TRS-80 Color Computer 1 Restoration
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- čas přidán 25. 05. 2017
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In this episode I take an old, original TRS-80 Color Computer and restore it back to like-new condition.
"Obvious whoever owned it was a serious CoCo user"
That explains the white powder.
Fat Cat I was looking for this comment
I'm In LoVe WiTh ThE cOcO
Bakin' soda, I got bakin' soda
Arm and hammer
LMFAO
"Alcohol is usually my second go-to product when cleaning a computer"
These computer restorations can really take their toll, often driving one to drink.
James Russell I guess being driven to drink is better than driving drunk. Also, is it considered being driven to drink when driven to a bar?
*Alcohol jokes are not funny*
So therefor its not funny. I am serious.
Seriously drunk.
Lanie Perez Great, now my eyeballs are stuck rolled back into my head, and I can't see to find my little pry bar.
Alden Zenko - you know, it's really unfortunate that the prys are put in such a position that they have to have their own bar. Why can't we accept them with all the others at the "normal" bars?!? Same can be said for "groundings" and "salads" too! What a sad state of things in our society.
Love how 4k on a computer packages in 1977 and 2019 mean completely different things.
now it means 3840x2160
And in 2049 it will mean something else
@@pcphoenix123 4000tb internal storage
@@kwc0435 Nah, that’d be 4EB
The mods done to this definitely show that whomever was the former owner of it, LOVED this computer to bits. Heck, that LED intergration looked flawless on the outside.
If so, it legit makes me wonder why it fell out of their possession to begin with! In my experience most of the time it ends up being maybe grandpa's or grandma's old computer, but then when they passed on, whoever inherited it had little use for it, so it was donated. I suspect it might have been the situation for this one as well, but too bad we may never actually know...
I honestly believe this was my old CoCo. I replaced the keyboard, and made many, many mods to mine.
@@robertgiuffre6309did it have the same white powder ;)
Man, these restoration videos are just so satisfying.
You guys should do more collabs
No time to play with myself...
I love you guys! And Nostalgia Nerd too!
You! What are you doing here!? Go back to your own channel!
:P
Hey it's Clint and yeah they are, both your channels are my favorite retro tech channels to watch
Can you imagine channels like this in the future for more recent electronics?
"This device has a small 1 GB of RAM"
"Here's how you relabel your old Nintendo 3DS and Switch cards"
"This tablet uses very early touch and swipe interface"
People are going to be laughing at how those silly folks in the early 21st century walked around with rigid rectangles of breakable glass in their pockets.
I would be very impressed if any such devices were to exist long enough that anyone would be fond of them
@@beenine5557 some people laugh at said silly folks right now
In the future? That shit already exists
There are already lots of mod communities around modding consoles. Most of it is software based because hardware modding more recent console generations doesn't create all that much more power in terms of cpu or graphics power.
But hey, if you want to run Linux on your 3DS, there's a whole community for that.
"Chiclet keyboard that was notoriously terrible"
*Laughs in ZX81*
Cries in zx spectrum
@@hankl8168 the spectrum keyboard was actually better because you could squeeze the rubber, the ZX81 just had a membrane.
Inconsolable in Oric One
*Laughs in TI994A*
*Laughs In Slnclair 1000*
Respect for whoever owned this originally and made all those mods! This computer was loved a lot.
4k was hot stuff back in the day. Interestingly, 4k is hot stuff today too, just a different kind of 4k.
Even after 40 years, nothing has changed.
displays probably didn't matter back then
I just wanted to add joke: 4K those days?! Wow! :D
No, 16k was hot. We're going backwards.
8k monitors are coming out now
That RAM mod is a 64K mod. I did that exact mod to my CoCo back in the day. The reason you only see 24K is because the ROMs are mapped to the top 32k and some of the RAM is tied up for the video display. Some of the more sophisticated machine language programs would copy the ROMs to the RAM and bank switch them out. Thus they could bootstrap themselves and gain access to the full 64k of RAM. I replaced the keyboard and replaced the character generator with a LowerKit which does exactly what you would expect... added true lower case characters. I had a lot of fun with my CoCo back in the day and I still have it, stored away in the closet. BTW, I wore even more paint off than yours. :D
Take it out and make sure it works. There are convertors available if you only have HDTVs.
