Acorn ARM Evaluation System Documentation

The ARM Evaluation System documentation hosted here is four Acorn documents for the Acorn ARM Evaluation System: the ARM system user guide, the ARM hardware reference manual, the instruction sheet packed with the hardware, and Acorn's press release of July 1986. All four come from the scans on Chris's Acorns.

ARM system user guide

Acorn OEM Products' ARM system user guide, part number 0448,001, issue 1.0, 22 July 1986: a 24-page scan with a text layer.

• Important information: wiring the mains plug (the unit must be earthed; 5 A plug fuse).
• 1 Introduction, p. 1: the co-processor runs with a BBC Model B or Master Series host; the discs are ADFS format, so a host without ADFS needs the ANB29 ADFS ROM kit and, without a 1770 disc controller, the ANB28 1770 upgrade kit.
• 2 System components, pp. 2-3: host computer, co-processor, monitor, twin double-sided double-density 5.25-inch drive, a Winchester of at least 10 MB suggested; the software (assembler, utilities, TWIN, BBC BASIC, LISP, Prolog, Fortran, C) and the ten manuals of the documentation set.
• 3 Installation, pp. 4-5: the captive cable ends in a 40-way IDC connector for the host's Tube socket; separate 240 V 50 Hz mains lead; rear mains switch and fuseholder with a 1.6 A fuse; the DNFS ROM.
• 4 Operation, p. 6: switch on everything else first, then the co-processor, then press CTRL and BREAK; each disc has a README file.
• 5 Appendix A, pp. 7-11: fitting ROMs in the BBC B and B+ and sideways ROM priorities.

It does not describe the hardware or give any fault finding.

Download: Acorn ARM Evaluation System User Guide.pdf

ARM hardware reference manual

Acorn OEM Products' ARM hardware reference manual, part number 0448,006, issue 1.0, 4 August 1986: a 56-page scan with a text layer. The circuit diagram is on fold-out pages that appear as PDF pages 45 to 49.

ARM hardware reference manual contents

Chapter	Printed page
1 Introduction: features, performance	1
2 Standard specifications: physical description, power requirements, temperatures	4
3 Functional description: block diagram, pin connections, element functions, operation	5
4 Signal description: DC characteristics, absolute maximum ratings, signal definitions, timing	14
5 The ARM co-processor: the ICs, PAL equations for IC1, IC2, IC3, IC9 and IC18, timing diagrams, circuit diagram	23
6 Appendix A: ARM instruction set	38
7 Appendix B: document references	40

What it settles

• The ARM1: 3 µm double-level metal CMOS, a 50 mm² die in an 84-pin JEDEC B leadless ceramic carrier, 32-bit data bus, 26-bit address bus, 25 32-bit registers, 0.1 W typical, single +5 V supply with an absolute maximum of +6.0 V and 1 W dissipation. Acorn suggests an AMP 55225-1 socket.
• Performance: about 3 MIPS average with 150 ns DRAM measured on the Evaluation System, 8 MIPS peak on the first prototype.
• The co-processor board: four layers, the ARM, 2 MB of DRAM and a bootstrap ROM, with another 2 MB on a daughter board. IC3 is the clock generator, IC1 and IC2 the timing generators, IC8 the refresh counter, IC9 and IC18 state machines, IC13 the ARM, IC17 the Tube chip, IC19 the ROM, IC20 to IC22 the ROM latches and IC23 to IC150 the 4 MB of RAM.

What this manual does not contain

• No parts list or component values beyond the IC descriptions, and nothing on the unit's mains power supply.
• No fault-finding procedure.

Download: Acorn ARM Evaluation System Hardware Reference Manual.pdf

Instruction sheet

Acorn's ARM Evaluation System Instruction Sheet, part number 0448,004, issue 1, 16 June 1986, one page. It says the system came in two cartons, hardware and documentation, and lists the hardware carton: the ARM second processor, a DNFS ROM, the TWIN function key card, six system software discs and the terms of sale.

Download: Acorn ARM Evaluation System Instruction Sheet.pdf

Press release, July 1986

Acorn's press release of 7 July 1986 announced the evaluation system, in one version for the BBC Micro and Master and another for IBM PC, AT and compatible machines. It gives the BBC version as available immediately at £4,500 ex VAT and the PC version for the fourth quarter of 1986, describes the ARM as averaging 4 MIPS with a two-phase 8 MHz clock, with 44 basic instructions and 25 partly overlapping 32-bit registers, and names VLSI Technology as the chip set's manufacturer. A page of user benchmarks follows.

Download: Acorn ARM Evaluation System press release (July 1986).pdf

Other manuals in the set

Chris's Acorns also has scans of the ARM software, assembler and utilities reference manuals, the TWIN editor manual, and the BBC BASIC, Cambridge LISP, Prolog and Fortran 77 reference manuals from the same set. Those are software manuals and are not hosted here.

Pages that cite these documents

• Acorn ARM Evaluation System