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+ | ======The Oric FAQ====== | ||
+ | \\ For Microtan 65, Oric 1, Oric Atmos & Stratos IQ164/ | ||
+ | |||
+ | This FAQ is designed to provide information on the computers developed by Tangerine and Oric Products. It is constantly being updated. In order to improve this FAQ, your help is required. Please e-mail the maintainer with any information or corrections you may have. The layout is unashamedly based on the Atari 2600/7800 FAQ. Imitation is the sincerist form of flattery! Questions without a link (not underlined) are not available yet. | ||
+ | |||
+ | [[..: | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ====== Prologue ====== | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Q: The Maintainer===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ The current (and so far only) maintainer of this FAQ is Jim Groom. Information in this FAQ has come from a wide variety of sources, magazines, interviews, all of you out there, technical articles, books and hearsay. The information here is given in good faith and although the intention is to provide facts, I accept no responsibility for any inaccuracies it contains. You should be particularly aware that ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: What's new?===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | 6 June 2004 | ||
+ | |||
+ | [[# | ||
+ | |||
+ | 26 July 2002 | ||
+ | |||
+ | The name of the [[# | ||
+ | |||
+ | 23 July 2002 | ||
+ | |||
+ | A new section was added, " | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: What information is missing from this FAQ?===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ Exact Telestrat specifications. Although I've got one, I need to do a bit more research. | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: Where can I find the latest version of this FAQ?===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ The following URL should point you in the right direction: | ||
+ | FIXME | ||
+ | |||
+ | ====== General ====== | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: What is an Oric?===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ Oric Products International Ltd. was the company which launched the Oric family of 8 bit computers, back in 1983. The first one was the Oric-1 computer, powered by a 6502 processor and an extended 16K Basic, with sounds, colour graphics, printer port, and 16 or 48 K ram (plus an extra 16 K ram which you do not normally see. This RAM is very interesting! See the section on [[# | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: What Usenet groups exist to discuss the Oric?===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ comp.sys.oric exists for Oric users with Usenet access.\\ Occasional mentions of Oric appear on comp.sys.sinclair (usually derogatory!). | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: What is the comp.sys.oric charter? | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ CHARTER: comp.sys.oric | ||
+ | |||
+ | "To provide a forum for the discussion of every Oric-related subject: the Oric1, Atmos and Telestrat computers, peripherals, | ||
+ | |||
+ | END CHARTER.\\ This is the place to come to ask questions on ANY Oric related question you may have. | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: What is the comp.sys.oric etiquette? | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ When posting to the comp.sys.oric newsgroup, there are a few things you should bear in mind.\\ 1. Firstly, the accepted language of the group is English. No one will mind if you post messages in any other language, but there will usually be a flurry of requests for translations into English and translations by others that may misrepresent what you said. So if you can post in English, it is recommended that you do. If you can't post in English, please do post your message in your own language! We want to hear what you've got to say even if we have to do our own translations!\\ 2. Please only post messages in plain text. Do not use HTML.\\ 3. Please do not post binaries or attachments to the group. If you have a file that you want to share, place it in some web space and send a message with an appropriate hyper link. | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: Is there a mailing list for discussion of all things Oric? ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | No, mailing list disappears. If you think it should be created contact Jede | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: Is there any place to talk Oric in real time?===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Yes, there are a few ways you can do this. Firstly, a number of Oric users use ICQ, or msb. If you are familiar with this system of contact, look out for the ICQ numbers of other Oric users. Secondly, there is an IRC group in IRCNET. The information you need for you IRC program in order to connect is: | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ SERVER Group: ircnet | ||
+ | \\ CHANNEL: #oric\\ You can see who is currently connected to the chat server. There is some bots, so don't try talking to it! It is used to keep the channel open when no real people are there. | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: Are there any software lists? ===== | ||
