TRS-80 Model 100 with RARE Bubble Memory Expansion

TRS-80 Model 100 with RARE Bubble Memory Expansion - World's First Laptop

Рет қаралды 12,888

6 күн бұрын

Recently I picked up a couple Model 100 laptops, including one with a very strange expansion unit. This is apparently a "SoundSight Bubble Memory" from 1984. It was a somewhat rare add-on that gave the computer an additional 128k of memory (up from a max of 32k).
While I have not been able to find any information on the Bubble memory online, I did figure out how to interface with it! The associated ROM chip needs to be activated by running "CALL 63012" from BASIC. The user then has a "Bubble" program that lets you view different RAM pages and load/save files to and from the Bubble unit.
I was hoping to also use a TPDD Backpack drive (www.soigeneris.com/tandy-tpdd..., but ran into issues with the two Tandy 100s I have. One appears to have a bad memory chip, and the other is such an early model that it has the wrong modem resistors on the serial port. Because of this, I also couldn't connect either of them to a modern computer via serial port. That might have to wait for a future video when I have time to re-solder some resistors.
The Tandy Radio Shack (TRS-80) model 100 is considered by some to be the first "true" laptop, although there were a few other contenders like the Epson HX-20. The series was followed by the model 102 and 200, all of which I actually had when I was a kid in the 90s! They were based on the Kyocerea KC-85 from Japan, and there were a few compatible clones like the NEC PC-8201 and Olivetti M-10. Accessories included a tape drive, floppy disk drive, acoustic modem, printers, etc. There were also many aftermarket ROM expansions and custom software for various uses. These were very popular with travelling salesmen, writers, reporters, and others who needed a computer outside of the office.
Big thanks to FreeGeek Twin Cities (www.freegeektwincities.org/) for providing one of these laptops and the Bubble RAM!
Backpack how-to video: • Quick Start: Backpack ...
More Backpack documentation: github.com/Jeff-Birt/Backpack
I found a ton of TRS-80 software on www.club100.org/, so if and when I get the serial port working, I can try out all kinds of games, sound and graphics programs, etc!
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Пікірлер: 254

@mattparker9726 4 күн бұрын

18:27 reach out to Adrian Black. I'm sure he'd LOVE to look at these units, he's fixed MANY 1980s PCs and has an entire basement full of rare and dedicated parts to many machines.

@itrstt66 3 күн бұрын

does he have a youtube channel?

@sleeptyper 3 күн бұрын

@@itrstt66 Adrian's Digital Basement

@mattparker9726 3 күн бұрын

@@itrstt66 yep Adrian's Digital Basement is his main channel.

@isthattrue1083 3 күн бұрын

Same here. lol. I have many Tandy's. They're the first computers I ever had. I have the Altier, the first IBM PC Compatible, Commodore 64, Amiga, etc. I even have an original Macintosh Plus with Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, etc., signatures etched into the inside of the case. I have many old 8086 computers and 8088 computers from IBM, TARGUS, TANGENT, etc.

@isthattrue1083 3 күн бұрын

@@mattparker9726 Oh I got a buddy with a poll barn that makes his basement look empty... lol. Computers from the 1960s and 70s in there.

@fiendlybrds 4 күн бұрын

RIP - cockroach egg purses in the first unit you opened.

@MAGGOT_VOMIT 4 күн бұрын

Yep, my first thought as I found them in an old adding machine.

@lady_draguliana784 4 күн бұрын

yep, I was thinking roach eggs or roach droppings depending on density and texture

@user-pg1qc1rt8h 2 күн бұрын

So its got basic ? That means programming is possible on it ? It would be awsome if it supported 3.5 inch floppy.

@michaellichter4091 2 күн бұрын

Those would have been the future machinists, no wonder it doesn't work.

@sivart731 2 күн бұрын

"I've heard of Grub in linux, but never in a Tandy 100" OMG I literally LOL'd

@AdrianBoyko 4 күн бұрын

About 15 years ago, I had a business meeting with IT folks at the St. Petersburg (Florida) PD and they had literal STACKS AND STACKS of these that they were finally retiring. I guess they had them in the police cars.