+plushroom Found out by accident; It means "Color Computer."
Do you know what those jumper wires on the logic board could have been for? And it seems like one of each pair of resistors next to the RAM chips had a lead broken off. Could this have been intentional, and if so, why?
Please remember that I did this around 35 years ago but as I remember the original CoCO I could not access the full 64K on its own. The mod to get it to use 64K involved using some UNUSED sections of a multi-section logic chip that was on the motherboard. The unused sections were grounded in the circuit board. To use them, the chip was pulled from its socket, the pins were bent up so they did not go into the socket any longer and then those jumper wires you saw in the video were soldered to the now-exposed pins. There may be more but as I said, it was a long time ago that I did that mod.
Hi, I used to hack this computer a lot
So I had at that time a Memory Map and how it as distributed.
Of the 64k, it was layout like this:
lower bank 32k of RAM
higher bank 24k of ROM
higher bank 08k for the Side Cartridge
When you had the full 64k of ram, the computer is blank, no system to work with.
What the hack program did, was to issue a interrupt signal to hold the computer
operation, copy all 24k of ROM into RAM, and use the system from RAM, that would free
the 08k of cartridge slot, so you end up with 32k lower bank + 08K of Higher RAM
A latter program moved the copied rom to the upper bank of ram in order to have the 08k
cartridge right after the lower ram, a 40k continuous area of memory.
coming from the automotive industry i can give some advice when painting plastic.
1.scuff surface with abrasive cloth (rough side of kitchen sponge) and clean with alcohol
2. use plastic primer first
3. USE VINYL DYE for color its made to prevent the reaction from skin and oil he talks about in the video. (its used in the auto industry to paint carpet and seats and if used correcty in never comes off during normal use.)
I like to think of what his neighbors think of him. "Theirs Dave with his old computers, he's not just rubbing them with cream anymore he's painting the damn things".
Hello there
I think painting them would be less weird then rubbing them with cream, because when the paint on something is worn down, or you don't like the color, what do you do? Repaint it!
It puts the lotion on it's skin, or it gets the paint again!
PoopShipDestroy3r I was thinking about this before seeing this comments
I live near him, and I see people doing stuff in their front yards like this all the time in Texas. Generally people just don’t care out here. Texans are all about minding your own business, especially with the government lmao.
Computer from the 80's covered in white powder? Story checks out.
lol
It was John Delorian's COCO!
Nice.
"Serious CoCo user"
I honestly thought something else was going to follow the word "serious" there.
I was a little surprised that he didn't connect the dots and make the same joke right then and there.
A slightly different use of the term "4K" than we see nowadays, made me do a double-take when you said '4K model' XD.
just a hint on spraying
1> Dont spray in windy conditions
1a> don't spray too far away as the paint won't adhere and "drop" properly
2> Us a paint adhesion spray first (leave 15 minutes)
3> Plastic primer, leave 10-15 minutes in between coats
4> Top coat 15 minutes apart
5> If glossy, spray on clear coat 30 minutes after last top coat (several coats 10 minutes apart)
Good advice. I'd add one more though:
Start and stop your spray past the object being sprayed. Doing so avoids paint spatter.
Before months, in protests in Bulgaria, the policemans tried to spray the protesters with spicy spray, but they accidentaly sprayed themselves
@@daraka1754 pripomni mi za taq rabota
@@Iliyan.Ivanov.23 can we all speak English so I can get in on the fun
@@daraka1754 lol
The thing I like about the 8 bit guy is that the videos never get old, I find myself watching them again and again even though I don't know half the stuff here
**don't throw away the box!**
The boxes are so rare. Save it!
Using it for storing the computer by itself may not be a good idea. It should be kept in an archive box now.
It's probably moldy.
RallyDon82 Next video: trs-80 box restoration
CNC a new replica box for it.
Whenever 8BitGuy posts a new video I'm super hyped up about it!
EpicLPer ditto
EpicLPer Same
EpicLPer he is my fav CZcamsr
i see you on every 8 bit guy video
Still haven't come up with a good name. do you see me?