+ | \\ Yes. There are a few now:\\ The Reluctant Dragon has a software list [[http:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: What magazines exist/have existed for the Oric?===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Rhetoric is over. It was produced in the UK by a group of Oric fans. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The longest running Oric magazine was [[http:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | The final Oric magazine still in existance is the CEO-MAG produced (http:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | A large number of magazines and newsletters have fallen by the wayside over the years. The term ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | From the UK:\\ Oric Computing (professional) by Tangerine User Group. Follow up to TUG. (5 Issues).\\ Oric Owner (professional) by Tansoft. Followed on from the Tansoft Gazette. (10 Issues).\\ I.O.U. by the Independent Oric User Group. (23 Issues).\\ Your Oric (8 Issues). | ||
+ | |||
+ | From France:\\ Micr' | ||
+ | |||
+ | For the Microtan 65, there were two magazines, TUG of the Tangerine User Group (36 Issues) and the Tansoft Gazette by Tansoft (8 Issues). | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: What books can I get for the Oric?===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ A list of books for the Oric is maintained in Excel and Ability spreadsheet compatible formats at [[http:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: Were there any Oric TV adverts? | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ Yes, and a copy was found in April 2002. You can find it on the net at [[http:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: What does ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ There was a lot of speculation in the press when the Oric came out about this. Some thought it was named after the plastic-box-with-lights in called Orac from the BBC TV series ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | From Steve Marshall comes the following: "I have a theory about the red ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: What happened to Tangerine and Oric?===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ Tangerine (formed in 1979) originally produced the Microtan 65 computer, ancestor of the Oric 1. There was also a business machine called the Tigress. In 1982, they formed Oric Products International Ltd to produce a new micro. Tangerine remained as the research and development arm of the group until dissolved ([[james.groom@virgin.net|what year anyone? | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: Whatever happened to.......? | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ If you know the fates of any of the old Oric crew, then let me know. Of particular interest are Dr Paul Johnson, Peter Halford, Andy Brown, Chris Shaw, John Tullis, Cathie Burrell, any of the 'Oric Angels' | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Barry Muncaster - Founder of Tangerine and Oric Products and one of its directors, till the end of the UK company.**\\ Barry is alive and well and has returned to the UK after spending a few years in the USA working as a senior person in the Biotechnology industry.\\ Sources: Jon Haworth, Search of "Barry Muncaster" | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Peter Harding - Peter was Sales Director at Oric Products and announced the launch of the Oric1 with the quote " | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Bruce Everiss - Head of Tansoft near the end of its life.**\\ Bruce is now working for Codemasters as Head of Communications ([[http:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Paul Kaufman - Involved with Tangerine, Oric and Tansoft and co-founder of Orpheus.**\\ Paul seemed to be everywhere in the Oric world back in 1983 and 1984! In 2000 he was European Director of LANSource Technologies. All the evidence points to him being the crazed character on the front of the Rat Splat cassette!\\ Sources: Internet Date: February 2000. | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Geoff Phillips - Oric programmer and author.**\\ Geoff wrote several programs for Tansoft, including Oric 1 and Atmos Welcome tapes, Multigames 1, House Of Death, Zodiac, Oric Munch, Oric BASE, Oric CALC and the Linkword Language series. After Tansoft, he was one of the founder members of software house Orpheus and wrote Trouble In Store for them. He also wrote the excellent "Oric Atmos & Oric 1 Graphics and Machine Code Techniques" | ||
+ | |||
+ | **John Marshall - Oric Programmer - Rat Splat & Insect Insanity.**\\ John moved to the USA eventually. By 2001 he was back in the UK and met up with Geoff Phillips and Paul Kaufman at their old watering hole when they all worked for Orpheus.\\ Sources: John Marshall via e-mail Date: December 2001. | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Kester Cranswick - Editor of Oric Owner.**\\ Kester edited issues 7 and 8 before departing, a factor which seems to have caused a small amount of chaos in the production of issue 9. At some point he appears to have moved to Australia to become an IT journalist. He died of cancer in 1996 aged just 37. The Kester Cranswick Lifetime Achievement Award is an Australian IT writers award named after him.\\ Sources: Steve Marshall, internet search for Kester Cranswick Date: April 2004. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ** Jean Claude Talar - owner of Oric France ** | ||