@danielcamposramos9943 3 күн бұрын

Thank you Gabe for this wild ride bro. My contact with oldest tech was with an Apple II C that my father smuggled past the dictatorship blockade that was in course here in Brazil. Important tip: some "standard" keys to enter the BIOS: del f2 f10 f12 . Try all of them.

@WilliamHostman 2 күн бұрын

f8 is also common. Many modern machines use two different ones, one for bios, the other for just the bootloader choice menu.

@ICanDoThatToo2 2 күн бұрын

Sometimes the F-keys are set to send other key codes, like volume or e-mail, and you need to hold the Fn key to make them transmit proper F-key codes.

@spudstalker9824 10 күн бұрын

Oh no those look like oothecas at 07:58 this is why I always open old electronics with gloves lmao

@thant0se 4 күн бұрын

Work pest control, that is exactly what you're looking at. It may not necessarily be roach, though. That could also be a few species of fairly common fly.

@PU7MZD 4 күн бұрын

Saveitforparts Space Program just got its mainframe units

@MAGGOT_VOMIT 2 күн бұрын

Except for calling Elon, it may be the only other thing that can get Butch and Suni's chin back home safe from the ISS.

@Lejar6972 4 күн бұрын

I'm commenting as soon as it came up in the video so that I don't forget (so I don't know if you figure out later): when the battery is soldered on like that, you can get a replacement that you solder in which can take a coin battery. Definitely worth it even if the battery still works, because those are prone to leakage!

@ZoranStefanovskiProfile 4 күн бұрын

I relate to this video more then you can imagine.

@RNMSC 4 күн бұрын

I still have my Tandy 200. It needs a new power switch, The 200 was one of the reasons that Radio Shack was in operation as long as it was. It was the first clamshell computer on the market, and Tandy Patented the concept. For the next 17 years, any laptop computer that was sold in a clamshell format, payed a royalty to Tandy to be able to sell that device. It wasn't the only thing they did right, but moving to selling cell phones pretty much killed the stores.

@saveitforparts 3 күн бұрын

Yeah I still joke that you could go into Radio Shack and the teenage manager wouldn't know what anything was outside the phone counter. It was a cool store once you got into the back half!

@WilliamHostman 2 күн бұрын

The local radio shacks in Corvallis and Eugene Oregon hung on until about 2015... I hit a total of 4 of them looking for a specific adapter. Eagle River Alaska had one until about 2008... It's just not cost effective to have small local electronic parts stores... and many of the RS stores doubled down on gimmicks and toys with uncompetitive pricing, rather than the thing most serious techs needed it to be: An electronic parts supply.

@MickeyMousePark 2 күн бұрын

Grid Compass was the first clam shell laptop released in 1982 ..Grid collected royalties for the Tandy 200 (1985) until 1988 when Tandy bought Grid... in 1993 Tandy sold off their computer division (including Grid) to AST Research.. Tandy went from the late 1970's as largest personal computer company (most years they were ahead of Apple in sales) ..by mid 1980's they were the largest computer company in the world and largest consumer electronic supplier..they were one of the first companies to sell the Motorola brick cell phone in 1989 Model CT-300 ...by early 1990s they were no longer manufacturing their own computers ...Tiger Direct and Egghead were killing the electronics side...they tried selling other companies computers and other companies cell phones. ..like Fry's Electronics and Radio Shack were slow to move to online..and that is what killed both companies among hundreds others..Tandy sold their Computer City stores off in 1998 to CompUSA.. I worked for Tandy at a Tandy Computer Service Center in the 1980s basically at Tandy's peak ..they had a weird business strategy...the Radio Shack retail stores lost money for 10 months a year and November and December made up for it..this worked for at least 20 years..but could not work in the post internet days...the Tandy Computer stores (which in the 1990s became Computer City) made profit every month through the 1980s but died by late 1990s... Radio Shack lasted for 80 years starting in 1921 by 2000 they were pretty much dead...

@RNMSC 2 күн бұрын

@MickeyMousePark Thank you for the correction. I was not aware of either the grid compass, nor that Tandy had purchased them. I suspect that where I had learned the erroneous information was also unaware of those factors, just knew that Tandy was earning royalties on the Clamshell design, and thought it was related to th 299.

@genetomblin2883 3 күн бұрын

One of the major US news agencies used 100's for field reporters. I personally have a connection to bubble memory. They were supposed to be the next big thing for personal computers ... but they had thermal issues which killed them.

