What is the best Acorn Archimedes Model

[Charlie]

Tricky that:
-eBay
-CJE Micros
-ADPL
-A serial mouse + driver will also work (three button).
-Acorn -> PS2 adapter (bloody expensive as they are very sort after)

Hmmm,
I've got one of the latter for one of my RiscPC's - I've been tempted to open it up in an effort to duplicate them...
...not done that so far in case I rodger it.

[TheCorfiot]

Originally Posted by Charlie

Hmmm,
I've got one of the latter for one of my RiscPC's - I've been tempted to open it up in an effort to duplicate them...
...not done that so far in case I rodger it.

My dear friend, It more than likely contains a programmed PIC and will be impossible to clone as it is probably locked.

So don't "Rodger" it

TC

[alexh]

The PIC source code for the ACORN->PS2 adapter is available on the net.

The older Acorn mouse interface was known as Quadrature after the type of BUS signals it used. Similar (identical?) technology to early PC's which had the Bus mouse.

But who could be arsed to make their own? This is an interface from guy I knew at University at UMIST :

http://www.stdevel.com/riscos.html

[Charlie]

Originally Posted by mfletcher

In the end I picked up an A3000 with HD. Also managed to pick up a Risc PC for 30 quid, so I guess Ive addressed both ends of the spectrum!

P.S.
The A3000's PSU will cope with 110v BUT it's not auto-switching...
...open up the computer...
...either the PSU has a cardboard cover which pulls off or a metal cover that comes undone by...
...push a cross-head screwdriver through the 'lightning' symbol on the top into the recess for the screw...
...there's a jumper in the PSU to switch over *electricity*...
...ask if it's not obvious.

The RiscPC's PSU should be auto-switching BUT check yours when it arrives just in case.

[mfletcher]

@Charlie -

Ive got a big muckle voltage convertor that allows me to use my 240V Brit appliances in the US. Been using it with my C-Lab Mk1 for a while now. :-)

[Methanoid]

Originally Posted by alexh

The PIC source code for the ACORN->PS2 adapter is available on the net.

The older Acorn mouse interface was known as Quadrature after the type of BUS signals it used. Similar (identical?) technology to early PC's which had the Bus mouse.

But who could be arsed to make their own? This is an interface from guy I knew at University at UMIST :

http://www.stdevel.com/riscos.html

But £25 is a lottah moolah.. Surely a PIC interface could be done for a fiver? Zetro????

[alexh]

Originally Posted by Methanoid

But £25 is a lottah moolah..

Stay in one weekend and I'm sure most people would save that much in bar bills & Taxi's alone?

Make packed lunch for a fortnight instead of buying food at the canteen?

Originally Posted by Methanoid

Surely a PIC interface could be done for a fiver? Zetro????

If you made it yourself, just soldered the wires to the legs of the PIC, wrapped the whole thing up in black insulating tape then probably!

To design, manufacture, assemble, program, package etc. the bill would soon go over the £15/unit for break even, let alone profit.

[Charlie]

It's interesting;
I'd kind of wondered if the PS2MouseMini was a rather simpler device as from the outside it looks like a 'standard' port converter...
...the insides must be very tightly packed if there's a PIC + PCB etc in there.

Now I'm even more tempted to have a look for curiosity's sake.

[Methanoid]

Originally Posted by Charlie

It's interesting;
I'd kind of wondered if the PS2MouseMini was a rather simpler device as from the outside it looks like a 'standard' port converter...
...the insides must be very tightly packed if there's a PIC + PCB etc in there.

Now I'm even more tempted to have a look for curiosity's sake.

and................

[Photon]

In my opinion, an Acorn A4. (The portable one.) If anyone has one for sale, I'm interested

I have an A3000 and a RiscPC in my collection so far.

Another option is the A7000, with a nice CPU upgrade and full memory (132MB).

[Charlie]

The A4's a great little machine, I'd love one...
...prices tend to be a bit crewel.

[prowler]

Originally Posted by Charlie

...prices tend to be a bit crewel.

Just like they are for any other portable machine.

[Christian]

Ha - you guys talking about all this makes me want to dig out one of my old machines.