+ | |||
+ | He's subscribing to ceomag | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ======Software====== | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: Where can I find software for the Oric?===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | There are a number of websites out there with stuff available. [[oriclinx|Have a look around!]] New software is produced by the [[http:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: How do I get hold of program instructions? | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ There is no general resource available as yet. There are a few guides for certain games out there, such as [[http:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: My tape programs won't load, what can I do?===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ Most original tapes for the Oric are now very old and never designed to last this long. It is hardly surprising that many tapes are now difficult to load. The Oric was notorious for being a fussy loader. | ||
+ | Having said that, there are still quite a few things you can do to try and resurrect your tapes. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Firstly, see if you can find a tape that will load - why not save a short program to tape and then reload it? If you can do this, it confirms that your computer, tape recorder and lead are all working ok. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Once you've confirmed the hardware is working ok, put the non-loading cassette back in the player and try again. | ||
+ | |||
+ | If it doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | If that doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Some computer tape recorders have this screw fully exposed when the play head is forward, so there is no hole to find. Now press stop to retract the head, and place the tape in the machine. Turn down the volume to something you can bear and press play. Wait for the noise of the program to blare out of the speaker. Insert the screwdriver into the hole and locate the screw. Now turn the screw gently one way. You should hear the pitch of the sound coming out of the speakers alter. Turn the screw the other way and it will change again. You will notice that sometimes the sound is low -pitched, dull or bassy (sounding like it is coming from another room, for example), sometimes it is high pitched and shrill. You want to try and get the sound as high pitched as you can - this is the optimum head setting for the Oric. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Also, if you have treble controls on your tape unit, you want to increase the treble. After adjusting the azimuth, try connecting everything up and try loading that tape again. If it doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | One final tip - make sure you are using the right computer! A program that is compatible for the Oric 1 might not work on the Atmos and vice versa. Check the label on the tape and ensure you are using a compatible machine. | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: How do I transfer my programs to PC?===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ The best advice is given in the HTML manual that comes with the Oric emulator, Euphoric. This is available from [[http:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Q:I am confused by all the various Oric DOS's that exist, help!===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ There were/are nine different DOS's available for the Oric. Namely, they are: | ||
+ | |||
+ | OricDos, the original DOS from Oric, now in release 1.13\\ BDDOS, exclusive to the Byte Drive 500\\ Cumana Dos 1.0, exclusive to the Cumana drive\\ Cumana Super2 DOS, same instruction set but compatible with any drives\\ Opelco ROMDOS, same as Oric Dos\\ Opelco RANDOS, as before but with random file access added\\ FT-DOS, exclusive to the Jasmin drive\\ Sedoric, one of the best 8 bit home computer DOS,\\ Stratsed, the Sedoric equivalent for the Telestrat | ||
+ | |||