@W4TRI 4 күн бұрын

DB-9 was for Light pens and other things. I had a 100 with the case you have. 3 1/2" drive Acoustic Couplers and a Disk Video Interface for home. Thanks for the memories! never saw the Bubble memory before.

@orca984 11 күн бұрын

You could ask the 8-bit guy for help, pretty sure he knows stuff about thr TRS80

@cocusar 4 күн бұрын

I'd go with Adrian Black because of reasons :)

@dmacpher 4 күн бұрын

@@cocusar📎

@cocusar 4 күн бұрын

@@dmacpher not only that, but now I feel it's a company, focused solely on the x16 and the petscii robots and such games. it's fine, I don't see anything wrong (besides the 🔫), but it's not why I subbed to that guy. I was a translator of his videos back in the day, I'm not a hater. Just not what I expected. adrian seems to be a more down to earth man, with overall good intentions and I always get hooked on his videos.

@babayaga7434 4 күн бұрын

@@cocusarDavid isn't really making much money off the X16 and such, just enough to keep it afloat. He's an enthusiast trying to bring the old days back, same reason he's opening the arcade so cheap. Seems every bit as genuine as Adrian.

@Dekkia_ 2 күн бұрын

@@babayaga7434 He's also someone who brings a huge-ass gun to a bakery to "own the libs".

@richardkroon8410 3 күн бұрын

Banned in texas joke was perfect, great video on a piece of obscure and unusual tech. More like this would be awesome! Save it for parts, or save it for fun? Videos on the backwoods Alaska tech nerd origin story would also be very welcome.

@Sorbus79 4 күн бұрын

I'm sure 'Hey Birt!' would be a good contact. He has loads of portable Tandy troubleshooting videos

@JonRoulet 4 күн бұрын

Thank you for this TRIP down memory lane I remember my dad bringing this home. He was proud of his model 100 computer. I was not allowed to touch it a whole lot but it is the first device I got to see work on the world scale with compuserve and he showed me a few games on there. Regrettedly it got tossed out a couple years back and I'm so wishing it had not been thrown out. It was 1 of 3 vintage computers Thrown out the other 2 was a Texas Instruments 99 a and atari ST520. But thanks again for the trip back to the 80s.

@saveitforparts 3 күн бұрын

Oh dang! Sad when old stuff gets thrown out, but there always seems to be a time period where stuff is too old to be useful and not old enough to be antique...

@JonRoulet 3 күн бұрын

@@saveitforparts At this point I do think it's an antique my dad was also proud that this was the last computer that Bill Gates actually worked on directly another reason I really wish I had kept track of it

@snowpirate2652 4 күн бұрын

As someone who grew up with typewriters being a thing in libraries and in my home, I love this formfactor for a basic writing computer.

@WilliamHostman 2 күн бұрын

For me, the issue is that it lacks a fold-up screen, to make the ergonomics work; 5° detents to 30° would have been REAL nice.. but added fragility. Many forget just how narrow that viewing angle for the LCD really is.

@MrMesospheric 3 күн бұрын

You get today's 'made me smile' award for reminding me of bubble memory. Mmmmmm! Buuuuubbbbbble memorrrrryyyy...

@travnewmatic 4 күн бұрын

Thank you for this rollercoaster 🎉 love your content and hope all is well with you and yours

@chadwi4648 4 күн бұрын

Verify: OK! The bubble RAM is where all the greatest test files hang out. :)

@phaandorpertwee6981 3 күн бұрын

I still got my Olivetti M10, originally purchased in the 80s. It's nearly same as the Model 100 but has a tilt screen. Also got the Memory expansion. And oh yes .. a Dataphon S-21d acoustic coupler since it was all portable and battery operated. Good old days of dialup Mailboxes and DATEX-P :)

@adayinthelife5496 3 күн бұрын

Tape memory...WOW you just brought back memories.

