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Tandy 1000-series FAQ
Version 2.52
------------
October 25, 2005
----------------
Contents
========
I. Introduction
---------------
I.A. Sources and Credits
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I.B. What is comp.sys.tandy?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I.C. Where is comp.sys.tandy archived?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I.D. What is an FAQ?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I.E. Where can I get the latest version of this FAQ?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I.F. How can I contribute to the FAQ?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I.G. Help me with my 1000! [no model given] ... And how to tell 1000's apart.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
II. Hardware Questions
----------------------
II.A. Memory
~~~~~~~~~~~~
II.A.1. How do I add additional DOS memory to my system?
II.A.2. I added 128k of RAM to my 1000TL, but DOS only gave me 32k more.
What happened to the other 96k?
II.A.3. When I boot, it tells me I have 640k of RAM, but Chkdsk says I
only have 576k. What gives?
II.A.4. How do I add additional expanded memory to my system?
II.A.5. How do I add additional extended memory to my system?
II.B. Video
~~~~~~~~~~~
II.B.1. Can I install VGA on my system?
II.B.2. I installed VGA, but most programs still think I have CGA. How
to I get VGA to work right?
II.B.3. Can I emulate EGA with Tandy video?
II.B.4. What is the difference between a CM5 and a CM11 (or a CM2 or
...)?
II.B.5. What is this weird video Tandy has?
II.B.6. Can I emulate Tandy video with EGA or VGA?
II.C. Floppy Disks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
II.C.1. Can I upgrade the BIOS to add high-density floppy drives?
II.C.2. Can I take a floppy drive out of <insert machine here> and use
it in my 1000?
II.C.3. Can I take a floppy drive out of my old 1000 and use it in my
new 100MHz Pentium?
II.C.4. There's a port on the back for an external floppy drive. Where
do I get those?
II.C.5. Where do I get a replacement floppy drive?
II.C.6. My 720k floppy drive formats disks at 360k. What can I do?
II.D. Hard Disks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
II.D.1. How can I install a hard drive?
II.D.2. I have a 1000TL/2 with Smart Drive connector on the motherboard.
How can I install a drive larger than 40 Meg?
II.D.3. Can I chain two Smart Drives together?
II.E. Keyboards
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
II.E.1. My keyboard died. Where can I get a new one?
II.E.2. Can I replace my old 90-key Tandy keyboard with a 101-key
keyboard?
II.E.3. I can get a standard XT keyboard real cheap. Can I buy/make an
adapter to attach it to my old 1000?
II.E.4. How can I make my old keyboard more compatible?
II.E.5. What are the scan codes for the old Tandy keyboard?
II.F. Processors, Coprocessors and Motherboards
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
II.F.1. How can I increase the speed of the main processor?
II.F.2. Can I install a math coprocessor?
II.F.3. Can I replace the motherboard?
II.F.4. I want to slow my computer down so an old game will run. Where
is the turbo switch?
II.G. Serial Ports, Modems, and Mice
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
II.G.1. Can I use a fast modem with my 1000?
II.G.2. Windows doesn't recognize the mouse on my RLX. What's wrong?
II.G.3. My system doesn't have a serial port. Can I add one?
II.G.4. Can I add another serial port?
II.G.5. What kind of mouse is this, and where do I get a driver for it?
II.H. Parallel Ports and Printers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
II.H.1. My printer keeps double-spacing. How do I make it stop?
II.H.2. What kinds of printers can I use with a 1000?
II.H.3. What is the pinout for the card-edge printer connector?
II.H.4. Can I connect my old Tandy printer to my new computer?
II.H.5. Can I use a parallel-port peripheral (other than a printer) with
my card-edge printer port?
II.I. Expansion Slots
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
II.I.1. How can I get standard expansion slots on a 1000HX or EX?
II.I.2. How can I add additional expansion slots?
II.I.3. What kinds of cards will work in the slots on a 1000?
II.I.4. What is the pinout for the Plus expansion connector in the
1000HX and EX?
II.J. Game Ports, Joysticks, and Sound
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
II.J.1. Can I use a standard joystick?
II.J.2. Can I emulate SoundBlaster with the Tandy DAC?
II.J.3. Can I install a Tandy DAC or 3-voice chip in a normal
PC?
II.J.4. What is the pinout for the Tandy joystick?
II.K. Miscellaneous
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
II.K.1. Radio Shack no longer sells parts for my Tandy. Where can I get
them?
II.K.2. When I turn my computer on, it just beeps a lot and refuses to
boot. Why does it do that?
II.K.3. Where can I get diagnostic software for the 1000's?
II.K.4. What is this connector marked "light pen"?
II.K.5. I just got a 1000 at a yard sale, and it didn't come with disks
or manuals or anything. Where can I get some?
II.K.6. What are the jumper/switch settings for my 1000 or my Tandy
adapter card?
II.K.7. I just got a 1000 secondhand, and it has some expansion card in
it that I can't identify. How do I find out about it?
II.K.8. When I turn the system on, it just displays the memory size and
sits there. What's happening?
III. Software Questions
-----------------------
III.A. DOS
~~~~~~~~~~
III.A.1. My system has DOS in ROM. How do I upgrade the DOS version?
III.A.2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of upgrading DOS?
III.A.3. How can I change CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT?
III.A.4. I screwed up my CONFIG.SYS on my hard drive, and now I can't
boot the system to fix it - it ignores bootable diskettes!
III.B. DeskMate
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
III.B.1. My system has DeskMate in ROM. How do I upgrade?
III.B.2. I recently upgraded from my old 1000, and I really miss
DeskMate! How can I get it back?
III.B.3. I upgraded my DOS version, and now DeskMate is gone. How do I
get it back?
III.B.4. DeskMate Sound and Music won't work when the printer is
connected but not turned on. What gives?
III.B.5. How can I write my own programs for DeskMate?
III.B.6. I upgraded my video to VGA, and now DeskMate refuses to run.
What do I do?
III.B.7. Is there a program for DeskMate that does (x)?
III.B.8. Where can I get a DeskMate driver for printer (x)?
III.B.9. I just got a 1000. What is this @#&$ "DeskMate" thing it boots
into, and how do I get rid of it and run DOS?
III.B.10. I've been using DeskMate on my trusty 1000 for many years, but
now it's time to upgrade. How do I transfer the data to Windows?
III.B.11. DeskMate is asking me for a password, and I don't know it. How
do I get in?
III.C. Windows
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
III.C.1. Can I run Windows on my 1000?
III.C.2. Can I run DeskMate under Windows?
III.C.3. Where can I find a Windows driver for my Tandy printer?
III.D. Unix and Other Operating Systems
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
III.D.1. Can I run Unix on my 1000?
III.D.2. What other operating systems are available?
III.E. ROM BIOS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
III.E.1. What is the key combination to bring up the CMOS setup on a
1000?
III.E.2. How do I upgrade the ROM BIOS on a 1000?
III.F. System Setup Programs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
III.F.1. I just got an old 1000 secondhand, with no disks or anything.
Where can I get the system setup program for it?
III.F.2. What are the options to the system setup command?
III.F.3 Why does my 1000 RLX say I have an invalid configuration?
III.G. Applications
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
III.G.1. Some compilers do not detect my hardware. Is there an
explanation for this?
III.G.2. What C compilers will work on my Tandy 1000?
III.G.3. Where can I find a program for the Tandy 1000 that does (x)?
III.G.4. What games are there for the 1000's?
III.G.5. How can I access the Internet with my 1000?
III.H. Basic
~~~~~~~~~~~~
III.H.1. What are the Basic patches?
III.H.2. How do I get information on Basic programming?
III.H.3. What is the "Child of Basic" problem?
IV. Miscellaneous Information
-----------------------------
IV.A. How do I contact Tandy?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IV.B. FTP sites, Web pages, BBS's, etc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IV.B.1. What FTP sites are there for the 1000's?
IV.B.2. What WWW sites are there for the 1000's?
IV.B.3. What BBS's are there for the 1000's?
IV.B.4. What online services had 1000-related areas?
IV.C. What magazines and newsletters are there for the 1000's?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IV.D. What are some good books about the 1000's?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IV.E. What other newsgroups are of interest to 1000 owners?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IV.F. Where can I get other FAQ's?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IV.G. Where can I get upgrade/replacement parts for my 1000?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IV.H. Why is this @#$%!! machine so incompatible?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IV.I. I'm thinking of selling my old 1000, what is it worth?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IV.J. What happened to Tandy?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I. Introduction
===============
I.A. Sources and Credits
------------------------
The maintainer of this FAQ is Jeff Hayes <tvdog_site@sbcglobal.net> [1] . My
sources include the Delphi Tandy forum, the CompuServe TRS-80 Professional
forum, the America Online DeskMate and Tandy forums, the comp.sys.tandy
newsgroup (and the many knowledgeable people there), some of the books listed in
section IV.D, and a few back issues of PCM magazine. Antony D. Gordon was the
maintainer for a while, but he's no longer involved with the FAQ. Other
contributors' names appear next to their contributions, but I'm afraid I left
some people out.
None of this information is guaranteed to be accurate or complete. If the
information in this FAQ causes you to reformat your hard drive, blow out your
power supply, replace all occurrences of "the" in your dissertation with random
expletives, or remember how you were abused as a child and must therefore murder
your parents, I am not responsible. Suing me is not a wise proposition anyway
since I am poor as a pauper.
I.B. What is comp.sys.tandy?
----------------------------
comp.sys.tandy is a Usenet newsgroup for discussion of any and all Tandy
computers, both hardware and software. To get access to the group, you will
generally need to have an account at an Internet site that carries the group and
some newsreading software. If your site does not carry the group, ask your
system administrator or news administrator about adding it.
It is also possible to access Usenet via WWW. Go to this site:
http://groups.google.com/
It is appropriate to post any of the following to comp.sys.tandy:
system-specific questions about your 1000 or any other Tandy model; discussions
of solutions and workarounds you have found for your Tandy-specific problems;
announcements of Tandy-specific hardware or software you have privately for
sale, or requests to purchase the same; or basically anything else that is
Tandy-specific.
It is not appropriate to post any of the following to comp.sys.tandy: general
questions about DOS, Windows, or an application that are not Tandy-specific;
general questions about programming PC-compatible computers or using your
compiler; and general questions about IBM PC hardware. There are other
newsgroups for discussion of those things (and plenty of books on them). If you
have a problem and are not sure whether it is due to a compatibility problem
with your machine, you can ask in comp.sys.tandy; if your problem is a general
one, you will probably be referred elsewhere.
Bear in mind that some TRS-80 owners flat don't like PC's. They will often say
that something can't be done when it can, just because they hate the 1000's.
They will insult the PC-compatible Tandy's for no reason (comp.sys.tandy is
probably the only group where participants actively discourage people from using
the hardware the group is devoted to). It may be better to go to the Yahoo group
to ask your question:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Tandy1000/
I.C. Where is comp.sys.tandy archived?
--------------------------------------
Google has messages going back to 1987:
http://groups.google.com/
I.D. What is an FAQ?
--------------------
An FAQ (short for "frequently asked questions") is a compilation of information
frequently asked for and given in a newsgroup. It also usually states the
newsgroup's purpose and the etiquette to be followed when posting. Its purpose
is to improve the signal-to-noise ratio in the group by reducing repetitive
threads and eliminating flame wars caused by breaches of etiquette. The FAQ is
usually in question-and-answer format.
comp.sys.tandy does not have a bandwidth problem, but an FAQ for the 1000's is
still useful, just to keep all this information in one place.
I.E. Where can I get the latest version of this FAQ?
----------------------------------------------------
You've got it. There are no plans to make a newer one.
I.F. How can I contribute to the FAQ?
-------------------------------------
Send your corrections and additions to <tvdog_site@sbcglobal.net> [1] . Where
possible, refer to the section number that contains the mistake or omission.
Note, however, that there might not be any more updates except to correct
something that is glaringly wrong.
I.G. Help me with my 1000! [no model given] ... And how to tell 1000's apart.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
You won't get much (useful) help if you post a question in comp.sys.tandy
saying, "Such-and-such won't work on my Tandy 1000, what do I do?" The
1000-series range from the original 1000, which came standard with a 4.77MHz
8088, PCjr-compatible graphics, and 128k RAM, to the 1000RSX, which came
standard with a 25MHz 80386SX, SVGA graphics, and can be upgraded to 9 megabytes
of RAM (1 meg standard). You have to tell us which model 1000 it is. The choices
are (in more-or-less chronological order): original 1000 (no letters), 1000A,
1000HD, 1000EX, 1000SX, 1000AX (rare, mostly the same as the SX), 1000HX,
1000TX, 1000SL, 1000PC (rare, mostly the same as the SL), 1000TL, 1000SL/2,
1000TL/2, 1000TL/3, 1000RL, 1000RL-HD, 1000RLX, 1000RLX-HD, 1000RLX-B,
1000RLX-HD-B, 1000RSX, and 1000RSX-HD. In the following, I often refer to "TX
and earlier" and "SL and later." The later ones are much more compatible with
the IBM PC - the earlier ones are more compatible with the IBM PCjr (see section
IV.H.). I will also abbreviate the names - "TL" means 1000TL; "TL/2" means
1000TL/2; and "TL's" means 1000TL, 1000TL/2, and/or 1000TL/3.
II. Hardware Questions
======================
II.A. Memory
------------
II.A.1. How do I add additional DOS memory to my system?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the 1000 and 1000A, you need to add an expansion card. This card will contain
both additional RAM and a DMA chip, improving the speed and compatibility as
well as the memory size. Tandy used to sell such a card, as did many other
companies.
The EX and HX will also need an expansion card, one made for their slots. One or
more additional PLUS-type slots may also come with the memory expansion. Tandy
used to sell a memory card for these systems too.
The other systems will only need standard DRAMs. It is OK to use faster chips
than required (i.e., 100ns instead of 120ns).
The SX will take 8 256k x 1 150ns DRAM chips. The chips go behind the other RAM
chips near the front of the machine. You also need to remove the jumper labelled
E1-E2.
The TX uses 4 64k x 4 120ns DRAM chips. The chips go in the sockets
labelled U54-57. Remove the jumper labelled E9-E10.
The TL uses 4 64k x 4 120ns DRAMs. The chips go in the sockets labelled
U36-39. There is no jumper to move.
The TL/2 uses 4 64k x 4 120ns DRAMs. The chips go in the sockets next to
the other RAM chips, in front of the expansion slots. There is no jumper.
The TL/3 uses 4 64k x 4 100ns DRAMs. The chips go in the sockets labelled
U4-7. There is no jumper.
The SL uses 8 64k x 4 120ns DRAMs. They go in the sockets next to the
other chips. There is no jumper.
The SL/2 uses 4 64k x 4 120ns DRAMs. They go next to the other chips.
There is no jumper.
The RL and RL-HD use 2 256k x 4 100ns DRAMs. They go in the sockets
labelled U19 and U23. There is no jumper.
The RLX uses 4 256k x 4 100ns ZIP DRAMs. This not a common type of chip.
They go in the sockets labelled U23-26. There is no jumper.
The RLX-B uses 4 256k x 4 100ns ZIP DRAMs. They go in the sockets labelled
U2, U4, U5, and U9. There is no jumper.
The RLX-HD, RLX-HD-B and RSX's came from the factory fully populated with
conventional RAM.
ZIP DRAMs for the RLX are hard to find. You are looking for Samsung chip
#KM44C256AZ-8. For regular DRAM chips, see section IV.G.
II.A.2. I added 128k of RAM to my 1000TL, but DOS only gave me 32k more. What happened to the other 96k?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
II.A.3. When I boot, it tells me I have 640k of RAM, but Chkdsk says I only have 576k. What gives?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All of the 1000-series except for the 1000RLX's and RSX's have special video
controller circuitry that allocates some of the video memory for DOS if there is
less than 640k of conventional RAM installed. The video controller has 128k or
256k (depending on the model), which is more than it really needs under most
circumstances, since CGA programs only use 16k, and even most programs that use
the special Tandy video modes only use 32k (Hercules mono graphics also requires
32k). About the most that is ever used is the 64k that the special 640x200x16
video mode on the 1000SL's, TL's, and RL's requires. (All video RAM could
conceivably be used by some programs for animation.)
The original 1000 was a clone of the IBM PCjr (see section IV.H.). The PCjr came
with 128k RAM that was both video RAM and system RAM - whence the 128k attached
to the video controller. Among other things, this enabled IBM to leave out the
DMA controller the IBM PC had, since the RAM was continually being refreshed by
the video controller. The original 1000, 1000A, 1000EX, and 1000HX have no DMA
controllers on the motherboard either (one is included with the memory expansion
card). Tandy added a DMA controller to later systems, but the video stayed the
same, at least at the BIOS and memory-mapping level, up till VGA was added with
the RLX. On Tandy's with PCjr-compatible video, that 128k or 256k is still both
video and system RAM - and since not all of it is normally needed for video,
part of it is normally "stolen" by DOS, up to a limit of 640k system RAM.
When the BIOS displays the system memory at bootup, it's telling a little white
lie, since it includes the video memory in the total. There is, after all, no
way to know who owns what memory, DOS or the video, so it is all lumped
together. You can change the amount that the video keeps for itself with the /A
option on your system setup program, if you have it (see section III.F.2.).
(There is also a shareware program called Adjmem that can change the amount at
runtime.)
When you install additional conventional memory in your system, whatever video
memory was being "stolen" by DOS goes back to the video, if DOS has 640k. The
amount of DOS RAM you gain by the upgrade thus may not be equal to the amount of
RAM you install, since whatever was stolen before is lost. There is no way to
make the Tandy BIOS allocate more than 640k for DOS, and no way to do it by
programming either.
If you are still using the built-in video, the memory upgrade is definitely
worthwhile since every byte of conventional RAM counts. If you upgrade the
video, though, all of the motherboard video RAM will go to DOS to make up
whatever is missing from 640k. VGA (and EGA) cards have their own memory, so
they don't need what's on the motherboard. With VGA, in a sense it is useless to
expand your total system RAM beyond 640k on these systems; as far as I know,
there is no program available that will make any use of the motherboard video
RAM on a 1000TL with 768k and VGA (my program Vswitch will allow you to use both
VGA and the motherboard video).