I nearly got teary-eyed watching this video. That Coco is nearly identical to my original Coco that I bought so many years ago. Like the one in the video, mine was one of the earliest models that came stock with 4K RAM. I would not be surprised if that machine was a version D motherboard, like mine. I upgraded my memory to 64K, and I'm pretty sure that is the same case for the one in the video. Because of the memory addressing, you could only access 32K. Also pretty positive that it's the same aftermarket keyboard as mine, which was from a well-known Coco company called Mark Data. It was a great keyboard with a nice feel to the switches. My Coco also had paint worn off in the same area of the case! I loved my Coco and learned to program in BASIC on it. I also used it for graphic design and art, if you can believe that. It was a great machine that never got the same amount of spotlight as its contemporaries, but it was an extremely capable computer that punched far above its weight. So glad to see it getting some love to this day, and I hope there's more Coco videos to come!
Hi . I also got quite nostalgic watching this video. I also did the memory upgrade, but I also did the mod like the one in this video where you bend the address pin up out of the socket of the 6809 and physically wire it to the address pin of the ram. The CoCo motherboard didn't have the track as it was never designed to have that much ram but the 6809 could address it. Thanks 8-bit guy for the great Video.
Yeah, a bit of nostalgia for me, too. I had the 16k model of this machine. What I was hoping to see in this video was a copy of the book on how to program in BASIC, which came with the machine I had. That original keyboard sucked, and I was having problems with it within 2 years.
This is so cool! I wrote 37 video games for Tandy Corporation from StarBlaze through Robocop, Predator and Tetris in the 80's and early 90's. I recently donated all of my Color Computers and accessories to the Oklahoma Historical Society / OKPOP museum as I've been inducted into the museum for the video games i wrote.
This brings back so many wonderful memories!
Many, many thanks!
Greg
Oh no!!
Our beloved retrobrite is powerless against the villainous might of painted plastic!!
Quick!! Use the power of friendship and spray paint!!
OMG, thanks for the fond memories! The TRS-80 was one of the early computers, among the Commodore 64, etc, that we learned BASIC as a student (under the VA program) at the Electronic Institute of Hawaii in Honolulu in the early 1980’s!
AS an old-school retired EE engineering, vacuum tube-to-transistor-to-dip chip-to-8, 16, 32, 64, 128 bit, HEX serial and parallel architecture-to current technology, I really enjoy your CZcams articles ever since discovering it many months ago!! Yes, I completed many Heath Kit projects. And oh, how I miss Radio Shack!!
The CoCo was my first computer in 1982, and I loved it. I learned so much on it, with 4K version and the Extended Basic ROM installed. I did upgrade to 32K and only 24K was usable, and I also replaced the chicklet style keyboard to a mechanical keyboard, but mine had grey keys and not black keys. I also had a 4x ROM expander, 2x Tandy 360 degree joysticks, and a floppy drive controller with 2x 5.25" floppy drives with 4x virtual drives (A and B sides of the floppy disks.) I must find it in storage and do a review on it, maybe...
I learned to write machine code on a Trash-80. We had several in my school computer room in 1978. My parents used to pick me up at 6pm or so on the way home from work, so after school, I used to go to the computer room and mess around on the TRS-80s. I wasn't actually enrolled in a computer class, but I did end up getting a report for computing: "Works well with a minimum of supervision, and good at optimising use of computer resources. However, he seems mainly interested in the entertainment capabilities of the machine. B+"
The 8-Bit Guy is a straight up OG and the Internet is a better community because of his Channel
a 4k computer for 399 im sold!
Its 4k of ram!!!! Not 4k resoulted screen you simpletin!!!
woosh
J O K E
@@lanieperez1386 r/wooosh
@@lanieperez1386 Its a joke...yk?!?
That computer was loved very much.
I worked for Radio Shack back in the day and as a matter of trivia, that paint (for ALL the silver Tandy computers) was actually mixed to match a Mercedes Benz automotive paint code. 👍
Any idea what the paint code was? The closest I've found so far is 792, aka "Palladium Silver Metallic". However, the Radio-Shack version (at least on my Coco) has fewer of those sparkle flakes.
