The Acorn Electron

This is a machine I've been wanting for sooooo long, and I *finally* have one.
So in this video I'll be taking a look at the machine, some way of loading software, and checking out some games.

Linky:

[MrLurchsThings]

And within hours, 0xC0DE released an update to his Electrobots game (thanks @ozretrocomp for the tip)

[RetroJack]

"It is more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow" - As someone who once got their 1978 Austin Maxi up to 140 kph, couldn't agree more!

[ctrlaltrees]

The first computer my family ever owned! Love the Elk, so much character and a worthy little brother to the iconic BBC Micro.

[lactobacillusprime]

I was travelling back from the Replay Event in Blackpool to my native Netherlands one day. I had an ELK in my backpack - so when I needed to go through security where you have to put your computers, laptops, phones etc in a tray to be scanned I pulled out the ELK and put it next to tablet and phone in the tray and proceeded through security. The guys at security later pulled me apart, actually to reminisce their own experiences with the system back in the day - we were about the same age and it actually was quite fun to experience. :)

[bryndal]

The amount of inovation in the home computer market in the early to mid 80s in the UK was incredible and the Acorn Electron is certainly a part of that important time in home computing. Awesome to see you now have one to play around with. I've never owned nor seen one in real life myself but maybe now that I've got time on my hands, I might have to look at getting one since they're still selling for a reasonably low price. Fantastic video too.

[SomePeopleCallMeWulfman]

The Electron may not be the most technologically advanced machine, but IMHO it is one of the best looking 8 bit micros.

[BritishRosie-eszr]

A thought struck me watching this. The pinnacle of home computing in that era was a keyboard with EVERYTHING else sitting under it. Sure, there were RAM packs and peripherals but you could have a main computer in you home with just a keyboard and all the circuitry underneath. That was so important to the era this type of machine was born into. I can't see many homes in the 1980s having towers and monitors, the initial investment into something you could plug into a telly and get on with it was a catalyst for the home computer, and all these brands were part of that revolution.

[Doug_in_NC]

I had a Beeb as a kid, and Chuckie Egg was my all time favorite game on it. I spent hours playing it.

[misterretrowolf]

So the other reason this computer is amazing is the in-line assembler to do 6502 assembly language programming. And again, because the Elk is a cut-down version of the BBC, the learning materials were far more focused. Electron User was a super little magazine to follow along with using this neat little machine!

[Zhixalom]

Now, if I had such an absolutely ❤gorgeous machine❤... I'd name it Simon... Because to quote the great John Cleese:
"Some people have made the mistake of seeing Shunt's work as a load of rubbish about railway timetables, but clever people like me, who talk loudly in restaurants, see this as a deliberate ambiguity, a plea for understanding in a mechanized world. The points are frozen, the beast is dead. What is the difference? What indeed is the point? The point is frozen, the beast is late out of Paddington. The point is taken. If La Fontaine's elk would spurn Tom Jones the engine must be our head, the dining car our esophagus, the guard's van our left lung, the cattle truck our shins, the first-class compartment the piece of skin at the nape of the neck and the level crossing an electric elk called Simon. The clarity is devastating. But where is the ambiguity? It's over there in a box. Shunt is saying the 8:15 from Gillingham when in reality he means the 8:13 from Gillingham. The train is the same only the time is altered. Ecce homo, ergo elk. La Fontaine knew his sister and knew her bloody well. The point is taken, the beast is molting, the fluff gets up your nose. The illusion is complete; it is reality, the reality is illusion, and the ambiguity is the only truth. But is the truth, as Hitchcock observes, in the box? No there isn't room, the ambiguity has put on weight. The point is taken, the elk is great, the beast stops at Swindon, Chabrol stops at nothing, I'm having treatment and La Fontaine can get knotted."
... now who in their right mind would even attempt to disagree with that? 🤣

[TimsRetroCorner]

The Elk (and the Beeb) are on my list of "never had-must get" machines. One day...

[paddycoleman]

I had an Electron back in the day and it was very good. Performance was not an issue for me but a lack of memory was. For me, Acorn needed to release an Electron+ with 128K RAM and MODE 7. The keyboard on the Electron was one of the best I have ever used until I got an IBM Model M when working at Intel.

[IanSlothieRolfe]

If you're not put off by the (slightly) slower performance, the Electron was good value at the time and still is. The speed only really affected games, and a number of my university colleagues bought electrons to allow them to do programming in their rooms in hall rather than having to go to the computer labs. That said, there were lots of good electron games. The fact that the electron had full BBC basic was a major plus, as it was much more advanced than the Microsoft basic derived versions that most other home computers had. It also had the bonus of a decent keyboard.

[terosaarela]

I find myself having a soft spot for compact computers. I really like the idea that a small, entry-level computer has a full travel, mechanical keyboard that’s found in more expensive computers. I also like the minimalistic design of the Elk. I certainly wouldn’t pass an Elk if I would cross paths with one.

[maboroshi]

one thing i found interesting is when computerphile interviewed one of the lead engineers of the BBC and electron, he had a ton of insight into how kludgy and thrown together the machines were. apparently the biggest issues were the ones sent to australia, you see if you get the machine much warmer than about 30-ish degrees celsius...the machines would fail catastrophically.

[jamesroberts]

I like how you gave us a taste of the recent games ported to Elk. It’s great it gets to have high quality versions of these classics.

[jclosed]

Oh wow - This brings back good memories. I owned a Electron for a relatively short time, because it was a (in my eyes that time) a stopgap during the process to get a "real" BBC-B computer. Around that time I already had a relatively long experience with the Acorn computers.
You see - My first real "programmable" computer was the Quest Cosmac Super Elf (I still have that in working order, including lots of documentation). But I wanted a computer with a "real" keyboard in stead of a few hexidecimal keys. After much searching I finally settled for the Acorn Atom. This was the predecessor for the BBC-B and Electron computers (I still have an Acorn Atom lying around, but it needs some revision). As said, I was using the Electron on the road to the BBC-B (and later on the Acorn Archimedes and finally the RISC-PC) and I had loads of fun with that computer. It was also a big help in learning the first language beside Basic, namely LISP. Acorn LISP was a implementation of MACLISP, and was very valuable for me, because it fed my enthusiasm in learning programming languages.
What can I say? I really, really had a good time with that good old Electron. That's for sure...

[parrottm]

Wow, look at that small motherboard! There is SO little on there. I'm assuming that is how they got the price down for the targeted market.

That cart is the way to go for present day owners. I love it.

[samsulummasamsulumma]

Any Elk video is such an occasion. I also enjoy your presentations, so all the more reason to like this specific video. Two thumbs up👍👍

[MoreFunMakingIt]

Lovely stuff mate! Gutted I couldn't get one over to you before you finally splurged on one yourself.
The keyboard is so nice on these, almost agricultural, but so satisfying. Quite nice to work on too.