@MD-rn1mp 2 күн бұрын

I remember these from high school. They had them in the computer lab. I tried taking the computer class and back then, most people were skeptical that they were going anywhere. I couldn’t figure out how to make it work in the lab so I asked the kid “Mike” running the lab to help me. He was a year behind me and kinda squirrelly looking, but seemed like he knew what he was doing… I was really impatient and I think I transferred out of the class the next week. I think Mike Dell went on to work with computers after high school. I probably should have kept up with him. 🤦🏻

@isthattrue1083 3 күн бұрын

The CMOS chip on the bottom is to add an embedded operating system. They were all the rage in the early 80s with Tandy computers. Only computer store I've even been to that not only sold computers but also leather and leather tools. They were also sold inside Radio Shack stores. I also had a Tandy 1000 RLX back in the day.

@55Ramius 3 күн бұрын

Back in 1976, I picked up a old mechanical adding machine. add, subtract, divide and multiply but I could never get it to work so I just took it apart and found a small clear plastic square( Bublbe memory ) and after looking with a magnifying glass, I could see tiny tiny donut magnets with super thin wires running verticaly and hortizontaly through each magnet. I still have that thing but it is packed away deep somewhere. I am getting closer to having my new garage insulated, walls and wired for a lab and maybe KZfaq later. So, I will be going through everything I have stored and should come across it. It looks so delicate.

@MickeyMousePark 2 күн бұрын

that would be Magnetic-core memory (1955 and 1975) not bubble memory (1960s-1970s)...

@gcm4312 4 күн бұрын

It's very rare to capture capacitors in that stage of their lifecycle! What a find ;)

@RNMSC 4 күн бұрын

Most of these caps are from an era before China tried to steel the recipe Japan had developed for electrolytic capacitors, and got the wrong recipe. A lot of companies saw the low price on the new caps out of China, and saved a bunch of money by not buying the proven Japanese caps. Only to learn 5-10 years later that the caps would fail and take the board they are soldered to along for that ride. These caps are going to be good until the electrolytic in the batteries dries out. That will present a more observable problem w/o having to look for damage on the circuit board. (usually)

@gcm4312 4 күн бұрын

@@RNMSC it was a (bad) joke about the cochroach eggs :D

@RNMSC 3 күн бұрын

@@gcm4312 Ah. joke went over my head. I'm not likely to have reached up to grab it in that case. ;-) I do know that there are a lot of vintage radios that do get their caps replaced, not because of the breakdown, but because of the drying out. Some of them can be restored by feeding power to the radios through a variac and slowly bringing the voltage up until it's at whatever voltage the power supply is expecting. But I think that's more for power supply capacitors. I do kind of like the idea of it being an effective torture test of Cockroaches though. 🙂

@donaldmonroe8503 3 күн бұрын

Thank you for taking me way back 'in my day.'

@PeteWord 3 күн бұрын

That was a fun video! I tried calling you at 3 but my cell phone expects more numbers.

@PamelaCurry 4 күн бұрын

I used to work tech support for PCSG. I was issued a model 100 with a Chipmunk floppy, the memory bank (256k) the battery bank b and a rom bank and of course the SuperRom.

@manuroitman 2 күн бұрын

Please tell us more about your childhood, sounds super interesting!

@SawdustSoftwareSiliconChippy 5 сағат бұрын

Wow, that's awesome! Bubble memory is effectively, permanent, as in , ReWritable RWCDROM, of FLASH RAM memory stick, etc. he he he, how many people picked up on the "banned in Texas" joke. 😆🙄 Great find with the TRS-100's. Lovely presentation.

@keokukia9800 4 күн бұрын

I have a Model 100 and I'm the original purchaser. Still all original and mint condition. I've got the casette, RS-232 cable, and all the other accessories.

@saveitforparts 4 күн бұрын

Nice! I wish I'd kept more of my old stuff.

@TSGEnt 4 күн бұрын

THis was great! I was very close to getting trs-80 (trash-80) but opted instead for an Atari 400. Love it!

@saveitforparts 3 күн бұрын

I had one of those as well, mainly played cartridge games on it though. I remember the keyboard kind of sucked for typing your own programs.

@TSGEnt 3 күн бұрын

@@saveitforparts Indeed the keyboard sucked. I ended up hard wiring a real tactile keyboard I sourced from a local eletronics parts store back in the '80's and kludged it into the 400. Worked great.

@cpm1003 4 күн бұрын

Bubble memory was non-volatile, like core memory. I think it was also power hungry when in use. The chip had to warm up in order to work, and had a built in resistive heater.

