Re: Ten thousand TRS 80s...
Not a technical support thread at all: it's an off-topic nostalgia thread on the Informix mailing list, started by a post about the TRS-80's 1977 launch (10,000 sold in a month at $599 with 4K RAM and cassette storage). Participants swap memories of early kit, including Timex/Sinclair and ZX80/ZX81 kits with wobbly RAM packs, overheating memory modules and fried power supplies, TI and Kaypro machines, a "portable" TRS-80 with an 8x32 display, TI Silent 700 terminals with acoustic couplers, ASR-33 teletypes and punched cards. No problem to solve and no resolution.
Auto-generated by DrWatson from the posts below — may be imperfect; read the full thread.
On Sep 4, 3:39 pm, "Mark Scranton (Xtivia Inc.)" <mark.scran...@gmail.com> wrote: > In an attempt to lighten up this thread, here's something near and > dear to me....I started my own "Computer Education Center" while a > college student at our local YMCA in about 1982. We used TRS-80's. > Found this post today....enjoy. > > ------------- > Ten thousand TRS 80s are sold one month after the computer's September > 1977 release, greatly exceeding all sales projections. The TRS 80, > affectionately called the "Trash 80", is designed by Radio Shack to > compete with the Apple II and Commodore PET. Priced at $599, the model > ships with 4K of RAM, a keyboard, a modified black and white > television display, and a cassette tape device. > ------------- > > Mark Scranton > Informix 1995 - > Xtivia Inc.www.markscranton.com > mark.scran...@xtivia.com Hey Mark, I got one for you. My first computer was a Timex / Sinclair kit without the "soft touch" keys. The kit had metal box and a "real" key board. Of course the 64k memory module would get so hot it would start to smell, but that gave you something to do when you were waiting for the cassette tape to load your programs. JGL
Does anyone still have a Sinclair ZX80 or ZX81 ? Remember that lovely wobbly rampack to extend from 1k to 16k memory... -----Original Message----- From: informix-list-bounces@iiug.org [mailto:informix-list-bounces@iiug.org] On Behalf Of John Sent: 05 September 2008 15:45 To: informix-list@iiug.org Subject: Re: Ten thousand TRS 80s... On Sep 4, 3:39 pm, "Mark Scranton (Xtivia Inc.)" <mark.scran...@gmail.com> wrote: > In an attempt to lighten up this thread, here's something near and > dear to me....I started my own "Computer Education Center" while a > college student at our local YMCA in about 1982. We used TRS-80's. > Found this post today....enjoy. > > ------------- > Ten thousand TRS 80s are sold one month after the computer's September > 1977 release, greatly exceeding all sales projections. The TRS 80, > affectionately called the "Trash 80", is designed by Radio Shack to > compete with the Apple II and Commodore PET. Priced at $599, the model > ships with 4K of RAM, a keyboard, a modified black and white > television display, and a cassette tape device. > ------------- > > Mark Scranton > Informix 1995 - > Xtivia Inc.www.markscranton.com > mark.scran...@xtivia.com Hey Mark, I got one for you. My first computer was a Timex / Sinclair kit without the "soft touch" keys. The kit had metal box and a "real" key board. Of course the 64k memory module would get so hot it would start to smell, but that gave you something to do when you were waiting for the cassette tape to load your programs. JGL _______________________________________________ Informix-list mailing list Informix-list@iiug.org http://www.iiug.org/mailman/listinfo/informix-list
On Sep 5, 10:45 am, John <jgleip...@gmail.com> wrote: > On Sep 4, 3:39 pm, "Mark Scranton (Xtivia Inc.)" > > > > <mark.scran...@gmail.com> wrote: > > In an attempt to lighten up this thread, here's something near and > > dear to me....I started my own "Computer Education Center" while a > > college student at our local YMCA in about 1982. We used TRS-80's. > > Found this post today....enjoy. > > > ------------- > > Ten thousand TRS 80s are sold one month after the computer's September > > 1977 release, greatly exceeding all sales projections. The TRS 80, > > affectionately called the "Trash 80", is designed by Radio Shack to > > compete with the Apple II and Commodore PET. Priced at $599, the model > > ships with 4K of RAM, a keyboard, a modified black and white > > television display, and a cassette tape device. > > ------------- > > > Mark Scranton > > Informix 1995 - > > Xtivia Inc.www.markscranton.com > > mark.scran...@xtivia.com > > Hey Mark, > > I got one for you. My first computer was a Timex / Sinclair kit > without the "soft touch" keys. The kit had metal box and a "real" key > board. Of course the 64k memory module would get so hot it would > start to smell, but that gave you something to do when you were > waiting for the cassette tape to load your programs. > > JGL Hey John - Better than that - sort of - I have the Sinclair kit that I never took out of the box....still! Ordered it through I think OMNI magazine, or something like that. Someday my great-great-grandchild will have to put it together. Now that would be worth seeing. Mark Scranton Xtivia Inc.