One thing to note, however: some programs (such as Windows 2.11) and expansion
cards (such as Acculogic and Intel EMS cards) may not work properly without the
extra 128k memory upgrade, even if VGA is installed. There are two causes for
this: First, the RAM that is "stolen" by DOS from the video is actually accessed
through the video controller, making it slower than the rest of system RAM;
time-critical things like sound programs are affected by that. Second, an LIM
4.0 EMS driver may "see" that there is, say, 576k system RAM, and erroneously
conclude that the memory between 576k and 640k is available to be mapped as EMS,
when in fact part of it is double-mapped video memory (the double-mapping is
another PCjr fossil). Hence, it is a good idea in any case to add as much
motherboard memory as your system will take - which on most 1000's is quite
cheap to do these days.
II.A.4. How do I add additional expanded memory to my system?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On older 1000's (i.e., pre-SL) with standard slots, four EMS cards will work:
the Micro Mainframe 5150T, the Intel Matched Memory Classic, the Intel Above
Board ISA, and the InvisiSOFT Invisible EMS board. The latter three are hardware
LIM 4 and can be used for upper memory blocks with DOS 5 or 6 (possibly
requiring Qram or equivalent); the 5150T does not supply upper memory blocks.
Upper memory blocks may not be available on systems with DOS in ROM, even if DOS
is upgraded, because the memory segment (E0000h) that would be used as an upper
memory block by the EMS card is already occupied by the ROM drive (whether the
ROM drive is accessed or not).
A few multifunction cards were made for the original 1000, A, and HD that had
expanded RAM as an option. The PBJ XRAM card was another EMS card that would
work in those systems.
The EX and HX will need a special EMS card because of their nonstandard slots.
(With those systems, conventional RAM and EMS may be added on the same card.)
Lloyd W. Kuhn writes:
Some years ago I put an Intel expanded memory board in my TL, but I had a
heck of a hard time getting the Intel software to configure the board to the
computer. I called Intel and although they they tried, they couldn't help
me. Because the TL has an 80286 processor, the software tried to make the
computer out as an AT clone. But when the software sensed the 8 bit
expansion slots, it was sure the computer was an XT clone. Therefore I
couldn't configure it as an AT nor as an XT. However out of frustration, I
tried configuring the TL as an IBM model 30. That worked and the board has
been working ever since.
The SL's, TL's, RL's, and RLX's can use any 8-bit expanded memory card that is
10" or less in length. The RSX's do not need expanded memory; use extended.
II.A.5. How do I add additional extended memory to my system?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The RLX's can have 384k of extended RAM, installed at the same time as you
upgrade the conventional RAM (see section II.A.1.). The RLX-HD and RLX-HD-B came
fully populated with 1M system RAM, though.
You add RAM to the RSX by putting either 2 70ns 1Mx9 SIMMs or 2 60ns 4Mx9 SIMMs
in the empty sockets. See section IV.G. for sources. You have to run Setuprsx
after installing to make the system recognize the new memory.
If HIMEM.SYS does not recognize your extended memory, use the /M:2 option.
None of the other 1000's can have extended RAM.
II.B. Video
-----------
II.B.1. Can I install VGA on my system?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the original 1000, 1000A, and 1000HD, no. On those systems, the BIOS will not
scan for a video ROM or disable the onboard video. Matthew Electronics once
manufactured a special EGA card for the original 1000, A, and HD, but it is no
longer available. That said, it is generally possible to get a standard EGA card
to work to some degree if you make a program for AUTOEXEC.BAT to enable it; see
file
ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/documents/egat1k.txt
One other problem you are likely to have is that an EGA card will want to use
IRQ 2 for vertical retrace, which conflicts with the hard drive; you need to
have a hard drive controller that does not use an IRQ (or do without a hard
drive). Upgrading the video on the original 1000, A, or HD is definitely a
"hacker upgrade."
The EX and HX can have VGA but will need a special card because of their
nonstandard expansion slots. The SX and TX need to have DIP switch 1 turned off.
The SL's, TL's and RL's won't require any hardware changes; just plug in the
card.
The RLX's and RSX's came standard with VGA. Both can accept upgrade video
cards as well.
All 1000's that don't come standard with VGA will require that a special program
be placed in AUTOEXEC.BAT to make sure the new video is recognized (see section
II.B.2.).
II.B.2. I installed VGA, but most programs still think I have CGA. How do I get VGA to work right?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Tandy BIOS fails to set the Video Configuration Code byte at 0040:008A. The
default value of this byte is 3Fh. The correct values are: 0Bh, for a single VGA
color card; 0Ch, for a dual-monitor system with VGA color and MDA mono; 0Dh, for
a single VGA mono board; and 0Eh, for a dual-monitor system with mono VGA and
MDA. The solution is to put a short program in your Autoexec.bat file that will
set this byte to the correct value. Without the fix, the VGA card will function,
but some programs will misidentify it as EGA or CGA. There are various programs
around to do this. Radio Shack included one with their version of the Paradise
card, and if you got your VGA card from a place that specializes in 1000's, they
would have given you one.
There are free programs available to fix these problems. Get vgafix.zip [2] ,
for example. (See section IV.B.1. for a site).
II.B.3. Can I emulate EGA with Tandy video?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No. Although the SL's, TL's and RL's have a 640x200x16 video mode that is
similar in resolution to EGA, the register programming and memory mapping are
different. The same applies vis-a-vis the 320x200x16 video mode that all 1000's
(except the RLX's and RSX's) have.
II.B.4. What is the difference between a CM5 and a CM11 (or a CM2 or ...)?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The CM5 and CM11 are both CGA monitors. The difference is the resolution. The
CM11 is much clearer due to its smaller dot pitch (and was about half again as
expensive as the CM5). Some say the CM5 can't display 640x200 graphics. That is
a function of the controller, though, not the monitor. The CM5 will work in all
Tandy graphics modes. Whether it looks good is another story. The CM2 and CM10
are older versions of the CM11. The CM4 is an older version of the CM5.
The CM1 is another animal entirely. It was a color monitor made for use with the
Tandy 2000 and had a resolution of 640x400. Tandy made at least three video
cards that would permit the CM1 to be used with an IBM PC. With the Deluxe Text
Display Adapter, catalog number 25-3046, the CM1 displays only text. With the
Deluxe Graphics Display Adapter, catalog number 25-3047, the CM1 can display
CGA-compatible 640x200 graphics, or 640x400 graphics with special software. With
the Enhanced Graphics Adapter, catalog number 25-4037, the CM1 displays 640x350
EGA graphics. The VM1, a monochrome monitor for the 2000, works with the same
cards.
The CM8 is only for use with the Color Computer; there is no adapter card
for an IBM PC.
The VM2 and VM4 are monochrome composite monitors made to plug into the
composite CGA port on the original 1000, HD, A, HX, EX, SX, and TX.
The VM3 and VM5 are monochrome TTL (MDA/Hercules) monitors. They can
be used with the 1000SL's, TL's, and RL's.
The EGM1 is an EGA monitor. VGM* are VGA or SVGA monitors.
You do not have to use a Tandy monitor; any CGA monitor will work. If you have
problems centering the screen with a non-Tandy CGA monitor, try "MODE 200" at
the DOS prompt (Tandy DOS only). One non-standard thing that Tandy did was to
use 225 scanlines for text modes in CGA, giving somewhat clearer text. IBM
standard is 200 scanlines.
II.B.5. What is this weird video Tandy has?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The original 1000 was a clone of the IBM PCjr (see section IV.H.). The PCjr
video is BIOS- and memory-mapping compatible with CGA, though not
register-compatible. It also has 160x200x16, 320x200x16, and 640x200x4 video
modes that CGA does not have. Most programs using CGA video modes use the BIOS
to interface with the video adapter (except for setting pixels) and will work.
Pre-SL systems have this type of video, also known at Tandy Video I, TGA, TCGA,
or ECGA. Digital or composite CGA monitors can be used (the composite output can
also be connected to the RCA jack on a TV set). Some of the books in section
IV.D. contain programming information on Tandy 1000/PCjr video.
The video on the SL's, TL's, and RL's is known as Tandy Video II or ETGA. The
video adapter takes either a digital CGA or Mono TTL monitor; pressing
<alt>-<control>-<shift>-V reboots the system and switches monitor types, saving
the type in EEPROM. When a Mono TTL monitor is used, the video is compatible
with the Hercules adapter. When a CGA monitor is used, the video is
register-compatible with CGA and BIOS- and memory-mapping compatible with PCjr.
Any program using CGA will work, and most (but not all) programs using PCjr
video will work. This adapter also has the 160x200x16, 320x200x16, and 640x200x4
modes of Tandy Video I, as well as a 640x200x16 mode (the BIOS does not support
this mode - you need to program controller registers to get it or use a TSR such
as grafix.zip (see section IV.B.1. for a site)). The technical reference manual
for your system has information on ETGA (see section IV.D.).
The RLX's have basic (256k) VGA built in; it is not upgradeable. The RSX's 256k
VGA is upgradeable to 512k and can display 1024x768 with an appropriate monitor.
Both can display Hercules graphics on a VGA monitor.
Most systems can also take upgrade video cards (see section II.B.1.).
II.B.6. Can I emulate Tandy video with EGA or VGA?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes, if you have a 386 or above. Get the Tand-em emulator [3] from the emulators
directory [4] on the Tvdog site (make sure you get the ROM image [5] also).
There are other Tandy 1000 emulators out there as well. (If you're trying to
make DeskMate work with EGA or VGA, see section III.B.6.)
II.C. Floppy Disks
------------------
II.C.1. Can I upgrade the BIOS to add high-density floppy drives?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The TL/3, RLX's, and RSX's can take high-density drives, though the TL/3 did
not come with one. The RLX will not take low-density drives.
Other models require that a secondary controller be installed in an expansion
slot to add high-density drives. There was a rumor that an AMI or Phoenix BIOS
upgrade for the IBM XT could be used in a Tandy 1000-series, permitting
high-density drives to be used with the built-in controller, and providing BIOS
support for hard drives. The rumor was false. In most 1000-series, the built-in
controller cannot support high-density drives because the data separator will
only run at 250k bps. In the SL and TL, the data separator is capable of running
at 500k bps, but the data rate pin is hard-wired to 250k and the drive speed pin
on the floppy cable is not connected. In addition, an IBM BIOS chip would not
support Tandy-specific features such as the weird video memory mapping and the
digitized sound functions on the SL/TL. Tandy says:
Tandy Corporation/Radio Shack does not support installing a high density
drive in your Tandy 1000TL computer as the on-board Floppy Drive Controller
(FDC) circuitry is not designed to work with this type of drive. The FDC
circuitry only has the capability of recognizing a low density disk drive.
As well, since the FDC circuitry has no option for being disabled through
jumpers or dipswitches, this circuitry cannot be changed to setup as the
secondary address. The BIOS ROM does not support a secondary FDC address,
thus precluding the installation of a controller card set to the secondary
address.
THANK YOU,
RADIO SHACK COMPUTER SUPPORT SERVICE CC/dp
Of course, this is just another case of "we don't sell it, therefore it can't be
done." In reality, there were secondary cards available that contained their own
BIOS, providing either bootable or non-bootable high-density drives (see section
IV.G.). These would have been specially made for Tandy.
If you have a (standard) controller _with its own BIOS_, the following
program can disable the onboard controller (on SL and later systems only):
ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/utilities/nofloppy.zip
Obviously, you need to have a hard drive for this to work, since the I/O port
conflict with the built-in controller will prevent the floppy drive from working
until the built-in controller is disabled from AUTOEXEC.BAT.
The TX and earlier systems may require special secondary controllers to add a
high density drive.
II.C.2. Can I take a floppy drive out of <insert machine here> and use it in my 1000?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If it's a 5-1/4" drive, generally yes. Note that the data connector may be
upside down. It needs to be the right-density drive for the machine.
For 3-1/2" drives, maybe. The HX, TX, SL/2, TL's, RL's, RLX's, and RSX's use a
special floppy drive that draws power through the data cable. Connecting a
standard 3-1/2" drive not designed to do that can damage both the drive and the
computer. If your existing floppy drive does not have a four-wire (red, red,
black, yellow) power cable going to it, you MUST NOT replace it with a standard
drive (unless you modify the floppy cable, see below). Tandy-style drives were
made by Panasonic, Teac, and Sony. Here are some low-density ones:
Sony MFD-63W-70D
Sony MP-F11W-71
Sony MP-F11W-72
Sony MP-F11W-72D
Sony MP-F63W-01D
Teac FD235-136U
Teac FD235F-105U
Teac FD235F-106U
And here are some high-density drives:
Panasonic JU-257A213P
Sony MFD-17W-72
Sony MP-F17W-70D
Sony MP-F17W-71
Sony MP-F17W-72
Sony MP-F73-70D
Teac FD235HF-106U
Tandy continued using the drives long after the 1000-series ended (my 4033LX
had one in it - high density of course).
In the case of systems with drives that draw power through the data cable, you
can connect a standard drive if you modify the cable. You need to punch holes in
the data cable to cut the power; look at the 5-1/4" cable in the same machine.
Specifically, +5V is supplied on pins 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11, and +12V is supplied on
pins 29, 31, and 33. All of these are ground pins on a standard floppy cable, so
you need to cut them. Use a Tandy-style (straight-through, not twisted) floppy
cable, like the original that came with the machine. NOTE: If you don't feel
confident about modifying your floppy cable in this way, don't. If you make a
mistake, you can blow out your power supply, your motherboard, your floppy
drive, or all three.
To fix the cable, extract the wires you need to cut by cutting the cable
lengthwise between the wires with a utility knife, taking care not to cut the
wires themselves. Pin 1 is marked on the cable in red. On a standard floppy
drive, all the grounds are connected together, so you don't need to worry about
connecting an actual ground wire to the pins you cut. If you want to continue to
use a Tandy drive in the same machine, place the standard drive at the end of
the cable and the Tandy drive in the middle, and make the cuts above the
connector for the Tandy drive, so that the power coming from the motherboard
gets to the first (Tandy) drive but not to the second (standard) drive. Of
course, you need to connect a power cable to the standard drive.
Another problem you might have with 3-1/2" drives is that the drive may not
physically fit in the machine due to the placement and length of the eject
button, since the drive bezel is built in to the case. If that is so, some
people cut away the built-in drive bezel with a hacksaw to make a "standard"
drive bay.
Finally, note that unlike most every other PC, the floppy cable in the
1000-series is not twisted, so you need to set the drive select jumper or switch
on the drive. Be aware that some newer drives don't _have_ a drive select jumper
(in a Tandy, you could only use them as drive A:). Also, if you put a
high-density 3-1/2" drive in a machine that doesn't support one, it works, but
only as a low-density drive.
II.C.3. Can I take a floppy drive out of my old 1000 and use it in my new 100MHz Pentium?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some 1000's use special floppy drives that draw power through the data cable, so
it may take some hardware hacking to do this. The 3-1/2" drives are the
culprits. See section II.C.2. A dead giveaway for a Tandy drive is that it has
no power connector (there are some that do have a power connector, however -
beware).
What you would need to do to put a 3-1/2" Tandy-style drive in a standard
machine is cut out the wires in the data cable that the Tandy drive wants power
on, disconnecting them from the motherboard, then solder the wires to a power
cable. The red wire on the power cable is +5V, the black is ground, and the
yellow is +12V.
II.C.4. There's a port on the back for an external floppy drive. Where do I get those?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The 1000EX and HX had this port. There was a 360k external drive, catalog number
25-1060, and a 720k external drive, catalog number 25-1061. Check eBay for them
and see section IV.G.
II.C.5. Where do I get a replacement floppy drive?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following systems use special 3-1/2" 720k floppy drives that draw power
through the data cable: 1000HX, RL's, RLX's, RSX's, SL/2 (drive A: only), TL's,
and TX. You must replace those drives with another Tandy-style drive. No
company, to my knowledge, has Tandy-style floppy drives for sale any more. As
with systems that use the old Tandy keyboard (see section II.E.1.), probably the
best way to get a replacement is to buy another whole system that has the drive
you need in it; 1000-series systems are found for sale on eBay routinely.
The original 1000, A, HD, EX, SX, and SL use standard 360k floppy drives.
Computer Reset still sells them; see section IV.G. You might need to replace the
floppy cable if you replace the drive.
The RLX's and RSX's use 1.44M floppy drives that draw power through the data
cable. Like the 720k versions, these Tandy-style drives are no longer available.
Tandy used these type of drives in many later models, so you can probably find a
system for sale on eBay that has the drive you need (check the Radio Shack
support site [6] to find out the specifications for a given system).
II.C.6. My 720k floppy drive formats disks at 360k. What can I do?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This can happen if you upgrade the DOS version (see section III.A.2.), or after
adding a 720k drive to an older system that didn't come with one. Use the
DRIVPARM command in CONFIG.SYS:
DRIVPARM=/D:0 /F:2 /H:2 /S:9 /T:80
(For drive A: - drive B: is /D:1, etc.) If that doesn't work, try DRIVER.SYS
instead:
DEVICE=DRIVER.SYS /D:0 /F:2 /H:2 /S:9 /T:80
DRIVER.SYS will create a new drive letter, while DRIVPARM will not - see your
DOS manual. There are also third-party utilities to deal with this situation,
for example:
ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/utilities/setbpb.zip [7]
Note that you must be running DOS 3.2 or later for _any_ of the above to work.
If you are still using 2.11, it is time to upgrade. Get the SX disk set from the
system directory on the Tvdog site for Tandy DOS 3.2.
II.D. Hard Disks
----------------
II.D.1. How can I install a hard drive?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It depends on which model 1000 you have.
