum. Others, like the MSX systems, use entirely
separate pools of memory for the CPU and video, slowing access between the two.

Furber believed that the Acorn design should have a flat memory model and allow the
CPU and video system to access the bus without interfering with each other.[10] To
do so, the RAM has to allow four million access cycles per second. Hitachi was the
only company considering a DRAM that runs at that speed, the HM4816. To equip the
prototype machine, the only four 4816s in the country were hand-carried by the
Hitachi representative to Acorn.[39]

The National Semiconductor 81LS95 multiplexer is needed for the high memory speed.
Furber recalled that competitors came to Acorn offering to replace the component
with their own, but "none of them worked. And we never knew why. Which of course
means we didn't know why the National Semiconductor one did work correctly. And a
million and a half BBC Micros later it was still working and I still didn't know
why". Another mystery was the 6502's data bus. The prototype BBC Micro exceeded the
CPU's specifications, causing it to fail. The designers found that putting a finger
on a certain place on the motherboard caused the prototype to work. Acorn put a
resistor pack across the data bus, which Furber described as "'the engineer's
finger' and again, we have no idea why it's necessary, and a million and a half
machines later it's still working, so nobody asked any questions".[10]

The Model A shipped with 16 KB of user RAM, while the Model B had 32 KB. Extra ROMs
can be fitted (four on the PCB or sixteen with expansion hardware) and accessed via
paged memory.

The machines includes three video ports, one with an RF modulator sending out a
signal in the UHF band, another sending composite video suitable for connection to
computer monitors, and a separate RGB video port. The separate RGB video out socket
was an engineering requirement from the BBC to allow the machine to directly output
a broadcast quality signal for use within television programming; it is used on
episodes of The Computer Programme and Making the Most of the Micro.
The computer includes several input/output interfaces: serial and parallel printer
ports, an 8-bit general purpose digital I/O port, a port offering four analogue
inputs, a light pen input, and an expansion connector (the "1 MHz bus") that
enables other hardware to be connected. An Econet network interface and a disk
drive interface were available as options. All motherboards have space for the
electronic components, but Econet is rarely installed.

Additionally, an Acorn proprietary interface named the "Tube" allows a second

processor to be added. Three models of second processor were offered by Acorn,
based on the 6502, Z80 and 32016 CPUs. The Tube is used for third-party add-ons,
including a Z80 board and hard disk drive from Torch that allows the BBC machine to
run CP/M programs.

Separate pages, each with a codename, are used to control the access to the I/O:
[40]
Codename Page Description
FRED 0xFC00 – 0xFCFF 1 MHz bus
JIM 0xFD00 – 0xFDFF 1 MHz bus / paged RAM
SHEILA 0xFE00 – 0xFEFF Mapped I/O for resident hardware – video, cassette,
sound, interrupts

The Tube interface allowed Acorn to use BBC Micros with ARM CPUs as software
development machines when creating the Acorn Archimedes. This resulted in the ARM
development kit for the BBC Micro in 1986, priced at around £4000.[41] From 2006, a
kit with an ARM7TDMI CPU running at 64 MHz, with as much as 64 MB of RAM, was
released for the BBC Micro and Master, using the Tube interface to upgrade the 8-
bit micros into 32-bit RISC machines.[42] Among the software that operated on the
Tube are an enhanced version of the Elite video game and a computer-aided design
system that requires a second 6502 CPU and a 3-dimensional joystick named a
"Bitstik"[1].

The Model A and the Model B are built on the same printed circuit board (PCB), and
a Model A can be upgraded to a Model B. Users wishing to operate Model B software
need to add the extra RAM and the user/printer MOS Technology 6522 VIA (which many
games use for timers) and snip a link, a task that can be achieved without
soldering. To do a full upgrade with all the external ports requires soldering the
connectors to the motherboard. The original machines shipped with "OS 0.1", with
later updates advertised in magazines, supplied as a clip-in integrated circuit,
with the last official version being "OS 1.2". Variations in the Acorn OS exist as
a result of home-made projects and modified machines can still be bought on
internet auction sites such as eBay as of 2011.

