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Trs80

bambinobambino Posts: 789
edited 2009-03-15 18:28 in General Discussion
Hi Gang,
A lady walked into our store yesterday to check on having her computer fixed. While she was here she asked if anyone would like to buy an old TRS80 never used condition. I immediatly thought of some of the nostalgic views held by some of you here on the forum!

If the lady comes back to have her computer worked on would anyone here like for me to send you her contact info. That was a bit before my time and I would just try to hack it anyway if I did have the time!

Comments

  • GadgetmanGadgetman Posts: 2,436
    edited 2009-03-05 15:00
    Doubt I can afford the shipping charges at the moment...

    Which model is it?
    (There's a few I don't have... yet... )

    There's a LOT of models using the TRS-80 label, from BASIC-capable calculators, up to the CoCo (Color Computer) models.

    If it's in the original box you could probably fetch a tidy sum for it on eBay.
    Without box, but with manuals is also worth a bit... or two...

    Why not hack it yourself?
    (But NOT with a hacksaw, please. Can¨'t stand those idiots who break apart classics to stuff a micro ATX MB into it.)
    It's fun, fun, FUN! to play with the classics!

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  • bambinobambino Posts: 789
    edited 2009-03-05 15:30
    Forgive me Gadgetman, I am a little short on the details as she spoke with a co-worker who relayed to me the fact that she had one. I have told everyone here to let me speak with her when and if she comes back.

    I have strung myself a little thin this year ( on time and funds) or else the ebay option does look good.

    I'm working four different jobs at the moment so the only thing I have been sawing on is my pillow!
  • TeslaTesla Posts: 55
    edited 2009-03-05 18:10
    WOOT i had a TRS-80 and a TRS-80 color. C64 was way better.

    I would not want one but funny to here that there are even still floating around.
  • bambinobambino Posts: 789
    edited 2009-03-05 19:02
    I don't know about floating around, more like they bought it for a grandkid that moved off or something.

    Collecting dust in some attic for a decade or two or.....
    I can beleive it is possible that they never used it though. Their computer want run because they tried reloading XP with a 98 disc. And somehow succeded except for drivers. I doubt you can have that much fun on a TRS.
  • TeslaTesla Posts: 55
    edited 2009-03-05 20:26
    Does the propeller have more processing power then one of those?

    ADD from wiki
    "The Model I combined the mainboard and keyboard into one unit, in what was to be a common case design trend throughout the 8-bit and 16-bit microcomputer eras, although it had a separate power supply unit. It used a Zilog Z80 processor clocked at 1.77 MHz (later models were shipped with a Z80A). The basic model originally shipped with 4 KB of RAM, and later 16 KB."
  • GadgetmanGadgetman Posts: 2,436
    edited 2009-03-05 21:33
    Does the...

    You have to be 'rather generous' to the poor Z80 to claim that it does above 250K instructions/second at that clockspeed.

    A Propeller does 160MIPS when all 8 COGs are running flat out at 80MHz...
    Even at 5MHz it practically runs in circles around the Z80.

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  • Just JeffJust Jeff Posts: 36
    edited 2009-03-05 23:08
    Hey... just be glad that she did not bring it in and ask you to load XP on it!· I had a lady ask me to load Win98 on a C64 about 3 yrs ago.· We still chuckle about that one.· Was laughing so hard that I forgot to offer to buy the thing from her.

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    Currently working on "Omnibot v2" - A "rejuvenated" 1980's Tomy Omnibot 2000 Robot

    "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2009-03-06 00:16
    There is one TRS-80 that's still actively refurbished and used in the field: the Model 100. I had two of them. They were great little machines that got long battery life from their four AA cells. Apparently, they were a favorite with reporters and, by some accounts, still are among a few.

    -Phil
  • bambinobambino Posts: 789
    edited 2009-03-06 01:55
    Well the day ended without seeing them come back. Maybe I shouldn't have brought it up. But I will bring it up again if I get to meet them!

    @phil When you say field, are they like a laptop?
  • Mike2545Mike2545 Posts: 433
    edited 2009-03-06 02:24
    Aha, e-bay cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-Radio-Shack-TRS-80-Model-100-Computer-n5_W0QQitemZ310126414761QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item310126414761&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1234|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A2|294%3A50

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    Mike2545

    This message sent to you on 100% recycled electrons.
  • ProfessorwizProfessorwiz Posts: 153
    edited 2009-03-06 02:51
    Man I love those things, the Basic was waaayy better than C64.·

    I've got a great collection of TRS80's including the Model I, III, IV and a Coco I and II.· Still looking for a CoCo III.
  • RizThomasRizThomas Posts: 24
    edited 2009-03-06 08:35
    RS Model 100..I have still one here..brings back memories.. I recently refurbished it by replacing the internal battery (bios?). Still works and since it does not take much space, it is still in my closet of old computers. I do collect some retro's.

    talking about RS Color "rainbows" 64K COCO II??..a guy gave me 4 of them complete with programs, drives and joysticks..however, I don't know nothing about CoCo's so I just put them for now in my shed and will think what to do with them for now. Otherwise, they were distined to the recycle place. I just hope I know someone close by willing to take them.

