Questions tagged [bbc-micro]
For questions about the BBC Micro, programs written for the BBC Micro or peripherals for the BBC Micro.
52 questions
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Did the BBC ask for extra line spacing?
Re-watching an episode of The Computer Programme, I notice a couple of unusual characteristics of the BBC Micro text – more specifically, program listing as software-generated text on bitmap – display,...
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What does “teletext” exactly refer to in BBC Micro specifications?
In the original outline specification for the BBC Micro, there are several mentions of teletext, in particular
Graphics: […] (b) Plot a low resolution graphics point to build Teletext graphic ...
- 65.3k
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Why did Acorn use LF+CR instead of CR+LF as a line ending?
The most common conventions for indicating newline nowadays are CR+LF (most famously Windows, but also the Internet standard) and bare LF (Unix and Unix-like systems). Historically there have been ...
- 3,998
7
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3
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Could the BBC Micro have used 8 additional colours in mode 2 instead of flashing colours?
As a teenager with a BBC Micro in the 1980s, I would often write small graphical programs, and - like many programmers of the day - I was very familiar with all the modes and the colours associated ...
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Did BBC Micro business software stick to 40 columns?
The iconic personal computer sponsored by the British Broadcasting Corporation, was most famous for its use in UK schools, so I was surprised to read in The Legacy of the BBC Micro:
By October 1983, ...
- 65.3k
5
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1
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Was it possible to complete the third rotation in Killer Gorilla?
As a kid I played a lot of Killer Gorilla on the BBC micro. This game was a clone of Donkey Kong.
Like Donkey Kong it had four levels, which the game rotated through and on each rotation they got ...
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5
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2
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657
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Solderless (non-destructive) routing for audio (referred to by Waugh)
ASTEC UM1233 has no audio
The BBC Micro came with an on-board ASTEC UM1233, which has no audio input (or output). It is purely video only.
Solderless fix
On page 31 (or page 43 of the PDF) of Making ...
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What is this Akhter diskette drive for the BBC Model B?
I am preparing a BBC Model B micro computer for sale which has been in storage and needs cleaning. There is a 3½″ diskette drive with it, which was unfortunately stored with the slot uppermost and ...
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Why was the Microvitec Cub monitor made of metal?
In British schools in the early eighties, the iconic microcomputer was the BBC Micro, typically connected to the equally iconic Microvitec Cub color monitor, as described in this video.
Why this ...
- 65.3k
4
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1
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Did other Acorn keyboards use two-shot molding?
The BBC Micro hardware specification includes the clause:
The legend on the keys will be achieved by two-shot moulding
This is a process by which the glyphs are made to run all the way through the ...
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2
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2
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Is the source for the original Elite public?
Is the source code for the original Elite public? Even after all this time, I'm still flabbergasted at how hard they pushed the BBC Micro, and what they achieved.
A commentary on the disassembly would ...
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BBC Micro split mixed graphics modes, could Mode 7 teletext be mixed with them?
The Elite computer game was one example of different graphics modes being on the screen at once: Mode 4 (monochrome, 320x256) for the main wireframed vector graphics game play and Mode 5 (4 colour ...
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13
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2
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What really prevented PC games from using hardware scrolling on CGA
According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_tile_refresh:
CGA (the previous generation of PC graphics hardware) lacks features for scrolling in hardware
so PC games started featuring ...
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5
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How did games written for tape-based BBC micro, get officially and unofficially ported to disk, bearing in mind extra workspace needed by DFS ROM?
If I recall, PAGE = &E00 for a BBC Model B system with cassette tape based storage.
On installation of Acorn DFS ROM (with 8271 Floppy disc controller), the ROM allocated more memory, increasing ...
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4
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What bit depth and sampling frequency could the BBC micro play back sampled sounds?
I have an archive of sample recordings with a sample playback program, the date and author in the BBC BASIC loader for the program is "(C) 1985 by DAVID J. HOSKINS"
There are are about 10 ...
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