The BBC Model A was phased out of production with the introduction of the Acorn
Electron, with chairman Chris Curry stating at the time that Acorn "would no longer
promote it" (the Model A).[37]

Early BBC Micros use linear power supplies at the insistence of the BBC which, as a
broadcaster, was cautious about electromagnetic interference. The supplies were
unreliable, and after a few months the BBC allowed switched mode units.[10]

An apparent oversight in the manufacturing process resulted in many Model Bs

producing a constant buzzing noise from the built-in speaker. This fault can be
rectified partly by soldering a resistor across two pads.[43]

There are five developments of the main BBC Micro circuit board that addressed
various issues through the models production, from 'Issue 1' through to 'Issue 7'
with variants 5 and 6 not being released. The 1985 'BBC Microcomputer Service
Manual' from Acorn documents the details of the technical changes.
Per Watford Electronics comments in their '32K Ram Board Manual':

Early issue BBCs (Issue 3 circuit boards and before) are notorious for out of
specification timings. If problems occur with this sort of machine, the problem can
generally be cured by the use of either a Rockwell 6502A CPU chip, or by replacing
IC14 (a 74LS245) with either another 74LS245 or the faster 74ALS245.[44]

Export modelsEdit

Advert in Interface Age magazine, November 1983, 'The BBC Microcomputer Is Here!'

Two export models were developed: one for the US,[45] with Econet and speech
hardware as standard; the other for West Germany.[46] The computer was unsuitable
for the Australian market because, Furber said, the design failed above 35 °C (95
°F).[10] Export models are fitted with radio frequency shielding as required by the
respective countries. From June 1983 the name was always spelled out completely –
"British Broadcasting Corporation Microcomputer System" – to avoid confusion with
Brown, Boveri & Cie in international markets,[47] having been warned by the Swiss
multinational not to market the computer with the BBC label in West Germany, thus
forcing Acorn to relabel "hundreds of machines" to comply with these demands.[48]

US models include the BASIC III ROM chip, modified to accept the American spelling
of COLOR, but the height of the graphics display was reduced to 200 scan lines to
suit NTSC TVs,[49] severely affecting applications written for British computers.
After the failed US marketing campaign the unwanted machines were remanufactured
for the British market and sold,[50] resulting in a third 'UK export' variant.[51]
Side productEdit

In October 1984, the Acorn Business Computer (ABC)/Acorn Cambridge Workstation

range of machines was announced, based primarily on BBC hardware.
Hardware featuresEdit
B+64 and B+128Edit

In mid-1985, Acorn introduced the Model B+ which increased the total RAM to 64 KB.
This had a modest market impact and received a rather unsympathetic reception, with
one reviewer's assessment being that the machine was "18 months too late" and that
it "must be seen as a stop gap",[52] and others criticising the elevated price of
£500 (compared to the £400 of the original Model B) in the face of significantly
cheaper competition providing as much or even twice as much memory.[53] The extra
RAM in the Model B+ is assigned as two blocks, a block of 20 KB dedicated solely
for screen display (so-called shadow RAM) and a block of 12 KB of special sideways
RAM. The B+128, introduced towards the end of 1985,[54] comes with an additional 64
KB (4 × 16 KB sideways RAM banks) to give a total RAM of 128 KB.

The B+ is incapable of operating some original BBC B programs and games, such as
the very popular Castle Quest. A particular problem is the replacement of the Intel
8271 floppy-disk controller[55] with the Western Digital 1770: not only was the new
controller mapped to different addresses,[56] it is fundamentally incompatible and
the 8271 emulators that existed were necessarily imperfect for all but basic
operation.[57] Software that use copy protection techniques involving direct access
to the controller do not operate on the new system.[58] Acorn attempted to
alleviate this, starting with version 2.20 of the 1770 DFS, via an 8271-backward-
compatible Ctrl+Z+Break option.

There is also a long-running problem late in the B/B+'s commercial life infamous
amongst B+ owners, when Superior Software released Repton Infinity, which did not
run on the B+. A series of unsuccessful replacements were issued before one
compatible with both was finally released.
BBC MasterEdit
Main article: BBC Master

During 1986, Acorn followed up with the BBC Master, which offers memory sizes from
128 KB and many other refinements which improves on the 1981 original. It has
essentially the same 6502-based BBC architecture, with many of the upgrades that
the original design intentionally makes possible (extra ROM software, extra paged
RAM, second processors) now included on the circuit board as internal plug-in
modules.
Software and expandabilityEdit

Elite (Acornsoft, 1984). The unusual game screen used two display modes at once, to
show both detail and colour.