@@beenine5557 No... I'm afraid that I don't have that info.. That was just like like a common (insider) knowledge kind of thing back during my first stay at R/S which was 1980-84. You might try to make connection with someone who worked at Tandy / Radio Shack computer manufacturing in Ft. Worth, TX.. Or even do some searching for "Mercedes paint Tandy Computers" Etc..
At any rate.... good luck to you!! 👍
Looks like it came out pretty good for only your second attempt to ever paint plastics. Here are some tips on painting plastics (and a lot of other things) for next time. I know you don't often reply to comments (and perhaps don't have time to read long ones like this) but maybe it will help someone else out:
1 - If the original paint is still stuck on, leave it alone. Just sand the entire surface lightly with 180-220 grit to rough it up for new paint to stick and clean off the loose stuff. There's no need to strip the old paint completely off.
2 - On plastics, after a proper cleaning (I used soap and water, let it dry, and then go over it with automotive paint prep solutions, but denatured alcohol is just fine too... clean it until your rag no longer picks up anything), the first thing you want to do is put down an adhesive promoter (which is sold by that name). It will leave a slightly textured surface for the paint to help hang on to AND seal the plastic so the oils won't leech through (which is why your first painting project didn't go well). Once you lay down the adhesion promoter it doesn't matter what kind of paint you put on top of it since the plastic is then sealed at that point. It doesn't have to be "special" plastic paint so that opens you up to a lot more color options, like stuff from the auto parts store (which is where you can get the promoter too).
3 - Then you really should lay down a coat of primer (just regular "primer" in a can). Any high spots in the surface, particularly from laying down a new coat of primer over the old paint, can then be easily sanded down smooth. You should use a "body board" for this (a paint stick with some sand paper wrapped around it works fine for small stuff, as do the sponge sanding pads from Harbor Freight) so you end up with a nice level surface. If you sand through the primer on the high spots while trying to get to the low spots, hit it with another coat of primer and go at it again. If you have really bad low spots for some reason (maybe someone used the top of their computer as a coffee cup holder and deformed the plastic over the years?) you can apply regular old body filler to build those surfaces back up. The sanding process for it is the same, then prime over it and sand it all again. This sounds like a lot of work, but on something small like a computer it really isn't. I'd venture a guess that I could fully prep and body work that computer in 1-2 hours and I'm pretty meticulous.
4 - Lots of old electronics have a textured finished surface and the sheen is normally somewhere between flat and semi-gloss, which is difficult to replicate out of a paint can so things end up looking too smooth and shiny when you're done. To mitigate that you can lightly sand the entire paint job with something like 2000 grit sand paper, clean it off again, and then from a distance (3 feet or so) apply a fine dusting of paint again (really, you just want to put the paint in the air and then let it fall on to the surface). The 2000 grit will knock the shine off of it and the "dust" will reapply the texture. Don't apply clear coat unless you want it to be super shiny again. I've also found that LIGHTLY wiping with lacquer thinner will also knock the shine off, but you have to super careful because that will, of course, also take the paint you just applied off.
5 - If you want to get crazy with your color matching, you can always lay down a color coat that you know is too dark and then apply light coats of a shade that you know is too light until you get it just where you want it. I've had to do that countless times while restoring automotive interiors because even if you have the factory paint matched color, the other parts of the interior are going to be a different color simply from age so if you don't color match what is actually in the car your restored part will look super out of place and becomes what is known as a "bulls eye" for your focal attention. That's not such a big deal in this case, but imagine if the keyboard had a trim area that was supposed to match the rest of the COCO and you can see how it would look weird if you painted it and the colors were just slightly off afterward.
None of this is really anything that is all that difficult, but it does take a decent investment in time and attention to detail. If you're the type of person that finds tedious tasks relaxing (which I sometimes do) then this is right up your alley. If you're prone to rushing through projects, then body and paint work probably isn't for you in the long run.
That's a good post.
You've just written ~4.6kB of text.
Me: * clicks on 'read more' *
"Oh God, that's a big wall of text!"
bruh take it easy your going to fill the whole comment section ITS SUMMER AND I DONT WANT TO READ caps sorryXD
Was wondering about the primer.
The restoration videos are my favorite.
This was nice to watch. Gives me a general idea of how computer restoration works. And I love the music you use. XP
When you said painting plastic I thought "oh man, this is going to look like crap". But with that clear coat it looks pretty darn good. Thanks for the video!