+ | Sedoric and Stratsed feature a multitude of commands (without the need for the ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Shortsed is a mini-set of Sedoric, I think, that enables you to get a disc working of programs working without having to use the full Sedoric disc.\\ Steve Marshall thinks there may have been a system called XLDOS. Anyone know any more? | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Q: What are the best games for the Oric?===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ Always a very subjective topic. For arcade fans I recommend Manic Miner by Software Projects, Rat Splat and Insect Insanity by Tansoft, Xenon 1 by IJK and Magnetix, Zebulon and Zip' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Q: What is the most common and the most rare software? | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ Some of the most common software includes the Oric and Oric Atmos Welcome tapes, Loki by Joe The Lion, Xenon 1 by IJK and possibly Forth by Tansoft as this was given away with early 48K Oric 1's. There is a lot of rare stuff. I have a copy of Leopard Lord by Kayde (doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: What software was promised but never released? | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ Zodiac 2: By Geoff Phillips, this was to be a machine code follow up to his BASIC adventure program Zodiac (released by Tansoft). The project never advanced beyond the design stage. It would have featured an assembler adventure parser, which Geoff had sketched out and partially designed which had improved sentence syntax compared to his earlier adventure programs. Source: Geoff Phillips.\\ \\ Midwinter / After The Fire / Beyond The Infinite: These were three adventures in the Channel 8 / Digital Fantasia, Mysterious Adventures series (remember Waxworks, Wizard of Akyrz, Golden Baton et al?). These were planned, but never written for the Oric and I don't think they made it onto any other formats either.\\ \\ Harridges by Tansoft: Never released under that name or by that software company. It became Trouble In Store by Orpheus.\\ \\ Insect Insanity by Tansoft: Never released by Tansoft, this was the follow up to Rat Splat. Fortunately the program survived and it was released by Oric User Monthly' | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: What games take advantage of joystick interfaces? | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ There were some programmable joystick interfaces which claimed to work with any game. IJK produced an Interface which worked with many of their games. PASE joystick controls were an option in a few games. More details as you give me them. There is also the excellent [[http:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: What programs are compatible with what machine? | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ Microtan 65 software will only work on the Microtan 65. Most early Oric 1 stuff required modification to work with the Atmos. Some companies went bust before the Atmos was released or decided not to convert their older or poorer programs. These programs are best used on an Oric-1 to avoid crashes/ | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: Are any new programs available? | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ Yes they are. Twilighte seemed to be the only person producing high quality software in the 90's with such classics as Sonix (music creator), Magnetix, Zip ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: I'm interested in programming the Oric, what programmers resources are available? | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ Your'e in luck, there is quite a bit! Between the following sites, you should be able to get a fair idea of whats going on.\\ [[http:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: Has anyone managed to do one screen of Damsel In Distress, let alone finish the game, without cheating? | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ Well I haven' | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: I've seen pictures of an excellent Dungeon Master style game for the Oric, is it available? | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ That would be [[http:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | ======Hardware (General)====== | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: What are the different Oric models? | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ Including Tangerine' | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Two diodes were soldered to IC3 (to improve loading performance) | ||
+ | * The RGB socket was modified (by adding another hole connected to +5V on the motherboard) to allow connection to SCART enabled televisions. | ||
+ | |||
+ | 4. Oric Stratos (IQ164)\\ The Stratos never really made it, the company going into receivership the day after its launch. The models that were displayed at this time are believed to have been empty cases. If anyone has one, let me know.\\ 5. Oric Telestrat\\ The Telestrat was what the French did with the Stratos - awesome. | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: How Many Orics Were Made? | ||
+ | |||
+ | Quite a few. I have no idea of the exact number. They were available from most high street chains in the UK (my first Oric 1 48K was from Rumbelows in Birmingham). According to a press release from Oric dated 19th October 1983 and published in Oric Computing Issue 1, Rumbelows had ordered 10,000 Oric 1 48K's and Comet had ordered 5,000 Oric's and 1500 printers (MCP-40' | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: What clones exist? ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ A Yugoslavian company (believed to be Avtotehna, based in Ljubljana) obtained a licence to make 5000 machines. Machines were made, but whether they were under license or not is not known in any detail. It is thought that they assembled parts shipped from the UK. I have a contact in Yugoslavia who says there were several in his village and about 30 in a school in the next village. This may suggest that more than 5000 were made. They were known as the Oric Nova 64 and were Atmos based (exact appearance and internal details unknown). | ||
