ACORN PLUS 3
Acornsoft's Plus 3 Interface
"All in all the Plus 3 is an excellent piece of work. Well made, easy to fit and well documented. Even a complete newcomer to discs will have no trouble using it for loading and saving programs. And the expert will be delighted at the range and power of the available ADFS commands. "

- Nigel Peters, Electron User, March 1985


What It Does
The ACORN PLUS 3 is the largest of all the expansions ever produced for the ACORN ELECTRON. It is a colossal 46cm x 19.5cm x 5cm creme coloured interface which connects to the edge connector of the ACORN ELECTRON.

The ACORN PLUS 3 is an ADFS 1D00 interface and 3.5" single-sided disc drive. When connected to the machine, the memory locations &E00 to &1D00 of the Electron are used by this interface. When originally released, this feature meant many programs simply transferred from tape to disc would not work with it. However, thanks to the dedicated work of many Acorn Electron officiandoes over the years, there are currently several hundred professional games that have been recoded to run flawlessly on this interface. Only a few long programs, or programs which need to load in several parts, cannot be used with this interface.

The ACORN PLUS 3 also features an edge connector and an expansion connector for a second disc drive on its rear. Joystick interfaces or the ACORN ELECTRON PLUS 1/AP1 or Slogger's ROMBOX/ROMBOX+ can be connected to the PLUS 3's expansion port.

The ACORN PLUS 3 requires more power to run than the standard PSU unit supplied with the ACORN ELECTRON can supply. When connected to an ACORN ELECTRON, the disc drive purposefully obstructs the Elk's PSU socket. Instead, a special ACORN PLUS 3 PSU must be connected to the left of the ACORN PLUS 3. This then powers the whole unit (and makes a quite disconcerting humming sound!).

All ADFS 1D00 discs in our archives are single-sided and will run without problem on an ACORN PLUS 3.

The ACORN PLUS 3 came supplied with a User Guide, and a disc containing the programs from the INTRODUCTORY CASSETTE.

The ACORN PLUS 3 was originally available in high street stores or by mail order from Acornsoft for £229. A second hand ACORN PLUS 3 will usually sell on eBay for £30-£50.

Artwork And Images
The original ACORN PLUS 3 interface from above and below. ElectrEm emulates an Acorn Electron with this interface as standard.


Overhead Front View [Connects to Acorn Electron] 		 
Overhead Rear View [Connects to Secondary Drive & Further Hardware Expansions]

Underside Front View [Connects to Acorn Electron] 		 
Underside Rear View [Connects to Secondary Drive & Further Hardware Expansions]

Downloadable Companions To The ACORN PLUS 3
You will find hundreds of discs suitable for use with the ACORN PLUS 3 in the archives and can write them to Acorn MD discs with the FDC utility. To load them, you simply hold down SHIFT and tap BREAK.

If you are missing any of the components originally bundled with the interface then you can download them by clicking on the links below:


ACORN PLUS 3 WELCOME DISC
ADFS 1D00
A) Introduction
B) Ketboard
C) Sketch
D) Piano
E) Biorhythms
F) Clock
G) Gomoku
H) Patterns
I) Marslander		 J) Bugzap
K) Demo
L) Island
M) Planets
N) Snapper
O) Draughts
P) Reversi
Q) Bye
R) Utilities

Click Me!
ACORN PLUS 3 USER GUIDE
Author: Acornsoft
Release Information: 1984: PLUS 3 USER GUIDE, Acornsoft
ISBN (If Available): N/A
No. Of Pages: 106
Date Uploaded: 09.03.2003
File Type: Microsoft Word Document (Complete)
Suitable For: Electron Fitted With AP3/Plus 3 Expansion