The BBC Micro platform amassed a large software base of both games and educational
programs for its two main uses as a home and educational computer. Notable examples
of each include the original release of Elite[59] and Granny's Garden. Programming
languages and some applications were supplied on ROM chips to be installed on the
motherboard. These load instantly and leave the RAM free for programs or documents.

Although appropriate content was little-supported by television broadcasters,

telesoftware could be downloaded via the optional Teletext Adapter and the third-
party teletext adaptors that emerged.

The built-in operating system, Acorn MOS, provides an extensive API to interface
with all standard peripherals, ROM-based software, and the screen.[60] Features
specific to some versions of BASIC, like vector graphics, keyboard macros, cursor-
based editing, sound queues, and envelopes, are in the MOS ROM and made available
to any application. BBC BASIC itself, being in a separate ROM, can be replaced with
another language.

BASIC, other languages, and utility ROM chips reside in any of four 16 KB paged ROM
sockets, with OS support for sixteen sockets via expansion hardware. The five
(total) sockets are located partially obscured under the keyboard, with the
leftmost socket hard-wired for the OS. The intended purpose for the perforated
panel on the left of the keyboard was for a Serial ROM or Speech ROM. The paged ROM
system is essentially modular. A language-independent system of star commands,
prefixed with an asterisk, provides the ability to select a language (for example
*BASIC, *PASCAL), a filing system (*TAPE, *DISC), change settings (*FX, *OPT), or
carry out ROM-supplied tasks (*COPY, *BACKUP) from the command line. The MOS
recognises certain built-in commands, and polls the paged ROMs in descending order
for service otherwise; if none of them claims the command then the OS returns a Bad
command error. Suitable rom images (Or EPROM images) could be written and provide
functions without requiring RAM for the code itself.
Main article: Sideways address space

Not all ROMs offer star commands (ROMs containing data files, for instance), but
any ROM can "hook" into vectors to enhance the system's functionality. Often the
ROM is a device driver for mass storage combined with a filing system, starting
with Acorn's 1982 Disc Filing System whose API became the de facto standard for
floppy-disc access. The Acorn Graphics Extension ROM (GXR) expands the VDU routines
to draw geometric shapes, flood fills, and sprites. During 1985 Micro Power
designed and marketed a Basic Extension ROM,[61] introducing statements such as
WHILE, ENDWHILE, CASE, WHEN, OTHERWISE, and ENDCASE, as well as direct mode
commands including VERIFY.

Acorn strongly discouraged programmers from directly accessing the system variables
and hardware, favouring official system calls.[62] This was ostensibly to make sure
programs keep working when migrated to coprocessors that utilise the Tube
interface, but it also makes BBC Micro software more portable across the Acorn
range. Whereas untrappable PEEKs and POKEs are used by other computers to reach the
system elements,[63] programs in either machine code or BBC BASIC instead pass
parameters to an operating system routine. In this way the 6502 can translate the
request for the local machine or send it across the Tube interface, as direct
access is impossible from the coprocessor. Published programs largely conform to
the API except for games, which routinely engage with the hardware for greater
speed, and require a particular Acorn model.

Many schools and universities employed the machines in Econet networks, and so
networked multiplayer games were possible. Few became popular, due to the limited
number of machines aggregated in one place. A relatively late but well documented
example can be found in a dissertation based on a ringed RS-423 interconnect.[64]
PeripheralsEdit

In line with its ethos of expandability Acorn produced its own range of peripherals
for the BBC Micro, including:

Joysticks
Tape recorder
Floppy drive interface upgrade
Floppy drives (single and double)
Econet networking upgrade
Econet Bridge
Winchester disk system
6502 Second Processor
Z80 Second processor (with CP/M and business software suite)
32016 Second processor
ARM Evaluation System
Teletext adapter
Prestel adapter
Speech synthesiser
Music 500 synthesiser[65]
BBC Turtle (robot)
BBC Buggy
IEEE 488 Interface