+ | |||
+ | The specifications of the Yugoslavian machine are as follows (as reported by my contact from the Yugoslavian manual): | ||
+ | |||
+ | TECHNICAL DATA ABOUT MICROCOMPUTER "ORIC NOVA 64": | ||
+ | |||
+ | CPU: 6502A\\ ROM: 16 Kbit\\ RAM: 64 Kbit\\ Keyboard: Profesional QWERTY keyboard.\\ Maximum resolution: 200 x 240 pixels\\ Text resolution: 28 x 40 characters\\ Sound: 15Hz - 62 KHz (7 Octaves) 3 channels + 4 sound effects (ZAP, PING, SHOOT, EXPLODE) via sound amplifier.\\ Colours: 8\\ BASIC: Microsoft BASIC V1.1\\ Dimensions : 280 x 175 x 52 mm\\ Weight: 1.1 KG\\ Connectors: Power, Expansion, Centronics Parallel printer port, Tape (DIN), RGB, UHF.\\ \\ Power supply:\\ IN 220V (+10;-15 %); 50 Hz.\\ OUT 7V DC\\ BRUM 50 mV IN 2.5 A\\ Dimensions: 310 x 125 x 75 mm\\ Weight: 1.25 kg\\ The supply unit had space and connectors for an optional floppy disc controller connected via the expansion port. Disc drive specified was 3.5", double sided with 400K capacity per side. There was a Yugoslav version of the manual - "BASIC - ORIC NOVA 64" | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Q: Are there any emulators for the Oric? ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ Yes, quite a few. Emulators exist for :\\ DOS, Windows, Linux and Macintosh (Euphoric).\\ Amiga (Amoric).\\ Atari ST (Atoric).\\ Acorn (ArcOric).\\ MESS has Oric drivers available.\\ There is also a joke emulator for the ST available, which simply puts up the Oric starting screen.\\ For more on Oric emulators, visit [[http:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | FIXME | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: Where can I get real Oric computers? | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ If you keep an eye on an online auction such as [[http:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | FIXME | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: What hardware peripherals were produced? | ||
+ | \\ Lots. The following list is by no means complete: | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Disc Drives and Interfaces**\\ //Cumana Disc Interface.// | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Expansion Interfaces**\\ //RS232-C Interface// | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Joystick Interfaces (Visit [[http:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Joysticks**\\ There was also an Oric joystick in Atmos colours. | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Loading Aids**\\ // | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Modems**\\ //Oric V23 Modem//. This modem was designed mainly to allow access to the Prestel system. Operated at 1200 baud half duplex or 1200/75 full duplex. | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Power Buffers**\\ //Nike AT// is a device containing rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries. These are kept powered up by the mains supply and if the mains goes off, will keep an Atmos powered for 30 minutes - hopefully enough time to restore power or save your work. The device also offers some protection against some mains borne interference. | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Printers**\\ //Oric MCP-40.// Oric produced their own 4 colour plotter which used 4 pens of different colours to write to a roll of 4.5 inch paper (use it to draw designs on your bog-roll!). While adequate for program print-outs and such like, it wasn't very useful for business or formal letters. Luckily, the Centronics port allowed easy connection to most common printers of the day. This device was available in Oric 1 or Oric Atmos colour schemes. These printers were based on the Tandy/Radio Shack CGP-115 and pens and paper for this device will fir the Oric printer. | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Speech Synthesizers and Sound Devices**\\ // | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Consoles**\\ Not sure how to classify this, but Express Computers Limited produced a plastic unit to house your Oric 1 in. This helped hide away all the wires and included a recess for a pad and pens, a cassette shelf and was able to support a TV. Looked very neat in the advert! Cost was £29.95. | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: What hardware and peripherals were in the pipeline, but never released? | ||
+ | \\ The Oric-1 colour-scheme microdisc drives seen in old adverts were never available. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Peter Dickerson used to work for Oric and has some interesting information on some projects that never made it:\\ "An Oric based on the 68008. The idea was to produce a 68K product based on the Oric/Atmos gate-array. Unfortunately we\\ could not resolve the memory sync problems reliably - memory errors every 15 mins." | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: I've got an Oric up and running, but the picture is poor, help!===== | ||