The 1000RSX has a built-in AT IDE interface, a very common type of drive. An IDE
drive of 504MB or less should work. You could also use one of the two 16-bit
expansion slots for a SCSI controller and install a SCSI drive up to 8GB. Larger
drives might work too, perhaps with partitioning software provided by the drive
manufacturer.
The TL/2, TL/3, RL's, and RLX's have a built-in XT IDE ("Smart Drive")
interface. These drives are hard to find nowadays and don't come larger than
40MB. AT IDE drives (what everybody means when they advertise IDE drives for
sale) do not work with the built-in interface. Tandy once sold a full line of XT
IDE drives. Other vendors also once carried the drives. Here is a list of some
XT IDE drives:
Miniscribe M8225XT
Miniscribe M8450XT
Seagate ST351A/X (combination XT/AT IDE)
Seagate ST325X
Seagate ST325A/X (combination XT/AT IDE)
Seagate ST351X
Western Digital WD93028
Western Digital WD98028
Western Digital WD93038-X
Western Digital WD93044-X
Western Digital WD98044-X
If your drive doesn't appear to fit in the drive bay of your RL or RLX, remove
the drive bracket and turn it upside down. There can be a problem with 40MB
drives in the RL, in that it refuses to recognize more than 20MB of the drive (a
40MB drive worked with no problems in my RL, however).
If you bought your XT IDE drive at Radio Shack, it would come with an
installation diskette. Systems with "Smart Drive" interfaces also came with
various programs to simplify installation. The normal way to install a hard
drive on these systems was to run HINSTALL.PDM from inside DeskMate and follow
the prompts. I think if you just plug it in and use FDISK and FORMAT like a
normal drive it will work, though. These systems have DOS in ROM. If you want to
boot from the hard drive, you will need to run the system setup program and
set the computer to boot from DISK with MS-DOS as the startup program.
Tandy DOS comes with a program called HSECT. Do not use it on XT IDE drives; it
will render them unusable. AUTOFMT, another Tandy DOS program, is a front end
for HSECT and should not be used either.
Tandy provides the following information on adding an XT IDE "Smart Drive" to a
1000RLX that did not come with one (the information should be relevant for other
models):
If you choose to add a SmartDrive to your floppy RLX computer later, you'll
find the installation a very easy task. The 20 (25-1047) and 40 (25-1048)
Megabyte SmartDrives feature the HINSTALL initialization program that runs
under DeskMate. Four keystrokes and you're finished. Even a labeled blank
diskette is included! The MS-DOS/GW-BASIC diskette installs to the
SmartDrive under DeskMate as well. Just start DeskMate, press <F7>,
highlight INSTALL, put your MS-DOS/GW-BASIC diskette in Drive A, and MS-DOS
is installed in its own directory. It even creates or modifies the
AUTOEXEC.BAT file and sets the ROM.
You can install another type of controller in an expansion slot if you have a
built-in Smart Drive interface but can't find a drive for it. MFM and RLL
controllers will not work in the TL/2. Only Seagate MFM/RLL controllers will
work in the TL/3. Only Western Digital MFM/RLL controllers will work in the RL
or RLX's. The ADP50T will work in any model with built-in Smart Drive controller
(see below). Some 8-bit SCSI controllers will probably work also, though the
Seagate ST01 will not (it works in other 1000-series models). An add-in
controller installed in a 1000TL/2 or TL/3 should have its ROM address set to
CC00h or CE00h to avoid conflict with the built-in controller at C800h.
Radio Shack sold a hardcard with an 8-bit AT IDE controller for the 1000's,
catalog number 25-1095, for $99. The card does not conflict with the built-in
controller in the TL/2, TL/3, RL's, and RLX's. Regarding the RL, a poster in
comp.sys.tandy wrote:
For the RL, you have to <argh> cut away a little of the bracket that comes
with it or it will hit the motherboard. It says that it is not recommended
for the RL, but that is only because of the size problem ... about 5 minutes
of cutting, and it will work just fine.
Like other hardcards, the 25-1095 card is very wide and needs to be placed in
the innermost expansion slot, or it will take up two adjacent slots. It will not
fit in a 16-bit slot.
The 1000SX, TX, SL's, and TL can use most standard 8-bit hard drive controllers.
The SX and TX will need DIP switch 2 on the motherboard turned off to allow the
hard drive to use IRQ 5 as is standard for XT-class systems. The Western Digital
WD1004 will not work in the SL or SL/2. Otherwise, most any MFM or RLL
controller will work.
Tandy marketed an XT IDE controller card that could be used in an 8-bit slot,
cat. no. 25-1088, but that's really not a practical way to go unless you already
have the drive for it (see list above). The card will not work in the TL/2 or
TL/3 (which have a built-in XT IDE interface and don't need it anyway).
The Silicon Valley ADP50T ("T" for Tandy BIOS, ADP50 is not the same) is good
8-bit AT IDE card that cooperates with your existing XT IDE drive, if any, and
can chain two AT IDE drives (if they are from the same manufacturer). It works
in all models of the 1000-series, including the original 1000 with BIOS version
01.00.00. It does not work with Quantum drives, however. The Tandy version of
the ADP50 card has BIOS version 2.18T on it. There are some instructions for the
ADP50T and a list of drives compatible with it here:
ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/documents/adp50.zip
The original ADP50 will also work in the 1000's, but only with Conner and
Fujitsu drives (refer to list above). It is jumpered differently than the Tandy
version; see:
ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/documents/adp50l.zip
Acculogic also made an 8-bit AT IDE controller (the 1/16). It required a special
modification to work in the 1000-series (according to _Upgrading Your Tandy_),
but if so modified it worked well (see below). Also, as noted above Radio Shack
once sold an 8-bit AT IDE controller for the 1000's. Never low-level format an
IDE drive.
8-bit SCSI controllers can be used also; check eBay [8] for them. You shouldn't
try to connect too large a drive to an 8-bit SCSI controller (check to see how
large a drive it will support). And don't low-level format a SCSI drive either.
As with the TL/2, TL/3, RL, and RLX's, if you want to boot from the hard drive
in the SL's or TL you will need to use the system setup program to configure the
system to boot from DISK and have MS-DOS as the startup program.
The original 1000, A, and HD have a standard 8-bit slot connector but use IRQ 2
for the hard drive interrupt. Only controllers that can be set to IRQ 2 can be
used, and these are few and far between. (The 1000SX and TX are also set to use
IRQ 2 for the hard drive as they come from the factory, but in their case you
can turn DIP switch 2 off on the motherboard and use a standard controller - see
above.)
The original 1000 and 1000A will need to have the memory expanded above 128k to
add DMA to the system before a hard drive can be installed. The DMA chip is
included on the memory expansion card.
The original 1000 may need a BIOS upgrade before installing a hard drive - see
section III.E.2. FYI, the problem is that the BIOS programs the DMA controller
for extended write cycles rather than normal write cycles, causing timing
problems. Two changes to BIOS version 01.00.00 would correct the problem:
Address Current byte Correct byte
F000:C7B7 24 20
F000:C7FC 20 00
(All numbers are hex.) Alternately, two instructions added to the hard
drive controller BIOS would work around it:
XOR AL,AL
OUT 8,AL
Tandy once offered to take the Memory Plus expansion adapter back and replace
the PAL chip (U14) to correct the problem. Tandy no longer sells either the BIOS
upgrade or the PAL chip. If you have the old BIOS version, you can still have a
hard drive, it just won't be bootable (you will have to boot from floppy).
T.J. Harrell says that he had an Acculogic sIDE 1/16 controller that worked in
the original 1000 with 128k and with BIOS version 01.00.00. He writes, "The card
was supposed to have jumpers to select between IRQ2 and IRQ5, but the jumpers
were missing and the board wired for IRQ5. Cut that trace, short the IRQ2 jumper
pads, and *bingo*." The card also worked in the 1000TX. He used it with a Conner
IDE drive.
The Seagate ST11M was an MFM controller that would work on IRQ 2; the ST11R was
the RLL version. The 1000's Tech Notes and Jumper Manual says they required
modification to be used on the original 1000, while Upgrading Your Tandy says
they didn't, so I'm not sure what to think. There were several BIOS versions for
these autoconfigure controllers, so perhaps that is it. The ST11M/R seem to be
the only MFM/RLL controllers that might work without modification, though there
were several Western Digital controllers that could be modified to use IRQ 2:
WD1002-WX1, WD1002-WX2, WD1004A-WX1, WDXT-GEN2, and WD1004-27X. In some cases a
special Tandy ROM was also required, and of course you can't get those any more,
but if the card came out of a Tandy, it would already have the mods applied.
Tandy sold several different "hard cards" for the original 1000 and 1000A using
the above controllers as well as IDE; these hard cards come up for sale on eBay
occasionally:
25-1029/A/B (20MB MFM)
25-1032/A/B (20MB MFM)
25-1032C/D/E/F (20MB IDE)
25-4059/A (40MB RLL)
25-4059B (40MB IDE)
The Silicon Valley ADP50T AT IDE controller will work on IRQ 2, as will the
original ADP50, though the latter supports fewer drives; see above.
The 1000EX and HX have Plus-type expansion slots rather than a standard 8-bit
slot connector and use IRQ 2 for the hard drive interrupt. They can use the same
hard drive controllers as the original 1000, A, and HD, but you will need to
make a slot adapter for them first - see section II.I.1. Some companies sold
controllers for the EX and HX with a slot adapter already attached. Like the
original 1000 and 1000A, the EX and HX will need to have the memory upgraded
above the base configuration (256k in their case) to install a hard drive since
the required DMA chip is included on the memory expansion card.
The EX does not have space in the case to install a hard drive; it will have to
be mounted externally and grounded to the case with a grounding wire. You can
get power to the drive by attaching a power splitter cable to the 5-1/4" floppy
power cable. The HX has an available drive bay that can be used for a 3-1/2"
hard drive, but it has no power cable. You can wire one up by cutting into the
motherboard power leads and soldering in a connector. Various companies sold
external drives for the EX and HX to overcome these problems.
Regardless of which model 1000 you have and which controller you use, it is
important to remember that any controller will need a drive appropriate for it.
On an XT-class system, the BIOS hard drive support is on the controller card,
not in the system BIOS. Any drive you use with a given controller will have to
be supported by that controller. Check the controller's documentation online to
find out what drives it supports (cylinders, heads, sectors), then find a drive
to match. AT IDE and SCSI controllers tend to support more different drives than
MFM or XT IDE. If at all possible, buy the drive and controller at the same time
from the same company or person to make sure they will work together.
Various hard drive utilities may be used to set up a hard drive; some came with
Tandy DOS, some on a separate utilities disk included with the drive:
AUTOFMT: This program used with Tandy hard cards low-level formats the
drive, then high-level formats it. It is a front end for several other
programs (HSECT, FDISK, and FORMAT). Don't use it unless you are told to.
HFORMAT: The Tandy DOS 2.11 FORMAT program can only format floppy drives. To
format a hard drive, use HFORMAT. It came on a separate "hard drive
utilities" disk, not with DOS.
HSECT: This is a low-level formatting utility for Tandy drives. Use it only
if the drive's installation instructions tell you to. It is only used with
certain MFM and RLL drives.
LLFORMAT: Tandy DOS 3.2 has LLFORMAT instead of HSECT as a low-level
formatting utility. Don't use it unless you are told to do so.
MLPART.SYS: MS-DOS prior to 3.3 does not support multiple hard drive
partitions. Tandy DOS 3.2 does. First use FDISK to create the C: partition,
then use MLPART.COM to create addtional partitions. MLPART.SYS (loaded in
CONFIG.SYS) provides access to partitions other than C: on a hard drive with
multiple partitions. MLFORMAT was the program used to format the additional
partitions.
The low-level formatting utility may offer an option to "virtually" partition
the drive for use with DOS 3.2 and below that do not directly support multiple
partitions. Tandy DOS 3.3 will run on any model and supports multiple hard drive
partitions with standard FDISK and FORMAT. If you are installing a hard drive
and have a lower DOS version, you might consider upgrading - get the TL disk set
from the system directory [9] on this site.
It is reported that some software will not work properly with Tandy hard
cards if you have Tandy DOS below 3.2.
Some people think they can't install a drive and controller and need a
"hardcard" instead, because the owner's manual mentions the latter and not the
former. A hardcard is just a controller and drive combination mounted on a card,
though, and some companies sold brackets that enable a person to make their own
hardcard out of a controller and a 3-1/2" hard drive. Beware that the 1000's
have shorter slots than the IBM XT - if you get a hardcard, it needs to be
specially made for the 1000's. In some cases you may find that the system
doesn't supply enough power to operate a hard drive through the expansion bus
(i.e., using the power connector on the controller card) - connect power to the
drive directly from the power supply.
If you are out of drive bays, it may be possible to install a hard drive by
attaching it to the bottom of an existing bay with Velcro. A hard drive can be
installed externally as well, but you must use a ground wire to ground it to the
computer's case; you will get errors if the drive isn't properly grounded.
If you get a hard drive, you should make it bootable even if you don't plan to
boot from it, in case you decide to upgrade your DOS version later (see section
III.A.1.).
II.D.2. I have a 1000TL/2 with Smart Drive connector on the motherboard. How can I install a drive larger than 40 Meg?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Put an AT IDE or SCSI controller in a slot and attach a drive to it. See section
II.D.1.
II.D.3. Can I chain two Smart Drives together?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No. XT IDE drives cannot be chained.
II.E. Keyboards
---------------
II.E.1. My keyboard died. Where can I get a new one?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the EX and HX, the keyboard is built in and can't be replaced. You will need
to replace the system (you might be able to remove the keyboard from another EX
or HX if you have one, but those systems are a pain to take apart).
The original 1000, 1000A, HD, SX, and TX have a nonstandard keyboard interface.
They will need a special "Tandy-style" keyboard. These keyboards are pretty
scarce. Probably the best way to get one nowadays is to look for a 1000, A, HD,
SX, or TX for sale that comes with keyboard and buy the whole system.
The 1000SL, SL/2, TL, and TL/2 use an XT (or XT/AT switchable) keyboard with a
standard 5-pin DIN connector. While this is a standard keyboard type, it is no
longer very common. Computer Reset sells them; see section IV.G. You can also
find them on eBay [8] .
The RL's, RLX's, and (probably) the TL/3 use an XT keyboard with a PS/2
connector. You won't find one (the original keyboard was probably XT/AT
autoswitching). Get an XT keyboard with standard connector (above) and use an
AT-to-PS/2 adapter with it.
The RSX's use a standard PS/2 keyboard. You can get those anywhere.
Keyboards _can_ be taken apart and cleaned; just make sure you don't lose any of
the tiny parts. Let the keyboard air dry for 3 days before you put it back
together and use it.
II.E.2. Can I replace my old 90-key Tandy keyboard with a 101-key keyboard?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the EX and HX, no. On other systems, yes, at least once upon a time, but you
would need a special 101-key keyboard made for the 1000's. Two such keyboards
where the Northgate Omnikey and the Datadesk Turbo 1000. (SL and later systems
came with a 101-key keyboard.)
II.E.3. I can get a standard XT keyboard real cheap. Can I buy/make an adapter to attach it to my old 1000?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Don't know. Tandy used to sell such an adapter (Enhanced Keyboard Adapter
25-1030), but not any more. It would not be a straightforward wiring job, since
the signals are different.
II.E.4. How can I make my old keyboard more compatible?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are a couple of TSR's that will remap your keyboard to make it more
compatible; see the utilities directory [10] on the Tvdog site. Some Tandy DOS
versions come with such a utility (KEYCNVRT.SYS); also see section IV.B.1.
II.E.5. What are the scan codes for the old Tandy keyboard?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Keyboard ASCII/Scan codes
The first table in this appendix lists the keys on the Tandy 1000 keyboard
in scan code order, along with the ASCII codes they generate. For each key,
the following entries are given:
SCAN CODE - A value in the range 01H-5AH which uniquely identifies the
physical key on the keyboard that is pressed.
KEYBOARD LEGEND - The physical marking(s) on the key. If there is more than
one marking, the upper one is listed first.
ASCII CODE - The ASCII codes associated with the key. The four modes are:
NORMAL - The normal ASCII value when only the indicated key is pressed
SHIFT - The shifted ASCII value
CTRL - The control ASCII value
ALT - the alternate ASCII value
REMARKS - Any remarks or special functions
The following special symbols appear in the table:
x - Values preceded by an "x" are extended ASCII codes, preceded by null
- - No ASCII code generated
* - No ASCII code is generated but the special function described in the
remarks column is performed.
The ALT key provides a way to generate the ASCII codes of decimal numbers in
the range 1 to 255. Hold down the ALT key while you type ON THE NUMERIC
KEYPAD any decimal number in the range of 1 to 255. When you release ALT,
the ASCII code of the number typed is generated and displayed.
NOTE: When the NUM LOCK light is off, the NORMAL and SHIFT columns for these
keys should be reversed (referring to the keypad).
All numeric values in the table are expressed in hexadecimal.
"!" means the scan code is different from the standard. Note that the ASCII
codes may still be different if not marked with "!".