Various products from other manufacturers competed directly with Acorn's

expansions. For example, companies such as Torch Computers and Cambridge
Microprocessor Systems offered second processor solutions for the BBC Micro.[66]

A large number of third-party suppliers also produced an abundance of add-on

hardware, some of the most common being:

RGB monitors
Printers, plotters
Modems

BBC BASIC built-in programming languageEdit

Main article: BBC BASIC

BASIC prompt after switch-on or hard reset

The built-in ROM-resident BBC BASIC programming language interpreter realised the
system's educational emphasis and was key to its success; it is the most
comprehensive BASIC compared to other contemporary implementations, and runs very
efficiently. Advanced programs can be written without resorting to non-structured
programming or machine code. Should one want or need to do some assembly
programming, BBC BASIC has a built-in assembler that allows a mixture of BASIC and
assembler for whatever processor BASIC was operating on.

When the BBC Micro was released, many competing home computers used Microsoft
BASIC, or variants typically designed to resemble it. Compared to Microsoft BASIC,
BBC BASIC features IF...THEN...ELSE, REPEAT...UNTIL, and named procedures and
functions, but retains GOTO and GOSUB for compatibility. It also supports high-
resolution graphics, four-channel sound, pointer-based memory access (borrowed from
BCPL), and rudimentary macro assembly. Long variable names are accepted and
distinguished completely, not just by the first two characters.
Other languagesEdit

Acorn had made a point of not just supporting BBC Basic but also supporting a
number of contemporary languages, some of which were supplied as ROM chips to fit
the spare sideways ROM sockets on the motherboard. Other languages were supplied on
tape or disk.

Programming Languages from Acornsoft included the following:

ISO Pascal (2× 16 KB ROM + floppy disk)

S-Pascal (disk or tape)
BCPL (ROM plus further optional disk based modules)
Forth (16 KB ROM)
LISP (disk, tape or ROM)
Logo (2× 16 KB ROM)
Turtle Graphics (disk or tape)
Micro-PROLOG (16 KB ROM)
COMAL (16 KB ROM)
As the Z80 Second Processor supported running CP/M, languages available for
CP/M were supportable via this route.

Successor machinesEdit
Main article: Acorn Archimedes

Acorn produced their own 32-bit Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) CPU during
1985, the ARM1. Furber composed a reference model of the processor on the BBC Micro
with 808 lines of BASIC, and Arm Ltd. retains copies of the code for intellectual
property purposes.[67] The first prototype ARM platforms, the ARM Evaluation System
and the A500 workstation, functioned as second processors attached to the BBC
Micro's Tube interface. Acorn staff developed the A500's operating system in situ
through the Tube until, one by one, the on-board I/O ports were enabled and the
A500 ran as a stand-alone computer.[68] With an upgraded processor this was
eventually released during 1987 as four models in the Archimedes series, the lower-
specified two models (512 KB and 1 MB) continuing the BBC Microcomputer brand with
the distinctive red function keys. Although the Archimedes ultimately was not a
major success, the ARM family of processors has become the dominant processor
architecture in mobile embedded consumer devices, particularly mobile telephones.

Acorn's last BBC-related model, the BBC A3000, was released in 1989. It was
essentially a 1 MB Archimedes back in a single case form factor.
Retro computing sceneEdit
Acorn co-founder Hermann Hauser playing a game on a Master in 2012

Furber said in 2015 that he was amazed that the BBC Micro "established this
reputation for being reliable, because lots of it was finger-in-the-air
engineering".[10] As of 2018, thanks to its ready expandability and I/O functions,
there are still numbers of BBC Micros in use, and a retrocomputing community of
dedicated users finding new tasks for the old hardware. They still survive in a few
interactive displays in museums across the United Kingdom, and the Jodrell Bank
observatory was reported using a BBC Micro to steer its 42 ft radio telescope in
2004.[69] Furber said that although "the [engineering] margins on the Beeb were
very, very small", when he asked BBC owners at a retrocomputing meeting what
components had failed after 30 years, they said "you have to replace the capacitors
in the power supply but everything else still works".[10] The Archimedes came with
65Arthur, an emulator which BYTE stated "lets many programs for the BBC Micro run";
[70] other emulators exist for many operating systems.[71]
Clockwise from top left: Hermann Hauser, Andy Hopper, Christopher Curry, Sophie
Wilson, David Allen, Chris Serle, David Kitson, Chris Turner, and Steve Furber at
the BBC Micro 30th anniversary in 2012