Techmoan, LGR and 8-Bit Guy- my favourite tech channels. They are all very knowledgeable, make better than TV videos and are always entertaining. I just wish they all had muppets at the end of each video.
semloH Not everyone wants muppets at the end of each video though.
I do like LGR but he's not quite in the same class as 8-bit guy and techmoan. He doesn't do enough restorations - too much of his stuff is new, or near new, in-the-box. I prefer to vintage restorations. Also LGR isn't careful with his new-in-box vintage hardware. I cringe when I see him dragging vintage hardware on hard wooden tables.
@@SWRadioConcepts but he has an excellent voice and has a way with making anything sound interesting. Everyone is different and nuanced and I believe everyone in this category brings something valuable to the table, I don't like to judge them off of one another :p check out modern vintage gamer he is more on the software side of things being a programmer but still good videos.
I also like them, and TechGumbo!!!
Awesome video! Keep up the great work! 😄
That power cord residue is a dead give-away that the former owner was a smoker.
Did my own first gen CoCo on the weekend and it turned out beautifully. Thanks for the tips and inspiration mate
Just shows how far ahead PC technology is compared to consoles. You could buy a 4k PC for $399 in 1980, and consoles are just barely starting to reach 4k levels. Sad..
I don't mean to be mean but 4K RAM and 4K Resolution are completely different..
(UPDATE 28/05/2017): I realise its a joke!
STEVIE G4M1NG & Vlogs yeah dumbass
Stevie must be the brightest kid in class.
Mykel lol
And I thought it was bad when it took Nintendo until 1996 to catch up to where Commodore was in 1983.
Finally something about the CoCo! I was looking forward to that. My first computer was a CoCo1 like this one, but with the original chiclet keyboard. When I got it, it had a measly 4K RAM that I quickly got upgraded, so I could play some actual hi-res games on it. I hope you get to look at a CoCo3 at some stage too! :-D
Wow man all your old intros bring back so many memories and there so nostalgic
When I was in primary school (K through 4, 1980 through 1985) there were several of these in the various classrooms that mostly just collected dust. They were the version of the TRS-80 that had a built-in monochrome monitor and two floppy drives, as well as having a real full-stroke keyboard. The only thing I remember doing with them is some basic math exercise program. It would display a math problem, like 3 × 8 and you would type in the answer and press enter. When you finished it displayed your time of completion and the percentage of problems that you got correct. Some kids took that "game" wicked seriously, like David Chabot, who would get all tensed up like he was waiting for a starting pistol in a race, go as fast as he could (which was funny to watch), and then brag about his results.
My late friend the old man was a trs 80 guy.. he wrote books on his and did mail order biorhythms ... He even had it modded to use 8 floppy drives for storage and run a line printer.. amazing what they did back then.
6:13 nice gloves bro :D
When painting pretty much anything, you need to do some things to make it last.
0. (Common sense) READ THE CAN LABEL
1. Scuff the plastic, he did that with the Brillo Pad but fine grit (200 - 400 grit is best) sandpaper would work better.
2. Do a primer coat, this will help the paint stick even better, as well as protecting the plastic from any chemicals in the color coat.
3. Wet Sand the paint and primer, this will smooth out the paint as the rattle cans tend to leave a rough finish.
4. Start and end the spray when not on the part your painting, this will prevent splotches and bumps
5. If you use lacquer paint, use lacquer primer, as the chemicals in lacquer are extremely harmful to plastic and can melt through thin pieces, the lacquer primer will prevent this, but standard Enamel primer will just melt away as well.
6. Clear coat it, he touched on it in the video, but clear coat can really help protect the paint, as well as give the part a nice shiny texture, but be sure to wet sand it as well.
7. Follow the dry times
-Enamel takes about 24 hours to dry and about 5 days to cure properly
-Lacquer car paint drys in about 1 hour and takes 2 days to cure properly
These times will vary from different brands, climates, etc, these are just some rules of thumb
8. Paint in a well ventilated area/outside, as paint fumes are harmful, if you feel woozy or high, stop immediately and go to an area with fresh air.