QWERTY (USA) - Tandy 1000
Scan Kybd
Code Legend normal shift ctrl alt remarks
01 ESC 1b 1b 1b x8b
02 1 ! 31 21 xe1 x78
03 2 @ 32 40 x03 x79
04 3 # 33 23 xe3 x7a
05 4 $ 34 24 xe4 x7b
06 5 % 35 25 xe5 x7c
07 6 ^ 36 5e 1e x7d
08 7 & 37 26 xe7 x7e
09 8 * 38 2a xe8 x7f
0a 9 ( 39 28 xe9 x80
0b 0 ) 30 29 xe0 x81
0c - _ 2d 5f 1f x82
0d = + 3d 2b xf5 x83
0e BACK SPACE 08 08 7f x8c
0f TAB 09 x0f x8d x8e
10 q 71 51 11 x10
11 w 77 57 17 x11
12 e 65 45 05 x12
13 r 72 52 12 x13
14 t 74 54 14 x14
15 y 79 59 19 x15
16 u 75 55 15 x16
17 i 69 49 09 x17
18 o 6f 4f 0f x18
19 p 70 50 10 x19
1a [ { 5b 7b 1b xeb
1b ] } 5d 7d 1d -
1c ENTER 0d 0d 0a x8f MAIN KEYBOARD
1d CTRL * * * * CONTROL MODE
1e a 61 41 01 x1e
1f s 73 53 13 x1f
20 d 64 44 04 x20
21 f 66 46 06 x21
22 g 67 47 07 x22
23 h 68 48 08 x23
24 j 6a 4a 0a x24
25 k 6b 4b 0b x25
26 l 6c 4c 0c x26
27 ; : 3b 3a xf6 xf8
28 ' " 27 22 xf7 xf1
! 29 UP ARROW x48 x85 x90 x91
2a SHIFT * * * * LEFT SHIFT
! 2b LEFT ARROW x4b x87 x73 x92
2c z 7a 5a 1a x2c
2d x 78 58 18 x2d
2e c 63 43 03 x2e
2f v 76 56 16 x2f
30 b 62 42 02 x30
31 n 6e 4e 0e x31
32 m 6d 4d 0d x32
33 , < 2c 3c xf9 x89
34 . > 2e 3e xfa x8a
35 / ? 2f 3f xfb xf2
36 SHIFT * * * * RIGHT SHIFT
! 37 PRINT 10 * 72 x46 SCR PRINT TOGGLE
38 ALT * * * * ALTERNATE MODE
39 SPACE BAR 20 20 20 20
3a CAPS LOCK * * * * CAPS LOCK
3b F1 x3b x54 x5e x68
3c F2 x3c x55 x5f x69
3d F3 x3d x56 x60 x6a
3e F4 x3e x57 x61 x6b
3f F5 x3f x58 x62 x6c
40 F6 x40 x59 x63 x6d
41 F7 x41 x5a x64 x6e
42 F8 x42 x5b x65 x6f
43 F9 x43 x5c x66 x70
44 F10 x44 x5d x67 x71
45 NUM LOCK * * * * NUMBER LOCK
! 46 HOLD * * * * FREEZE DISPLAY
47 7 \ 37 5c x93 *
48 8 ~ 38 7e x94 *
49 9 PG UP 39 x49 x84 *
! 4a DOWN ARROW x50 x86 x96 x97
4b 4 | 34 7c x95 *
4c 5 35 xf3 xfc *
4d 6 36 xf4 xfd *
! 4e RIGHT ARROW x4d x88 x74 xea
4f 1 END 31 x4f x75 *
50 2 ` 32 60 x9a *
51 3 PG DN 33 x51 x76 *
52 0 30 x9b x9c *
! 53 - DELETE 2d x53 x9d x9e
! 54 BREAK x00 x00 * * CTRL BREAK is the ctrl brk
routine
ALT BREAK is the scroll lock
! 55 + INSERT 2b x52 x9f xa0
! 56 . 2e xa1 xa4 xa5 NUMERIC KEYPAD
! 57 ENTER 0d 0d 0a x8f NUMERIC KEYPAD
! 58 HOME x47 x4a x77 xa6
! 59 F11 x98 xa2 xac xb6
! 5a F12 x99 xa3 xad xb7
Keyboard layout:
F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F10 F11 F12 + - break
esc 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 - = backspace alt print 7 8 9
tab q w e r t y u i o p [ ] hold numlk 4 5 6
control a s d f g h j k l ; ' enter up home 1 2 3
caps shift z x c v b n m , . / shift left down right 0 . enter
space
II.F. Processors, Coprocessors and Motherboards
-----------------------------------------------
II.F.1. How can I increase the speed of the main processor?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can replace the 8088 in the original 1000, A, HD, EX, or HX with an NEC
V-20, and you can replace the 8086 in the SX or SL's with an NEC V-30. Both
chips are extremely cheap and will provide about a 30% speedup. The V-20 will
work in about 70% of original 1000's and 1000A's; in the other 30%, the machine
will either fail to boot or behave erratically with the V-20 installed. There is
no way of knowing in advance which machines the V-20 will work with. The 8086 in
the RL's is surface mounted and can't be replaced. Jameco sells V-20's (see
section IV.G.). A quick Web search as I am writing this turns up a guy in Europe
selling V-30's. A side advantage of the V-20 and V-30 is that they can execute
some 80286 instructions, if you need to run software that requires a 286.
The 1000 and 1000A can take a daughterboard called the "PC Sprint" that doubles
the clock speed. The upgrade comes with both V-20 and 8088-2 processors, since
as noted above it may be necessary on some systems to stay with an Intel chip.
The speedup from the PC Sprint is up to 100%, depending on the application and
whether the NEC chip can be used. DCS Industries used to sell the PC Sprint.
There is a file [11] describing how to wire up the board yourself, but it
doesn't look like something you should try unless you're an engineer ;-).
There was a "286 Express" card made by PC Technologies for the 1000, 1000A, and
1000SX and sold by Tandy. Those cards were incompatible with some programs and
expansion cards, and the SX tends to lock up a lot with one. Other 286 or 386
in-circuit emulator cards will not work. Results with the 286 Express card are
reportedly better when using the card's TSR driver in AUTOEXEC.BAT rather than
the CONFIG.SYS driver. It may be necessary to disable 286 mode on the card to
load some TSR's, such as a mouse driver, and to run some programs.
For 286's, Evergreen [12] made 386 and 486 daughterboards that you can replace
the 286 with. The daughterboards will fit in the TL, TL/2, and TX, but not in
the TL/3, RLX, or RLX-HD. Improve Technologies made similar daughterboards
(theirs were called "Make it 386" and "Make it 486"). Nowadays, these
daughterboards are scarcer than hen's teeth.
The Cyrix 486SRx2 was a clip-on upgrade for 386SX's that should work in the
1000RSX - if you can find it, which is not very likely.
There are programs to speed up the system by reducing the RAM refresh rate. You
can get 10-20% speedup with them, but be careful: setting the refresh rate too
low makes the memory unstable - and since the memory in the 1000-series (except
the RSX) is not parity checked, the only sign that the rate is too low is
inexplicable system crashes.
II.F.2. Can I install a math coprocessor?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the EX, HX, RL's, and RLX's, no (there's no socket). On the original 1000,
you have to add a socket before you can add a chip (see below). Otherwise, yes.
You can find 8087, 80287, and 80387 chips for sale on eBay from time to time;
people collect them nowadays. Make sure you are getting a working chip, though -
collectors don't care, but you do.
To install a math coprocessor in the original 1000, you had to remove the 8088
and plug a daughterboard in in its place. The 8088 and 8087 were plugged into
the daughterboard. The daughterboard was manufactured by Trionix, 3563 Roosevelt
#B, Carlsbad, CA 92008 and sold by Tandy. You probably won't find one.
II.F.3. Can I replace the motherboard?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Blasphemy! :-) Seriously, this is a definite "maybe." You need to make sure (a)
that the board is small enough to fit in the case, and (b) that the slots in
back line up with the openings in the case. You are likely to have trouble with
(b). DCS Industries used to sell 486 and Pentium replacement motherboards for
the SL's, TL's, RL's, RLX's, and RSX's. You are unlikely to be able to fit a
replacement motherboard in the EX or HX. Frankly, at current prices it makes
more sense just to get a whole new system.
Replacement motherboards for the 1000's were reviewed in the December 1992 issue
of PCM (see section IV.C.).
II.F.4. I want to slow my computer down so an old game will run. Where is the turbo switch?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some of the 1000-series have two speeds, usually normal speed and half-speed,
but there is no hardware turbo switch. Instead, additional parameters to the DOS
Mode command are used: MODE SLOW (for half speed) and MODE FAST (for normal
speed). This is a special feature of Tandy DOS and will disappear if you upgrade
the DOS version (see section III.A.2.).
If you've already upgraded (so it's too late), you can try this program:
ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/utilities/speed.zip
It was written for the 1000SX, but it works on the 1000TL and might work on
other 1000's as well.
On older 1000's, the speed may be toggled by pressing a key at boot time.
Ryan Davies writes:
At least on the Tandy 1000 TX, you can slow down the system by pressing F4
(I think that's the key) at startup to slow it down for the whole session.
This is necessary for DOS upgraders (I did to 6.2 -- big mistake, I think).
It changes mine from 8Mhz to 4Mhz.... [I]t says right above the four
function keys what they do at startup. Just remove the writeable tab
covering them.
There are also TSR's around to slow down a PC that you can use; check any large
FTP archive.
II.G. Serial Ports, Modems, and Mice
------------------------------------
II.G.1. Can I use a fast modem with my 1000?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_Upgrading Your Tandy_ (see section IV.D.) reports that the original 1000 may
have trouble with an internal modem. You can install a serial port and use an
external modem. T.J. Harrell confirms the problem, and the workaround.
If it's a Winmodem, no. Winmodems are brain-dead crap that only work under
Windows (and not Windows 3.x). Rockwell RPI modems are also brain-dead crap,
almost but not completely useless, and generally to be avoided.
Otherwise, if it's an internal modem, generally yes (make sure it is an ISA
card, not PCI). A problem can arise with external modems in that the serial port
on (most?) of the 1000's has an 8250A UART, which is not suitable for high-speed
data transfers; you will need to install another serial port with a 16550 UART
chip (see section II.G.4.).
On early models with 8088 or 8086 processors, you might not be able to use a
28.8k modem at its full rate. Marc Williams writes the following:
One BBS I call I set PCPLUS up at 115K and the board works fine. Checked
with the W2 command and the connect is either 26.4K or 28.8K.
When I got this present batch of mail the connect was 28.8K but the modem
did what I expected. On only two boards in the past my modem had the habit
of its CD light blinking like crazy. Sometimes for only a few seconds,
sometimes so long the board will disconnect for inactivity. At present when
it does happen with the ISP (like today) I'll be disconnected immediately.
Anyhind, back to the rate. Depending on the board I'm calling I usually get
21.6K or 24K (IIRC) and with the internet stuff it's 26.4K with no problems.
He has a 1000HX with a 16550 UART and an external 28.8k modem.
14.4k modems should work fine in any system.
II.G.2. Windows doesn't recognize the mouse on my RLX. What's wrong?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The mouse driver that comes with Windows expects the PS/2-type mouse on the RLX
to use IRQ 12. The RLX doesn't have IRQ's above 7. The solution is to use a
serial (Microsoft) mouse.
To use the PS/2 mouse port on the RLX (with DOS or DeskMate), you also have to
enable it with Setuprlx.
II.G.3. My system doesn't have a serial port. Can I add one?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
II.G.4. Can I add another serial port?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The original 1000, 1000A, HD, EX, HX, and SX did not come with a serial port. Of
these, the original 1000, 1000A, HD, and SX can take a standard 8-bit serial
port card. The EX and HX need a special card because of their nonstandard slots.
You can add a second serial port to any system, but the BIOS may not recognize
more than two. Again, the EX and HX need special cards. Having the BIOS not
recognize the port may not really be a problem, depending on the software for
the serial device involved (i.e., communication programs usually program the
port directly rather than through the BIOS). There are also programs available
to "manually" patch the BIOS serial port list in low memory if need be, and you
could easily make one with Debug. On my 1000TL, I found that a third serial port
on COM4: would work, but COM3: would not; the BIOS does not recognize the third
port, but that's OK.
Be careful with multi-function cards that come with game ports and hard drive or
floppy drive controllers. If your system has built-in joystick ports, you will
have to use them instead of the ones on the card, since they can't be disabled.
Likewise, if the card comes with a hard drive controller, you will have to
disable it. None of the 1000's can use the "el cheapo" AT IDE controllers that
come on an I/O card. The floppy drive controller on the card will also have to
go. You can add a secondary floppy controller, but you will need one with a
built-in BIOS (see also section II.C.1.).
II.G.5. What kind of mouse is this, and where do I get a driver for it?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tandy sold at least 5 different types of mice for the 1000-series. First, there
was the standard Microsoft (serial) mouse. Second, the RSX's came with a port
for a standard PS/2 mouse. You can use the standard MOUSE.COM [13] or MOUSE.SYS
for those two. Third, the TL/3, RL's, and RLX's have a connector for a PS/2
mouse, but it needs a special mouse driver because it uses a nonstandard
interrupt. CuteMouse v1.9 [14] works. Fourth, the DigiMouse is a bus mouse using
a special controller card, which was available both as a standard 8-bit card
(cat. no. 26-5144 or 25-1010) and as a PLUS card (25-1015). There is a driver
for it here [15] .
The Color Mouse is a joystick made up to look like a mouse (it plugs into a
6-pin joystick port). It is so called because it was the mouse used on the Color
Computer (see section IV.H.). DeskMate directly supports the Color Mouse without
an external driver; select "joystick" as the mouse type in Setup. Otherwise, the
DOS driver for this mouse was called JOY.SYS [16] . The Tandy support site [6]
talks mainly about using the Color Mouse as a joystick replacement in games,
however.
The mouse port on the TL/3, RL's and RLX's may also need to be enabled using the
system setup program - see section III.E.1. If the mouse is enabled but not
working, try disabling it, rebooting, then reenabling and rebooting again; that
sometimes "wakes it up." DeskMate that came with those systems has a built-in
driver for the mouse, so you can use DeskMate to check whether the mouse works
independently of whether you have the right DOS driver.
II.H. Parallel Ports and Printers
---------------------------------
II.H.1. My printer keeps double-spacing. How do I make it stop?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
According to Tony Gordon:
Well, on some Tandy printers, specifically the DMP models that I have used
(DMP 130, 130A) there are a bank of dip switches that control various
functions of the printer. One of them controls the LF/CR signals. You can
set it to LF=LF or LF=LF/CR (double spacing) LF=LF just interprets the line
feed. It will interpret the carriage return when it is sent. LF=LF/CR means
that when a LF is sent, the carriage is also returned to home position, and
since most lines come to the computer with a CR/LF, you get double spacing.
Some people are hesitant about modifying dip switches and such, so you can
run LPINST and it will ask you a couple of questions about your printer
(whether it double spaces when you want single spacing or if it prints on
the same line without advancing the paper). It then creates/updates an
AUTOEXEC.BAT file with the correct DOS commands, (i.e. LF and MODE) for your
printer so that it will space properly.
Using the wrong printer cable may cause this problem - see section II.H.4.
II.H.2. What kinds of printers can I use with a 1000?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Most types of printers can be used with a Tandy 1000 provided you use an
appropriate printer cable to connect to your computer. Be careful of laser
printers that expect a bidirectional parallel port, however (see section
II.H.5.). The printer port on the TL/3, RLX's, and RSX's is a standard 25-pin
port. The system setup program controls whether it is bidirectional or not. The
RL and RL-HD also have a standard 25-pin port; it is unidirectional.
A veteran programmer with Tandy writes:
WARNING: Some newer printers can be blown out (or blow the computer out) by
connecting them to a TRS-80 model I, II, III, 4, 4P, 12, 16, or 100; or a
Tandy 6000, 1000, 1200, or 2000. These systems used a Centronics-standard
printer interface and newer printers usually have a IBM-PC printer
interface. Trust IBM to not follow an existing industry-standard and to use
the same connector and 95% of the same signals. Don't get burned.
The following information was provided by:
William K. Walker
North Valley Digital
P.O. Box 1941
Kalispell MT 59903-1941
+1 (406) 257-2306
71066.24@compuserve.com
PRINTER CABLE SELECTION GRID (PARTIAL)
--------------------------------------
COMPUTER TYPE "OLD": Any Tandy 1000 series except 1000RL's,
PRINTER "OLD" "NEW" RLX's, RSX, and TL/3. (These systems
------- ----- ----- have a card-edge printer port.)
CGP 115 A C "NEW": All other IBM compatibles, including
CGP 220 A C laptops. (These systems have a
DMP 100 A C normal 25-pin printer port.)
DMP 105 A C Tandy cable catalog numbers:
DMP 106 A C 6 foot 12 foot
DMP 107 A C A 26-0225 26-0222
DMP 110 A C B 26-0289 26-1259
DMP 120 A C C 26-0227 26-0223
DMP 130 A C D 26-0288 26-1258
DMP 130A A C E 26-1416
DMP 132 A C
DMP 133 A C
DMP 134 B D
DMP 135 B D
DMP 136 B D
DMP 137 B D
DMP 200 A C
DMP 202 B D
DMP 203 B D
DMP 204 B D
DMP 205 B D
DMP 206 B D
DMP 207 B D
DMP 2100 A C
DMP 2100P A C
DMP 2102 A C
DMP 2103 B D
DMP 2104 B D
DMP 2110 A C
DMP 2120 A C
DMP 2130 B D
DMP 2200 A C
DMP 240 B D
DMP 250 B D
DMP 300 A C
DMP 302 B D
DMP 310 B D
DMP 400 A C
DMP 420 A C
DMP 430 A C
DMP 440 A C
DMP 442 A C
DMP 500 A C
DWP I (Qume) A C
DWP II A C
DWP 210 A C
DWP 220 A C
DWP 230 A C
DWP 410 A C
DWP 510 A C
DWP 520 A C
FP 215 A C
JP 250 B D
Line Printer I A C
Line Printer II E
Line Printer III A C
Line Printer IV E
Line Printer V A C
Line Printer VI A C
Line Printer VII A C
Line Printer VIII A C
LMP 2150 A C
LP 400 B D
LP 410 B D
LP 800 B D
LP 950 B D
LP 990 B D
LP 1000 A C
Plotter Printer A C
Quick Printer II E
Screen Printer E
TRP 100 A C
IBM type printers B D
EPSON type B D
Panasonic type B D
(I've added some to the above.) Printers that use cable types "B" or "D" have a
standard port. Printers that use cable types "A" or "C" have a port that looks
like a standard one but isn't. Printers that use cable type "E" have a card edge
connector.
Cable type "D" is the standard cable that you can get from your local computer
store. If you need one of the other cable types, you need to get (or make) the
special Tandy cable. If your Tandy printer is not listed, contact Radio Shack
customer support to find out which cable you need (see section IV.A.). If your
non-Tandy printer is not listed, use cable "B" or "D", depending on what type of
computer you have.