In March 2008, the creators of the BBC Micro met at the Science Museum in London.
There was to be an exhibition about the computer and its legacy during 2009.[16]

The UK National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park uses BBC Micros as part of a
scheme to educate school children about computer programming.[72]

In March 2012, the BBC and Acorn teams responsible for the BBC Micro and Computer
Literacy Project met for a 30th anniversary party, entitled "Beeb@30". This was
held at Arm's offices in Cambridge and was co-hosted by the Centre for Computing
History.[73]
Continued development and supportEdit

Long after the "venerable old Beeb"[74] was superseded, additional hardware and
software has been developed. Such developments have included Sprow's 1999 zip
compression utility and a ROM Y2K bugfix for the BBC Master.[74]

There are also a number of websites still supporting both hardware and software
development for the BBC Micros and Acorn in general.[75][76]
Specifications (Model A to Model B+128)Edit
Model A Model B Model B+64 Model B+128
Processor MOS Technology 6502A at 2 MHz Rockwell Semiconductor 6512A at 2
MHz
RAM 16 KB (KB is more clearly IEC defined KiB) 32 KB 64 KB composed of
32 KB standard memory, 20 KB video (Shadow) memory and 12 KB extended (special
Sideways) memory. 128 KB composed of 32 KB standard memory, 20 KB video
(Shadow) memory and 76 KB extended (Sideways) memory.
ROM 32 KB of ROM composed of a 16 KB MOS (Machine Operating System) chip, and 16
KB read-only paged space defaulting to the BBC BASIC chip. Four paged 16 KB ROM
sockets standard, expandable to 16. 48 KB of ROM composed of 16 KB MOS, 16 KB
DFS, and 16 KB read-only paged space defaulting to the BBC BASIC.
Keyboard Full-travel keyboard with a top row of ten red-orange function keys ƒ0–
ƒ9. These generated text semigraphics when pressed with CTRL or SHIFT, and could be
programmed with keyboard macros. The arrow keys and BREAK could also serve as
function keys. Links on the keyboard PCB allowed users to select the behaviour of
Shift+Break, and Display Mode on Power-up/Break. At least two slightly different
keyboards were used during the life of the Model B; both had the same layout, but
one had a slightly higher profile on each key.
Display As Model B except RGB (optional upgrade, soldering required). 6-pin
DIN digital RGB connector +5 V/0 V, 1 V p-p composite colour or monochrome video
(link S39) and built-in UHF (PAL) RF modulator.
Graphics As Model B, but Modes 0, 1, 2, and 3 not available due to lack of
memory. Configurable graphics in Modes 0–6 (see table below) based on the
Motorola 6845 CRT controller or Mode 7, a special Teletext mode, based a Mullard
SAA5050 Teletext chip and only taking 1 KB of RAM.
Sound Four independent sound channels (one noise and three melodic) using the
Texas Instruments SN76489 sound chip. Phoneme-based speech synthesis using the
Texas Instruments TMS5220 with a custom Acorn ROM (the "PHROM", a TMS6100) of
Kenneth Kendall's voice (optional).
Tape storage Tape interface (with a relay operated motor control, controlled
via 2 pins on a circular 7-pin DIN connector), using the CUTS [Computer Users' Tape
Standard] variation of the Kansas City standard data encoding scheme operating at
1200 or 300 baud.
Disk storage Optional floppy-disk interface based initially on the Intel 8271
controller and later on the WD1770, also requiring the installation of the DFS
(disc filing system) ROM (and of soldered connector on Model A). (5+1⁄4-inch floppy
drive usually used) – Densities: Single-Sided, Single Density[SS/SD], Single-Sided,
Double-Density[SS/DD], Double-Sided, Single-Density[DS/SD] and Double-Sided,
Double-Density[DS/DD]. Floppy-disk controller based on the Western Digital WD1770
controller and DFS ROM as standard (except ANB51, ANB52[77][78]).
Hard-disk storage None (lack of memory). Additional ADFS ROM required,
external drive unit connected to the 1 MHz Bus interface.[79] (Winchester Hard disc
drives with 5 MB, 10 MB or 20 MB capacities. Maximum of 512 MB per drive, up to
four drives).
Serial interface Optional upgrade, soldering required. 5-pin 'domino'-DIN RS-
423 serial port.
Parallel interface Optional upgrade, soldering required. 26-pin IDC
Centronics-compatible parallel port.
User port Optional upgrade, soldering required. 20-pin IDC "user port" with 8
general purpose digital I/O pins and two special/trigger sensitive digital pins
used for control purposes (for e.g. a turtle when using the Logo programming
language).
Analogue interface Optional upgrade, soldering required. DA15 socket with
four 8/12 bit analogue inputs based on μPD7002 IC (suitable for two joysticks), two
inputs suitable for pushbuttons and an input for a light pen.
1 MHz bus Optional upgrade, soldering required. 34-pin IDC connector for
generic expansion on a "daisy-chain" (used for connecting hard disks, sound
synthesisers etc.).
The Tube Optional upgrade, soldering required. 40-pin IDC connector for
external second CPU. Options included a second 6502, a Zilog Z80, the ARM
Evaluation System, or a National Semiconductor 32016 (the latter was either branded
"BBC Microcomputer System – 32016 Second Processor" or "Acorn Computer – Cambridge
Co-Processor"), other vendors added 6809, 6800, 68000 and 68008. A 10 MHz 80186 co-
processor from a BBC Master can be connected through a co-processor adapter to a
BBC Micro, thus enjoying a limited degree of PC compatibility.
Network (optional extra) Econet large-scale low-cost networking system –
around 100 kbit/s using the Motorola 68B54 (standard on US model).
Secondary power output Power supply for external disk drives, 6-pin, top to
bottom, left to right:
0 V, 0 V
+5 V DC @ 1.25 A, +12 V DC @ 1.25 A,
NC, −5 V DC @75 mA,
Display modesEdit