@Pete37313 3 күн бұрын

Loving the t-shirt change

@aserta 4 күн бұрын

7:57 cockroach pods - either American or Brown Banded. The literal bug in the system. :)

@melkiorwiseman5234 4 күн бұрын

From what little I remember about it, "bubble" memory was serially accessed memory which used "magnetic bubbles" which were "pushed" through whatever the storage medium was. For its day, it was quite storage-dense when compared to most other kinds of storage. I believe that it used a destructive read, which meant that the bits needed to be written once again after reading in order to keep the data. Its main problem was speed. The serial access scheme slowed down access times quite significantly. Along with improvements in storage density of other media, this led to bubble memory being dropped as a data storage method. Edit: It's "jumps", not "jumped", otherwise you don't hit the letter S and the whole idea of using the phrase is to use every letter of the alphabet. 😄 Edit2: The serial connection issue looks very much as though one end is misconfigured compared to the other. Maybe the Tandy is trying to use 7 bits and parity, or maybe it can't actually use 9600bps and both ends need to be configured for a lower speed, or maybe it can't use xon/xoff for flow control and needs to use CTS/RTS. But the fact that the resistors are wrong is also a possible reason for the problem. If you can get the RAM chips out, you may be able to test them using something like the TL866 programmer and chip tester. Edit3: I presume your telephone was one of the old "party line" magneto telephones? I had a couple of those fitted into my old home at one time, not as proper telephones but as an intercom. It was a very old house with a separate bathroom/laundry/toilet building, so the magneto phones were a good way of getting attention if you'd forgotten something you needed for your bath and didn't want to dry yourself, dress yourself, toddle back inside to get what you'd forgotten, toddle back out to the bathroom, undress again and get back in the bath again (by which time the water would be significantly colder, and we didn't have piped hot water, so you had to bathe and get out before the water got cold).

@saveitforparts 3 күн бұрын

Yep, we had some old army field telephones with the AC ring crank and a bunch of D batteries for voice amplification. Occasionally had to go fix the wires that squirrels would chew on!

@melkiorwiseman5234 3 күн бұрын

@@saveitforparts Cool. Mine were proper Post Office telephones, designed to run off of 3V from two 1.5V cells. Originally, the cells were supposed to be huge things around 1.5 times the height of a coke can and a bit thicker around. I just used a couple of D cells, though. They worked just as well, since the only reason for using the huge cells was to make them last longer.

@joegee2815 3 күн бұрын

3:07 "...people were still making up their own connectors left and right" Like Apple does to this day where they can get away with it. And charge a ton for 3rd parties. I had one of these back in the 80s. Made a great terminal to dial into our Unix based department computer.

@RinoaL 4 күн бұрын

I have this same exact computer with the bubble memory expansion! I got it in jacksonvillve IL at the steam festival so I wonder if it was something more available in the midwest since I've never seen the bubble memory module in california.

@travnewmatic 4 күн бұрын

Came for the old ass computing, stayed for the bootloader jokes 💪

@mattparker9726 4 күн бұрын

1:58 I am SO BEYOND jealous that you live near Freegeek. The sheer volume of old PCs and parts there makes me kinda thirsty, ngl.

@saveitforparts 4 күн бұрын

I'm editing an interview with all the staff right now, should be out in a couple weeks!

@falconthefox 3 күн бұрын

Try to get hold of The 8 bit guy, this is right up his alley

@The_Traveling_Clown 4 күн бұрын

My most vintage computers right now are TI 99/44 and 44/a. I also have a NABU that can kinda be use today.

@starrmann314 4 күн бұрын

SIFP-"Id like to order a pizza for delivery please.." Pizza Parlor-"sure, what's your phone number?" SIFP-".......... 3"

@jimmaag4274 4 күн бұрын

My first computer was a used COCO I got for working afternoons at Radio Shack in the fall semester of '85. Rigged up an old portable cassette recorder for mass storage. I had the 4K RAM upgrade.

@2.7petabytes 3 күн бұрын

My stepdad’s boss owned an Osborne back in the early to mid 80s. My stepdad was an electrician for a small audio company. it was technically considered a portable computer. I guess, it seem to weigh about as much as a neutron star.

