Thank you Tezza for a wonderfully entertaining and informative website. I always enjoy watching your videos and reading your articles.
Wallowing in nostalgia from time to time is good for the heart, I think!
Makes me wish I had kept my computers for the 80s and 90s.

Hi, just wanted to let you know I have 7 cassette tapes related to the System 80 website. three Radio Shack trs80 hand written titles ( yourself ...Babysitting Color Site and one blank ), Cookie Monster Letter Crunch, and three CLOAD (this is how I found your site) Blackjack/War, Solitare/Solopkr and Pirate/Gofish. Please let me know if you are interested. I also have a few trs80 black cartridge games and programs.

Hi, I'm the host of the vintage computer podcast Floppy Days, and co-host of the Atari 8-bit computer podcast ANTIC. I would appreciate if you would listen and provide feedback.

Thanks!

floppydays.libsyn.com
ataripodcast.libsyn.com

It's a cold and rainy afternoon here, so I dug out my System 80 which I haven't touched in many years, and tried some cassettes that a friend gave me.

Thanks to the info on your site I managed to get Dancing Demon running, which made the effort worthwhile.

And it is good to be able to read all the interesting background information that you've put together.

Do you have any links to people who have got Radio Shack (Tandy) Hard drives working on the System-80's

I have mine partially working and need some more Info.
Please

Yours Ray

Hi, Terry. I've been enjoying your site for several months now. Looking forward to more videos & informative pages.

I recently picked up an Epson HC-20 (HX-20) and have documented my experience with it in the diary on my homepage.

( http://www.chrismcovell com/diary.html )

Hi Tezza,
Nice site, enjoyed going through your collection.
We're probably of a similar age and my first computer was the Transam Triton, an 8080A based kit/project in Electronics Today international Nov 1978. It took me many weeks to build because I had to buy the various kit packs (PCB, logic chips, memory chips, etc) individually as and when I had the money
But I eventually completed it and it was the best thing I ever did. I learnt so much from that "beast". As I was an apprentice (telecommunications UK GPO) at the time it opened up many doors for me.
I don't actually collect old tech, but I do like to snap up an eBay bargain. Fix it up. Play with it for a bit. Then sell it on. Just got hold of a CBM3032 in fantastic condition and now working. I might keep this one
Graeme

Hi. Excellent web site. I bougt my first computer, a Dick Smith System 80, 2nd hand in '85.

I still have it in it's original box + all the Magazines and casettes. I never did upgrade to a floppy disk-I so much wanted to back then.

I am keen to show my son what computers were like way back then. I am too afraid to turn mine on.

So pleased to see the memory of the system 80 living on! Keep up the good work.
Roger

Hey

I have stumbled across some floppy disks containing windows 3.1 and some audio floppy disks ect, if anyone is wanting them please contact me on 0221933280 cheers

I like the web page but dut do anyone of
you connect those vintage computer to the
internet to telnet out to BBS's. I do
i have C64s and amiga's in my collection
look for Telnet bbs server, and TCP to Serial or tsp124.zip with these program's and a rs232 cable you can telnet out.
A C64 use CCGMS term program I use NComm 3.06 on my amiga if you need a hand email
me.

Stumbled on your site, via Yahoo search. I am currently resurrecting my Old Model IV/P which is back up fully functional. Mine is 48K that is I believe, since the only TRSDOS I have for it is the MODELA/III version Serial# 6. 1.03
I am hoping as soon as I get a computer able to do so, to create other DOS for it, as well as finding CP/M for it.
I plan to join the forum soon. By The Way, one of its original floppys quit. I found an old 360K IBM driuve and it works by puting it in as drive :0 and setting jumper to DS0. This I recall is how they set on original PC/XT days.
I have all kinds of old MSDOS even Tandy 1000 and 2000 dos on floppies also. Still held onto. I will join the forums and start posting. Have a friend whom may have an old PC I can use to do the transfers. Modern P4's are unable to let me put in drive B: not supported in bios. But I can find a old one somewhere to use that has 5inch drive(s).
I am hoping to build one with 2 5inch drives to allow copying from disk to disk easily and run a bunch of emulators to allow this.

