Josh: New page: ABC model page, cited to Acorn's brochure, Acorn User and PCW

2026-10-02T01:31:26Z

New page: ABC model page, cited to Acorn's brochure, Acorn User and PCW

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{{Infobox computer
| name = Acorn ABC 310
| image = [[File:Acorn ABC 310 (Personal Computer World, April 1985).jpg|260px|frameless]]
| caption = The ABC 310 review machine (Personal Computer World, April 1985)
| manufacturer = Acorn Computers
| type = Business computer (announced 1984, not released)
| price = £3,999 + VAT (announced 1985)
| cpu = Intel 80286 second processor; 6502-family I/O processor
| memory = 512 KB, up to 1 MB on board (PCW specification); 1 MB in the review machine
| storage = 5.25-inch floppy drive (790 KB per PCW, 720 KB per Acorn); 10 MB half-height hard disc
| display = Built-in Microvitec colour monitor, 80 x 25 text
| os = Digital Research Concurrent DOS 286 with GEM (planned); Concurrent CP/M 3.1 on the review machine
| dimensions = 16 x 15.25 x 15.75 in (406 x 387 x 400 mm) with stand
| model = ABC 310
}}
<templatestyles src="Template:StyledTable/styles.css" />
The '''Acorn ABC 310''' is the top model of the Acorn Business Computer (ABC) range: an Intel 80286 second processor, a 10 MB hard disc, one floppy drive and a colour monitor, built into the range's single case around a redesigned BBC Micro board that handles input and output.<ref name="pcw">Bright, Peter. "Acorn ABC 310", ''Personal Computer World'', vol. 8 no. 4, April 1985, pp. 120-126 (Benchtest). [https://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/docs/Mags/PCW/PCW_Apr85_ABC310.pdf Scan] via Chris's Acorns. Review of a pre-production ABC 310: hardware, interior, keyboard, display, system software, technical specification box and price.</ref><ref name="chris">Whytehead, Chris. [https://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/Computers/ABC.html "Acorn Business Computer"], Chris's Acorns, The Centre for Computing History (retrieved 2026-10-02). ABC 310: the ABC 300 with one floppy drive replaced by a 10 MB hard disc and a colour screen; one survivor reported by Richard Kirkpatrick on his Retrotech site; listed as wanted.</ref> Acorn showed it running a mouse-driven desktop at the 1984 PCW Show and announced it at £3,999 plus VAT, and Personal Computer World reviewed a pre-production machine in April 1985, but Acorn cancelled the ABC range that year and the ABC 310 was not sold.<ref name="aun84">Quinn, Tony and van Someren, Alex. "Vertical tack of the ABC", ''Acorn User'', November 1984, pp. 30-31. [https://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/docs/Mags/AU/AU_Nov84_ABC.pdf Scan] via Chris's Acorns. The flagship ABC 310 demonstrated at the PCW Show running a mouse-controlled desk-top manager with icons, menus and windows; Table 1: 80286, 720 KB floppy, 10 MB hard disc, colour screen, CP/M, MS-DOS and PC-DOS.</ref><ref name="au85mar">"ABC goes for special sectors", ''Acorn User'', March 1985, p. 7. [https://archive.org/details/AcornUser032-Mar85/page/n8/mode/1up Scan] on archive.org. ABC 310 £3,999 plus VAT.</ref><ref name="chris" /> One surviving ABC 310 has been reported.<ref name="chris" />

== Specification ==

{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:70%; text-align:left;"
|+'''ABC 310 (Personal Computer World specification box, April 1985)'''
! Item !! Specification
|-
| Processors || Intel 80286, 6502
|-
| ROM || 32 KB on the co-processor; BBC board with eight sideways ROM sockets
|-
| RAM || 512 KB, up to 1 MB on board
|-
| Mass storage || 790 KB floppy disc, 10 MB hard disc
|-
| Keyboard || 92-key
|-
| Size || 16 x 15¼ x 15¾ inches
|-
| I/O || Parallel printer, 1 MHz bus, RS423 serial, Econet, analogue port
|-
| Operating system || Concurrent DOS 286
|}

Source: Personal Computer World.<ref name="pcw" /> Acorn's brochure gives the ABC 310 a colour screen, up to 1 MB and a 10 MB hard disc, with the Desk Top Manager.<ref name="br">Acorn Computers, brochure "The Acorn Business Computer", APP01. Hosted on this wiki: [[:File:Acorn Business Computer brochure (APP01).pdf]]. Page 3: the ABC 310 adds a colour screen, up to 1 MB and a 10 MB hard disc, integrated into the Desk Top Manager. Page 4: specification.</ref> Acorn User's range table gives a 720 KB floppy drive;<ref name="aun84" /> Personal Computer World's review machine had a 790 KB drive that read and wrote several formats, including 360 KB IBM and 380 KB CP/M discs.<ref name="pcw" />

