Date   : Sun, 12 Feb 2006 16:09:58 -0000
From   : "Mike" <profpep@...>
Subject: Re: B+ 64k won't respond to keyboard, Econet fitted

> Mike wrote:
> > Just done the check on an old ACW motherboard I have here.
>
Jules wrote
> You don't have any non-standard 32016 software do you? (Yes, I collect
Acorn
> Business Computer stuff too - told you I was interested in oddball Acorns!
:-)

 I got two ACW workstation boards froma a guy who'd scrapped them. Thay were
fitted with 'Acorn ACW DFS' ROMs, and all the I/O connectors are vertical
for internal use. I had to duplicate the bASIC/MOS ROM from one to the
other, because he'd put one MOS into the Speech socket, frying it!  He'd
actually wanted the hard discs, though these were Xebec SASI drives, totally
worn out, and would go out of calibration after a few minutes running. I
found an overwritten disc amongst the stuff, the torn off label backing
could be read, and said 'Acorn Scheme - Copyright The Rand Corporation'.
Sacrilege, over writing genuine spook software! I tried to read the hard
disc several times, but what I finally found was  games and standard
stuff,it having ben re-used as an entertainment machine. I've got the 32016,
in a home made case. It's a 1Meg RAM model, and looks like the one from the
Cheese wedge case, not like the other ACW's I've seen on the web. I'm
worried he may have scrapped an early one, though this was about 10 years
ago. Has anybody got a 32016 circuit diagram? I wonder what the spare chip
space was for, and if I can upgrade the RAM,there are links, and I think
there may have been 1Meg Chip that went in the same socket as the 256K,
(remembering upgrading 286 PC's).

I beleive that there was some symbolic algebra software, and a few compilers
bootstrapped in with BCPL. I've heard of an early version of SPICE, compiled
with FORTRAN, and some finite element stuff. I'll see what I can find out.

I have got a spare new and unused set of Panos discs, still in the
shrinkwrap, all part from the Welcome disc, (which I finally got a copy of,
though I had to recreate two of the files on side two). If you haven't got
all the languages for the 32016, I can do you copies, I've already started
scanning my other set of manuals.. Given the state of my finances at the
moment, I may have to  auction these, along with an 'complete new in box'
Master 512 I was given.

||\/||ike