Acorn Stork
 | |
| Chris Whytehead's Stork, serial STK14, with the monochrome screen (photo: Chris Whytehead, CC BY-SA 3.0) | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Acorn Risc Technologies (Acorn Computers) |
| Type | Sub-notebook computer (technology demonstrator) |
| Released | 1996 (prototype) |
| CPU | ARM7500 at 32 MHz |
| Memory | Two SO-DIMM sockets (8 MB in Chris Whytehead's machine) |
| Storage | 2.5-inch IDE hard disc; external floppy drive on the parallel port |
| Display | 9.5-inch 640 × 480 16-grey STN LCD, or 10.4-inch colour TFT (VGA or SVGA) |
| Sound | — |
| ROM | 4 MB, RISC OS 3.6 |
| Power | External 18 V DC supply and charger; NiCd (1400 mAh) or NiMH (1800 mAh) battery pack |
| Dimensions | 266 × 192 × 36 mm (monochrome), 42 mm high (colour) |
| Weight | About 1.8 kg |
| OS / Firmware | RISC OS 3.6 |
The Acorn Stork is a sub-notebook computer built by Acorn Risc Technologies (ART), a division of Acorn Computers, in 1996. It was a technology demonstrator: ART offered the design for licence, as samples, sub-assemblies or custom variants, to companies that would brand and sell it. No licensee took it up, and only a few were made.[1][2] Chris Whytehead estimates that fewer than 50 were built and records that the Acorn A4 remained Acorn's only portable computer.[2]
The Stork is a different machine from the A4 of 1992: the A4 is an ARM3 machine whose design name in Acorn's parts lists is Perth.[3]
Specification
[edit | edit source]| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Processor | 32 MHz ARM7500 with 4 KB cache, about 29 MIPS (Dhrystone 2.1) peak; integrated I/O, MMU and video |
| Memory | Two SO-DIMM sockets, up to 128 MB each; 4 MB ROM; 240 bytes of battery-backed CMOS RAM; 48-bit unique identifier |
| Software | RISC OS 3.6 in ROM; Freeze Mode suspends the machine for up to five days on a full NiCd battery |
| Display | 9.5-inch 16-grey 640 × 480 STN LCD, 10.4-inch 640 × 480 colour TFT or 10.4-inch 800 × 600 colour TFT; external monitors up to 1280 × 1024 |
| Storage | 2.5-inch IDE hard disc (425 MB standard); external 2 MB 3.5-inch floppy drive on the parallel port |
| Expansion | PCMCIA type 1, 2 or 3 slot with hot insertion; 50-way docking connector; optional infra-red |
| Ports | 9-pin RS232 serial; 25-pin parallel and floppy port; 18 V DC input; 3.5 mm stereo output |
| Input | 77-key keyboard with numeric keypad overlay; built-in trackerball with three buttons |
| Power | External switched-mode supply and charger, 110 to 240 V AC, 18 V DC 1.2 A output; NiCd (1400 mAh) or NiMH (1800 mAh) battery |
ART's datasheet prints the NiCd battery life as "up to 21 hours" and the NiMH life as up to 3¼ hours. Chris Whytehead gives 2.5 hours for the NiCd pack and 3.5 hours for the NiMH option.[1][2]
Hardware
[edit | edit source]
Chris Whytehead's Stork, serial STK14, has a VLSI VY27073B ARM7500 at 32 MHz, 8 MB in two 4 MB modules, a 262 MB Seagate ST9300AG hard disc, a 9.5-inch monochrome screen and an Olivetti MFD SB314 external floppy drive. Its RISC OS 3.60 ROMs are dated 13 April 1995, and an electrical test sticker on the base carries a 1996 date.[2]
A panel on the underside, held by three screws, gives access to the two memory modules, the daughterboard carrying the RISC OS ROMs, and the hard disc. The battery pack is removed with a catch at the left-hand front corner; Chris Whytehead's pack is labelled 12 V DC 1400 mAh NiCd. The serial, parallel and video/replicator ports are under a flap at the back, with the 18 V DC input beside them. The PCMCIA slot is on the left side, and the audio socket and a recessed reset button are on the right.[2]
Condition and repair
[edit | edit source]Chris Whytehead describes the Stork as never finished as a product and "reportedly temperamental". His machine does not work, and nobody he asked could repair it; he was told that the jigs and tools needed were no longer available.[2] ART published no service manual, and no circuit diagram has been found on Chris's Acorns or archive.org.
- Remove the NiCd or NiMH battery pack from a stored machine. Old packs leak; see Battery Refurbishment for rebuilding a pack and Battery Explosion, Capacitor or Corrosion Damage.
- The hard disc is a standard 2.5-inch IDE drive; see Hard Drive Maintenance and Repair.
- The external power supply gives 18 V DC at 1.2 A through a 2-pin concentric plug.[1] Check the polarity of any substitute supply against the original before connecting it.
Gallery
[edit | edit source]-
Closed, with the clamshell catch in the centre and the status lights along the top (photo: Chris Whytehead, CC BY-SA 3.0) -
Acorn publicity photograph of a colour Stork
.jpg)
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Acorn A4, Acorn's production portable
- Acorn A7000, another ARM7500 machine
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Acorn Risc Technologies, Stork, datasheet DS009/ART/PF/AF, July 1996. Hosted on this wiki: File:Acorn Risc Technologies Stork datasheet (DS009).pdf. Features; technical overview (processor, memory, unique reference, system software, audio, video, expansion, mass storage, ports, physical, electrical).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Whytehead, Chris. "Acorn Stork", Chris's Acorns, The Centre for Computing History (retrieved 2026-10-02). Produced by ART in mid-1996 as a technology demonstrator; probably fewer than 50 made; temperamental; his non-working machine, serial STK14, with photographs and specification (ARM7500 VY27073B at 32 MHz, 8 MB, Seagate ST9300AG 262 MB, Olivetti MFD SB314 external floppy, RISC OS 3.60 of 13 April 1995); 12 V 1400 mAh NiCd pack and NiMH option; the A4 remained Acorn's only portable.
- ↑ Acorn Computers, Acorn A4 Technical Reference Manual, part no. 0490,058, issue 1, February 1993. Hosted on this wiki: Acorn A4 Technical Reference Manual. Parts lists (pp. 2-1 to 2-12): main board, display unit and keyboard named as "Perth" assemblies.