== The 1985 review machine ==

Personal Computer World's machine was a pre-production unit. It had five circuit boards linked by ribbon cables, some glued in place with Araldite.<ref name="pcw" />

* The BBC-derived board lies under the monitor chassis. It is a redesign, not a BBC Model B board: it has eight sideways ROM sockets and supports double-density drives. On the review machine four of the sockets held an advanced DFS, a utilities ROM, the network ROM and OS 1.00.
* The 80286 co-processor board is minimal: the processor, some TTL, RAM, 32 KB of ROM and a Ferranti ULA for the Tube. Four banks of eight 256 Kbit RAM chips gave 1 MB.
* The co-processor and I/O controller boards sit in the two side wings. Four quick-release studs let the wings hinge outwards; two more let the whole monitor chassis hinge up to expose the BBC board.
* The monitor is a Microvitec colour unit giving 80 by 25 text, with a brightness thumbwheel under the front. Many of its electronics are uncased.
* The keyboard has three LEDs, a reset button on the back that gives a warm boot, and a rocker switch that turns the 80286 on and off. With the 80286 off the machine behaves as a BBC Micro; about half of the reviewer's BBC cassette software ran.
* The drive and fan together made it one of the noisiest machines the reviewer had tested.<ref name="pcw" />

[[File:Acorn ABC 310 rear panel (Personal Computer World, April 1985).jpg|thumb|right|320px|Rear panel of the review machine (Personal Computer World, April 1985)]]

The rear panel carries a 9-way DIN socket for a mouse and a "BT link" socket on the top row, then a Centronics printer connector of non-standard design that needs a special cable, the 37-way 1 MHz bus and 25-way keyboard sockets, and along the bottom the RGB, RS423, cassette and Econet DIN sockets and the 15-way analogue port.<ref name="pcw" /> The photograph of the review machine's panel shows a mains rating of 220-240 V 50 Hz, 2 A maximum, and a fuse marked T2A.<ref name="pcwphoto">''Personal Computer World'', April 1985, rear panel photograph, p. 122 of the review (hosted as [[:File:Acorn ABC 310 rear panel (Personal Computer World, April 1985).jpg]]).</ref>

== Software ==

The 80286 models were to ship with Digital Research's Concurrent DOS 286 and its GEM desktop. Concurrent DOS 286 was not finished when the review was written, so the review machine ran Concurrent CP/M 3.1, which runs up to four programs at once on four virtual screens and read IBM discs and ran WordStar. Acorn supplied WordStar and Locomotive BASIC; the documentation was not ready.<ref name="pcw" /> Acorn User repeated a story, which it allowed might be apocryphal, that an Apple development manager challenged Acorn's staff at the PCW Show about who had written the desktop, because it was so like the Macintosh's.<ref name="aun84" />

== Construction and service ==

The ABC 310 shares the common ABC case, described on [[Acorn ABC110#Construction]]. No Acorn service manual for the 80286 models is known. Acorn's ''ACW 443 Service Manual'' covers the same case, the power supply wiring, the Microvitec monitor and the I/O processor board of the 32016 production model, the [[Acorn Cambridge Workstation]]; see [[Acorn Cambridge Workstation Documentation]] and the [[Acorn Cambridge Workstation Maintenance Guide]].<ref name="sm">Acorn Computers, ''ACW 443 Service Manual'', reference 0420,001, issue 1, January 1987. Hosted on this wiki: [[:File:Acorn ACW 443 Service Manual.pdf]].</ref> The ACW's rear panel matches the review machine's layout, and the ACW's own panel is marked T2A/250V.<ref name="acwrear">Chris Whytehead, photograph of the ACW rear panel, [https://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/Computers/ACW.html Chris's Acorns] (retrieved 2026-10-02). Hosted as [[:File:Acorn Cambridge Workstation rear panel.jpg]].</ref>

Warning: Personal Computer World noted that the monitor electronics are uncased and that some of them hold a high voltage for some time after the machine is switched off.<ref name="pcw" /> Discharge the CRT before working inside: see [[CRT Discharge Procedure]].

== Related pages ==

* [[Acorn ABC300]]
* [[Acorn ABC210]] and [[Acorn Cambridge Workstation]]
* [[Acorn ABC100]] and [[Acorn ABC110]]
* [[Acorn Business Computer Documentation]]

== References ==

<references />

{{Navbox-AcornComputers|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Acorn Computers]]

Acorn ABC310 - Revision history

Josh: New page: ABC model page, cited to Acorn's brochure, Acorn User and PCW