I think I've got 2 A3000s, an A3010 and an A3020 in the loft (don't ask - they were free/very cheap)

Multiplayer Chocks Away! = one of the reasons my grades at school could've been better -

[alexh]

I'm after an A3000 in good nick if you ever consider selling one.

[Christian]

Aye maybe mate,

I'll try and get up there when I can. I think the 3000s came from schools and have that security ink stuff on them, also no boxes which is a shame.

I have been meaning to set one up again but space is always at a premium. From what I remember I've even got a proper Acorn screen and the plinth thingy that sits on the back of the computer for that proper "at school" feel. lol

Have they become rare or something? I think I picked up a couple off Ebay for £10! Just had a quick search and not much came up.


Edit: Who remembers the Lander demo which became Zarch? Wow, was totally blown away by that when I first saw it.

[Photon]

It was the reason I got an Archimedes in the first place. Well, almost. It was a mindblowingly fast machine with the best BASIC ever made, before or since. (Well, even the Acorn Atom had an awesome BASIC, perhaps even better considering the size!) I remember a renderer where you created your scene by typing SPHERE 300,300,200 etc also.

[Christian]

Yeah - seem to remember something like that too - wasn't it called Euclid or something? dunno - maybe not.

There was also a pretty nice music proggy too but can't remember too much about that apart from being pretty impressed by the sound the thing could do. 8 channels I believe. I liked the OS too.

[prowler]

Originally Posted by Christian

Yeah - seem to remember something like that too - wasn't it called Euclid or something? dunno - maybe not.

Hi Christian,

I think the Euclid program creates a spiral.

[Zarchos]

The A3010 is a very good choice, in particular if you can do a bit of soldering.
It's got the same onboard multifunction chip than the A3020 and the A4000 (and I believe the A5000) providing IDE capabilities, so you can, by adding what is missing, get an IDE capable machine.

Also, a stock machine can be overclocked to 16 Mhz, and if you replace the DRAMs by 50 ns DRAMs, and add a passive heat sink, you can run the machine reliably up to 26 Mhz (CPU and bus), with the addition of a cristal.
The boost in performance is staggering since you are very close to an ARM3 equipped machine.

Projects are detailed here :
http://www.vectorlight.net/retro/com...e-modification

http://www.stardot.org.uk/forums/vie...clocking+a3010

I hope this helps.
Xavier.

[Zarchos]

Originally Posted by Christian

Yeah - seem to remember something like that too - wasn't it called Euclid or something? dunno - maybe not.

There was also a pretty nice music proggy too but can't remember too much about that apart from being pretty impressed by the sound the thing could do. 8 channels I believe. I liked the OS too.

There were several available (public domain) and the 2 that were commercial products were :
- Digital Symphony by Oregan (programmed by BASS, who were also demomakers)
- Desktop Tracker by The Serial Port (then VTI).

You can see some videos of Coconizer (IIRC from demomaker group Armaxess) on YouTube :
[ Show youtube player ]
[ Show youtube player ]

The Matrix Tracker (from Germany) allowed an Archie to play S3M files (after conversion to the Matrix Tracker format) up to 32 channels. I'll soon post a video on my YT channel.
Too many people, even in the Acorn enthusiasts community, forgot it existed.

What's authorised to download freely can be found there :
http://ftp.uni-stuttgart.de/pub/syst.../riscos/sound/

Btw if you own a pre ARM250 machines, you MUST bypass the filter implemented by Acorn.
It's too powerful and spoils the audio experience.
All these machines have an onboard connector to get unfiltered sound, except the A3000 where a bit of soldering is necessary.
Contrary to the Amiga the filter is always on, you can't disable it by software.
You can also decide to replace the onboard OPA by one with better specs.
I did that, and used a Burr Brown OPA, and I'm extremely happy with the results.

I've read some people stating that the overall quality of the Archie sound was inferior to the Amiga's, for various reasons.
For example the Amiga has 1 DAC for each channel, when the Archie has 1 for the overall output etc ...
I won't say the technical explanations are true or not, I'm no expert.
I can only advise people to listen to the real thing, and not through emulators (be it on the Amiga or the Archie).
Read the specs of both chips too (VIDC on the Archie, Paula on the Amiga) and make your own opinion.

What is certainly true is that it takes much more time for the Archie to play a sound than on the Amiga, but as you know the ARM CPU is very powerful, so again make your own conclusions.