Parts and spares for Acorn computers

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Spares and components for RISC OS computers
and other hardware items
[ Floppy drives ] [ Viewfinder ] [ Backplanes ] [ PC Cards ]
[ Network cards ] [ RiscPC Feet ] [ Replacement battery ]

Replacement floppy drives

Hi density (1.6MB) floppy drive to fit A7000, A7000+, RiscPC, A5000, A4000. These drives are modified to work on early RiscPC 600 and other machines where standard drives with ID set to 1 do not work.
Price £6.50 plus £2 UK carriage, £4.50 outside UK.
Double density (800K)replacement drive for A3000. Price £9.50.
Please add £2 UK carriage, £4.50 outside UK.
RiscPC 600 special floppy drive cable
This is a replacement floppy drive ribbon cable which allows the RiscPC 600 to use a standard PC floppy drive with the drive ID set to '1'. Normally with the RiscPC 600 the drive ID must be '0' and altering this often requires soldering on the drive PCB. This special cable lets you use amost any PC drive. Price is just £4.20 including UK carriage. Please add £1.50 outside UK.

Backplanes

You will need a backplane to fit expansion cards (not network cards) into a RiscPC or A7000. Many models of RiscPC had these fitted as standard but some do not. A single slice machine can only have a two slot backplane but a machine with two or more slices can have a four slot backplane (although you can still fit a two slot if you don't want to fit more than two expansion cards). Note that an A7000 or A7000+ can only take a single slot backplane and you can't fit both a backplane and an internal CD ROM drive in these machines.

Two slot backplane for RiscPC - £17 plus £1 UK carriage, £2 outside UK.
Four slot backplane for RiscPC - £24 plus £2 UK carriage, £3 outside UK.

Network cards

i-cubed 10baseT network cards (may have 10base2 connector as well) for the RiscPC, A7000 or A7000+. These are secondhand but with recent firmware. Price is just £29 including UK carriage. Please add £3 outside UK

Acorn 10baseT network cards manufactured by ANT for RiscPC, A7000 and A7000+. These are secondhand but with recent firmware. Price is just £21 including UK carriage. Please add £3 outside UK

Risc PC PC cards

We usually have various 486 and 586 second processors for the RiscPC in stock. These range from the early 486 SXL-40 up to 133 Mhz 586.

The 486-40 is ideal for running old DOS programs, especially games. Since this is equivalent to the fastest processors in general use at the time Windows took over as the standard PC OS almost any pre-Windows programs will run at least as fast as originally intended, sometimes much faster. For use with Windows you really need a 586 processor. This will run Windows 3.1 at adequate speed, Windows 95 or 98 is just about adequate, but anything later is painfully slow. You can't run Windows NT on any PC card.

If you order a PC card with any RiscPC we will install it with driver software and a small PC "partition" with DOS installed. If you purchase it separately we will supply the "basic" driver software on floppy disc and you will need to obtain the OS (DOS or Windows).

If you want to run Windows on a PC card or with versions of RISC OS after 3.7 you really need the PCPro driver software from Aleph One. This used to be commercial software costing over £60 but has now been released under the GPL and is available for download from riscos info

Prices are -

Card type With a computer Purchased separately

486 SLX 40 £5 £9

486 100 DX £15 £20

586 100 Mhz £25 £35

586 133 Mhz £35 £45

Please add £3.50 UK carriage if not purchased with a computer, £5 outside UK.
Please contact us before ordering a PC card to ensure that the type you want is available.

RiscPC feet

A set of four feet for the RiscPC to allow it to stand on it's side like a 'tower' PC so it takes up much less desk space. Price only £4.50 including UK carriage. Please add £2 outside UK.

RiscPC/A700 replacement battery

A replacement CMOS battery for most models including the RiscPC, A7000, A7000+, A3010, A3020, A3000, A4000 and A5000. This is a rechargeable cell and if your computer is not retaining all its CMOS settings, including the clock, then you will need to replace this.

If your computer is getting on a bit you should inspect the battery regularly even if it does appear to be working properly as they can leak when old. It's the silver object about the size of a couple of £1 coins stuck together on the right hand edge of the motherboard just behind where the leads to the speaker and LED's plug in. If there's the slightest sign of green fur on it replace it at once. Any leakage is very corrosive and can quickly damage the motherboard beyond repair.

The battery is soldered in place so you will need to remove the motherboard to do it. If there's any sign of leakage from the old battery wash the area in a 50% solution of vinegar and water and then rinse in clean water. The leakage is alkaline and the mild acid of the vinegar will help neutralise it.

Replacement CMOS battery costs £3.20 plus UK carriage £1 for one, 50p for each additional battery. Outside UK please add £2 for the first, 80p for each additional battery.

Viewfinder graphics cards

The Viewfinder graphics card for the RiscPC is no longer manufactured. However we do often have refurbished units available. These are upgraded to the Rage 128 32 MB graphics card which is the only version which works with RISC OS 6 where it is directly supported by the operating system and integrates seamlessly with it.

If you already have a Viewfinder but it is fitted with a different graphics card then we can usually upgrade it to the Rage 128 at a modest cost. This is essential if you want to install the latest operating system. Don't delay too long as Rage 128 cards are now becoming rather rare and hard to find.

Please contact us for prices and availability.