Getting Started with the BBC Micro (Model B)

The BBC Microcomputer Model B (often called the Beeb) was a popular computer in UK schools in the 1980s. It was made in the UK by Acorn Computers Ltd. During its lifespan there were over 1.5 million units manufactured from 1981 to 1994. It was designed to help people learn programming and understand how computers work.

This tutorial is the first of a set of lessons/tutorials that focus on:

• Lesson 1: How to operate a BBC Micro Computer (Getting Started)
• Lesson 2: How to organise your files on the disk
• Lesson 3: How to write and edit programs using BBC Basic
• Lesson 4: Writing your own text-based adventure-story game using BBC Basic

BBC Micro Online Emulator

To complete these lessons, you do not need access to a physical BBC micro computer. You can use the following online emulator and type commands in your browser, without the need to install anything on your computer.

You may also find the following BBC Basic emulator quite handy for testing your own BBC Basic programs.

Getting Started with a BBC Micro (or using an online emulator!)

This first “Getting Started” tutorial will help you turn your BBC Micro on, type commands, and run your first program.

1. Connecting the BBC Micro

If you are using the online emulator, you can bypass this section.
Otherwise, if you are working with a real BBC Micro computer, you will need:

• ✅ BBC Micro Model B computer
• ✅ Power cable
• ✅ Display (TV or monitor with suitable SCART cable or SCART to HDMI converter)

The BBC Micro has a built-in keyboard. There is no mouse but some advanced gamers would use a joystick to play video games.

BBC Micro Computer Model B

The BBC Micro model B does not come with a hard drive to save your work. It is possible to connect a floppy disk drive to save your work on a 5.25″ floppy disk. Depending on the model of your BBC Micro, you may be able to connect it to a 3.5″ floppy disk drive to use with Double Density (DD) floppy disks with a capacity of around 1MB. This is probably a more reliable solution.

To start your BBC Micro, you should:

1. Turn on the monitor first.
2. Switch on the BBC Micro using the switch at the back.

After a few seconds you should see:

BBC Computer
Acorn DFS

>

The > symbol is the command prompt. This means the computer is ready for instructions.

About the keyboard:
The keyboard is simlar in may ways with a modern QWERTY keyboard, You will find the following four keys particularly useful:

• RETURN key → same as Enter
• DELETE key → same as a backspace key
• BREAK key → stops a program and resets the computer.
  ⚠️ Pressing BREAK will clear anything currently running.
• SHIFT key → for capital letters and symbols

⌨️ 2. Typing Your First Command

Let’s try a simple command.

At the > prompt, type:
PRINT "HELLO WORLD"

Then press RETURN.

You should see:
HELLO WORLD
Well done — you’ve just told the computer to display text!

3. Writing Your First Program

Now let’s write a small program in BBC BASIC.

Type the following exactly (including the line numbers):

10 PRINT "HELLO BBC MICRO!"
20 GOTO 10

Press RETURN after each line.

Now type:

RUN

and press RETURN.

The message will repeat over and over on the screen.

⚠️ To stop it, press the BREAK key on the keyboard.

Let’s improve the output of this Hello World program by adding some colours:

10 MODE 2
20 COLOUR RND(7)
30 PRINT "HELLO WORLD"
40 GOTO 20

Here is what your code will produce when you run it:

You can now continue through our set of 4 lessons on how to use the BBC Micro to code basic Programs in BBC Basic. (See links at the top of this page).

You may also find the original BBC Micro User Guide very useful to learn everything there is to know about the BBC Micro!