From the QL, the OPD borrowed the 68008CPU, ZX8301/8302 ULAs, 128 KB of RAM and dual Microdrives but not the 8049 Intelligent Peripheral Controller. Unique to the OPD was a "telephony module" incorporating an Intel 8051microcontroller, two PSTN lines and a V.21/V.23 modem, plus a built-in telephone handset and a TITMS5220speech synthesiser. The OPD was supplied with either a 9-inch monochrome monitor or a 14-inch colour monitor. Both monitors also housed the power supply for the OPD itself. Later, 3.5" floppy disk drives were also available from third-party vendors. ICL were the preferred supplier for UK local government, and OPDs found their way onto desks of council officers. Due to the cost, they tended to be issued only to the most senior, who were often elderly, had no interest in computers, and had secretaries to handle their administrative work, so many devices were simply used as telephones.
Software
The system firmware was unrelated to the QL's Qdos operating system, although a subset of SuperBASIC was provided on Microdrive cartridge. The BFS provided application-switching, voice/data call management, call answering, phone number directories, viewdataterminal emulation and a simple calculator. The Psion applications suite bundled with the QL was also ported to the OPD as Xchange and was available as an optional ROM pack. Other optional application software available on ROM included various terminal emulators such as Satellite Computing's ICL7561 emulator, plus their Action Diary and Presentation Software, address book, and inter-OPD communications utilities. An ICL supplied application was used to synchronise a national bingo game across hundreds of bingo halls in the UK. The integral V.23 dialup modem was used to provide remote communications to the central server. Several UK ICL Mainframe customers, in Local Government and Ministry of Defence sectors, used statistics applications on OPD systems to view graphical representations of mainframe reports. Once again, the integral V.23 modem was used to download from the mainframe.
Merlin Tonto
Business Systems sold the OPD as the Merlin M1800 Tonto. BT intended the Tonto to be a centralised desktop information system able to access online services, mainframes and other similar systems through the BT telephone network. The Tonto retailed at £1,500 at launch. OPD peripherals and software ROM cartridges were also badged under the Merlin brand. BT withdrew support for the Tonto in February 1993. The name Tonto was derived from "The Outstanding New Telecoms Opportunity"
MegaOPD
An enhanced version of the OPD was produced in small numbers for the United States market. This had a 68008FN CPU, 256 KB of RAM as standard, an RS-232 port and enhanced firmware. The telephone answering function had a female voice, with a slight New Jersey accent.
