Morley Electronics teletext adaptor for the BBC Micro or Master computer to decode and display teletext.

Adaptor for BBC Micro or Master computer to decode and display teletext.

The Teletext Adaptor allowed the teletext service broadcast in the television signal to be received and viewed on a BBC computer. The teletext data signal carried information as onscreen graphic pages, connected to a computer this acted as a forerunner of the internet. The adaptor allowed computer programmes for the BBC Micro to be sent in the teletext signal to download directly to the device. The adaptor received both BBC’s CEEFAX and ITV’s ORACLE teletext services.

The BBC Computer Literacy Project was a multimedia initiative planned from 1979 and launched in 1982 to address the rise in microelectronics that would revolutionise industry and society. Programmes broadcast by the BBC were accompanied by books, courses and software. Key to the project was the production and distribution of the BBC Micro, a series of microcomputers built by Acorn Computers. The computers were popular and supported by the government’s computers in schools project. By 1983 over 85% of primary and 65% of secondary schools had opted for the BBC Micro. Accessories such as this teletext unit allowed the basic BBC Micro set-up to be adapted to the needs of the user.