I have a Commodore 116 & three single-board computers, three based on the Z80 CPU and one based on the 8085. I will be returning to your site rather frequently. Best regards,
Walter.

In 1979 I was teaching Computer Studies at a 6th form college. We used a teletype terminal linked to an ICL1900 mainframe at the University of Salford. I knew I had to have my own computer – but they all seemed so expensive. Then in late 1980 I saw an advert for the Video Genie, and in February 1981 I bought one from Microdigital - I'm looking at the faded invoice now - £322.00 for 16k(gulp). But what a lucky choice it turned out to be. I saw a flier for the NorthWest TRS-80 User Group inviting interested people to come along to monthly meetings. What a fantastic group of guys! From early beginnings it grew to over 200 active members and ran a monthly newsletter REM 80 and a software library.

My Genie became heavily modified - first with a simple sound amplifier, then the "snowshovel" to cure the streaks that appear when drawing intensive graphics (see 80 Microcomputing Feb1982). Then the 48K piggyback upgrade, a lowercase mod, expansion interface for some 35 track disk drives, a plug in hex keypad. Finally I changed to 4164 RAM chips and added a speedup mod (see The Custom TRS-80 book).

Now I've found your site I've dug it out again - still in the original box with all manuals and mountains of disk and cassette software.
Sadly the Video Board is sulking and I just see vertical stripes
So thank you for the site - now that I'm retired I'm really getting hooked on this "computer archaeology"!

I have An Antique IBM laptop top I was wanting to find out more about

Found your site over the weekend and I love it! I come from Hong Kong and I bought a Genie I in 1981. I also have the expansion box, two floppy disk drives and a double density card. Unfortunately and unwisely, I gave it to my friend in late 80s as I have nowhere to store the computer. I hope I could have it these days.

I am so lucky to know that someone is preserving the history. You site brings me a lot of good memories in the old days...

I can still remember I hack a bit of the NEWDOS80 to boot up with my name at the top using super utility. I also modify (disassemble and change) the Scripsit to support my Star Printer that is with different control codes as Epson MX-80.

Do you remember the trick to modify a single side floppy into double side? That's fun!!!

I hope that I can meet you someday. I am in Auckland.

What a great site! Very nice job - keep doing this.

Terry, I love your YouTube videos on vintage computers! Thanks so much for sharing that information.

I am just starting up an audio podcast on vintage computers called Floppy Days (now available on iTunes). Would you be willing to be an occasional guest? You've got great knowledge of the old machines and your collection is fabulous.

Thanks again

Randy Kindig
floppydays@gmail.com

I really enjoy your videos on the various computers you have. I have a few old computers, but nothing as complete as yours. I didn't start out with collecting in mind, but that seems how it's turning out. Keep up the great work and videos and perhaps at some point I'll be able to send some pics of my stuff.

Ed Allen

Just discovered your scans of the NZ Bits & Bytes mag. Another great source of memories on attitudes & tech level of the era. Love the NZ POV. Very similar to the UK view but with new adverts for well known machines. They also have info on other machines like the Poly and the System 80 which I only found out about last year.
Now I just need ANOTHER 36 hours a day to read them all.

I was going to ask if @textfiles had copies but decided to check archive.org first.
After several hours of browsing I came across the Jan 1981 issue of 80 Microcomputing magazine which announced the new Duel-n-Droids program. Recognizing the graphics as similar to Android Nim I put the name through Google and found out two things.
One - it was indeed written by the same author, Leo Christopherson.
Two - A downloadable copy existed ... in YOUR (System80) software archive.

My admiration and thanks for your site keeps growing. My only complaint is that there is never enough time :)

Very nice website and excellent videos! Highly educational and also very nostalgic - perfect in my eyes. :)

You're also well prepared and well spoken.

Keep up the good work!