@HaconMagnus_AI 3 күн бұрын

Love it I owned 4 of them over the years, the first one when it was brand new, I did a trade for it. Bought another one around 1987 , loved it. Than around 2007 I bought a couple and sold them, they were mint ! If I recall this was a personal project of Bill Gates. Cheers.

@luisestebanr6311 4 күн бұрын

looks so cool

@polybius223 4 күн бұрын

A few years ago, I was given an Atari 800 (sadly now has a dead keyboard) from a family member. More recently, I just added a TI-99/4a, and a C64 to my “roster”. Hadn’t ever seen a Commodore of any kind in person before I got my 64. I will say, I like the 99 more than either. It looks nice, without being massive like the 800, and has a surprisingly decent keyboard. My favorite thing is that it has easier to remember (for me) BASIC commands for graphics and sound. The POKE command just always seemed like an afterthought to me, and makes the Commodore have a slight “prototype-y” feel. “CALL SOUND” just feels more “right”. The three computers still on my “wanted list”, are a 100 like yours, a bare bones 98 era machine (Think a Packard Bell would be a cheap way to fill that void) and a Compaq Portable (or an SX-64, either would be cool.) I’ve also got a 486, but something’s wrong with it right now, and I don’t have an AT keyboard for it.

@NG-VQ37VHR 4 күн бұрын

You're awefully lucky to have lived that many years and still not know what those little "beans" are.

@saveitforparts 3 күн бұрын

I grew up in Alaska and we didn't have those little guys!

@gorak9000 3 күн бұрын

What are they? Turds of some variety?

@TheRetroGamingPrincess 3 күн бұрын

Now given their age absolutely even if you can't replace it anytime soon. Desolder those batteries and get rid of them! I've had a few of these specifically die from battery leakage!

@AddieDirectsTV 4 күн бұрын

2:07 Yes! FGTC!! I volunteer in the Retro Room on occasion.

@steveaw5895 3 күн бұрын

Hey , it’s the end of June. Time for some boating videos. I’ll still watch whatever you post, but I like boats.

@patchvonbraun 4 күн бұрын

I lugged a Toshiba T1100 through New Zealand in 1989. Like a damned chump :)

@_mrcrypt 3 күн бұрын

Amazing! Dig that backpack, too! Thanks 🏴‍☠️

@chadshobbies4018 4 күн бұрын

My first computer was a trs 80 coco. I learned to code in trs color basic. It was the beginning of a long journey of coding.

@Zulgeteb 4 күн бұрын

@28:03 sometimes it doesnt work with usb keyboards unless you change it in the bios (i think its called USB Legacy) so try keyboard with DIN-plug maybe? also its not always F12, some use (depending on brand/version) F1, F2, F10, Esc or Del also be sure the Fn is or isnt active depending on what is required. And i think sometimes pressing spacebar (or was it another key) makes bootscreen visible (maybe also showing key you are looking for).

@rdmclark 3 күн бұрын

I wish i still had my Tandy 102 i had when i was a kid, used that to dial into my library card system.

@KD2HJP 3 күн бұрын

Ahhh.. A Trash 80. I was a Shacky circa 1986ish - 1994 ish.... Such cool days

@NexxuSix 3 күн бұрын

20:50 Gabe, try reseating and socketed chips… the corrosion on the pins over time will act like an insulator, giving you problems with digital components. Reseating the chips will freshen up the connections.

@mattparker9726 4 күн бұрын

21:30 Yeah I think you're spot on with the corrupted RAM chip(S).

@treahblade 4 күн бұрын

LOL as someone who just soldered on some pins to a single board computer today I understand the hesitation to solder onto computer motherboards :P Probably does not help that I am terrible at it and my soldering iron sucks. These are some pretty cool machines and I have never seen bubble memory either. Holy crap tho the amount of double A batteries in that thing tho.

@mattparker9726 4 күн бұрын

16:03 I have heard of TS-DOS but never used it myself. My first PC was a full fledged 286, so it already has MS-DOS installed (5 I think with Norton shell) It's a late model being produced either in late 1990, or early 1991.

@Geek-a-Zoid 4 күн бұрын

TY for the video

@RushCampAndPrep 3 күн бұрын

"I'll get around to that later" Yep... sure you will....

