This is the only BBC Model B connected to my Econet. I have various other BBC Model Bs, including two fitted with Econet interfaces.

I use this machine for testing compatibility of programmes, playing games which do not work on the Master and sometimes as a Level 1 or Level 2 fileserver.

At the moment I am writing quite a few programmes on this machine. I am trying to fill in some of the "gaps" in the BBC Model B disc and Econet software by writing my own utilities. I have just finished my own version of *USERS for the Model B because the Master version does not work on the B. I have also written a programme to read the free disc space (ie. *FREE) and am working on Format and Verify utilities.

Recently I had to replace the keyboard connector which was worn out due to too much movement to access the sideways ROMs.

For a short time I put the Viglen ROM Cartridge system in this machine for easy swapping of ROMs but this produced some very strange screen effects so I have removed it.

Station 128 has an issue four motherboard and is fitted with 8271 disc interface and Econet interface. It has OS 1.20, DNFS (DFS 1.20 and NFS 3.60), BASIC II and Acorn ADFS 1.30.

In June 2003, I soldered a DIL switch to the keyboard links so that I could set the machine to start up in NFS. Link 1 is set to "On", ie. clear, to select NFS on a reset. I have also cleared links 3 & 4 to speed up disc drive access.

Why have I got ADFS in an 8271 machine???

This is a cunning plan to allow me to connect my Technomatic Winchester to my BBC Model B now and again. Although ADFS requires a 1770 series floppy disc controller to access floppy drives, it makes no reference to the 1770 when accessing a hard drive. Winchesters have their own controllers which communicate with the BBC via a host adaptor so it is perfectly safe to shove an ADFS ROM in a BBC Model B and connect a Winchester without having to do a 1770 upgrade. Don't try to access drive 4 though...!

I numbered this machine station 128 because the BBC Model B NFS reports station numbers less than 100 with leading zeros. If I had numbered it station 2, the message would read "Econet Station 002" which I think looks very untidy so I used a three-digit number.

Station 128 is connected to:

- a Cumana single 5¼" floppy drive

- a portable TV via an RF aerial lead

- my Econet

- sometimes to my Acorn 6502 Second Processor via the Tube

- sometimes to my Technomatic Winchester drive via the 1 MHz bus

Click here to learn more about the BBC Model B

Click here to learn how to configure the BBC Model B's start-up options