I would be very careful in putting it together. I bought a couple of the kits. Fried the first one from a short in the power supply. Oh and you want a strange one... try a TI computer along with the expansion chassis. Or a Kaypro portable. ;-) (I couldn't afford the grid to take to school.) > From: mark.scranton@gmail.com > Subject: Re: Ten thousand TRS 80s... > Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2008 09:46:50 -0700 > To: informix-list@iiug.org > > On Sep 5, 10:45 am, John <jgleip...@gmail.com> wrote: > > On Sep 4, 3:39 pm, "Mark Scranton (Xtivia Inc.)" > > > > > > > > <mark.scran...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > In an attempt to lighten up this thread, here's something near and > > > dear to me....I started my own "Computer Education Center" while a > > > college student at our local YMCA in about 1982. We used TRS-80's. > > > Found this post today....enjoy. > > > > > ------------- > > > Ten thousand TRS 80s are sold one month after the computer's September > > > 1977 release, greatly exceeding all sales projections. The TRS 80, > > > affectionately called the "Trash 80", is designed by Radio Shack to > > > compete with the Apple II and Commodore PET. Priced at $599, the model > > > ships with 4K of RAM, a keyboard, a modified black and white > > > television display, and a cassette tape device. > > > ------------- > > > > > Mark Scranton > > > Informix 1995 - > > > Xtivia Inc.www.markscranton.com > > > mark.scran...@xtivia.com > > > > Hey Mark, > > > > I got one for you. My first computer was a Timex / Sinclair kit > > without the "soft touch" keys. The kit had metal box and a "real" key > > board. Of course the 64k memory module would get so hot it would > > start to smell, but that gave you something to do when you were > > waiting for the cassette tape to load your programs. > > > > JGL > > Hey John - > > Better than that - sort of - I have the Sinclair kit that I never took > out of the box....still! Ordered it through I think OMNI magazine, or > something like that. Someday my great-great-grandchild will have to > put it together. Now that would be worth seeing. > > Mark Scranton > Xtivia Inc. > _______________________________________________ > Informix-list mailing list > Informix-list@iiug.org > http://www.iiug.org/mailman/listinfo/informix-list _________________________________________________________________ Stay up to date on your PC, the Web, and your mobile phone with Windows Live. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/msnnkwxp1020093185mrt/direct/01/
Yes, but how many of you ever had a "portable" TRS-80. I had one with an 8 line by 32 character screen. It was really easy to carry - but not much use for anything else. Regards Malcolm -----Original Message----- From: informix-list-bounces@iiug.org [mailto:informix-list-bounces@iiug.org] On Behalf Of John Sent: 05 September 2008 15:45 To: informix-list@iiug.org Subject: Re: Ten thousand TRS 80s... On Sep 4, 3:39 pm, "Mark Scranton (Xtivia Inc.)" <mark.scran...@gmail.com> wrote: > In an attempt to lighten up this thread, here's something near and > dear to me....I started my own "Computer Education Center" while a > college student at our local YMCA in about 1982. We used TRS-80's. > Found this post today....enjoy. > > ------------- > Ten thousand TRS 80s are sold one month after the computer's September > 1977 release, greatly exceeding all sales projections. The TRS 80, > affectionately called the "Trash 80", is designed by Radio Shack to > compete with the Apple II and Commodore PET. Priced at $599, the model > ships with 4K of RAM, a keyboard, a modified black and white > television display, and a cassette tape device. > ------------- > > Mark Scranton > Informix 1995 - > Xtivia Inc.www.markscranton.com > mark.scran...@xtivia.com Hey Mark, I got one for you. My first computer was a Timex / Sinclair kit without the "soft touch" keys. The kit had metal box and a "real" key board. Of course the 64k memory module would get so hot it would start to smell, but that gave you something to do when you were waiting for the cassette tape to load your programs. JGL _______________________________________________ Informix-list mailing list Informix-list@iiug.org http://www.iiug.org/mailman/listinfo/informix-list
On Sep 5, 3:13 pm, "malcolm.iiug" <mali...@btopenworld.com> wrote: > Yes, but how many of you ever had a "portable" TRS-80. I had one with an 8 > line by 32 character screen. It was really easy to carry - but not much use > for anything else. > > Regards > > Malcolm > > -----Original Message----- > From: informix-list-boun...@iiug.org [mailto:informix-list-boun...@iiug.org] > > On Behalf Of John > Sent: 05 September 2008 15:45 > To: informix-l...@iiug.org > Subject: Re: Ten thousand TRS 80s... > > On Sep 4, 3:39 pm, "Mark Scranton (Xtivia Inc.)" > <mark.scran...@gmail.com> wrote: > > In an attempt to lighten up this thread, here's something near and > > dear to me....I started my own "Computer Education Center" while a > > college student at our local YMCA in about 1982. We used TRS-80's. > > Found this post today....enjoy. > > > ------------- > > Ten thousand TRS 80s are sold one month after the computer's September > > 1977 release, greatly exceeding all sales projections. The TRS 80, > > affectionately called the "Trash 80", is designed by Radio Shack to > > compete with the Apple II and Commodore PET. Priced at $599, the model > > ships with 4K of RAM, a keyboard, a modified black and white > > television display, and a cassette tape device. > > ------------- > > > Mark Scranton > > Informix 1995 - > > Xtivia Inc.www.markscranton.com > > mark.scran...