Acorn ABC210
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| Acorn's brochure photograph of the ABC range; all models share this case and keyboard | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Acorn Computers |
| Type | Academic workstation (announced 1984, relaunched 1985 as the Cambridge Workstation) |
| CPU | National Semiconductor 32016 second processor; 6502-family I/O processor |
| Memory | Up to 1 MB for the 32016 (Acorn brochure) |
| Storage | One 5.25-inch 720 KB floppy drive; 10 MB hard disc |
| Display | Built-in colour monitor |
| Sound | — |
| OS / Firmware | Xenix announced; the production version shipped with Panos |
| Model no. | ABC 210 |
The Acorn ABC 210 is the hard disc model of the 32016-based machines in the Acorn Business Computer (ABC) range: the ABC 200 with one floppy drive replaced by a 10 MB hard disc, a colour screen in place of the green one, and the 32016 memory raised to 1 MB.[1] It was announced in 1984 with Xenix as its operating system. Acorn cancelled the ABC range in 1985, but the ABC 210 was relaunched that year, with a 20 MB disc and Acorn's Panos, as the Acorn Cambridge Workstation, the only ABC design to reach public sale.[1][2]
Specification as announced
[edit | edit source]| Item | Acorn brochure APP01 | Acorn User, October and November 1984 |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | 32016 (the ABC 200 "32016 main processor") | 32016 |
| Memory | Up to 1 MB | 256 KB standard (32016 models) |
| Discs | 10 MB hard disc (one floppy drive, as the ABC 110) | 720 KB floppy, 10 MB Winchester |
| Screen | Colour | Colour |
| Software | Xenix, virtual memory management | Xenix with the Winchester; languages including C, Modula-2 and Pascal |
Sources: Acorn's brochure,[3] Acorn User's news report of October 1984[4] and its November 1984 table of the range.[5] No price was published: Acorn User's March 1985 list gave prices for all the ABC models except the ABC 200 and 210.[6] In April 1985 Acorn User reported that the 32016 "Unix" version aimed at universities had not been released and that production of the ABCs was said to have stopped.[7]
Relaunch as the Cambridge Workstation
[edit | edit source]
The Cambridge Workstation kept the ABC case, keyboard and BBC B+ based I/O processor. Its disc grew to 20 MB, the top model carried 4 MB on its 32016 card, and it shipped with Panos in place of Xenix. Acorn User reported that Logica's Xenix port was not supported because the 32016's memory management unit was not ready, and that a socket for it was left on the processor board.[2][1] Acorn's service manual for the production machine lists the memory manager as "not yet available".[8] Chris Whytehead has found no evidence that Xenix or a virtual memory manager was ever ported to the ABC 210.[1]
Chris Whytehead was told that most of the other ABC models were rebuilt as Cambridge Workstations, so very few survive.[1]
Construction and service
[edit | edit source]The ABC 210 shares the common ABC case: the monitor, drives and boards in one unit on a tilt-and-swivel stand, with the BBC-derived board under the hinged monitor cradle and the second processor and disc interface boards in two hinged side wings. The arrangement is described on Acorn ABC110#Construction. Acorn's ACW 443 Service Manual covers the same case for the production machine, including the opening procedure, the power supply and its wiring, the Microvitec monitor and the I/O processor board; see the Acorn Cambridge Workstation Maintenance Guide and Acorn Cambridge Workstation Troubleshooting Guide.[9] Whether an ABC 210 built in 1984 matches the ACW wiring in every detail is not recorded; check any lead against the board before applying power.
Warning: the monitor electronics inside the case are uncased and hold a high voltage after switch-off.[10] See CRT Discharge Procedure.
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Acorn Cambridge Workstation
- Acorn ABC200
- Acorn ABC110
- Acorn 32016 Second Processor
- Acorn Business Computer Documentation
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Whytehead, Chris. "Acorn Business Computer", Chris's Acorns, The Centre for Computing History (retrieved 2026-10-02). ABC 210: the ABC 200 with a 10 MB hard disc, colour screen and 1 MB for the 32016; reports of Xenix and a virtual memory manager being ported to it are unconfirmed; the ABC 210 was the only ABC model to reach public sale, relaunched as the Acorn Cambridge Workstation; the ACW is the ABC 210 with a 20 MB disc.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Workstation puts power on desks", Acorn User, August 1985, pp. 7 and 11. Scan via Chris's Acorns. The Cambridge Workstation comes in the ABC livery and is the only one of the business range to see daylight; Logica's Xenix port not supported because the memory management unit was not ready; Acorn wrote Panos for the machine.
- ↑ Acorn Computers, brochure "The Acorn Business Computer", APP01. Hosted on this wiki: File:Acorn Business Computer brochure (APP01).pdf. Page 3: "The ABC 210 provides a colour screen, up to 1 Megabyte of memory and a 10 Megabyte hard disc. The extra memory and hard disc allow the ABC 210 to use XENIX ... A full hardware based virtual memory system is incorporated." Page 4: model specifications.
- ↑ "New Acorn micro", Acorn User, October 1984, pp. 7 and 9. Scan via Chris's Acorns. ABC 200 and 210 described as academic workstations; standard RAM 256 KB; languages including C, Modula-2 and Pascal; Xenix comes with the Winchester on the 210.
- ↑ Quinn, Tony and van Someren, Alex. "Vertical tack of the ABC", Acorn User, November 1984, pp. 30-31. Scan via Chris's Acorns. Table 1, the ABC range: ABC 210 with 32016, 720 KB floppy, 10 MB hard disc, colour screen, software "various, Xenix"; Xenix promised on the ABC 210 with up to 1 MB.
- ↑ "ABC goes for special sectors", Acorn User, March 1985, p. 7. Scan on archive.org. Prices announced for all but two models: Terminal £799, Personal Assistant £999, ABC 100 £1,599, ABC 110 £2,999, ABC 300 £2,599, ABC 310 £3,999, all plus VAT.
- ↑ Acorn User, April 1985: "Beeb safe, but ABCs under review", p. 7, and "Business computers miss release dates", p. 129. Scan on archive.org. Production of the ABCs reported stopped; the 32016 (ABC 200) version running Unix and aimed at universities not released.
- ↑ Acorn Computers, ACW 443 Service Manual, reference 0420,001, issue 1, January 1987, section 5.6.3, p. 100. Hosted on this wiki: File:Acorn ACW 443 Service Manual.pdf.
- ↑ Acorn Computers, ACW 443 Service Manual, reference 0420,001, issue 1, January 1987, chapters 2 to 6. Hosted on this wiki: File:Acorn ACW 443 Service Manual.pdf; described on Acorn Cambridge Workstation Documentation.
- ↑ Bright, Peter. "Acorn ABC 310", Personal Computer World, vol. 8 no. 4, April 1985, pp. 120-126. Scan via Chris's Acorns. Uncased monitor electronics holding high voltages after switch-off.