Acorn Archimedes A440

Acorn Archimedes A440 and A440/1

Acorn Archimedes A440
Specifications
Manufacturer	Acorn Computers Ltd
Type	Personal computer (three-box desktop)
Released	A440 June 1987 (available November 1987); A440/1 May 1989
Discontinued	A440 1989; A440/1 1991
Intro price	A440 £2,299 ex VAT (£2,641.60 inc VAT); A440/1 £2,499 ex VAT
CPU	ARM2 @ 8 MHz
Memory	4 MB RAM
Storage	3.5" floppy drive; 20 MB ST506 hard disc (A440), 50 MB (A440/1)
Display	Analogue RGB and high-resolution mono; up to 640×512 on a multisync
Sound	8-channel, 8-bit logarithmic (VIDC1a)
OS / Firmware	A440: Arthur 1.2; A440/1: RISC OS 2.00
Predecessor	BBC Master series (no page yet)
Successor	Acorn Archimedes A540
Model no.	AKB20 (A440), AKB44 (A440/1)

The Acorn Archimedes A440 was the flagship of the original Archimedes range, announced in June 1987 with availability from November 1987. It had 4 MB of RAM and a 20 MB hard disc as standard, and it was the only 400-series machine Acorn is known to have actually shipped: the A410 was announced and priced but slipped twice and probably never sold.

This page also covers the A440/1 of May 1989, the MEMC1a-based replacement.

Prices

From Acorn's 1987 retail price list, ex VAT:

Product code	Configuration	RRP ex VAT	RRP inc VAT
AKB20	A440, no monitor	£2,299.00	£2,641.60
AKB20/AKF01	A440 with mono monitor	£2,349.00	£2,699.10
AKB20/AKF11	A440 with colour monitor	£2,499.00	£2,871.60

The £2,299 base price already includes the 4 MB of RAM and the 20 MB hard disc — those are what define the model, not extras. A figure of "£2,644" sometimes quoted for a fully-specified A440 is the £2,641.60 inc VAT base price, not a higher specification.

What made it different from the 300 series

The A440 is not a 300-series board with more memory. It uses a different motherboard, part 277,300, which carries a built-in ST506/MFM hard disc controller — the 300 series has an unpopulated area where that circuit would go and can only take a hard disc on a podule.

It also ships with a four-slot backplane (part 0277,040) as standard, where the 300 series has no expansion slots at all until an optional two-slot backplane is fitted.

Unlike the A305 and A310, the A440 is not a BBC Microcomputer. Its keyboard has neither the red function keys nor the BBC logo above the numeric keypad.

Hardware

• ARM2 (VLSI VL2333-QC) at 8 MHz, 32-bit with 26-bit addressing, with the MEMC1 (VL2304) memory controller, VIDC1a (VL2303A) video and sound controller and the IOC
• 4 MB of DRAM, the maximum a single MEMC addresses
• 20 MB ST506 hard disc on the on-board MFM controller; Chris Whytehead's machine carries a Tandon TM 362
• Sony MP-F63W-00D 3.5-inch floppy drive
• Four podule slots on the standard backplane
• Screen modes and video output levels are the same as the 300 series — see Acorn Archimedes A305#Display

Acorn quoted 4 MIPS for the Archimedes generally; the measured figure for Chris Whytehead's A440 under RISC OS 2.00 is 4.56 MIPS on ARMSi v4.0 and 5,383 Dhrystones per second. Claims of 18 MIPS that appear in some contemporary reporting are not supported by any measurement on a documented machine.

Backup batteries

The A440 uses two LR06 (AA size) 1.5 V manganese alkaline cells fitted inside the main unit, which Acorn specified for replacement once a year. They are Acorn part 0817,005, in battery holder assembly 0176,009, wired to connector PL11 on the main PCB. Acorn's own service check is that each cell should read above 1.4 V.

They are not NiCd. Alkaline cells left in place for decades leak potassium hydroxide; the battery pack is clearly visible in the top-right of the case in photographs of surviving machines, close to the fan. Remove them and inspect the holder and board before powering a stored machine — see Battery Explosion, Capacitor or Corrosion Damage.

Operating system

The A440 shipped with Arthur 1.2. Arthur's desktop was written in BASIC and was very limited. RISC OS 2.00, dated 5 October 1988, replaced Arthur and is a ROM-set swap on this board; most surviving A440s have been taken at least that far, and many to RISC OS 3.10 or 3.11.

The A440/1 (1989)

In May 1989 Acorn replaced the 400 series with the A4x0/1 range, whose main change was the MEMC1a memory controller — Acorn described the gain as "a slight performance improvement". The A440/1, product code AKB44, had 4 MB of RAM and a 50 MB ST506 hard disc at £2,499 ex VAT, alongside the £1,199 A410/1 and the £1,699 A420/1.

The A440/1 uses the Acorn Universal Board (part 0283,000) shared with the rest of the /1 range, with an HD63463P8 MFM controller, and the 0283,040 four-slot backplane. Its backup batteries are the same two AA alkaline cells, on connector PL10.

Sources differ on the A440/1's hard disc size: Chris Whytehead's range description says 50 MB, his A440/1 section says 53 MB, and his product-code index says 20 MB. Acorn appears to have shipped more than one drive over the model's life, so treat any single figure as approximate and check the drive in the machine.

Badges and serial numbers on this range frequently disagree. Chris Whytehead's A440/1 carries serial number 27-AKB40-1007658 — an A410/1 code — on a machine with 4 MB and a hard disc, apparently a dealer upgrade with the front label changed.

R140: the Unix version

The R140 was Acorn's entry into the Unix workstation market, built on the same hardware as the A440: an ARM2 and 4 MB of memory, but with a larger 60 MB ST506 drive. RISC OS 2 sat in ROM and was used only for the initial boot, which then loaded the disc-based RISC iX BSD Unix system.

At launch the R140 without a monitor cost £3,500 ex VAT against the A440's £2,299; the AKA25 Ethernet podule was £599 and the AKA30 SCSI adapter £299. Acorn documented the R140 alongside the A400/1 range in the Acorn A400-1 and R140 Service Manual hosted here.

Maintenance and repair

• Remove the AA alkaline cells and inspect the holder and the board around it.
• Check the cells against Acorn's own limit of 1.4 V per cell if you are diagnosing lost configuration.
• ST506/MFM drives are usually the dead component on a surviving machine; see Hard Drive Maintenance and Repair.
• Floppy drive — see Floppy Drive Repair.
• Tools — see Recommended Tools.

Acorn's fault-finding, links and test points, parts lists and circuit diagrams for the A440 are in the Archimedes 440 Service Manual hosted here; for the A440/1 they are in the Acorn A400-1 and R140 Service Manual.

See also

• Acorn Archimedes A305 and Acorn Archimedes A310 — the 1987 300 series
• Acorn Archimedes A410 — the never-sold A410 and the A410/1
• Acorn Archimedes A420 — the A420/1
• Acorn Archimedes A540 — the 1990 flagship that replaced it
• Archimedes 440 Service Manual