@grogvaughan5649 4 күн бұрын

Wow, haven't thought about my old "trash 80" portable in decades. I used it for writing programs for my desktop in middle school in the 1980s

@lutomson3496 4 күн бұрын

I built my first computer in 1977 got my trash 80 shortly after, worked with Steve Jobs at Atari before he started apple did final testing on the 400 and 800's sucks to be old though but wise!!

@grogvaughan5649 4 күн бұрын

@lutomson3496 middle 1970s one of my scout leaders worked at the University of Akron computer lab. Learned fortran & cobol programming from him there. After my dad saw I was actually good at something he had me start doing stuff for the family business.

@Allan_aka_RocKITEman 4 күн бұрын

FWIW: I remember seeing something on TV decades ago about _"bubble memories."_ I was under the impression that technology was supposed to be the 'next best thing'. Clearly it was not.

@saveitforparts 3 күн бұрын

It was probably revolutionary for the time, but tech moved so fast in the 80s/90s that a lot of good ideas turned out to be dead ends.

@Allan_aka_RocKITEman 3 күн бұрын

@@saveitforparts>>> Yuppers.

@illusion180976 3 күн бұрын

To get into bios: PS2 keyboard or basic usb in lowest bandwidth usb port. DEL key on some mobo's rather than F12, I have also seen F2 and F5. Also only start spamming whichever key you are trying after the keyboard lights flash or while they are in the process of flashing. Happy travels and thanks for the vid :-)

@gorak9000 3 күн бұрын

also sometimes esc, and f1 as well

@illusion180976 2 күн бұрын

@@gorak9000 True :-)

@kennethevoy 3 күн бұрын

Try moving the USB connection of your Linux desktop keyboard to a different port. Motherboards turn on the port groupings one at a time and keyboards have a small boot time. I had to move mine to the port group next to the onboard devices to catch F12!

@Thegameztransit 4 күн бұрын

Nice Video!

@firepinto 3 күн бұрын

We had a trs-80 desktop as a kid, an external floppy drive bigger than a loaf of bread. I played a lot of the Castle Guard game cartridge.

@bullzye101 3 күн бұрын

very cool old school stuff tho ... but what a mission trying to get 1 to work but good on you tho show us them lol .. big thumbs up 👍😃👍

@johnbecker8768 4 күн бұрын

My number was 3. That's awesome!

@barkeaterden 4 күн бұрын

wow...I had a model 100...used it to takes notes for a IBM 360 assembly class that I shouldn't really have taken. Looking to replace it with NEC Ultralite PC-17-02 to do packet radio goodness

@myofficegoes65 Күн бұрын

I think the memory power is a rechargeable NiCd battery that gets charged up when the AA batteries are installed or when powered with the 6 volt adapter

@TechReclamation 3 күн бұрын

I don't know if it was already said but to enter dell bios its F2 just spam it at boot, if it gives you trouble trying spamming F2 from a fully powered off state. I have a ton of dell systems they last FOREVER

@elevenbucks5682 3 күн бұрын

I recall looking at a trash 80 in 1980. they were priced at $1400 then, think how much that would be today.

@p-196 3 күн бұрын

you can reboot your Linux machine directly into the bios/uefi setup with the command "sudo systemctl reboot --firmware"

@jedharding3492 4 күн бұрын

Gabe says "dingus" = drink

@Vaeloron 2 күн бұрын

I have 3D printed many battery covers over the years. I am sure someone has already designed one you could print.

@mattparker9726 4 күн бұрын

1:34 you should retrobright the cases, which is using hydrogen peroxide (in strong concentration) in the sun. Also 3d printing will help with the battery covers, and maybe even the missing keycaps. Though how you would label them IDK.

@UncleBildo 4 күн бұрын

OMG, ain't seen a TRASH-80 in eons! I played with one of those as a geeky kid.

@karppa8044 3 күн бұрын

This is the first buble memory machine ever. I found 30 yr ago intels buble memory book from my tech cscool. And there thai have 2mb buble memory chit, what was inormous in that time. Ond i neves seen or head that there is working application based on that. So this IS wary rare.

@HennerZeller 4 күн бұрын

In my TRS80 100 schematic transcription (on github) I annotated the relevant resistors mentioned in the bulletin. Soldering required unfortunately. If you want to avoid desoldering the old ones, you can probably get away with parallel soldering 390 Ohm resistors in parallel (on the back of the board). Might be a tad less annoying.