It is possible to make your own printer cable. There was a good article on the
subject by David P. Miller, "Talking to Your Printer," in Computer News PC, vol.
3, no. 12, pp. 12-14.
Here are the pin connections for cable type "A" (26-0225/0222):
_____________________________________________________
| |
| 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 |
| |
| 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 |
|_____________________________________________________|
female card edge printer connector (pin side)
___________________________________________________________
| |
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 |
\ /
\ 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 /
\_______________________________________________________/
male Centronics printer connector (pin side)
Card edge pin Centronics pin(s)
------------- -----------------
1 1
2 19
3 2
4 20
5 3
6 21
7 4
8 22
9 5
10 23
11 6
12 24
13 7
14 25
15 8
16 26
17 9
18 27
19 10
20 28
21 11
22 29
23 12
24 30
25 13
26 31
27 14
28 32
29 15
30 33
31 16
32 34
33 17
34 35
n/c 18, 36
And here are the pin connections for cable type "B" (26-0289/1259):
_____________________________________________________
| |
| 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 |
| |
| 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 |
|_____________________________________________________|
female card edge printer connector (pin side)
___________________________________________________________
| |
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 |
\ /
\ 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 /
\_______________________________________________________/
male Centronics printer connector (pin side)
Card edge pin Centronics pin(s)
------------- -----------------
1 1
2 19
3 2
4 20
5 3
6 21
7 4
8 22
9 5
10 23
11 6
12 24
13 7
14 25
15 8
16 26
17 9
18 27
19 10
20 28
21 11
22 29
23 12
24 30
25 13
26 n/c
27 14
28 32
29 n/c
30 31
31 16
32 34
33 17
34 35
n/c 18, 36
And here are pin connections for cable type "C" (26-0227/0223):
__________________________________________
| |
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 |
\ /
\ 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 /
\______________________________________/
male DB-25 connector (pin side)
___________________________________________________________
| |
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 |
\ /
\ 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 /
\_______________________________________________________/
male Centronics printer connector (pin side)
DB-25 pin Centronics pin(s)
--------- -----------------
1 1
2 2
3 3
4 4
5 5
6 6
7 7
8 8
9 9
10 10
11 11
12 12
13 18
14 n/c
15 32
16 33
17 n/c
18 23
19 24
20 25
21 26
22 27
23 28
24 29
25 30
n/c 13-17, 19-22, 31,
34-36
You might find one on eBay from time to time, but most likely if the cable you
need didn't come with your printer, you will need to make it, using the pinouts
above.
You can install a standard parallel port in an expansion slot, if you have a
system with a card-edge printer port. You will need to jumper the card for LPT2:
to avoid conflicting with the built-in port.
The serial ports on older Tandy printers are for connecting to the Color
Computer. They are not compatible with an IBM PC serial port.
II.H.3. What is the pinout for the card-edge printer connector?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tandy once made cables to connect various printers to the card-edge port. See
section II.H.2.
__33_31_29_27_25_23_21_19_17_15_13_11__9__7__5__3__1__
|______________________________________________________|
34 32 30 28 26 24 22 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2
male card edge printer connector (finger side)
Pin Designation Direction Notes
--- ----------- --------- -----
1 *Strobe out
2 Ground out
3 Data 0 out
4 Ground out
5 Data 1 out
6 Ground out
7 Data 2 out
8 Ground out
9 Data 3 out
10 Ground out
11 Data 4 out
12 Ground out
13 Data 5 out
14 (not connected) n/a
15 Data 6 out
16 Ground out
17 Data 7 out
18 Ground out
19 *Acknowledge in
20 Ground out
21 Busy in
22 Ground out
23 Paper End in
24 Ground out
25 Select in Jumper controlled.
26 (not connected) n/a
27 *Auto Feed out Original 1000, A, HD: Ground.
28 *Error in
29 (not connected) n/a
30 *Initialize Printer out
31 Ground out
32 (not connected) n/a Original 1000, A, HD: Auto Feed.
33 Ground out
34 +5V out Original 1000, A, HD: not connected.
As noted, the card edge printer port in the original 1000, A, and HD is slightly
different from later models. On several models, the Select signal is by default
wired high rather than connected to the printer; a jumper must be installed to
connect it (see section II.H.5.). All the ground pins shown above are wired
together on the motherboard.
II.H.4. Can I connect my old Tandy printer to my new computer?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The short answer is "yes," as long as you use the right cable; see section
II.H.2. If you want the gruesome details, read the following.
Tandy confirmed (in a user newsletter) that permanent damage to the computer can
result when attaching old Tandy printers (DMP 133, 440 and 107, the LP 1000, and
older models) to newer clones, particularly the Packard Bell. The problem
results from +5V being supplied by the printer on Centronics pin 18, which is
not standard for IBM.
There is a problem with double-spacing on old Tandy printers when connected to
newer machines. This problem is solved by covering pin 14 on the printer cable
at the computer end with Scotch tape (or by using a Tandy cable). The problem
can also be handled by a MODE LFOFF command at the DOS prompt, but this will not
work with all programs, particularly those with their own printer drivers.
Old DMP's use Centronics pin 33 as the INIT line, while the IBM standard is to
tie that pin to ground. This places the DMP's in a permanent INIT state, so they
do not work.
Some old Tandy printers do not support the IBM/Epson control code set.
Reportedly, they can be upgraded to do so by replacing the printer's ROM chip
(the only such ROM upgrade that I know of is for the DMP 2110).
Wayne Day writes:
A.D. You obviously saw the PC-to-Tandy cable comparison. Here it is, again,
so you can put it into the FAQ. Note, one of my members on CompuServe did
the work, and I don't know who it is, so please don't credit me with this.
[Sorry, Wayne ...]
. IBM Cable Tandy Cable
. 25pin 36 pin 25pin 36 pin
. 1 --------- 1 1 --------- 1
. 2 --------- 2 2 --------- 2
. 3 --------- 3 3 --------- 3
. 4 --------- 4 4 --------- 4
. 5 --------- 5 5 --------- 5
. 6 --------- 6 6 --------- 6
. 7 --------- 7 7 --------- 7
. 8 --------- 8 8 --------- 8
. 9 --------- 9 9 --------- 9
. 10 -------- 10 10 -------- 10
. 11 -------- 11 11 -------- 11
. 12 -------- 12 12 -------- 12
. 13 -------- 13 13 -------- 18
. 14 -------- 14 14 --
. 15 -------- 32 15 -------- 32
. 16 -------- 31 16 -------- 33
. 17 -------- 36 17 --
. 18 ----*--- 16 18 -------- 23
. 19 ----|--- 19 19 -------- 24
. 20 ----|--- 20 20 -------- 25
. 21 ----|--- 21 21 -------- 26
. 22 ----|--- 22 22 -------- 27
. 23 ----|--- 23 23 -------- 28
. 24 ----|--- 24 24 -------- 29
. 25 ----|--- 25 25 -------- 30
. |--- 26 -- 13
. |--- 27 -- 14
. |--- 28 -- 15
. |--- 29 -- 16
. |--- 30 -- 17
. *--- 33 -- 19
. -- 15 -- 20
. -- 17 -- 21
. -- 18 -- 22
. -- 34 -- 31
. -- 35 -- 34
. -- 35
. -- 36
Look at pins 13, 14, and 16, from the 25 pin side, and you'll find the
culprits. These three signals go to different places in the 36 pin
connector. All of the signals that are tied together in the IBM cable are
grounds, and the grounds in the Tandy cable are separate, so that grounding
takes place after the cable is hooked up. But pin 33 in the Tandy printers
is the initialize printer signal, and with the IBM cable, it's hooked to
ground, and knocks the printer off line.
Chances are that swapping pins 31 and 33 (at the printer end of the cable),
plus disconnecting pin 14 will probably do the job. If necessary, also swap
pins 13 & 18.
Instead of modifying an existing cable, you could make your own from scratch
(see section II.H.2.).
II.H.5. Can I use a parallel-port peripheral (other than a printer with my card-edge printer port?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Probably not. It will only work if the device is unidirectional (output only).
You will need an adapter to convert the card-edge parallel port to a standard
one (a company called PC Enterprises used to sell them). John B. Sandlin gave
instructions for making a parallel port adapter on his Web site [17] . Here are
the connectors for the two port types:
__________________________________________
| |
| 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 |
\ /
\ 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 /
\______________________________________/
Pin Orientation of DB-25 Connecter
looking at the side away from the cable
_____________________________________________________
| |
| 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 |
| |
| 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 |
|_____________________________________________________|
Pin Orientation of 34 pin Card Edge Socket
looking at the side away from the cable
This is how you wire it:
DB-25 34 pin socket
----- -------------
1 1
2 3
3 5
4 7
5 9
6 11
7 13
8 15
9 17
10 19
11 21
12 23
13 25
14 27
15 28
16 30
17 N/C
18 2, 4, 6, 8, 10
19 12
20 14
21 16
22 18
23 20
24 22
25 24, 31, 33
N/C 26, 29, 32, 34
See John's Web site [17] for detailed instructions on making the adapter.
Be aware that some devices cannot be used with a unidirectional port and will
damage your machine if you try. Ryan Davies writes:
Please make mention to users wanting to attach other peripherals (especially
laser printers) to the existing card-edge printer port on all Tandys with
that kind of port that it is 4-bit (not bi-directional) and any
bi-directional attempt on this port can possibly even damage the motherboard
and fry the peripheral's system board. (not like I'm speaking from
experience or anything....)
He adds that "my Tandy's parallel port is dead." He has a 1000TX.
It is preferable to get a bidirectional parallel port on an expansion card and
use that, if you have a slot available. Be sure to jumper the card for the
secondary address to avoid conflict with the built-in port. Otherwise, on some
models you can disable the built-in parallel port using the /A option on the
system setup program.
II.I. Expansion Slots
---------------------
II.I.1. How can I get standard expansion slots on a 1000HX or EX?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DCS Industries used to sell a slot box you could use to add standard slots. The
slot box comes with four additional drive bays and a 200-watt power supply.
Otherwise, you can make an adapter. As with any project where you're
modifying your computer's electronics, do this at your own risk.
The "PLUS"-style expansion slots in the 1000EX and 1000HX are not quite
electrically the same as an 8-bit IBM-standard expansion slot (see section
II.I.4.). One major difference is the lack of DMA in the EX and HX as they came
from the factory. A DMA chip is included on the expansion cards that increase
memory above 256k.
Unfortunately, expansion cards that use the "PLUS" connector tend to be a lot
more expensive than the same cards that use the standard card-edge connector -
and there are a lot fewer of them available.
I got this third hand; a gentleman named Jay Wigginton originally posted this on
some online service, perhaps America Online, in 1989. You need the following
parts:
(1) Radio Shack Plus Adapter Board, catalog number 25-1016. It was $14.95 in
1989. This was a standard 8-bit card to which one of the special "PLUS" cards
made for the 1000EX and HX could be attached - essentially the reverse of the
adapter you're making.
(2) Female "PLUS" header connector, part number 8519257. This is a part off of
the 1000EX/HX "PLUS" memory expansion card referred to above. Get it from Tandy
National Parts (see section IV.G.). (You still need to have the memory card
itself if you want to get DMA, as noted above.)
(3) 31/62 pin edge connector, part number 8519236. This is a part off of the
1000SX. It comes from Tandy National Parts also. It is the female (motherboard)
side of a standard 8-bit slot connector.
According to Mr. Wigginton, you first remove the male PLUS connector (by
desoldering) from (1), "being careful not to damage the board." Next, cut the
top off of (1) down to just above where the "PLUS" connector was. Cut the "edge
finger" (male edge connector) off of the bottom of (1), "leaving about 1/8 inch
of the gold fingers exposed below the solder mask (the green covering on the
board)" (Wigginton notes that that cut is optional - the cutting is probably
best done with a grinding wheel).
Now solder the female edge connector (3) to the holes left when you removed the
"PLUS" connector from (1). "It will be necessary to bend the pins so that they
fit," Wigginton notes. The connector should be attached on the side of (1) with
printing.
Finally, solder (2) to the edge fingers on (1). "Check all pins for shorts to
other pins. Use a continuity checker. This is very important; it will not
function if any pins are shorted together."
OR ... you could do it the easy way. Just get some 62-pin ribbon cable and
crimp-on connectors, 62-pin female to connect to the Plus memory card and 62-pin
card edge to plug standard cards into. Crimp them together and you have your
adapter. As above, check for continuity on all pins and shorts on adjacent pins.
Keep the length of the cable to 9" or less.
II.I.2. How can I add additional expansion slots?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At one time you could buy a slot box. If you're handy, you may be able to modify
an old XT to work as a slot box; otherwise, ISA expansion chassis can still be
purchased, but they are very pricey - over $1000 each.
There were also "add card" riser cards made. These were standard 8- or 16-bit
cards with 3-4 additional slots on the side of the card. There are companies
that still make them. Check out this site, for example:
http://www.adexelec.com/isa.htm
II.I.3. What kinds of cards will work in the slots on a 1000?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The EX and HX will require special cards made for them, unless you make an
adapter (see section II.I.1.). Other systems can use most standard 8-bit cards.
The cards will need to be 10" in length or shorter to fit in the case ("1/2
length" or "3/4 length"). The types of cards to watch out for here are hard
cards and EMS cards - it's mostly very old cards that are too long (the original
8-bit IBM VGA card is too long, as is the original Xebec hard drive controller).
Only the RSX's can take 16-bit cards - though some 16-bit cards will work in an
8-bit slot (some ISA VGA controllers, for example).
The slots on the original 1000, A, HD, SX, and TX are physically the same as a
standard 8-bit slot, but differ in some signals. On the original 1000 and 1000A,
there is no DMA unless a memory expansion card is installed. Models up to the TX
also use IRQ 5 for vertical sync and will require a hard drive controller that
uses IRQ 2 (on the SX and TX you can flip a switch on the motherboard to disable
IRQ 5 on the motherboard and use a standard controller, but not on the original
1000 or 1000A). See section II.D.1. regarding hard drives.
Space inside some models is particularly tight, the RL and RLX for example. It
would be a good idea before you buy a card to open up the case and see the lay
of the land, maybe even take a picture.
II.I.4. What is the pinout for the Plus expansion connector in the 1000HX and EX?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Back of machine)
A1 NMI B1 Ground
A2 D7 B2 BRESET
A3 D6 B3 +5 Volts
A4 D5 B4 IRQ2
A5 D4 B5 N/C
A6 D3 B6 FDCMRQ
A7 D2 B7 -12 Volts
A8 D1 B8 N/C
A9 D0 B9 +12 Volts
A10 RDYIN B10 Ground
A11 AEN B11 MEMW*
A12 A19 B12 MEMR*
A13 A18 B13 IOW*
A14 A17 B14 IOR*
A15 A16 B15 N/C
A16 A15 B16 N/C
A17 A14 B17 N/C
A18 A13 B18 N/C
A19 A12 B19 REFRESH*
A20 A11 B20 CLK
A21 A10 B21 RFSH*
A22 A09 B22 BREQ*
A23 A08 B23 N/C
A24 A07 B24 IRQ4
A25 A06 B25 IRQ3
A26 A05 B26 FDCDACK*
A27 A04 B27 DMATC
A28 A03 B28 ALE
A29 A02 B29 +5 Volts
A30 A01 B30 OSC
A31 A00 B31 Ground
For reference, here is the pinout for a standard 8-bit slot:
(Back of machine)
B01 Ground A01 IOCHCHK*
B02 RESET A02 D7
B03 +5 Volts A03 D6
B04 IRQ2 A04 D5
B05 -5 Volts A05 D4
B06 DRQ2 A06 D3
B07 -12 Volts A07 D2
B08 NOWS* A08 D1
B09 +12 Volts A09 D0
B10 Ground A10 IOCHRDY
B11 MEMW* A11 AEN
B12 MEMR* A12 A19
B13 IOW* A13 A18
B14 IOR* A14 A17
B15 DACK3* A15 A16
B16 DRQ3 A16 A15
B17 DACK1* A17 A14
B18 DRQ1 A18 A13
B19 REFRESH* A19 A12
B20 CLK A20 A11
B21 IRQ7 A21 A10
B22 IRQ6 A22 A09
B23 IRQ5 A23 A08
B24 IRQ4 A24 A07
B25 IRQ3 A25 A06
B26 DACK2* A26 A05
B27 DMATC A27 A04
B28 ALE A28 A03
B29 +5 Volts A29 A02
B30 OSC A30 A01
B31 Ground A31 A00
Side "A" is the component side on a standard XT card. Note that the Plus card
slot is electrically identical to a standard XT slot on the "A" side, but there
are several differences on the "B" side. DMA signals on B15-18 are added by the
memory expansion card if installed. Pins B06, B21, B22, B26, and B27 are
actually the same but with different names. -5 volts is often not implemented
on a standard slot.
Most cards will work if you make an adapter (see above), especially if you have
a memory card installed. Some expansion cards used in the 1000-series have the
same connector.
II.J. Game Ports, Joysticks, and Sound
--------------------------------------
II.J.1. Can I use a standard joystick?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the RSX and RSX-HD, yes. You need to get an expansion card with game ports on
it. Otherwise, no, since you have built-in game ports that cannot be disabled.
The following systems have two 6-pin DIN (round) joystick ports: original 1000,
1000A, HD, EX, HX, SX, TX, SL's, TL's, RL's, and RLX's ("A" versions). To
install a joystick on those systems, you need to use a Tandy-style joystick;
they turn up on eBay from time to time (the Color Computer uses the same
joysticks). The RLX-B and RLX-HD-B have two 8-pin mini-DIN joystick ports. There
was an adapter available from Tandy for connecting a 6-pin joystick to the RLX's
ports, part 26-0284.
The Tandy 1000 game ports are not 100% compatible with standard ports, but
they work most of the time, with most software.
