Acorn System 1

The Acorn System 1, initially called the Acorn Microcomputer (Micro-Computer), was an early 8-bit microcomputer for hobbyists, based on the MOS 6502 CPU, and produced by British company Acorn Computers from 1979.

The upper board of the Acorn System 1, featuring keypad and LED display.

The system was designed by then-Cambridge-undergraduate student Sophie Wilson. It was a small machine built on two Eurocard-standard circuit boards:

• one card (shown right) with the I/O part of the computer: a LED seven segment display, a 25-key keypad (hex+function keys), and a cassette interface (the circuitry to the left of the keypad)
• the second card (the computer board), which included the CPU, RAM/ROM memory, and support chips.

Almost all CPU signals were accessible via the standard Eurocard connector.

See also

• Acorn System 2, System 3, System 4, System 5
• Acorn Atom

External links

• Comprehensive information on the System 1, including an emulator – Provided by Mike Cowlishaw