Need some Help - Acorn A3000

pinchez

Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2011
Posts
41
Country
UK
Region
Nottingham
About 15 years ago I used to have an old Acorn 4000 (think that's what it was) Although this as long since gone (Burgled) I still have lots of disks from it. Forward 5 years I was walking round a Car Boot and spotted a A3000 for a good price so I bought it but it didn't come with anything just the computer. I took it home and did what I do with most of the stuff I buy from Car Boots and stuck it in the loft!

Forward to present day, I've been up in the loft this last couple of weeks resurrecting an Amiga 1200 i had up there and came across the A3000 I completely forgot about so I decided to try it. I could only use Mono (composite) to TV and I don't even have a mouse So the only thing I new how to do was switch it on while holding down "Delete" and it worked :eek: Trouble is without a mouse there's nothing else I can do (is there a way to move the pointer with keys) :(

I have now been bitten by the Archimedes bug and would like to get this machine up and running. I'm going to need a RGB scart lead and a mouse but can't find them anywhere, Does anyone know where best to look or even make my own Scart Lead and modify a USB/PS2 mouse (have solding iron / will mod!)

Or maybe a better option would be to buy a more complete setup of either a A3000, A3010 or A3020? (which is best) I would like to eventually end up with an Archimedes with 4mb memory and a Hard Drive (maybe a CF to IDE). It will just be for Nostalgia, tinkering and classic gaming.

Would really appreciate Advise, Info and opinions

Thanks :)
 
Last edited:
Best bet you find a mouse is to visit the IconBar website (http://www.iconbar.co.uk/) and ask if aonyone has one spare. They do go on eBay fairly often too although they do fetch a reasonable amount at times. I would give you one but sadly all mine are in use. That site would also be pretty helpful with all your other queries. The CF to IDE has been known to work although you need to make sure you got a IDE podule and even then apparently they can be somewhat picky.

One thing I would recommend (most have them already installed) is a RAM expension. They don't usually fetch too much, especially a 1Mb one but that will still help an aweful lot for some games that may require it.

Also I know it's a silly price and somewhat invalid to todays market but you may be asked to remove the bargain you got the A3000 for since it's against the rules here. :)
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the Advise tokyoracer :)

I won a A3010 with 2mb memory and 200mb hard drive complete and boxed last night on the other bay! but I'm still doing up the A3000.

So far I've stripped it down and cleaned it up, I've also removed the old battery and replaced it with a 1.2v AAA rechargeable battery. I'm also waiting for a mouse that might work that's been given to me by a very generous member :)

The major thing I really need now are a 9 pin VGA to RGB Scart for the A3000 and a 15 pin SVGA to RGB Scart for the A3010 preferably with sound. I can't find these at all except for one place selling them at £20 :eek:

So another option might be to make my own, I can get plugs etc. from the local maplins but I really need 2 accurate wiring diagrams including any resistors that might be needed etc. I'm hoping to use them on a modern LCD TV with RGB scart.

Anyone know where i might find these diagrams?
 
You can always get a seperate cable for sound. Nice one bagging the A3010, I wish mine didn't stop working for no reason but oh well. :roll: Still got an A3000 and A3020 (as you can see).
 
Hitting F12 on the A3000 brings up the console. There you can do neato things!

As for Scart,a good external thread with info on this subject is here:
http://stardot.org.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3750&p=35506

I'll attach the highlights, as threads often vanish from the internet :)

I haven't tried either of these btw.

2.8) Can I connect a SCART monitor to my Acorn machine?
If you have an older Acorn machine with a nine pin video socket, then yes
and here is the wiring diagram :-
.------------------------. Arc 9-pin plug
\ 1 2 3 4 5 /
\ /
\ 6 7 8 9 / Case
'------------------'
_____________________
|19 1| SCART 21-pin plug
| | | | | | | | | | | |
/ |
/ | | | | | | | | | | |
/___20_________________2_| 21 (metal casing)
A SCART connector is also known as a Euroconnector or a Peri-Television
connector.
Arc SCART
Case | ------------- 21 Case
Red 1 ------------- 15 Red
Green 2 ------------- 11 Green
Blue 3 ------------- 7 Blue
CSYNC 4 ------------- 20 Composite video input
Ground (0V) 6 -+---------+- 13 Red ground
Ground (0V) 7 -+ +- 9 Green ground
Ground (0V) 8 -+ +- 5 Blue ground
Ground (0V) 9 -+ +- 13 CVBS video ground
Ideally each ground wire should be linked to a separate Arc pin. Also,
depending on your SCART monitor, pin 16 may need a +5V input to it.
Unfortunately the Arc 9 pin socket does not provide a +5V output so this
will have to be sourced from somewhere else.
If you have a newer Acorn machine, with the 15 pin high density video
socket then you need this kind of wiring :-
.--------------------. 15-pin VGA style plug
\ 1 2 3 4 5 /
\ 6 7 8 9 10 /
\ 11 12 13 14 15 /
'--------------'
Connections:
Arc SCART
1 red ---------------------------- 15
2 green--------------------------- 11
3 blue---------------------------- 7
4 ID[2] nc
5 0V (test)
6 red rtn------------------------- 13
7 green rtn----------------------- 9
8 blue rtn------------------------ 5
75 ohms
9 +5V-------------/\/\/\/--------- 16
10 0V----------------------------- 17,18
12 ID[1]-------------------------- 8
11 ID[0] <--13 |
13 HSync -->11 |
120 ohms
14 CSync------------/\/\/\/------- 20
15 ID[3] nc
Notice the two resistors. Also notice that the HSync output (pin 13) of
the 15-way plug has to be connected to the ID[0] input (pin 11) of the same
plug. (Be aware I have no direct confirmation that this wiring works .)
As is usual care must be taken when doing this procedure. Older Acorn
machine did not have their VIDC chips fully buffered and unplugging/plugging
cables from the video socket while the machine is turned on can cause damage
to the video circuitry.
 
Last edited:
Thanks Chinners, that's just what I was looking for (y)

If only you could get them ready made for a decent price though!
 
Quick update...

Received mouse today plugged it in and all is working well, Had some floppy's from my old A4000 and after all these years they still work :eek:

Will try and get to Maplins this week to pick up some parts to make the Scart leads.

Also had confirmation that my A3010 will be here tomorrow :D

This retro hobby sure is addictive! (and expensive) I better start putting my Amiga 1200 that I spent an absolute fortune on together (y)
 
Back
Top Bottom