9. When your done painting each coat, cover the part with a box to keep dust, grass, hairs, and bugs out of the paint. If one of those thing gets in the paint, sand it out and apply another coat of paint.
10. Start out with light coats and gradually do thicker coats, don’t start off thick, as it will cause the paint to both run and take longer to dry.
11. Be sure to put the part in a place where dogs, cats, children, spider monkeys, etc.
12. (Optional) invest in a cheap turntable, it will make painting larger parts much easer, as you don’t have to walk around the part.
I've been a COCO user for years, still am. I really enjoyed this video and looking forward to more of the COCO videos.
Completely removing the existing paint was unnecessary. The best base for a fresh coat is the scuffed paint before it. Turned out nice, though, even if it is too light. You had me cringing with the oven cleaner. I was waiting for a horror story. Acetone would have definitely liquified the polystyrene. Scotchbrite is your frien in this instance.
Scotchbrite is your "friend".
I said "oh no!" out loud when the oven cleaner came out too... I guess it worked out as intended though. It took some guts to try it, that's for sure.
Yeah. I would've tried it on the inside first to see if it does bad things to the plastic itself.
You know you are a nerd when you find this relaxing and interesting to watch! :D
I was a "serious" CoCo user when I was a kid. I had the CoCo2 and then the Coco3 128K. I spend a lot of time typing in code that I got from a magazine called "The Rainbow". They had lots of submissions, and I would key in all the Color BASIC and then RUN the program. And they even had some assembly language programs, too. It was fun.
The Coco3 128K had more power than the CoCo2, the plus the "true" uppercase/lowercase lettering helped when it came to word processing.
Had the nicest keyboard too! Built in AD converter almost true rs232 ports.
@@brianbabey No, it had what we call a bitbanger port where the processor sent the bits out one at a time.
There were aftermarket lowercase mods for the Coco 1 & 2 as well as the last model Coco 2s having an updated video chip called the T1 that had lowercase built in.
Awesome! Thanks! I have an old CoCo1 (16K RAM, upgraded to Extended BASIC) that I used for years in grade school and high school. You did a great job with the paint - I think you matched it perfectly.
that could have easily been one of my old Cocos. I sold all mine back in the late 90s and one was a Coco one just like that with the LED mod and memory mod. it even had that junk on it because I suck it in a crawl space for years when I upgraded to the Coco two then three... wouldn't that be something if that was my old trs... wish I had kept them... at least I kept my woz edition IIgs.
id love to see some photos of the llgs!
I have a Woz Edition IIgs as well.. And it still works after being on a shelf for a few years
itr would be cool if your coco ended up in his hands
So, assuming for the moment that it was yours, how serious of a user were you with it, and what work and/or recreation did you do with it, and during what year span? ⌨️🕹😎
What's a crawl space?
I love that you kept the upgrades someone loved this machine once awesome job!:D
So satisfying to watch you restore it! I watch all of your videos -- great work as always!
Love how you always take us on a journey. Thanks man
The Portal music was a perfect choice for showcasing the computer in the state you got it in. Reminded me a lot about the underground aperture section of Portal 2.
Syphist Prime Glad you like it. The theme actually came out on a whim, and I figured why not go a little GlaDOS on this. ;) I guess you already found it on my SoundCloud channel? :)
Portal music?!
Anders Enger Jensen OOOOO
YEEEET
Portal's a pretty cool game, and I love the music!
Loved this! Still have my original CoCo 2 and am looking forward to the videos on the CoCo lineup.
A days of hard work and chilling with 8bit video-perfect recovery..
I am not an electronics guy. I’m not into old computers or game systems.
But I’m absolutely fascinated by watching this guy!
There’s something mesmerizing about it. Lol
Can anyone recommend more channels like this? I can’t get enough of it.
Thanks 🙏
i dont even care what it is about, but when i see a new 8 bit guy video i instant click
Great restoration (as usual!). If you want to make the lettering on the back more accurate though, the typeface used is Eurostile/Microgramma Bold! :)
I had one of these! 32K later upgraded to 64K, serial number 000032
I really like your meticulous approach in these restoration videos!
