Acorn Electron (also known as Elk) | TechMuseum
Year of manufacture: 1983-1985
Technical Specifications:
- Processor: Synertek SY6502A, 1-2 MHz
- RAM: 32 KB
- FDD: –
- HDD: –
- Audio: 1 channel, 7 octaves
- Connectors/Ports: tape recorder, expansion, aerial TV, composite video, RGB monitor output
- Case: Keyboard type
- Monitor: Color
- OS: Acorn MOS v.1
The Acorn Electron features a Synertek SY6502A processor at 2 MHz and memory of 32kB. It ran with the operating system of the Acorn MOS 1.0 version.
Acorn Computers was a British electronics company, founded in 1978. During the 1980s, the company dominated the computer market, especially in the education sector. The corporation had various subsidiaries with different division operations. For example, Arm Inc. is dominant in the mobile phone, PDA and microprocessor market.
Acorn has been referred as the “British Apple” as well. It is a catalyst for technological innovations, maintaining pressure to other competitors, such as Fairchild Semiconductor and BBC.
The Acorn was the lower cost alternative to the BBC Micro and Zx Spectrum, but just as competitive. For a short period, it was the best selling micro computer in the United Kingdom and production discontinued after a successful commercial lifespan.
That was just a snapshot on the presentation of the techmuseum series. Indulge more into the history. Continue reading more about the present model, the Acorn Electron here. Alternatively, find more exciting stories like this one here.
Author: PC-GR
The World of Technology