If you have built-in game ports and try to use a standard joystick with an
expansion card, the new joystick will only work with some software, or only when
a joystick is connected to the built-in port, or only when it isn't - or only
when the moon is full on a Friday. (It seems to work on my 1000TL, though - not
that I've given it much tryout.)
It is possible to make an adapter to attach a standard joystick to the 6-pin
port (see section II.J.4.).
II.J.2. Can I emulate SoundBlaster with the Tandy DAC?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No. There are some programs for the Tandy DAC at the tvdog site (see section
IV.B.1.).
If you want SoundBlaster compatibility, you can install a SoundBlaster or
SoundBlaster Pro in an expansion slot. If you do so, you will have to stop using
the Tandy DAC, since the SoundBlaster drivers will be confused by the DAC BIOS
routines.
It is possible to emulate the Covox Speech Thing (dumb DAC) with the Tandy
DAC, if your program supports that. Get file:
ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/sound/tspak181.zip
II.J.3. Can I install a Tandy DAC or 3-voice chip in a normal PC?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Probably not. Tandy once made a PSSJ expansion card ("PSSJ" is the name of the
sound chip), but they are very rare. If you find the card, you will need to
jumper it for IRQ 7, DMA 1, as software for the Tandy DAC expects those
settings. The "SayIt" card from Roar Technology of Canada may be the same (see
section III.B.7.).
There are emulators for the 3-voice chip if you want to play your old Tandy
games on a newer PC. Check out the Tandem emulator [18] , for example.
II.J.4. What is the pinout for the Tandy joystick?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The pinout for the 6-pin joystick connector is:
5 X 1
6
4 2
3
Where:
1 is Y-axis
2 is X-axis
3 is Ground (0V)
4 is Button 1
5 is +5V
6 is Button 2
The pinout for a standard joystick is:
--------------------------
\ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 /
\ 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 /
----------------------
pin assignment
1 +5V
2 stick 1 button 1
3 stick 1 X-axis
4 ground (0V)
5 ground (0V)
6 stick 1 Y-axis
7 stick 1 button 2
8 +5V
9 +5V
10 stick 2 button 1
11 stick 2 X-axis
12 ground (0V)
13 stick 2 Y-axis
14 stick 2 button 2
15 +5V
II.K. Miscellaneous
-------------------
II.K.1. Radio Shack no longer sells parts for my Tandy. Where can I get them?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
See section IV.G.
II.K.2. When I turn my computer on, it just beeps a lot and refuses to boot. Why does it do that?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BEEP ERROR CODES
It is normal for a XT or AT clone to beep once or twice during the POST test.
More that this indicates a severe error. Beep codes are issued as a sequence of
three sets of beeps. For example, BEEP {pause} BEEP BEEP {pause} BEEP BEEP is
the code represented as 1--2--2. The Phoenix ROM name is listed by each beep
code.
1--1--3 CMOS WRITE/READ FAILURE
1--1--4 ROM BIOS CHECKSUM ERROR
1--2--1 PROGRAMMABLE INTERVAL TIMER FAILURE
1--2--2 DMA INITIALIZATION FAILURE
1--2--3 DMA PAGE REGISTER WRITE/READ FAILURE
1--3--1 RAM REFRESH VERIFICATION FAILURE
1--3--3 FIRST 64K RAM CHIP OR DATA LINE FAILURE, MULTI-BIT
1--3--4 FIRST 64K ODD/EVEN LOGIC FAILURE
1--4--1 ADDRESS LINE FAILURE 64K OF RAM
1--4--2 PARITY FAILURE FIRST 64K OF RAM
2--1--1 BIT 0 FIRST 64K RAM FAILURE
2--1--2 BIT 1
2--1--3 BIT 2
2--1--4 BIT 3
2--2--1 BIT 4
2--2--2 BIT 5
2--2--3 BIT 6
2--2--4 BIT 7
2--3--1 BIT 8
2--3--2 BIT 9
2--3--3 BIT 10
2--3--4 BIT 11
2--4--1 BIT 12
2--4--2 BIT 13
2--4--3 BIT 14
2--4--4 BIT 15 FIRST 64K RAM FAILURE
3--1--1 SLAVE DMA REGISTER FAILURE
3--1--2 MASTER DMA REGISTER FAILURE
3--1--3 MASTER INTERRUPT MASK REGISTER FAILURE
3--1--4 SLAVE INTERRUPT MASK REGISTER FAILURE
3--2--4 KEYBOARD CONTROLLER TEST FAILURE
3--3--4 SCREEN INITIALIZATION FAILURE
3--4--1 SCREEN RETRACE TEST FAILURE
4--2--1 TIMER TICK FAILURE
4--2--2 SHUTDOWN TEST FAILURE
4--2--3 GATE A20 FAILURE
4--2--4 UNEXPECTED INTERRUPT IN PROTECTED MODE
4--3--1 RAM TEST ADDRESS FAILURE
4--3--3 INTERVAL TIMER CHANNEL 2 FAILURE
4--3--4 TIME OF DAY CLOCK FAILURE
4--4--3 MATH COPROCESSOR FAILURE
Tandy beep codes might not really look like the above, but you still have some
kind of hardware problem.
II.K.3. Where can I get diagnostic software for the 1000's?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can get generic PC diagnostic software at Garbo or Simtel. See section
III.G.3. At one time, you could get diagnostic disks from Tandy National Parts.
II.K.4. What is this connector marked "light pen"?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The original 1000, 1000A, HD, and SX had a connector for a light pen. This is
not a serial port. It is pretty useless since there are very few light pens
around to plug into it. Remember the cassette port on the original IBM PC?
Another useless port.
There were two light pens sold for the 1000. The CPT/S color/monochrome light
pen (Radio Shack cat. no. 90-2085) sold for $179.95. It could not be used to
emulate a mouse. The CPT/S was made by The Light Pen Company, 12500 Beatrice
Street, Los Angeles, CA 90066. The WS-250 light pen (cat. no. 90-2069) sold for
$199.99. There was a Penmouse program available for it that might enable it to
emulate a mouse. Penmouse was originally sold separately for $49.99, though
later it was included with the pen. The WS-250 was made by Warp Speed Computer
Products, 555 S. Inglewood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90230.
If you have a light pen, it is software-compatible with the PCjr light pen.
There are not very many programs around that support a light pen, but there are
some. I don't have a list. Consult a book on the PCjr for programming
information (the light pen is programmed through the video controller).
II.K.5. I just got a 1000 at a yard sale, and it didn't come with disks or manuals or anything. Where can I get some?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are some disk sets in the system directory on the Tvdog site [9] and some
manuals in PDF format in the documents directory on that site [19] . Tandy DOS
3.2 or 3.3 from the SX or TL disk sets will run on any 1000-series model. MS-DOS
6.22 will run on the later models at least (SL and later), though Tandy DOS may
be better (see section III.A.2.). Otherwise, watch eBay for a while or ask in
comp.sys.tandy.
II.K.6. What are the jumper/switch settings for my 1000 or my Tandy adapter card?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some of them may be given in your owner's manual. Check Tandy's support WWW
site to find out about the others (see section IV.B.2.).
1000's Tech Notes and Jumper Manual, Volumes 1 and 2 contains jumper/switch
settings for all 1000's and Tandy adapter cards (see section IV.D.).
II.K.7. I just got a 1000 secondhand, and it has some expansion card in it that
I can't identify. How do I find out about it?
If it's a Tandy card, check Tandy's support WWW site for information (see
section IV.B.2.).
Note that the 1000's can use most any expansion card that works in an IBM
XT, so the possibilities are nearly endless.
For the original 1000, 1000A, and 1000HD, which were less compatible than later
models, several companies marketed custom cards, and those companies are long
gone now. Since those systems only had 3 expansion slots, multifunction boards
were popular. The boards commonly included a DMA chip, memory upgrade to 640k, a
serial port, a clock chip, a PLUS connector for an additional PLUS-type
expansion card, and/or EMS memory. Some of these were:
PBJ MFB-1000, sold by PBJ, 5725 Kennedy Boulevard, North Bergen, NJ 07047
(the manual for this one [20] is available online)
TanPak, sold by Hard Drive Specialist, 16208 Hickory Knoll, Houston, TX
77059
Micro Mainframe 4N1, sold by Micro Mainframe, 120 Blue Ravine Road #2,
Folsom, CA 95630
Zuckerboard Multifunction Board, sold by Advanced Transducer Devices,
1287 Lawrence Station Road, Sunnyvale, CA 94089
Matthew Electronics Master/Card, sold by Automation Facilities Corp.,
6383 Rose Lane, Carpinteria, CA 93013
PCA Multiboard, sold by PCA Technology, 2512 Pegasus Drive, Bakersfield,
CA 93308
Z Multifunction Board, sold by Howard Medical Computers, 1690 Elston,
Chicago, IL 60622
PIC DMA Half Megaboard, sold by PIC (no address known - phone was (714)
261-0503)
Several of the above companies also sold other cards for the original 1000
and 1000A, as well as PLUS cards for the EX and HX.
The FCC has database you can search to get the name and address of the
manufacturer of any item with an FCC ID number on it. Go to this site:
http://www.driverzone.com/fcc_id_search.htm
Use the second form on that site for older parts. Once you determine what card
it is, see if the manufacturer has a WWW or FTP site; also check out Total
Hardware 99 at:
http://www.thegreenhouse.us/th99/
II.K.8. When I turn the system on, it just displays the memory size and sits there. What's happening?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(On some systems, the BIOS version is displayed rather than the memory size.) If
you're not getting a beep code indicating a hardware problem (see section
II.K.2.), then the EEPROM is seriously messed up. If you have a hard drive, try
unplugging the data cable and see if it boots then; also try removing all the
expansion cards. If it still doesn't work, try removing the EEPROM from the
machine and placing it pins down on a flat metal surface for a day or so.
For the 1000RLX, here is another method of wiping the EEPROM from the 1000's
Tech Notes and Jumper Manual: "If the system will not boot, then turn power off.
Connect a 150 ohm, 1/4 watt resistor to pin 4 and pin 8 on chip U3 (the EEPROM).
Make sure the resistor does not come in contact with any other pins. Turn power
on, once the system is at the A>, then remove the resistor and run the SETUPRLX
program." (This works. Pin 1 is left of the notch, pins are numbered
counterclockwise.)
If you can get your system to boot somehow, run SETUPxx /F afterwards to
reprogram the EEPROM to factory defaults. (Some setups don't have /F; look for a
"restore defaults" option instead.)
Some 1000's have a lithium coin battery in them, but that battery is not
connected to the EEPROM - it operates the (nonstandard) clock chip. Hence, it is
useless on these systems to remove the battery and wait for the EEPROM to
discharge, which will never happen.
Note that one way to mess up the EEPROM on a system with DOS and DeskMate in ROM
is to install and run a DeskMate runtime program outside of DeskMate. If you
have DeskMate, you _must_ use it to run DeskMate programs. (This generally won't
make the machine unbootable, however.)
III. Software Questions
=======================
III.A. DOS
----------
III.A.1. My system has DOS in ROM. How do I upgrade the DOS version?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you're using a hard drive, run FDISK to make sure the first partition is
marked "active" (bootable), then install the DOS upgrade on the drive.
Run the system setup program. Set PRIMARY START-UP DEVICE to DISK (not
ROM or MEMORY), and set INITIAL START-UP PROGRAM to MS-DOS (not DESKMATE).
You also have to specify where to look for CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT. There
are three options. If you tell SETUPxx to look for the files on C:, then the
machine will always use the files on C:, regardless of whether there is a floppy
in the drive at startup. If CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT on C: get messed up, the
machine becomes unbootable (see section III.A.4.). Likewise, if you tell SETUPxx
to look for CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT on A: it will check the floppy drive for
the files, and if there is no diskette in the drive it will not use CONFIG.SYS
or AUTOEXEC.BAT. The best choice is to leave CHECK FOR CONFIG.SYS and
AUTOEXEC.BAT set to NO, which will cause your Tandy to boot from a floppy if one
is in the drive or from the hard drive if not, and use the files on whichever
drive it boots from - like a normal PC.
If you don't have a hard drive and you set PRIMARY START-UP DEVICE to DISK, you
will have to use a bootable floppy. It is, of course, invalid to specify that
CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT are on C: in that case. Even if you have a hard
drive, you should make a bootable diskette with the new version of DOS and the
system setup program on it for emergencies (see section III.A.4.).
Note that your ROM drive disappears when you upgrade DOS (see section III.A.2.).
III.A.2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of upgrading DOS?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The advantages are pretty much common knowledge. Upgrading DOS can give you
upper memory blocks (saving conventional memory), online help, task switching,
Interlink (for transferring files between computers), and hard drive
compression. Many people have upgraded successfully.
Here are the disadvantages, according to Tandy:
The early 1000's up to and including the 1000TX computer have problems
formatting and reading floppy drives to their fullest capacity with any DOS
higher than DOS 3.2. These formatting and reading problems show themselves
as a 720K drive behaving as a 360K drive. The 1000's have also shown
problems with hard drive FAT tables being scrambled or corrupted by DOS
version higher than 3.2, thereby rendering the hard drive inoperable!
The 1000's ROM DOS-Based systems will lose the use of Deskmate if any other
version of DOS is loaded other than the one it was shipped with. The Tandy
1000 ROM DOS based computers are either 8088, 8086, or 286XT's, because of
this they can't load DOS into high memory. Therefore all of DOS must reside
in base memory, (640K) leaving less of it free for programs to run in. The
original DOS 3.2 or 3.3 leaves between 557K to 575K of free memory for
programs to run in. Installation of DOS 5.0 or 6.0 may scramble the EEPROM
chip beyond recoverability on the Tandy 1000 ROM-DOS based computers. This
will [cause] the computer to lock with the 640K memory size displayed on the
screen and fail to boot any further. To correct this problem the computer
will have to have it's EEPROM chip replaced at a repair depot.
The Kernel of DOS 6.0 is the same size as that of DOS 5.0 but 17K larger
than that of DOS 3.3. After the DOS kernel and a mouse driver have been
loaded into memory you are left with approximately 538K to 545K of free
memory. If you use DoubleSpace to increase the hard drive size, DOS 6.0 will
automatically load a 42K driver to support the compressed drive. This will
leave approximately 496K to 503K of free memory for software to run in. As
most programs for these machines require between 540K to 580K of free
memory, this will leave insufficient base memory for these programs to run
in.
Here's more:
MS-DOS 4.01
This operating system is exclusively for use on true (i.e. AT Compatible)
80286, 80386 and 80486 computer systems. It is not to be used on any Tandy
1000 computer available as of this date. It will not work properly on any
Tandy 8088 or Tandy 8086 based computer system. We will not support this
configuration and will recommend the immediate return to and re-installation
of MS-DOS 3.2 or 3.3 depending on the particular Tandy 1000 involved. In
addition to this, MS-DOS 4.01 is significantly larger and consumes more
conventional memory than any other version.
MS-DOS 5.0
Tandy 1000, 1000A, 1000SX, 1000TX, 1000HD, 1000SL, 1000SL/2, 1000HX, 1000EX,
1000TL, 1000TL/2, 1000TL/3 and 1000RL only have 640K of RAM available
maximum for MS-DOS and therefore will result in less available memory for
software if MS-DOS 5.0 is installed. This is a major limitation and in most
cases more than offsets the benefits listed above.... If one complains of
software not loading we will recommend a return to the original MS-DOS
version. This will likely mean the potential loss of data on the hard drive
since it is extremely difficult to move large data files to an earlier
version of DOS.
One final consideration concerns the 'ROM based computers' that we recently
and currently sell with MS-DOS Version 3.3. If these computers are
'upgraded' to MS-DOS 5.0, then DeskMate becomes unavailable. Since MS-DOS
5.0 does not recognize a DOS 3.3 ROM, one will be forced to purchase a
generic version of DeskMate (25-1351) and may not be able to transfer the
related files to the new version.... In addition some systems, even with the
generic version of DeskMate, may require further hardware upgrades to allow
even this version to load with MS-DOS 5.0.
There is a problem reported with frequent lockups on the 1000SX, corrected by
upgrading the DOS version from Tandy DOS 3.20.00 to 3.20.22. Tandy does not
support any higher version than this on the SX; they are said to be unstable. In
addition, the task swapper in DOS 5 Dosshell will lock up a 1000SX.
DR DOS 6.0 is reported not to recognize a second floppy drive on a 1000TL.
DRIVPARM, DRIVER.SYS, and SETUPTL/A were all tried without success (there is a
workaround). There has also been a problem with reformatting the hard drive to
make it a single partition. It is also reported that 720k disk access is very
slow with DR DOS; this was corrected (4/92) by an update disk from Novell.
Intermittent problems occur in reading diskettes formatted with the "quick"
format option in DR DOS on Tandy machines. The standalone version of DeskMate is
incompatible with the SuperStor disk compression bundled with DR DOS; DeskMate
must use an uncompressed disk partition.
Older-model 1000's have problems when the DOS is upgraded, in that 720k drives
are seen as 360k drives. That problem can be fixed by using DRIVPARM or
DRIVER.SYS in CONFIG.SYS; see section II.C.6.
Kevin Kramer reported the same problem (720k formatted as 360k) with MS-DOS 2.0
on the 1000HX, so the problem apparently exists with any version of DOS other
than one designed for the machine. Kevin is using a shareware program called
"make720" to solve it.
The book, Upgrading Your Tandy (see section IV.D.) reports that TX and earlier
systems (particularly the original 1000 and 1000A) have problems with DOS later
than 3.3 due to their nonstandard keyboards.
IBM PC-DOS 7 is recommended over MS-DOS for older computers. PC-DOS comes with
REXX, the powerful batch-programming language used on IBM mainframes, and PC-DOS
works well on even the oldest PC-compatible. As far as Microsoft goes, MS-DOS
3.3 is probably the best version for XT-class systems (the entire 1000-series,
excluding the RLX's and RSX's.)
Ryan Davies reports that DOS 6.2 will not run
at 8MHz on the 1000TX (see section II.F.4.).