    I am looking for an original Cosmac Elf.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 7,620
    edited 2009-03-06 11:21
    I was one of the first people in the UK to have a TRS-80 (Model I) and formed the National TRS-80 Users Group (NATGUG). The group is still in existence and holds weekend meetings twice a year in a hotel near Swindon:

    www.smartarts.talktalk.net/natgug/

    No-one actually uses a TRS-80 any more, it's more of a social gathering.


    Leon

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    Suzuki SV1000S motorcycle

    Post Edited (Leon) : 3/6/2009 11:27:00 AM GMT
  • yetiyeti Posts: 819
    edited 2009-03-09 03:42
    ...btw... someone has a TRS-80-VGA-textmode-driver (384x192 with 6x12 chars)?

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  • GadgetmanGadgetman Posts: 2,436
    edited 2009-03-09 08:11
    I have a CoCo I recently received(No idea which one, yet... barely unpacked it)

    And already in my collection are the TRS80 Model 100 and 102.
    (I'm not exactly impressed with the SW on these... They say

    I also have the PC-6 Pocket Scientific Computer.
    I haven't bothered to get the PC-2 or PC-4 as I have the Sharp PC1500 and the Casio PB-100 which are the same models. (Not certain what the PC-6 was before Tandy imported and rebranded it, but I believe it was a Casio)

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  • LittleTykeLittleTyke Posts: 34
    edited 2009-03-09 18:23
    Anyone know what a TRS-80 Model I is worth nowadays? I still have one! (Unused for at least 25 years.) I kept it because I thought one day it might be worth a fortune on Antiques Road Show (a UK TV programme).
  • Computer Geek 101Computer Geek 101 Posts: 179
    edited 2009-03-09 19:18
    I still have one of these from when I was a kid....

    http://www.devidts.com/be-calc/poccomp_10799.html
  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2009-03-09 19:36
    Antiques roadshow is on in the US, too. It's basically worthless. I still have my old VIC-20, in the box in my garage, waiting for it to become a collectible, but no luck [noparse]:)[/noparse]. I remember seeing someone port Apache to the TRS-80 on slashdot a while back, too.

    personally, I was more of a C64 / 128 / Amiga man, myself. My Amiga is my favorite old-time computer. I also had GEOS on my C64, which was pretty cool. And Ultima... what can I say about Ultima...

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  • GadgetmanGadgetman Posts: 2,436
    edited 2009-03-09 21:21
    TRS-80 Model 1?

    for collector in England, probably up to £50 or so.
    That is, if he lives close enough for a personal pick-up.
    (I believe the Royal Snail has a 2Kg limit on parcels, at least that seems to be the rule out of the country, and that means expensive speditors... )

    If you have the box and all manuals, probably a bit more.

    I'd offer you a bit, except that I'm sick of handing out all that cash to Parcel Farce and similar sharks.
    (These goons ALWAYS forceme to pay 25% VAT and a toll declaration fee. If it's Snail mailed, the postal workers sometimes notices the 'obsolete computer equipment' text on the declaration and let it pass)

    I sometimes see rather 'unremarkable' computers on an online auction here in Norway, and well...
    A Toshiba T1200 may be old, but it's a far cry from 'rare', 'unique' or 'maybe the first portable' that the seller claims...
    And when they add insult to injury by demanding the equivalent of $200as a starting bid...
    (For something they quite probably pulled from the local recycling dump...)

    One even had the audacity to claim that his Canon notebook was the first ever portable with a built-in printer.
    I have an old Ericsson portable with a combo(uses either a thin plastic tape and normalpaper, or the bare printhead and fax-paper) printer in the back.
    It's almost as sad as when people call the TRS80 Model 100 for the first Laptop computer....
    (The Epson HX-20 arrived in shops in 1982, the TRS80 in 1983)

    Amigas may be worth anything from $50 to $400or more, depending on model and any extras put into them.
    (Accellerator cards, faster CPUs, RAM and so on.)

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  • Tracy AllenTracy Allen Posts: 6,666
    edited 2009-03-15 18:28
    I used to have a brisk business making RAM and ROM extensions for the Model 100/102. My good friend Rick Hanson still actively supports it at www.club100.org/. Rick had one of the first BBS systems set up in the San Francisco area, where M100 users could sign in with the built-in 300 baud modem to file reports or just talk from the field. Wow! The built in BASIC interpreter and well documented internals spawned a cottage industry.

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    Tracy Allen
    www.emesystems.com
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