@saveitforparts 3 күн бұрын

Nice! I have the tech bulletin downloaded and ordered some resistors. I'm not actually great at basic electronics, but I keep meaning to learn more! I'll download your PDF as well for reference :-)

@michaellichter4091 2 күн бұрын

They have beautiful historical computers, and I have also worked with magnetic bubble memory, which was ideal for storing data at the time. Can't the missing parts be printed with a 3D printer?

@cocusar 4 күн бұрын

Would be cool to see a simple board with leds connected to the user port or something, and use them for automatic antenna tracking! Or even better, something like a vhf/uhf relay. of course everything can be done easier and quicker with an arduino, but what's the fun on that?

@Allan_aka_RocKITEman 4 күн бұрын

Starting at about 20:05 in this video... CATS gonna CAT...😊

@snowpirate2652 4 күн бұрын

The struggle of getting into the BIOS is so real! XD

@gorak9000 3 күн бұрын

you have to spam esc, f1, f2, f10, f12, and del (with your 5 hands) - no one ever agreed on what the stupid setup key was

@joeg1992 4 күн бұрын

Very cool, I still have the NEC PC-8201 version of The Tandy from back when I was a kid, we bought it new. Mine worked last time I turned it on. I do have some of the manuals, do you think they would have what you need?

@saveitforparts 3 күн бұрын

A lot of the manuals are online, although I'm keeping an eye out for a printed one.

@AddieDirectsTV 4 күн бұрын

We still have one of those floating around the WCCO engineering department.

@saveitforparts 3 күн бұрын

Nice! It's fun when they still have some niche use or are kept around "just in case" :-)

@AddieDirectsTV 3 күн бұрын

@@saveitforparts it’s not even for that lol. They found it while cleaning out a storage room during the pandemic lol!

@webmonkees 4 күн бұрын

I have one of the pocket ones, when complaints were nobody needed a computer that fit in a pocket. even a thermal printer, it's like Space 1999 props, (computers reading out paper strips of data)

@saveitforparts 3 күн бұрын

I remember seeing one of those at the surplus warehouse in college, kinda neat but not super practical to poke at the tiny keys.

@Peter_S_ 4 күн бұрын

Wild, I was just mentioning bubble memory in a conversation with a coworker a couple hours ago.

@ChosenOne6666 4 күн бұрын

He is one of the smartest of our generation

@peter360adventures9 4 күн бұрын

Awesome.

@DancerVlt69 4 күн бұрын

Entering BIOS: Alternatively F2 or DEL That's are 2 very interesting "laptops"!

@pockets5921 3 күн бұрын

The ones that you have with you currently are the same type that were used in the movie rad so you could say they're red pieces of equipment

@Tinyflower1 4 күн бұрын

so thats what the clockworkpi devterm is inspired by

@lady_draguliana784 4 күн бұрын

Maybe a video on learning the needed soldering skills (and salvaging/rigging up the gear for it)!

@saveitforparts 3 күн бұрын

I have a pile of electronics kits that I need to assemble, including some cool stuff that @SimpleElectronics gave me. Just haven't had time to sit down with it!

@lady_draguliana784 3 күн бұрын

@@saveitforparts looking forward to it!

@DHChkDsk Күн бұрын

sometimes these bios key-checks don't like usb-hubs between the keyboard and the PC (if that is the case) or maybe it has an old ps/2 port which does recognize it better that early in the boot

@mattparker9726 4 күн бұрын

3:24 I'd like to see if we could integrate that acoustic modem into the parallel internet we talked about a little while ago. While yes, since it uses TCP/IP communication standards, (I assume) The audio connectivity portion is VERY interesting to me. I am certain we could remake/emulate the connection handshake and data packets, and be able to use such a modem as an alternate end point to an off grid internet. I say end point, because I'd prefer that a more accessible device like that be only in use in limited numbers. But imagine we take the LoRa repeater, and hook it up to a daughterboard that will translate the digital information into the correct sound frequencies for the modem using, I dunno, a speaker?

@saveitforparts 4 күн бұрын

I knew some ham radio guys who used these with packet modems for texting, worked great for that!