This mini forum is intended to provide a simple means of discussion about the Oric ATMOS computer. If you want to share your own experience or memories, or add relevant information about this system: post a message!

I have an Oric-1. I bought the Oric rather than a Sinclair ZX Spectrum because I liked the proper bus expansion connector on the back and I wanted to experiment. It''''s actually my second one since the cassette input failed in a few weeks on the first. The replacement failed too but by then the Oric-1 circuit diagram had been published in Oric User Magazine and comparing the diagram with what was actually in my Oric-1 (it wasn''''t quite exactly the same) I could see part of the cassette interface that looked badly designed so I tried fixing it and it worked!!! The solution, if you have an Oric that won''''t load from cassette is to fit a pull-up resistor on the input from the cassette interface to the 6522 VIA chip. I just soldered the resistor under the PCB across pins 18 and 20 of the 6522 VIA. I used 2k2 but 4k7 would probably be plenty. The original design used only the on chip pull-up but I knew from experience that the pull-ups in the 6522 were often very weak.

Though teh computers both didn$t sell in great numbers, the really addicted fan''s bought a very versatile home computer with an excettekt manuak which included a full course in Basic and an full explanation on alle the commands the Oriac an Atmos worked with. But there was al lot of competition at the time.

The Atmos was the first computer I ever owned! I saved up half the money, and my parents paid the other half.
All my friends had either commodore 64’s or Spectrums, but I wanted something more serious. I think basically I fell in love with the black and red keyboard design! Aesthetically it was the nicest machine around.
Sadly it died after a few months and Oric had gone, so Dixon’s swapped it for the nearest thing, a Spectrum plus.
About 20 years ago I was in touch with someone who worked at Oric, and managed to get a brand new machine as they’d kept a few when they’d gone bust. So now I once again have a working Atmos, that sits pride of place in my collection.

I took the dear old Oric Atmos from the attic in July 2015 and it all worked perfectly, the disc drive still functioned and all the discs had their data intact after 30 years. Amazing!

I had an Atmos.
I agree with the quality of the manual. A tutorial on 6502 MC code programming and a list of the rom function calls. That taught me real programming when I was 14.
I also found that I needed a serial port and built my own on vero, from a design in a magazine. Then wrote a simple mc code dumb terminal emulator program, with my new found skills.
I did buy one of the floppy drives, but had lots trouble getting it working. Eventually it was discovered that I had been shipped a slave drive, rather than a master. But by the time we had worked this out, Oric had gone bust. (Though the new owners did help me out and got me a proper master drive. Thanks lads.)
It''s still all in the loft. Will have to drag it all out and see if it works. That will be a shock for the kids!!

I learned all about programming on the Atmos, which I still have and with its disk drive, still works, the data intact from over 25 years ago. The user manual was quite outstandingly good, the best computer manual I have ever seen. When I started out in home computing I was advised that "If you''re a user, buy a Spectrum, if you''re a programmer, buy the Oric." It was fantastically accurate advice. I''ve now a Master''s in IT and work developing multiuser corporate databases - all thanks to skills learned on the Atmos.

I''ve made my final paper on an Oric Atmos using Author.
Great small keyboard with all the necessary keys.
Together with an Brother HR-5 (Thermal paper $-) it was a combination to beat!
Better than the IBM word processor machine of IBM at the hotel I worked.

A pity, marketing was not the best of this Oric

$quote$
Apparently the BBC used the Atmos to provide the video displays in the space hopper spaceship for the final season of Blakes7.......not sure if thats true...!
$/quote$

Well seeing as Season 4 of Blake''s 7 aired the tail end of ''81 and the ATMOS was released early 84..... NO!

I upgraded to the Atmos from the ORIC-1 (I was a student nurse at Ealing Hospital, London). I feel it was way above several other microcomputers at that time. As I understand it Oric International made a wrong marketing strategy. Otherwise things could have been different, especially with the Stratos waiting in the wings. My programming skills were honed on the Oric 1 and Atmos. It was fun working on it, even when translating Sinclair BASIC and BBC BASIC into Oric BASIC. Sometimes I still miss the Atmos.

Apparently the BBC used the Atmos to provide the video displays in the space hopper spaceship for the final season of Blakes7.......not sure if thats true...!

That’s my first and unforgettable computer at 1984 (13 years old I was). Currently, I am a computer scientist but I can't describe my feelings when I touch the black keys of the black-red case with the upper-right logo "Oric Atmos 48k" on it. This computer offered excellent programming environment (for its money and that period of time) especially for amateurs with a powerful basic and excellent sound and graphics capabilities. BUT in addition to all the above, the overall design of the computer, the production history that has and the passion of ORIC users, is the reason that I consider ORIC a LEGEND in computer history.

When it was quite hot (it was rather fast...), it was enough to press the plastic with two hands so that it is blocked... ( sometimes even without the hands...)
Ah là là, that it idescriptible emotion to see all his work lost after 10 pages of Hébdogiciel... I cry about it still today...

Very nice home micro. It's a pitty that it did not overcome the Sinclair Spectrum. Things could be different in the mid '80s.