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Vintage Computers Any vintage computer systems, calculators, video games etc., but with an emphasis on 1980s and earlier equipment.

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Old 10th Apr 2017, 5:35 pm   #1
Welsh Anorak
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Default The Torch computer

Hi there
Does anyone remember the Torch computer? It comprised a BBC B mother board, a Microvitec chassis monitor with 12" hi-res tube, two 5 1/4 disc drives, an astec PSU and an interface board in what was probably the most hideous brown steel cabinet I've ever seen! They were sold mainly to defence contractors, apparently.
When they ceased trading we cleared the factory (down to the board room carpet!) which kept us in pocket money for a while selling the parts at rallies and by mail order.
The brown cases went to the scrapyard.
Glyn
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Old 10th Apr 2017, 5:44 pm   #2
ParcGwyn
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Default Re: The Torch computer

I seem to remember the Torch had a Z80 second CPU and ran CPM.

Dave

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Old 10th Apr 2017, 6:40 pm   #3
TonyDuell
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Default Re: The Torch computer

There were several other Torch computers.

The Triple-X was a 68000-based machine (or was it 68010) that run unix with a graphical frontend. It had several unusual features, a touch contact for the on-off switch (which on shutdown caused the unit to flush the buffers to disk and then turn off th PSU), VME expanison bus, another expansion bus connector which turned out to be a cut-down BBC 1MHz bus and which was normally used for an internal modem option, and so on. There was a NiCd battery in the PSU to power the power switch circuitry to allow the machine to be turned on, if this went flat (e.g. by not using the machine) the official cure was to replace the PSU. The case consisted of a base tray containing the CPU board (that PCB was called 'Stickleback' with a 'storage ring' containing the floppy drive, hard drive and inteface board that fitted on top. You could add more 'storage rings' or VME expanision units, the 'Slimring' added one VME Slot, the 'Quinring' added five.

The Triple-X has the honour of the most useless and insulting 'service manual' I have ever seen. It seems to have been written for people with a mental age of 2. And the one bit of 'technical' information it contains -- a block diagram -- is incorrect.

The Quad-X was in a similar case to the Triple-X but there was a small VME backplane in it. The CPU board was a normal dual-height Eurocard containing a 68030 and a custom support chip (I have data on it somewhere). The Quad-X is fairly rare I think.

Then there were several Torch expansions for the BBC micro. The most common is the Z80 one. It consisted of a (brown metal) case containing a pair of floppy drives and a PSU which also replaced the BBC micro's PSU. A little PCB containing a Z80, RAM, boot ROM, etc fitted inside the Beeb.

There was a 68000 expansion for the Beeb that I forget the name of.

And the Torch Graduate, which was an 8088-based MS-DOS add-on for the Beeb. It used the Beeb's keyboard and video, but contained its own RAM and disks. I think it had a couple of (8 bit) ISA expansion slots.

I think there were several smaller add-ons for the BBC micro from Torch, including a light pen.
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Old 10th Apr 2017, 7:23 pm   #4
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Default Re: The Torch computer

Yes, I remember the Torch computers, and seeing their premises in Great Shelford. The bulk of that brown case was very noticeable! At the time they just seemed to me to be a BBC Micro in a bigger box, but I didn't know about their more grown-up applications.

There's an interesting interview with Russell Lyons and Martin Baines of Torch from the Centre for Computing History on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJte3-9DLr0

That put them into better historical and technical context for me. Basically the Torch machines were targeted at business and professional applications, hence the 68000 processors and heavy-duty cases.

Chris
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Old 10th Apr 2017, 8:44 pm   #5
AC/HL
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Default Re: The Torch computer

This awakens memories. When I was working for Cable & Wireless we used those with a light pen for controlling a version of Pye Mascot for the Saudi National Guard. They were installed right at the end of my contract and I never had occasion to open one. We were working for the British MOD, which ties in with Glyn's observation in post 1.
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