+ | \\ First, make sure your TV is tuned in as best you can to UHF Channel 36. If the problem continues, have a look underneath your Oric. You should see two holes, one round, one oval. There is a small screw inside each one. You can turn these (only slightly!) with a screwdriver to optimise the picture. Do not turn them more than half a turn in either direction. Some of the UHF boxes inside Orics were of poor quality and there is nothing you can do unless you replace them (a job for those who know what they are doing). Unfortunately, | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: Where can I get my Oric fixed?===== | ||
+ | \\ [[48katmos@freeuk.com|Steve Marshall]] has some spares, including power supplies. | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: How do I turn the sound down?===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ You can't. I used to put my Oric on a pillow for play into the night. This should successfully muffle a lot of the sound. [[# | ||
+ | |||
+ | ======Hardware (Technical)====== | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: What power supply does the Oric need?===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ The input power needs to be 9V, 600 mA. Visit [[http:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: The computer won't boot properly.===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ There are a few things I am aware of that may prevent the computer booting.\\ | ||
+ | |||
+ | * If the computer produces a display that consists of black and white blocks or lines, this is most likely caused by the power supply. If you plug the power lead into the Oric and then plug the power pack into the wall supply (or flick on the supply at the wall), then in all likelihood the machine will freeze instead of booting properly. This is because a capacitor in the powerpack needs to charge up and the lack of ' | ||
+ | * If the computer still produces a display that consists of patterns of black and white blocks or lines it is possible that one or more of the RAM chips has blown. To test this, you will need to open up the computer so that you have easy access to the chips on the PCB. If you do not know how to work on live PCB's please do not do so - you may damage your computer or yourself. Once you've got the lid off, plug the power lead into the computer. Be careful not to electrocute yourself and earth yourself to prevent damage to the computer circuits. Leave the system ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: What are the specifications for the Oric machines? | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ | ||
+ | |||
+ | | **Oric 1** **Processor: | ||
+ | |||
+ | | **Oric Atmos** **Processor: | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: What is the extra 16K of RAM? What does it do? ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ The Oric 1 and Atmos have 16K RAM more than they say they do. This RAM is referred to as the " | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: Where can I get information on the pinouts of the various ports?===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ [[http:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | =====Q: How big can programs be?===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | \\ It is possible to access almost 64K RAM by using the Overlay RAM. There was talk, a year or two back, of work allowing the Oric to access 4MB of memory, using paging techniques. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Don't forget that if you use a disc drive, the size of programs can be almost limitless ;-) | ||
+ | |||
+ | ======Projects====== | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Q: What projects are currently in progress for the Oric?===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ Fabrice Frances maintains a list of projects at [[http:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Q: How do I build a sound control for the Oric?===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | \\ You will need to get hold of Issue 40 of Oric User Monthly, page 7, or CEO-MAG (I think its Issue 5 or 6?). Its quite easy to build. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Steve Marshall has developed his own volume controller (internal), sound on/off switch and earphone socket. He can also fit these to your machine if you don't feel up to it. If this interests you, drop a line to [[steve@marshallmcgurk.freeserve.co.uk|Steve]] for more details, price, etc. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ======Epilogue====== | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Acknowledgement of thanks:**\\ Many people have helped with the information and in this FAQ (sometimes unknowingly!): | ||
+ | |||
+ | From the Oric World:\\ Jonathan Haworth - who has uncovered more Oric history than I thought possible. Much of the historical information in this FAQ can be traced back to his efforts.\\ Jon Bristow (Twilighte), | ||
+ | |||
+ | Special thanks to those responsible for the Oric and its software:\\ Peter Dickerson & Ivan Mahon.\\ Geoff Phillips (Geffers).\\ Paul Kaufman\\ Bruce Everiss | ||
+ | |||
+ | From elsewhere: |