The BBC Micro, Part 2

Hello, and welcome to episode 101 of the Floppy Days Podcast for September, 2020.  The year is 1981 and we are talking about the legendary BBC Micro.  In this episode and next we will fully cover this incredible machine; from tech specs, peripherals, and books/magazines/software to emulators, modern upgrades, and current Web sites.

The BBC Micro is a British machine, and I thought it only right that my co-host for these episodes should be someone from the UK.  I acquired my BBC Micro, a BBC Master Series model, from my good friend and frequent contributor to the show via feedback, Andy Collins.  We did an international swap, where I sent him a machine that is common in the US (the Apple IIGS) and he sent me a machine common in the UK (the aforementioned BBC Master).  It would have cost each of us a not-insignificant sum of money otherwise to acquire our respective machines, as they each are rare in the country from which they did not originate.  I’m very happy with the trade and thankful to Andy for helping me get a BBC Micro.

In any event, Andy agreed to co-host this episode, for which I’m grateful, and I will have another UK resident for next month’s co-host.

Before getting into the details of the Beeb, I will talk a bit about new acquisitions and what I’ve been up to, a very brief mention of any upcoming shows, and then right into the meat of the episode.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

New Aquisitions

• The History of the Fortran Programming Language by Mark Jones Lorenzo - https://amzn.to/3iboEK4 
• The Atari Experience by Adrien Lamothe Jr. - https://amzn.to/36fakOh 
• The Easy Guide to Your Atari 600XL/800XL by Thomas Blackadar - https://amzn.to/36eTCyF 
• Compute!’s ST Programmer’s Guide by The Editors of Compute! - https://amzn.to/3kVLVkX 
• Elementary ST BASIC by C. Regena (Compute! Books) - https://amzn.to/2Gk4vUQ 
• Beginning Programming Using Retro Computing, Learn BASIC with a Commodore Emulator by Gerald Friedland - https://amzn.to/3jiVlqn 
• PRM-85 - Bill Kotaska - https://vintagecomputers.sdfeu.org/hp85/prm85.htm 
• H85Disk - Mike Gore - https://github.com/magore/hp85disk/tree/master/ 
• groups.io HP Series 80 list - [email protected] 

Upcoming Shows

• October 10 - 12, VCF East, InfoAge Science Center, Wall, NJ - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-east/ VIRTUAL + LIVE 

Peripherals

• Acorn Dual Analogue Joysticks - https://www.retro-kit.co.uk/page.cfm/content/Acorn-Analogue-Joysticks/ 
• Kempston Competition Pro 500 Joystick - https://www.retro-kit.co.uk/page.cfm/content/Competition-Pro-Joystick-for-the-BBC-Micro/ 
• Acorn Data Recorder - https://www.retro-kit.co.uk/page.cfm/content/Acorn-Data-Recorder-ANF-03/ 
• BBC Turtle - https://www.geeksaresexy.net/2009/10/22/remembering-the-bbc-micro/ 

Magazines

• BBC Micro Magazines - http://8bs.com/magazines.htm 
• BBC Micro User/The Micro User/Acorn Computing - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Micro_User 
• Acorn Programs - https://archive.org/details/acorn-programs 
• BeBug - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BEEBUG 
• Disk User Magazine - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_User 

Books

• 55 BBC Micro Books - http://www.acornelectron.co.uk/eug/revs/dvds/55_Bbc_Micro_Books_000.html 
• BBC-related manuals - http://8bs.com/othrdnld/manuals/applications.shtml 
• "BBC Microcomputer User Guide" by John Coll - BBC Micro User Guide [Remastered PDF] 
• "The Advanced User Guide"/"The New Advanced User Guide"
• • Advanced_User_Guide.pdf 
  • New_Advanced_User_Guide.pdf
  • http://www.acornelectron.co.uk/info/electron/acornsoft_adder/The-New-Advanced-User-Guide.html 
• The "BASIC Rom User Guide" by Mark Plumbley - BASIC ROM User Guide [Remastered PDF] 
• Advanced BASIC ROM User Guide by Colin Pharo, 1984 - Advanced BASIC ROM User Guide [Remastered PDF] 
• Forth on the BBC Microcomputer  by Steven Flintham - http://8bs.com/othrdnld/manuals/applications/forth-on-the-bbc-microcomputer.zip 
• LISP on the BBC Microcomputer - http://8bs.com/othrdnld/manuals/applications/LISP-doc-SBL14.zip 
• Assembly Language Programming for the BBC Micro [Remastered PDF] 

Software

• Top 20 BBC games - http://bbcmicro.co.uk/about.php 
• Educational Software Archive for the BBC Micro - http://www.flaxcottage.com/ 
• ROMS!!!!!! - http://www.flaxcottage.com/BBC_ROMS/Default.asp   
• A guide to making your own ROMs - https://mansfield-devine.com/speculatrix/2019/12/making-roms-for-the-bbc-micro/