LGR – BBC Micro Computer System Review
LGR – BBC Micro Computer System Review
The BBC Microcomputer was Acorn’s follow-up to the Atom, and launched in 1981. Largely due to its BBC backing, the computer was quite successful in the UK, especially among schools and businesses. But is it still worth owning to a current collector of vintage computers?
This is an overview of the history, hardware, and software of the Beeb from the perspective of an American collector. How do the pros and cons stack up, and is it worth getting a Beeb over its cut-down sibling, the Electron?
Many thanks to Mark from the UK for the BBC Model B!
Also a big thanks to ImperialProductions for the Acornsoft software!
http://www.youtube.com/user/ImperialProductions
For lots of great info on the Beeb, check out Stairway To Hell:
http://www.stairwaytohell.com/
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Photo credits: Wikimedia Commons and Phil Gyford, used under Creative Commons 2.0 attribution license. Also some from the excellent site, Chris’s Acorns.
Several of these machines were still in use at my small rural school up until at least ’97 when I left for secondary education. They didn’t really appeal to me TBH, as I was more interested in playing Lemmings on the newer Acorns. My secondary school also had an example in its computer room, the interesting thing being that it was connected up to a programmable robotic hand. I never actually saw it function, but I wondered at the time if its grip was powerful enough to crush bones like Robocop’s was.
Bbc stands for something else as well too idk why the name stands like that
Bbc televison centre
I have a BBC Model B sitting at the side of me right now waiting on a capacitor kit from ebay because yes… my PSU blew after about 10 mins of having turned it on. I’m particularly fond of this old computer because its the first machine I had as a kid when I was 7 years old and learned to program on it. Later had a Spectrum 48K and likewise am fond of that too. I have all manor of old computers sitting in my back room from many different companies even including an old mains powered calculator from 1974 fully working…. I dont currently have a beard though, but I do have a wife that rolls her eyes at me when I try to explain the love of this old tech to her.
Its worth buying for ELITE alone
When a broadcasting company created a computer machine.
My highschool had these here in Australia. They got an Acorn Archimedes in my final year, although I wasn’t able to use it t because no senior computing class.
Off to see if there are any videos for one of those.
I used to have a Mark from the U.K.
CLINT WHY IS THERE A BEARD IM SCARED
You can play BBC Micro games or download them at: http://bbcmicro.co.uk
“But alas, it ended up being Acorn” – that’s a bit harsh, Acorn was cool! I had an Atom! Assembler rocked! Okay, I was twelve and not clever enough for assembler, but it would have rocked if I had been clever enough! 🙄
Expect to pay big buck$ if it still has the strip of cardboard above the function keys. 🤣 Also, if the display goes fuzzy you will need to use it with the top off and occasionally blow on the graphics chip to cool it down. But don’t lick the power supply.
I learnt programming on the BBC Micro. Fond memories of 6502 assembler 🙂
I have an entire disk box of games for the beeb.
Elite, Chuckie Egg, Mr.EE, Castle quest…to name a few.
They all still work!
Great video! I always loved the Beeb back at school and played Elite to death on it. We’ve got 3 in the shed and they are brilliant. 🙂
these have become quite expensive…even here in the un-united kingdom
My issue 7 beeb works a treat , mated to a period microvitec cub monitor and a genuine acorn data recorder. I have repaired the psu a few times, and have had it since my child hood… I’m 44 now.
Necro post. But I dig you using lance Gaye’s score from forza 4. Good choice
lol , Love going through your old videos , Just turned 40+ ,So i got a Sinclair Spectrum +2 board 3, Needs work so never soldered in my life ,ordered all the refurbishment kit so here I go
Lgr I’m another Mark from England. My Catholic school MADE us work on acorn, your approximation is superb but, I tell you a little something, in the church on Friday nights there was a ‘youth club’ music for us little kids (Billy ocean etc) so I’d sneak to the acorn and play ELITE, a really good game, prior to zx48. 😉
Sideways ram 😆
The beard says “yes”.
The Beard says "Yes"
Mr Do was excellent on the Beeb
It was a decent machine in its day.
Knockoff games in the UK were prevalent as all hell thanks to a lack of copyright transparency on that side of the pond. GuruLarry has a lot to say about that sort of thing.
I had a Acorn 3010 and played lemmings I loved it hahahaha
If your beeb starts smoking, skip the nicotine patch and just cut the power
Holy shit Clint you’ve changed! I was expecting current Clint not long haired younger Clint!
I BLOODY LOVE IT!
IT’S BEAUTIFUL!!!
First machine where i saw Elite running, i was hooked
So let me get this straight like many things they didn’t invent it but they like to put on airs about having the best.
Actually the Master could be specified with 1 meg of ram towards the end of its life (1992-1994) 1024k 😉
Hello Cliff.
Thank you for showing this one brought back memories
Mark doesn’t happen to be Mark Haysman by any chance? Mark is good people, my next computer purchase will hopefully be one of his refurbished Model Bs.
Gotta love a video game that almost cusses….
"Frak!"
First computer I ever used way back in the 80s…class one at primary school
Like a lot of computers of that period, it was a developer’s machine from the ground-up. That’s why there’s so many middle-aged programmers in the UK. (such as myself)
One aspect of this machine you forgot to mention … the version of BASIC included its won built in 6502 assembler, so you could dive straight into machine language programming without having to fork out extra for an assembler … which made this machine VERY popular with certain types of programmer back in the day. 🙂
Where did you put the beard man? That things cool!
Please bring back the beard.
Being asian, I. am. envious.
I loved BBC Micro, my grandfather a pillar of the community of upright productive citizen had a darkside, he pirated everything he could, so I had unlimited games for BBC Micro. 9:50 Moment I realize my Grandfather "took" the computer from the school he was principle lol
7:55 WTF that was what it was for? I used to switch that thing up and down on different screens to find out what it was for. WOuld never have guessed it was for that back when I was a kid.
These came out the year I left school but my friends parents were school teachers so had one at home. The games I remember being the best were chuckie egg, Frak, Elite and Revs. Revs is really worth finding, we had rigged up a paper plate steering wheel and meccano pedals all connected up via the joystick port. It was well ahead of it’s time.
"We don’t need no education
We don’t need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone…" @ 02:13
Big black cocks
1:45 That’s how you hussle.
had this as first computers in school in ireland in 1990s (1995-6-7-8)
for those interested, almost all electron software will run on a bbc, but running bbc programs on an electron is a crap shoot, at least in my experience, peripheral compatibility is good though most stuff works great, there was a line of add ons to make compatibility better, one was a huge sidecar that turned an electron into a beeb though it was rare then so good luck finding one.
BBC Microcomputer.
Simply a classic. Not just of computing but of all technology.
The true ancestor of ARM powered mobiles & tablets.