For the labelling on the back consider using letraset and clear coat, I've had varied results but if you have a steady hand it can look factory fresh :)
When writing PRINT MEM, you only get the available memory. Since Extended Color BASIC takes up the top 32K, on 64K machines it will tell you there's only 32K available. Not sure why it says 24K on your machine though, but perhaps some memory is reserved for string space and program storage. Or maybe my own memory is failing me...
Anything over 32k isn't mapped by default as system ROM and reserved space (such as for Disk Extended Color BASIC ROM) limits you to 32k... out of the bottom 32k 8k is mapped for video memory, hence the lower amount. I THINK there's a way to tell it to use less video memory, but it's been so long I forget if that's the Coco or some other platform of the time.
Working in Color Basic or Extended Color Basic anything over 32k generally isn't available, though there are tricks to get around that -- like copying the ROM to the high RAM with assembly, then switching the RAM area live. Then you can access the ROM routines, rewrite them/trap them for different behaviors, and use any space not mapped to ROM for whatever you want.
It's much like the 48k memory limit on a Model 1/3, where the only way to get that remaining 16k was to map ROM out of memory. Unlike the model 4 or Coco 3 where you could also bank in more RAM... 128k in the 4's case and... I forget the 3's limit though I know 512k 3's weren't unusual. (sadly my Coco 3 is only 128k)
I actually know of at least two programs that actually copied the non-extended basic ROM to RAM, modified the code to allow something like 50k of RAM to BASIC, and then rebooted into that. Since Color basic and extended color basic are separate ROM, having the latter installed reduces your overall available address space.
POKE 25,6:POKE &H600,0:NEW should deallocate all graphics RAM (PCLEAR 0 would have been easier, but Microsoft/Tandy default BASIC doesn't let you get that low). You should get 31015 bytes free at that point.
Just started watching T8BG about a week ago. Love love love it!
Really enjoy these videos, glad I found this channel by accident. Keep up the great work The 8-Bit Guy!
lol when you said "the 4k computer" I thought WOAH THIS WAS AHEAD OF IT'S TIME 😂
jnjjules ikr
Its 4kb of ram
The 6809 CPU is criminally underrated. Such a good CPU... I kinda like leaving those aftermarket mods in, though, personally. They add to the character and the history of the machine.
6502 though
The Coco had a 6809e.
I agree about the 6809 just look at what the 6809 had for registers vs the 6502
Thanks for this. I had one just like it when I was a kid (Early '80s) and even installed that keyboard - it changed my life! I many many, many mods, ran a BBS on it, and learned to code. Man...this brought back memories.
I've rewatched this video many times, as it is just amazing! I love your channel. Keep it up!!!
CoCo FTW! I cut my teeth on a Timex Sinclair 1000, then my first 'real' computer was a Color Computer 2. I then saved up my nickles and dimes and bought a CoCo 3. I upgraded it, I was hardcore into BASIC. Friends who were into Assembly helped me with a small I/O program to load where all screen output was captured and sent to the com port... I wrote my own BBS system - in BASIC. Seriously - at age 12, I had an entire BBS system with users, messaging, a small dice adventure game, bulletin (forums), and ONE WHOLE CHATROOM! hahahaha
I could only aford 2 phone lines mowing lawns, and I only had 2 com ports to easily work with from BASIC - so in my limited head space... I was literally handling crosstraffic between two modems for chat if it existed using gosub.
Fortunately, at 300 baud - the incredibly slow and horribly written code didn't really matter enough to notice!
I still can't believe I actually got it to work to this day. Thousands of lines of BASIC and endless debugging. Those were the days man! :)
I tell you this much - it sparked the imagination of many a kid out there as to what was possible. It was incredible. Even made a few games that weren't half bad for a dweeb using the get/put BASIC methods. Really fun memories.
I'm looking forward to the video on those computers.
OptimusPryhme I wish I was as good as you, I can barely make a Commodore Vic 20 do anything
HAHA - I doubt I could do it now without going back through it for the year I pounded at it, and frineds helping me with the peek/poke assembly program that allowed constant comms. :)
say something here if ur gonna upload vids aboot it
love your restoration series
I programmed on this very computer model back in 1982 as a junior in high school in a class called Computer Math. Thanks for bring the memory back!
First computer we had as a kid was a CoCo 2 and loved it. Just snagged one on ebay 10 minutes ago and lurking around for Tandy content. Great video!!