Like the IBM PC with the contemporary Color Graphics Adapter, the video output of
the BBC Micro could be switched by software between a number of display modes.
These varied between 20 and 40-column text suitable for a domestic TV and 80-column
text best viewed with a high-quality RGB-connected monitor; the latter mode was
often too blurred to view when using a domestic TV via the UHF output. The variety
of modes offered applications a flexible compromise between colour depth,
resolution and memory economy. In the first models, the OS and applications were
left with the RAM left over from the display mode.

Mode 7 was a Teletext mode, extremely economical on memory and an original

requirement due to the BBC's own use of broadcast teletext (Ceefax). It also made
the computer useful as a Prestel terminal. The teletext characters were generated
using an SAA5050 chip, for use with monitors and TV sets without a Teletext
receiver. Mode 7 used only 1 KB for video RAM by storing each character as its
ASCII code, rather than its bitmap image as was needed for the other modes.
Modes 0 to 6 could display colours from a logical palette of sixteen: the eight
basic colours at the vertices of the RGB colour cube and eight flashing colours
made by alternating the basic colour with its inverse. The palette could be freely
reprogrammed without touching display memory. Modes 3 and 6 were special text-only
modes that used less RAM by reducing the number of text rows and inserting blank
scan lines below each row. Mode 6 was the smallest, allocating 8 KB as video
memory. Modes 0 to 6 could show diacritics and other user defined characters. All
modes except mode 7 supported bitmapped graphics, but graphics commands such as
DRAW and PLOT had no effect in the text-only modes.