It is often necessary on the 1000-series to use the /I option with the DOS 6
Setup program to disable hardware detection.
The internationalization features of MS-DOS 3.3 were sold separately for Tandy
DOS 3.3. The catalog number for the internationalization disk was 700-4109.
Tandy DOS 3.3 was 25-4109. On the 1000TL with the original DOS and video, it is
possible to change the code page (character set) to European characters with
SETUPTL /A.
Given the disadvantages, you may choose to add third-party utilities to get the
new DOS features you want, rather then upgrading the DOS version. For example,
there is a shareware task switcher called Back and Forth that works very well
with Tandy DOS 3.3. 4DOS is a replacement shell (it runs instead of COMMAND.COM)
that provides many of the features of newer DOSes with your existing DOS (4DOS
is now freeware; you can download it from the WakaWaka BBS - see section
IV.B.3.). Norton Commander is also said to be a good shell.
If you do upgrade your DOS, you should save the disks for the original DOS,
since it contains some customized features for your machine. The MODE command
can often be used to change the CPU speed or the screen colors, for example. The
customized GW-Basic is another thing you need to keep, since it includes support
for Tandy graphics and sound that the Basic in the DOS upgrade will not. You
need to keep the HINSTALL program as well on systems that support an XT IDE
drive.
III.A.3. How can I change CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On systems with DOS in ROM, these files (if they exist) are, by default, on the
ROM drive and so cannot be modified. To get a modifiable CONFIG.SYS or
AUTOEXEC.BAT, you need to run your system setup program and tell it to look for
CONFIG.SYS and/or AUTOEXEC.BAT on the hard drive or on the first floppy drive.
One note though: on the 1000HX, CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT on A: are ignored
unless the system is set to boot from DISK, even if I say to look for them on
A:.
III.A.4. I screwed up my CONFIG.SYS on my hard drive, and now I can't boot the
system to fix it - it ignores bootable diskettes!
On a system with DOS in ROM, there are at least three ways of making the machine
unbootable. First, if you have a hard drive and you're set up to boot from DISK,
the first partition on the hard drive needs to be a valid bootable partition. If
it does not contain valid copies of the MS-DOS system files, the machine will
not boot. Second, if you have a hard drive and you set up the machine to look
for CONFIG.SYS and/or AUTOEXEC.BAT on C:, those files, if they exist, need to be
valid. If they are not, there is no way of overriding them, so if the commands
in those files mess up the machine so it won't run, you're locked out. Third, it
is possible to mess up the EEPROM to such a degree that the BIOS can make no
sense of it at all. The symptom of that is that the system freezes at the memory
size display and refuses to boot further. The only way to fix that is to replace
or wipe the EEPROM (see section II.K.8.).
For the first two problems, you need to open up the machine and physically
disconnect the hard drive, for example by disconnecting the data cable at the
controller - with the power off, of course. Close the machine back up and turn
it on.
Depending on your setup, one of two things may happen. If you have the machine
set up to look for CONFIG.SYS and/or AUTOEXEC.BAT on C:, the BIOS will complain
that the setup is invalid and boot from ROM into DeskMate (the factory default).
Hit <esc> to exit DeskMate and get to a DOS prompt. Otherwise, the machine will
ask you to insert a bootable floppy. Do so.
How you proceed from here depends on what kind of problem you're trying to fix.
If the problem is that CONFIG.SYS and/or AUTOEXEC.BAT on the hard drive is
messed up, run SETUPxx from a floppy and tell it to look for CONFIG.SYS and
AUTOEXEC.BAT on A:. Save the changes. Unplug the machine and reconnect the hard
drive data cable. Close the machine up again, put a floppy with valid CONFIG.SYS
and AUTOEXEC.BAT files on it in the drive, and turn on the machine. Fix
CONFIG.SYS and/or AUTOEXEC.BAT on the hard drive. If your hard drive is not
bootable (so you are booting from ROM), run SETUPxx again and tell it to look
for CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT on C:. Otherwise (if you are booting from DISK),
set CHECK FOR CONFIG.SYS ON DRIVE and CHECK FOR AUTOEXEC.BAT ON DRIVE to NO,
which will cause the system to boot from A: if there is a bootable floppy in the
drive or C: if there is not, and use the files on the boot drive, whether it is
A: or C: - like a normal PC, in other words.
If you are running the original version of DOS, and the problem is that you are
set up to boot from DISK but the hard drive is not valid for booting for some
reason other than a messed up CONFIG.SYS and/or AUTOEXEC.BAT, run SETUPxx from a
floppy and tell it to boot from ROM. Save the changes. Unplug the machine and
reconnect the hard drive data cable. Close up the machine again. If you have it
set up to look for CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT on A:, put a floppy with valid
files in the drive. Turn on the machine and fix the hard drive, then run SETUPxx
again and set it up the way you want.
If you have upgraded your DOS version, and the problem is that the hard drive is
not valid for booting for some reason other than a messed up CONFIG.SYS and/or
AUTOEXEC.BAT, run SETUPxx from a floppy. Tell it to boot from ROM and not to use
CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT (i.e., set "CHECK FOR CONFIG.SYS ON DRIVE" and "CHECK
FOR AUTOEXEC.BAT ON DRIVE" to NO). Save the changes. Unplug the machine and
reconnect the hard drive data cable. Close up the machine again. Turn it on; it
will boot from ROM into the original DOS. Put a bootable floppy with your
current version of DOS, whatever device drivers you need, and valid CONFIG.SYS
and AUTOEXEC.BAT files in the floppy drive. Locate the ROM drive, which may be
C:, D:, or E:. Run RESTART.COM from the ROM drive. Press F1 to restart from the
floppy, booting your current DOS. Fix the hard drive. Run SETUPxx again and tell
it to boot from DISK. Leave CHECK FOR CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT set to NO -
when booting from DISK, that will cause the machine to use files on the boot
drive, whichever it might be.
Not every 1000 with ROM DOS comes with RESTART.COM. If you've upgraded your DOS,
but you don't have RESTART.COM, you might have to repartition and reformat your
hard drive. I'm sure this doesn't cover all the possibilities, but you get the
general idea.
III.B. DeskMate
---------------
III.B.1. My system has DeskMate in ROM. How do I upgrade?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Download the generic PC-compatible version of DeskMate 3.05 from the Tvdog site.
It's in the deskmate directory [21] .
III.B.2. I recently upgraded from my old 1000, and I really miss DeskMate! How can I get it back?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Download the generic PC-compatible version of DeskMate 3.05 from the Tvdog site.
It's in the deskmate directory [21] . This version runs from disk and does not
require a ROM.
DM 3.05 would not run on my Tandy 4033LX (386DX/33), owing to an apparent
incompatibility between 3.05 and DOS 6.22 EMM386. DeskMate 3.05 ran fine with
DOS 5.0 on my 386. Anyway, after upgrading to DOS 6.22 I had to use the
PC-compatible version of DeskMate 3.03, catalog number 25-1350. This older
version of DeskMate is prone to trouble with hard drive partitions larger than
32 megabytes, but in my case that was not a problem, since while my drive was
larger than that it is not large enough to trigger the arithmetic miscalculation
in the DeskMate get_free_space() function that causes the trouble. I surmise
that the problem is due to the fact that DeskMate 3.05 will attempt to use
expanded or shadow RAM if available, and that that access is somehow in conflict
with DOS 6.22 EMM386 (but not DOS 5.0 EMM386). DeskMate 3.03 does not use either
expanded or shadow RAM, and like DM 3.05, you can download it from the deskmate
directory [21] on the Tvdog site.
III.B.3. I upgraded my DOS version, and now DeskMate is gone. How do I get it back?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've written a device driver to reenable access to the ROM drive where DeskMate
resides after the drive has been rendered invisible by a DOS upgrade. The driver
is here:
ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/utilities/romdrive.zip
Romdrive is known to work on the 1000TL and TL/2. If you try it on another
system, let me know whether it works. There may be an older version of Romdrive
floating around out there. That version does not work. Get the one from the site
above. The correct version is dated May 1997 or later.
DeskMate earlier than 3.05 has trouble with hard drive partitions larger than 32
megabytes, so if you reformatted your drive when you upgraded DOS you may have
trouble with the original DeskMate.
If Romdrive does not work, or you don't want to use it, you can get the generic
PC-compatible version of DeskMate 3.05; see section III.B.2.
III.B.4. DeskMate Sound and Music won't work when the printer is connected but not turned on. What gives?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ken Udut provided the following information:
Re: Deskmate sound/music doesn't work with printer turned [off].
I will find the offical Tandy explanation. But it has to do with the fact
that the digitial chip is also used with the printer (as well as the
joysticks). I don't know how/why they did it, and the official explanation
says more.
Solutions:
1) Make certain that your printer is on before you boot the
computer up. This usually works.
2) Unplug the printer cable from the back of the computer, or the back of
the printer. This always works.
NOTE: If you boot up the computer without the printer on, and Deskmate
Sound/Music or other programs using the Tandy DAC don't work right (plays
only a portion then stops, doesn't play at all, or makes an awful
bleep-bleep-bleep-bleep while playing the music), turn the printer on -now-,
and see if that helps it.
Here is the official Tandy explanation:
Does your sound sometimes fail to work when you have a printer connected to
your 2500 XL? There's a simple answer. There is a single chip that controls
printer, sound and joystick. If you have a printer connected to your 2500
XL, it should be powered on before you boot the computer. If it's connected
and not powered up, the chip will get confused. Turn the printer on, and
reboot. Everything should work fine. If the printer is disconnected, of
course, it will also work fine.
(The 2500XL has the same PSSJ chip as the 1000SL's, TL's, RL's, RLX's, and
RSX's.)
III.B.5. How can I write my own programs for DeskMate?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You need to get a copy of the DeskMate Software Developer's Kit for DeskMate
3.0x (there is no SDK for DeskMate 1, 2 or Personal DeskMate). The SDK was
originally sold by Tandy for $299. There is a copy in the wares directory on the
Tvdog site:
ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/wares/DeskMate-Development-System
-3.03/
Probably nobody owns the rights to DeskMate any more; see section
IV.J.
The SDK includes libraries, a dialog box editor and other utilities (with
varying degrees of bugginess), and 2 8.5x11" manuals. It supports Microsoft C,
Microsoft Macro Assembler, Turbo Assembler, Turbo C, and Borland C (or any
compiler that supports Microsoft libraries - which is most). The compiler needs
to be ANSI-compliant, unless you want to edit all the header files to delete the
formal parameters in the function prototypes. Each version of the SDK comes with
that version of DeskMate and supports that version's features (any version can
make programs that run under any version of DeskMate 3). The DeskMate runtime
(used if you want your programs to be able to run under bare DOS) was available
free of charge to licensed owners of the SDK but not distributed with it; it is
on the Tvdog site with the SDK itself.
The best compiler for DeskMate is probably Microsoft C 6.0 Professional Edition;
that compiler contains "altmath" libraries which are compatible with DeskMate's
task-switching scheme. (Otherwise, you use floating-point math in a DeskMate
program at your own risk - DeskMate will not swap the coprocessor emulation
vectors on a task switch.) The DeskMate libraries only support the small and
medium memory models, though one could make other models work with appropriate
use of the "near" keyword.
According to Steven Lindell:
I called Star software (800) 443-5737, the last developer to market a
DeskMate product (Outliner and Graph companions: they are multiwindowed!).
The person there said that they did not recommend the developer's kit, but
that they might be willing to sell their copy for $200. It is C-based, has
poor documentation, some bugs, and does not offer good support in that Star
claimed they had to write most things themselves anyway. However, the
decision to get and use this should be up to the individual. If anyone does
get and use it, the rest of us in TandyLand would like to know your
impressions."
III.B.6. I upgraded my video to VGA, and now DeskMate refuses to run. What do I do?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You need to get the DeskMate VGA driver. The driver is either DMVDVGA.RES (for
DeskMate 3.00 to 3.02) or DMVSVGA.RES (for DeskMate 3.03 or later). For DeskMate
3.05, you also need DMVEVGA.RES for font support. You can get a copy from the
Tvdog site (see section IV.B.1.). Note: DMVSVGA does not mean it's for SVGA; all
the video drivers for DM 3.03 or later are DMVS*.RES. There is no SVGA driver
for DeskMate (the VGA driver will of course work).
You might actually have the video driver you need under another name, if you
have any third-party applications for DeskMate. Most (if not all) third-party
DeskMate applications came with a DOS runtime version that includes all the
video drivers, but runtime versions 3.02 and earlier use different names for
resources - resource.RRS instead of resource.RES. The runtime video resources
are the same as the DeskMate resources and will work under DeskMate 3.02 or
earlier if you change their names.
In the meantime note the following. By default, DeskMate will detect the video
present in the system and use the appropriate video driver, DMVD*.RES. There is
a program to alter this behavior, however: DMVID.EXE. DMVID can cause DeskMate
to use a particular video driver without going through the autodetect routine.
Note that without running DMVID, DeskMate will not run unless it finds the
driver it thinks it needs. Thus, if you have an EGA driver but not VGA, you
could go DMVID EGA at the DOS prompt to get you by till you get the right
driver. (You will need to run DMVID AUTO when you have the driver.)
III.B.7. Is there a program for DeskMate that does (x)?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kenneth Udut furnished the following list:
Here is a list of previous Deskmates and their approximate dates. I would
like information on the CoCo and Model IV Deskmates, as I don't know much
about them.
Deskmate 1
Versions bundled with Tandy 1000/A/HD/EX/SX
[The SX actually came with DeskMate 2, but it was not Personal
DeskMate or Professional DeskMate. The EX came with Personal
DeskMate.]
Deskmate 2
Included Personal Deskmate and Professional Deskmate. Bundled with
Tandy 1000 HX, TX. Look and feel are VERY similar to Deskmate 3, and
the programs will almost ALL work with Deskmate 3. Some third party
applications were written for Deskmate 2, but I don't know what they
were. Anyone know?
Deskmate 3
Versions bundled with Tandy 1000 RL/SL/TL/RLX, 2500SX, and available
for the 1000 RSX, the most mysterious and last Tandy 1000. Was also
available standalone to work with any computer (version 3.05). Each
version bundled with the Tandy computers was different.
3.00
on ROM chip in SL/TL
3.01
Mysterious "SWITCH.EXE" is really Deskmate 3.01.
3.02
on ROM chip in SL/2 TL/2
3.03
on ROM chip in TL/2
3.04
on ROM chip in RL
3.05
on ROM chip in 2500SX, 1000RSX(?).
3.05.22
on ROM chip with RLX(?). Includes some VERY customized
programs.
DESKMATE PROGRAMS THAT RUN WITHOUT REQUIRING THE DESKMATE 3 PROGRAM.
*DESKMATE 3
Main program. Includes many programs. Friendly!
Made by Tandy Corp.
*QUICKEN 2
Checkbook balancer, personal accounting program.
Made by INTUIT.
*MEMORYMATE
Freeform database program. Allows you to store an unlimited amount
of text and other things and search through it all at will. I (Ken)
have been using this program since 1988, and I have to say that I
will be using it forever. All of my little scraps of notepaper go
into MemoryMate, and I use it. I could not live without it. Oh, and
you can make HyperText documents with it very very easily. All of my
important E-mail is kept in MemoryMate, and linked together with
buttons. Made by Broderbund.
*VENTURE
Business Plan writer. Includes it OWN text editor, as well as
schedulers, and others for the small businessman. Made by Star
Software.
*HOME LAWYER
Home Legal Advisor. It allows you to create professional legal
documents without a lawyer. Bill of sale, letters to creditors, and
other things adults unfortunately need to do once in a while. Made
by ?
*Q&A WRITE
Word processor. Uses printer fonts. Includes ability to mailmerge in
more flexible ways than TEXT. You can edit much larger files. Made
by Symantec.
*HOMEWORD II
Word processor. WYSIWYG.
Made by Sierra.
*GRAMMAR CHECKER
I may have the wrong name of this. Corrects grammar mistakes. Made
by ?
[This is probably a reference to RightWriter, see below.]
*PC-LINK
How could I forget this? Online nationwide service. Requires modem.
I was a member for about 2/3 years before running low on money and
leaving. Still active. It runs right along with America Online - it
is the same service, but two different pricing schemes, and one uses
Deskmate, the other uses Geoworks.
Messages appear in pretty, scrollable screens and it is a whole
other universe. Online games such as Neverwinter Nights, take full
advantage of your Tandy 1000's enhanced graphics and sound
capabilities (no digital sounds though). Made by Quantum Computer
Services, Now known as America Online Inc.
[PC-Link has now been folded into America Online, see
below.]
*ONLINE!
Terminal Program for Deskmate. Hard to find, but I've heard it is
excellent! Does not include Zmodem protocol, but includes all of the
others. Made by Sierra.
*FIRST PUBLISHER
Desktop Publishing program that set certain standards and formats in
the IBM world. Prints at 75dpi, but allows you to use laser printer
downloadable fonts!
*EXPRESS PUBLISHER
Desktop publishing program. Has stricter requirements than any other
Deskmate program I've seen. Requires 580K to be FREE, which is easy
enough using MS-DOS 3.30, but if you've moved up to MSDOS 5/6 you
may not have enough free memory on your 1000. It prints at the
highest resolution of the printer. Uses Deskmate 3.05 fonts (Atech
fonts), and includes lots of clip art. It's not nearly as speedy as
First Publisher, but it does the trick. Requires hard drive, unlike
most Deskmate programs. Made by ?
*FORM FINISHER
If you fill out forms repetatively, like UPS forms, federal
documents, etc., Form Finisher helps you create a reproduction of
forms in Form Finisher, and then you treat it like the paper form,
only it's on the computer now! Say goodbye to the thrice
copied-by-the-time-you-got-it EPA forms! Put it in Form Finisher,
and you have something nice to send back, with less work. Prints on
all printers. Made by Power Up! Software Corporation.