@xtivia.com > > Hey Mark, > > I got one for you. My first computer was a Timex / Sinclair kit > without the "soft touch" keys. The kit had metal box and a "real" key > board. Of course the 64k memory module would get so hot it would > start to smell, but that gave you something to do when you were > waiting for the cassette tape to load your programs. > > JGL > _______________________________________________ > Informix-list mailing list > Informix-l...@iiug.orghttp://www.iiug.org/mailman/listinfo/informix-list Well - the FIRST class I ever taught at my "Computer Education Center" at the local YMCA (circa 1982) was lecture-only, followed by dialing- up to the university I was attending. The Computer Center Director graciously loaned me a Texas Instruments "something", that had a built- in printer for ALL typing input) and output, and an acoustic coupler that we placed the entire phone handset on with built-in suction cups to communicate with the modem we dialed-up too at the school. (Yes - youngsters - we DID have to do it this way). I'll google around and see if I can find a pic of this contraption. Then my wife and 3 kids would pick me up in our 1973 9-passenger Caprice Estate wagon after class...the only car we had. What fun. Alright Madison, John L., John M. (oh - he's too young actually), Jacques - certainly YOU guys can throw something into this thread! Mark Scranton Xtivia Inc. www.markscranton.com mark.scranton@xtivia.com
On Sep 5, 3:34 pm, "Mark Scranton (Xtivia Inc.)" <mark.scran...@gmail.com> wrote: > On Sep 5, 3:13 pm, "malcolm.iiug" <mali...@btopenworld.com> wrote: > > > > > Yes, but how many of you ever had a "portable" TRS-80. I had one with an 8 > > line by 32 character screen. It was really easy to carry - but not much use > > for anything else. > > > Regards > > > Malcolm > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: informix-list-boun...@iiug.org [mailto:informix-list-boun...@iiug.org] > > > On Behalf Of John > > Sent: 05 September 2008 15:45 > > To: informix-l...@iiug.org > > Subject: Re: Ten thousand TRS 80s... > > > On Sep 4, 3:39 pm, "Mark Scranton (Xtivia Inc.)" > > <mark.scran...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > In an attempt to lighten up this thread, here's something near and > > > dear to me....I started my own "Computer Education Center" while a > > > college student at our local YMCA in about 1982. We used TRS-80's. > > > Found this post today....enjoy. > > > > ------------- > > > Ten thousand TRS 80s are sold one month after the computer's September > > > 1977 release, greatly exceeding all sales projections. The TRS 80, > > > affectionately called the "Trash 80", is designed by Radio Shack to > > > compete with the Apple II and Commodore PET. Priced at $599, the model > > > ships with 4K of RAM, a keyboard, a modified black and white > > > television display, and a cassette tape device. > > > ------------- > > > > Mark Scranton > > > Informix 1995 - > > > Xtivia Inc.www.markscranton.com > > > mark.scran...@xtivia.com > > > Hey Mark, > > > I got one for you. My first computer was a Timex / Sinclair kit > > without the "soft touch" keys. The kit had metal box and a "real" key > > board. Of course the 64k memory module would get so hot it would > > start to smell, but that gave you something to do when you were > > waiting for the cassette tape to load your programs. > > > JGL > > _______________________________________________ > > Informix-list mailing list > > Informix-l...@iiug.orghttp://www.iiug.org/mailman/listinfo/informix-list > > Well - the FIRST class I ever taught at my "Computer Education Center" > at the local YMCA (circa 1982) was lecture-only, followed by dialing- > up to the university I was attending. The Computer Center Director > graciously loaned me a Texas Instruments "something", that had a built- > in printer for ALL typing input) and output, and an acoustic coupler > that we placed the entire phone handset on with built-in suction cups > to communicate with the modem we dialed-up too at the school. (Yes - > youngsters - we DID have to do it this way). I'll google around and > see if I can find a pic of this contraption. Then my wife and 3 kids > would pick me up in our 1973 9-passenger Caprice Estate wagon after > class...the only car we had. What fun. > > Alright Madison, John L., John M. (oh - he's too young actually), > Jacques - certainly YOU guys can throw something into this thread! > > Mark Scranton > Xtivia Inc.www.markscranton.com > mark.scran...@xtivia.com Found the TI...check it out: http://www.webstart.com/jed/service/texassilent700.gif Mark Scranton Xtivia Inc. www.markscranton.com mark.scranton@xtivia.com
> > Alright Madison, John L., John M. (oh - he's too young actually), > Jacques - certainly YOU guys can throw something into this thread! > > Well just after they invented electricity we used these @ the high school I went to... http://www.vintage-computer.com/images/asr33_2.jpg Uhhhh that would be about 1976....... man that makes me old!!
John wrote: > > Well just after they invented electricity we used these @ the high > school I went to... > > http://www.vintage-computer.com/images/asr33_2.jpg > > Uhhhh that would be about 1976....... man that makes me old!! No it doesn't. I started with ICL 1907 & punched cards about 1970 doing post-grad. -- Ian Hotmail is for spammers. Real mail address is igoddard at nildram co uk