The BBC B+ and the later Master provided 'shadow modes', where the 1–20 KB frame
buffer was stored in an alternative RAM bank, freeing the main memory for user
programs. This feature was requested by setting bit 7 of the mode variable, i.e. by
requesting modes 128–135.
Graphics mode Resolution (X×Y) Hardware
colours Video RAM Type
Char cells Pixels used
(KB) map
0 80 × 32 640 × 256 2 20 0x3000–0x7FFF Graphics
1 40 × 32 320 × 256 4 20 0x3000–0x7FFF Graphics
2 20 × 32 160 × 256 8 20 0x3000–0x7FFF Graphics
3 80 × 25 640 × 200 2 16 0x4000–0x7FFF Text
4 40 × 32 320 × 256 2 10 0x5800–0x7FFF Graphics
5 20 × 32 160 × 256 4 10 0x5800–0x7FFF Graphics
6 40 × 25 320 × 200 2 8 0x6000–0x7FFF Text
7 (Teletext) 40 × 25 480 × 500[80] 8 1 0x7C00–0x7FFF Text
Optional extrasEdit

A speech synthesis upgrade based on the Texas Instruments TMS5220 featured sampled
words spoken by BBC newscaster Kenneth Kendall.[81] This speech system was standard
on the US model where it had an American vocabulary. The Computer Concepts Speech
ROM also made use of the TMS5220 speech processor but not the speech ROMs, instead
driving the speech processor directly.[82] The speech upgrade sold poorly and was
largely superseded by Superior Software's software-based synthesiser using the
standard sound hardware.

The speech upgrade also added two empty sockets next to the keyboard, intended for
16 KB serial ROM cartridges containing either extra speech phoneme data beyond that
held in the speech paged ROM or general software accessed through the ROM Filing
System. The original plan was that some games would be released on cartridges, but
due to the limited sales of the speech upgrade combined with economic and other
viability concerns,[83] little or no software was ever produced for these sockets.
The cut-out space next to the keyboard (nicknamed the "ashtray") was more commonly
used to install other upgrades, such as a ZIF socket for conventional paged ROMs.
[citation needed]
Use in the entertainment industryEdit

The BBC Domesday Project, a pioneering multimedia experiment, was based on a

modified version of the BBC Micro's successor, the BBC Master.

Musician Vince Clarke of the British synth pop bands Depeche Mode, Yazoo, and
Erasure used a BBC Micro (and later a BBC Master) with the UMI music sequencer to
compose many hits.[84] In music videos from the 1980s featuring Vince Clarke, a BBC
Micro is often present or provides text and graphics such as a clip for Erasure's
"Oh L'Amour". The musical group Queen used the UMI Music Sequencer on their record
A Kind of Magic. The UMI is also mentioned in the CD booklet. Other bands who have
used the Beeb for making music are A-ha and the reggae band Steel Pulse. Paul
Ridout is credited as "UMI programmer" on Cars' bassist/vocalist Benjamin Orr's
1986 solo album, The Lace. Other UMI users included Blancmange, Alan Parsons and
Mutt Lange.[85] Black Uhuru used the Envelope Generator from SYSTEM software
(Sheffield) running on a BBC Micro, to create some of the electro-dub sounds on Try
It (Anthem album 1983).

The BBC Micro was used extensively to provide graphics and sound effects for many
early 1980s BBC TV shows. These included, notably, series 3 and 4 of The Adventure
Game;[86] the children's quiz game "First Class" (where the onscreen scoreboard was
provided by a BBC Micro nicknamed "Eugene"); and numerous 1980s episodes of Doctor
Who including "Castrovalva", "The Five Doctors", and "The Twin Dilemma".
LegacyEdit

In 2013, NESTA released a report into the legacy of The BBC Micro, looking at the
history and impact of the machine and The BBC Computer Literacy project. In June
2018, the BBC released its archives of the Computer Literacy Project.[87][88]

The BBC Micro had a lasting technological impact on the education market by
introducing an informal educational standard around the hardware and software
technologies employed by the range, particularly the use of BBC BASIC, and by
establishing a considerable investment by schools in software for the machine.
Consequently, manufacturers of rival systems such as IBM PC compatibles (and
almost-compatibles such as the RM Nimbus), the Apple Macintosh, and the Commodore
Amiga, as well as Acorn as the manufacturer of the BBC Micro's successor, the
Archimedes, were compelled to provide a degree of compatibility with the large
number of machines already deployed in schools.[89]
See also
References
External links
Last edited 5 days ago by PaulBoddie
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BBC Micro expansion unit

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