TRS-80 Model 100 line
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The TRS-80 Model 100 was a portable computer introduced in 1983. It was made by Kyocera, and originally sold in Japan as the Kyotronic 85, although it was at first a slow seller. The rights to the machine were purchased by Tandy Corporation, and the computer was sold at Radio Shack in the United States, becoming one of the company's most popular models. It was also sold as the Olivetti M-10 and the NEC PC-8201.
It was among the first-ever notebook computers. More than 6,000,000 units were sold worldwide. The Model 100 will run for days on a set of four alkaline AA batteries, which makes it lightweight and portable.
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[edit] Specifications
- Processor: Eight-bit Intel 80C85, CMOS, 2.4 MHz
- Memory: 32K read-only memory, 8, 16, 24, or 32 KB static random-access memory. Machines with less than 32K could be expanded in 8 KB increments of plug-in static RAM modules.
- Display: Eight lines, forty characters LCD with 240 by 64 pixel addressable graphics. The screen was not back-lit.
- Peripherals: The basic package included: Built-in 300 Baud modem (North American versions), parallel printer port, serial communication port (shared by internal modem), bar-code reader input, cassette audio tape, real-time clock.
- Dimensions: 300 mm by 215 mm by 50 mm, mass about 1.4 kg with batteries
Power supply: Four penlight (AA) cells, or external power adapter 6V (>180 mA, tip negative configuration)
A serial disk drive capable of storing 90 KB of data on a 3.5 inch diskette was also available.
A disk-video interface expansion box was available in 1984, with 5 1/4 inch disk drives and a CRT video adapter. This allowed the 100 to display 40 or 80 column video on an external television set or video monitor.
[edit] ROM firmware
When first switched on, the Model 100 displays a menu of files and the date and time. The time needed to boot this ROM firmware based system is instantaneous compared to disk-based computers; the machine is ready to use immediately on power-up. Cursor keys are used to select one of the internal application programs or a data file to be worked upon.
The 32 kilobyte read-only memory of the Model 100 contains a version of the Microsoft BASIC 80 programming language. This is similar to other Microsoft BASICS of the time with good support for the hardware features of the machine. This BASIC has pixel addressing of the display, support for the internal modem and serial port, monophonic sound, access to tape files, and support for the real-time clock and the bar code reader. Unlike other Microsoft BASIC interpreters of the time, the default for floating point numbers is double-precision.
The ROM also contains a terminal program, TELCOM; an address/phone book organizer, ADDRSS; a to-do list organizer, SCHEDL; and a simple text editor, TEXT. The TELCOM program allows automation of a login sequence to a time sharing system under control of the BASIC interpreter.
Data files are stored in the internal battery-backed RAM. Files can also be loaded and stored from/to an audio cassette tape recorder, or optionally loaded and saved on an external diskette drive.
Optional ROMs can be installed in the Model 100 providing a range of customized application software.
[edit] Applications of the Model 100
The portability and simplicity of the Model 100 made it attractive to journalists, who could type about 11 pages of text and then transmit it using the built-in modem and TELCOM program for electronic editing and production. Writers continue to use the Model 100 for first drafts. Other professionals use it to take notes when away from the office. The computer is silent when it operates. The keyboard is superior to most others currently on the market. It runs for 20 hours on 4 readily available and easily replaceable AA batteries. Data is protected by a built-in rechargeable battery. There is no boot up routine, the Model 100 operates as soon as you flip the on switch and select the an application. There are several simple programs available on the internet for transferring the Model 100 files to a modern personal computer.
The Model 100 was also used in industrial applications as a programming terminal for configuration of control systems and instruments.
Third-party peripherals for the Model 100 extended its battery life and file storage capacity. Software was available to extend the display capabilities and to provide more advanced word-processing or calculation software than the supplied programs. Hobbyists designed games and other applications, including utilities.
With few exceptions, no modern portable computer has the appearance, or some would argue utility, of the Model 100 line. Modern portable computers (laptops) are larger, heavier, and have much shorter battery life than the Model 100. The closest modern successors include the Alphasmart Dana and the Quickpad Pro. These similar modern "slabtop" units typically are targeted at the education market, although they are often used by writers and mobile professionals.
Although much larger, the Model 100 actually bears a close resemblance to modern PDA's. Its TEXT program is similar to the Memo program found on PalmOne products. ADDRSS and SCHEDL are essentially simplified versions of Contacts, Tasks and Calendar. The Model 100 has the additional advantage of a full size keyboard, a built-in modem and BASIC programming language. By including BASIC, the Model 100's designers made it possible for users to design additional applications.
Because of its adaptability and features as well as its current relative affordability, the Model 100 and its progeny (Model 102/200/600) enjoy a near cult status among its supporters. Club 100 and Bitchin100 are the center of the Model 100 universe. Model 100 enthusiasts continue to explore this early computer, trading information, participating in contests and designing new applications with existing and newly designed hardware and software.
[edit] Peers and Successors
Kyocera sold essentially the same notebook computer as it manufactured for Radio Shack. Other similar machines were sold by NEC (the PC-8201 with expanded memory) and Olivetti MC 10.
The Model 102 was a successor to the Model 100 but thinner. All Model 102 systems had at least 24 KB RAM. The Model 200 was introduced in 1985 as the successor to the 102. The Model 200 had 24 KB RAM expandable to 72 KB, a flip-up 16 line by 40 column display, and a spreadsheet (Multiplan) included. The Model 200 also included DTMF tone-dialling for the internal modem.
The EPSON HX-20 used a much smaller LCD display and had an internal cassette tape drive for program and file storage.
Systems of about the same size and form-factor as the Model 100 were sold by companies such as Teleram and Grid Systems. These were aimed at journalists.
The Cambridge Z88 was developed by Sir Clive Sinclair and was similar in form and functionality to the Model 100 but has greater expansion capacity.
See the article on Data General for a description of the DG-One, a much more powerful (but more costly) MS-DOS portable computer with disk drives and a full-sized LCD screen. Radio Shack introduced the LT1400 which was also a diskette-based MS-DOS system.
The AlphaSmart Dana appears to be the closest thing to a TRS-80 Model 100 that is currently manufactured (as of 2005).
[edit] Trivia
The Model 100 firmware was the last Microsoft product that Bill Gates developed personally, with Jay Suzuki. [1] According to Bill Gates, "part of [his] nostalgia about this machine is this was the last machine where [he] wrote a very high percentage of the code in the product".[1]
Invisible files (Easter eggs) in the system RAM named "Hayashi" and "Suzuki" commemorate the names of two of the designers, Junji Hayashi and Jay Suzuki. Another invisible deleted file named "RickY" referred to Rick Yamashita. [2]
Like other home computers of the era, a vast collection of PEEKs and POKEs were collected by avid hobbyists.
The Model 100 keyboard had 56 keys, eight programmable function keys, and four dedicated command keys, but neither a backslash "\" nor a pipe "|" key.
The Model 100 ROM has a Y2K bug; the century displayed on the main menu was hard-coded as "19XX". Work-arounds exist for this problem.
[edit] References
- TRS-80 Model 100 Owner's Manual, (1983) Tandy Corporation, Fort Worth Texas
- BYTE Magazine April 1984, advertisement for Disk-Video Interface
- BYTE Magazine May 1985, advertisement for Model 200
- Rich Malloy, "Little Big Computer: The TRS 80 Model 100 Portable Computer", BYTE magazine, May 1983 pg. 14
- Stan Wszola, "NEC PC 8201 Portable Computer", BYTE magazine June 1983, pg. 282
- Since 1983, the main support for the Model 100, 102 and 200 is Club 100 at www.Club100.org.