The new color looks divine! I remember right away
RoboCop =)))
Thank you for the video!!!
It looks like the 8-bit Guy got my computer
Windows U What'd you use it for? He wants to know. :)
I was trying to make a joke bc my computer is horrible, and he said that computer was in bad shape
Windows U :)
Very professional job as always 8 bit guy!
Fantastic Job! The very first computer I ever owned was a Trash-80 CoCo 2. Really impressive.
14:58 "You know, it's obvious whoever owned it was a serious CoCo user"
yeah, that's what all the white powder was
$399.00 in 1981 had the same buying power as $1,116.24 in 2017
Man, these videos are so meditative and awesome!
There's just something about your videos. You really care about the computers and I love the fact you use cleaners in least strength to greatest to ensure that the items aren't damaged further. Kudos to you!
Oh man, I love the CoCo line of computers. my first computer as a kid was an old Coco3 512k that was given to me to play games with. I can't wait too see you cover more CoCo stuff! CoCo's get like zero love compared to the other early 8-bits.
@The 8-Bit Guy
All of those modifications are to be expected with TRS machines because the company was big on people modifying the computers all the way back to the original Model I in 1977, where you had to solder in jumper wires to get the machine to display lower-case letters.
Back in the 80s I had this same model computer, and other TRS-80s before and after. Radio Shack/Tandy wasn’t promoting mods, but there were a lot of small companies that did.
Another amazing restoration. Even if it's not factory anymore it is still a gorgeous piece of work regardless.
why are these restoration videos so soothing to watch
Back when Radio Shack made computers, it funny how they were the one of the earliest computer makers, and they could've been making tablets if they didn't go after being a lame shack and failed.
Nice it came out good
Gosh. I had one these in 1998. I found it at a Car Boot Sale. Love there restoration videos. You and RetroManCave
Love watching your videos man. Take old stuff and make it look new.
2:09
me: damn, 4K back in 1981...
2:15
me: 16K in 1981? *builds time machine*
A an avid CoCo user I am REALLY looking forward to your videos on CoCo stuff!!!!!!
Maybe you could contact me directly, since I'm not that familiar with the series, I could really use some guidance from somebody with experience.
The 8-Bit Guy I have loads of tips and will write you over Patreon!!!
Hobbyists have really pushed the limits of this seemingly limited little machine. But don't underestimate the power of the 6809!
Actually, that messaging system sucks, so I will just write a mail...
Nice job with this machine. Another machine back from the dead, keep up the great work.
This looks new now! I'm impressed
1980: 8-bit Chess, $40.
2019: 4K Space Chess Odessey, Free with In-App purchases.
Oh how far we've come.
What you seek lies hidden in the trash on the deepest level of Daggorath.
That was an amazing game, so far ahead of its time. Probably the first adventure game that i finished completely.
ILOVEPIE I knew I'd find at least one Ready Player One reference here!
great video! love these restorations videos that you create on these old computers from back in the day, don't know if anyone has commented yet, but here's a tip that takes the guess work out of the paint color you're looking for, take a piece of the item with the original paint still on it, take it to an auto body paint supply store and they will use a device that will scan the paint surface, and the device will give the paint chip code, they will mix the paint, and request to have it loaded into a spray can, and it will be just like spraying out of a spray can you buy at the hardware store, and if the device cannot find the correct paint code, then you can leaf through their paint code chip books, and you can match it up as close as possible,
That was another great restoration video, if I had to sum up your channel in two words it would be these-
Job satisfaction.
That's the main reason you presumably do these, and the reason they are so fun to watch-we come on the journey with you.
10:24 The Dragon 32 keyboard was actually the custom one on the TRS-80
15:00 I thought you meant cocaine because of all that white powdery stuff. :D
lol
Interested in CoCo stuff I've been collecting a lot of it recently
*_NO_*
MineChris 2008 I think you're the real cringe here, just look at your channel.
I don’t have any retro computers but the TRS-80 color just looks so... Awesome! I love the green basic screen it’s just nice looking. I am definitely getting one once I can!
You’re videos are relaxing and you have a unique voice I know nothing about these computers but I am passionate with other technology you’re awesome !