*MUSIC STUDIO 3
Sophisticated music creating/editing/printing program. Allows
multiple staffs, and plays over Tandy 3-voice sound (and digitized,
if the *L series). Compatible with Roland MPU and some other MIDI
systems! Not compatible with SoundBlaster, unless someone has an
emulator for the Roland/other systems listed. Includes its OWN sound
editor, and the sounds are compatible with Deskmate's SOUND.PDM.
Many many songs are available for this on PC-Link/AOL.
Made by Activision.
*FILEPRO
Surpurb Database program! Import/Export Deliminated ASCII, Lotus
1-2-3, and Dbase III/IV formats! The Query screen is the same as the
Form (which is RARE, and something I wish Paradox for Windows here
at work had!). It is very fast, and includes a very sophisticated
Screen Painting program, which allows you to made your data
entry/data viewing screens look just like you want them to. And, as
always, you can copy to the clipboard from DRAW, and paste it in
filePro!
A friend of mine on Delphi uses filePro to keep track of milk on her
dairy farm. Made by The Small Computer Company, Inc.
*LOTUS 1-2-3
Home version of Lotus 1-2-3. Completely compatible with regular
Lotus 1-2-3 except for Macros and Add-ons. Spreadsheet, graphing,
database functions. Made by Lotus.
*MAVIS BEACON
Surpurb typing tutor! I've watched my speed go from 55 wpm up to 85
wpm in a matter of months! Accurately! The original disks are copy
protected. Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing is its official name. Made by
The Software Toolworks.
*TYPING TUTOR IV
Another excellent typing tutor! I bought and installed it in the
local Cerebral Palsy center where I once volunteered. I started some
of the older kids on the tutor, and watched them go from being only
able to play games on the computer, to being able to type
accurately! Includes Letter Invaders, a game that is rather like
Missle Command. Letter Invaders also comes with the Tandy 1000 RLX
Deskmate. Made by ?
*DESKMATE SDK
The Deskmate Software Development Kit! Includes everything you need
to write programs in Deskmate. Requires Microsoft C compiler
(version 4.0 is fine) Includes sections on programming with the
Tandy sound chips and special graphics modes. Tandy was the first
company to put out a development kit for their integrated
environment (Deskmate).
Available from Tandy Corp @ $299. You may be lucky enough to find a
used copy, but not too likely! Made by Tandy Corp.
[see section III.B.5.]
*ESPER
Directory/File management program. Allows you to run most common
MS-DOS commands from within Deskmate! Look in PCM Magazine or 1000
Magazine for advertisements. Made by Bob Jack Software.
Independently sold.
[PCM and 1000 are both defunct
now; see section IV.C.]
There are also tons of education software made under Deskmate's
Interface. Can anybody help me with the names/what they do?
DESKMATE COMPANIONS: Programs that require Deskmate 3 to be installed.
THESARUS
I'm at work and without Deskmate & spell checker, so I probably
spelled it wrong. Look up alternative words in Deskmate TEXT - one
of the handiest things I've used! Made by Tandy Corp.
HOME ORGANIZER
15 extra programs, originally bundled with RL, offered separately
due to HUGE customer request. It carries the Goodhousekeeping Seal
of Approval! Made by Tandy Corp.
[Home Organizer was bundled with the RL's, RLX's, and RSX's. It is
still available from Tandy - see section IV.A.]
MACROS
For making boilerplates, running everyday tasks, you can automate
them with Macros. When installed, it's found either under F10 or
under F10 | SETUP | F2 Very simple to use! Made by Tandy Corp.
GRAPHS
Make colorful graphs using data generated by anything, as it imports
Deliminated ASCII, as well as other formats. Includes special color
printer driver that only works with GRAPHS for the Citizen/Tandy
color dot matrix printers/emulators! Made by Star Software.
FINANCIAL ASSISTANT
Make complex calculations easily! Even Amortization!
Made by Star Software.
SCHOOLMATE
Networks school computers together, provides special Deskmate
programs for teachers and students. Includes a DeskMate BBS
(internal) and E-Mail. Made by Tandy Corp.
WORKGROUP COMP.
Workgroup Companion. Connect two computer together with serial
cable, or many computer with LAN cards. Run Deskmate software from
another computer! A Tandy 1000 HX, for example, hooked with a
TandyLink card, can run the Deskmate programs off of a Tandy 1000
TL/3, even if the HX only has floppy drives!! Includes Deskmate BBS
(internal), chat modes, and E-Mail. Also a special shared calender
and address book, so that many people can access their stuff, but
not yours! Made by Tandy Corp.
AVAILABLE ONLINE SOMEWHERE:
Recipe Importer
allows you to import recipes into the
recipe database in Home Organizer.
DMCLIP
Convert DRAW files into .CLP art! Both made by Tandy Research and
Development. Available on PC-Link/AOL, as well as ftp site
musie.phlab.missouri.edu under pub/trs/Tandy1000.
*Test Drive of LOTUS 1-2-3
Available on PC-Link/AOL
*Test Drive of Q&A WRITE
Available on PC-Link/AOL
Mysteries - Deskmate programs that might have existed, but I just don't
know.
*DACEASY ACCTING
I haven't tracked it down, but I've spoken to people who have used
it in the past. DacEasy made a version of their fabulous
personal/business accounting software for Deskmate. If anyone tracks
it down, please let me know.
*PAINT POWER
I may have the name wrong, and it may not have ever truly existed.
In the 1990 catalog, there exists a painting program for Deskmate.
You can create .GIF and .PCX with this program, save them, print
them, contort them, etc. Tandy has no record of anything ever having
existed with its catalog number, and software replacement (which has
EVERYTHING!) from Tandy hasn't heard of it.
*FILEPRO PROFESSIONAL
Everything regular filePro does, but with absolutely NO limits.
filePro allows unlimited records, but limits you to 99 fields (as if
that's a limitation!). But filePro Professional allows an unlimited
amount of fields, which is a rarity indeed! Includes many many extra
features. Unfortunately, it never made it to the stores. A listing
on the back of filePro's box is all that I know of it.
NOTE: A * before name means it can run standalone - without Deskmate.
A ? somewhere means I'm not sure, or I don't know. It also
means, if you know - please tell me :-)
PC-Link was a separate service of America Online and is now defunct (AOL offered
DOS software that will run on the 1000's; it will not work with CGA, though - it
works with Hercules, EGA, or VGA). I don't know of any third-party applications
for DeskMate 1 or 2, and I doubt they existed. Tandy did not publicly release a
software development kit for DeskMate 1 or 2, so if there are any third-party
apps they are bound to be few and far between. There were some DeskMate-related
applications that ran under DOS for DM 1 or 2, though.
Here are a few more programs for DeskMate 3 known to have existed:
RightWriter from RightSoft, Inc. This program uses artificial
intelligence to correct your grammar, style, punctuation, and usage.
Utilities! from POP Computer Products. A sort of Norton Utilities for
DeskMate. (The real Norton Utilities will of course run.)
Alge-Blaster Plus from Davidson. Interactive program teaches algebra to
schoolchildren.
DeskMate Outline Companion from Tandy. "Organizes reports, essays,
speeches, with up to ten user-defined levels of detail."
Print Magic from Epyx. A desktop publishing program. "Create cards,
flyers, certificates, stationery and banners."
Your Personal Trainer for the SAT from Davidson. Drills students to
prepare them for the Scholastic Aptitude Test.
Instant Pages from Electronic Arts. Over 100 ready-to-use forms and
newsletters.
KidsTime PC from Great Wave Software. Three games for the kiddies:
connect-the-dots, a musical game, and a reading game.
Backup Pro from The Software Toolworks. A hard drive backup utility.
CheckFree 2.0 from CheckFree. This is a service that pays your bills
automatically for a monthly fee. The DeskMate program was to access the
service. Later CheckFree software required a 386 with Windows 3.1, VGA, and
2 meg RAM. Don't know whether the old DeskMate software will still work.
Solitaire/Poker from Star Software. If you wanted Windows for the solitaire
program, here you go :-).
John Ball mentioned these two:
Quick Start from Roar Technology. A DeskMate companion voice recognition
program - adds voice command capability to DeskMate. Requires Tandy DAC.
TalkMate from Roar Technology. A DeskMate companion program that allows
networked Tandy's with the DAC to exchange voicemail messages.
Brian Evans states that Cliffs StudyWare was still available in computer stores
as of January 1997. These are electronic Cliff's Notes (test review aids); the
programs are:
DOS ACT
DOS BIOLOGY
DOS CALCULUS
DOS CBEST
DOS CHEMISTRY
DOS ECONOMICS
DOS GEOMETRY
DOS GMAT
DOS LSAT
DOS PHYSICS
DOS STATISTICS
DOS TRIGONOMETRY
They sold for $19.95 each and included the printed version of Cliff's Notes.
Later versions of Cliffs StudyWare used Gem or Windows rather than DeskMate.
I guess since I'm the maintainer I can plug my own DeskMate programs :-):
Dmgif is a .gif/.jpg viewer. It supports rescaling, dithering, panning,
zooming, and color adjustment on all supported video cards. It can also
print or copy small parts of the picture to the clipboard. Includes online
help.
Dmsound is a sound file player. You need either a 286 or above, or a
soundcard with DMA (SoundBlaster-family or Tandy DAC). Plays several
formats, including some compressed formats. Can also convert files to .wav
or Tandy .snd.
Some of the programs listed above are on the Tvdog site in the wares directory
[22] . Others are in the deskmate directory [21] ; Dmgif is in the graphics
directory [23] , and Dmsound is in the sound directory [24] . Otherwise, they
turn up in eBay now and then, or you can ask in comp.sys.tandy if anybody has a
used copy for sale.
There were several versions of DeskMate prior to DeskMate 3. The first versions
of DeskMate were character-based application suites activated by hotkeys,
without menus or dialog boxes. DeskMate 1 for the original 1000 and DeskMate 2
for the 1000SX fell into this category. The SX's version of DeskMate added task
switching between a DM and DOS application and networking support. Next came
Personal DeskMate, the first graphical version. Personal DeskMate 1 came with
the 1000EX; Personal DeskMate 2 came with the 1000HX. It included the Paint
drawing program and several accessories; internal support for common DOS
functions such as disk copying, directory listing, and running DOS programs; and
an improved user interface very similar to DeskMate 3. Professional DeskMate was
available as an add-on product for $149.95; it added networking capability to
Personal DeskMate, as well as support for video cards other than TGA. (The
network supported by Professional DeskMate and the Workgroup Companion, above,
was 3Com 3+Share.)
There were DeskMate versions for other Tandy computers as well. DeskMate's
origins go back at least as far as the TRS-80 Model II, which had a version
available for $299, according to <dairylady@delphi.com>. There were also
versions for the Model 4P and the Color Computer. The CoCo version was
graphical.
As an aside, there are some sites on the Internet purporting to distribute
DeskMate "3.69." There is no such version. The version they have is DeskMate
3.05, which came with DESKTOP.PDM version 3.68 or 3.69.
There were also generic PC-compatible versions of DeskMate 3.02 (cat. no.
25-1250) and 3.03 (25-1350), but the 3.05 version is preferable in that it deals
correctly with drive partitions larger than 32MB (however, see section
III.B.2.). DeskMate 2.0, 3.00, 3.03 and 3.05 can be downloaded from the deskmate
directory [21] on the Tvdog site.
III.B.8. Where can I get a DeskMate driver for printer (x)?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Most, if not all, of the available DeskMate printer drivers are at the FTP and
WWW sites listed in sections IV.B.1. and IV.B.2. DeskMate supports the IBM
Graphics Printer (and compatibles like the IBM Proprinter); Epson 9- and 24-pin
dot matrix printers (and compatibles); the HP LaserJet (and compatibles); and
various Tandy printers. Color printing is only supported on certain Tandy
printers.
There was a DeskMate Printer Developer's Kit to be used with the DeskMate 3.03
SDK (see section III.B.5.), but it is nowhere to be found.
III.B.9. I just got a 1000. What is this @#&$ "DeskMate" thing it boots into,
and how do I get rid of it and run DOS?
Some Tandy 1000-series have an enhanced ROM that contains the DOS kernel and the
DeskMate kernel. They were set up at the factory to boot into DeskMate, a
proprietary GUI (graphical user interface) from Tandy. A number of programs were
written for this GUI (see section III.B.7.), but it isn't an operating system,
it runs under DOS, and you can run DOS programs from inside DeskMate (use the
Run... option in the File menu - you can also make icons for DOS programs you
frequently use via the F7 menu). Think of DeskMate as a sort of "Windows lite."
If you're missing the DeskMate disks (which have the apps on them), check the
system directory [9] on the Tvdog site to see if there is a disk set for your
machine.
To get out of DeskMate to the DOS prompt, just hit <esc> or select "Exit" from
the File menu. You may or may not be asked for confirmation. You can reenter
DeskMate (if it's in ROM) by pressing the F12 key at the DOS prompt.
To change the setup so that you boot into DOS rather than DeskMate, you need to
get a copy of the system setup program (see sections III.E.1. and IV.B.1.). If
you have the original disks, the program is called SETUPxx, where xx is your
model, ex., HX, SL, SL2, TL. The program runs from the DOS prompt. Just tell it
you want to boot into DOS rather than DeskMate, and save. You will still be
booting from ROM, which is fast and virus-proof. If you want to boot from disk
instead (perhaps because you want to upgrade the DOS version), select that
option.
On some systems, it is also possible to reboot the system from a floppy, even if
you normally boot from ROM. Systems with DOS and DeskMate in ROM have a ROM
drive with a couple programs on it - C: if you don't have a hard drive, D: if
you do. (If you upgrade the DOS version, the ROM drive disappears entirely.)
Check the ROM drive for a program called RESTART.COM. If you have it, it reboots
your system, but looks for DOS on the floppy drive. Among other things, this is
a way of running some old games that came on bootable disks on a system that
usually boots from ROM.
III.B.10. I've been using DeskMate on my trusty 1000 for many years, but now
it's time to upgrade. How do I transfer the data to Windows?
Unfortunately, this is more easily said than done. If you were using DeskMate
3.0x, the easiest thing to do is just get a copy of DeskMate 3.05 and run it
under Windows (see section III.C.2.).
For Filer or Address Book databases, I've written a program to convert them
to dBase III format, which most programs can import:
ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/deskmate/f2d01.zip
Lotus-DM (Lotus spreadsheet for DeskMate) comes with a program called
TRANSLAT.PDM which can convert DeskMate 3 worksheets to Lotus 2.x format, which
again most programs can import. Lotus-DM is here:
ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/wares/Lotus-Spreadsheet-for-DeskM
ate/
DeskMate sound files (created by SOUND.PDM) can be converted to .wav with
this program:
ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/sound/c2snd202.zip
They need to be loaded into SOUND.PDM and saved without compression first. If
you don't have DeskMate any more, and your .snd files are compressed, Dmsound
can convert some of them to .wav. See:
ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/sound/dmsound.txt
DeskMate Q&A Write can import some DeskMate Text files with minimal formatting
(it cannot import files with embedded Draw graphics, though). There were also
versions of Q&A Write for DOS and Windows, so perhaps that would work if you had
both versions. You can download the demo version of Q&A Write from:
ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/deskmate/gwd1.exe
(The full version is in the wares directory [22] .)
Michael A. Banks (author of Getting the Most out of DeskMate 3, see section
IV.D.) offers the following tips on converting a DM 3 Text file to ASCII:
Formatting Text Files for Export to ASCII
When you are going to print a document to a disk file, you
should first use the To ASCII command to eliminate formatting
codes, then set these parameters in the Page Setup dialog box:
* "portrait" (up and down) printing
* a left margin of 0 and a right margin of 80 or less (65 is
ideal
* number of lines per page and number of lines printed per
page at the maximum of 84 (this prevents page breaks being
inserted in the file)
* single spacing and no pause between pages (these are
defaults, so all you have to remember is to not check
either of the check boxes at the bottom of the page)
DM 3 Text saves ASCII-format files (converted with the "To ASCII" option in the
File menu) with the end-of-line sequences reversed (i.e., 0Ah, 0Dh, instead of
0Dh, 0Ah), but they are otherwise standard ASCII files. If your word processor
is smart enough, you will be able to read them in with no trouble.
With most DeskMate applications, you can print the data to a file. This program
will adapt the result of that so that it's a regular editable ASCII file (when
you print using the ASCII printer in Setup):
ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/deskmate/prn2fil2.zip
Prn2file deletes empty lines, so you may have to edit the resulting file
some.
For Draw graphics, QuickLink II is a shareware fax/communications program that
might help. Set up QuickLink II for DOS on your old 1000. Set the printer type
to HP Laserjet in DeskMate, load your graphics into Draw, and print. When QL2 is
resident, the printer output will not be printed but saved instead as a fax
document in QL2's proprietary format (QFX). Run QL2FAX and select Convert
Documents / Export from the Fax menu. You will have the option of converting to
PCX or TIFF. QuickLink II is on the Tvdog site:
ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/wares/QuickLink-II-for-DOS-Win-3/
Unfortunately, there is currently no way to convert the data files from
Calendar, Home Organizer, or Music.
If you have a DeskMate runtime program (there are a couple on the Tvdog site),
and that program has a "Run..." option in the File menu, you can run your old
DeskMate 3 programs using those programs. For example, if you had some schematic
diagrams that you created in Draw a long time ago (and your Tandy is long gone),
you could install the DOS version of Dmgif v1.2, then run Draw (assuming you
have your old Tandy disks) from the "Run..." option in Dmgif's File menu. It's
not something you want to be doing on a regular basis, but it would work.
Anybody who has the DeskMate SDK (see section III.B.5.) could create DRAW.EXE,
TEXT.EXE, WRKSHEET.EXE, etc., to enable you to run your old DM applications
under DOS, in about 5 minutes. In fact, it is possible without much trouble to
patch any DM runtime application so that it runs the DM DeskTop. (Rename
<app>.EXE to <app>.BIN, load it into Debug, and change the application name near
the beginning of the file to DESK. Rename it back to <app>.EXE and you're done.)
If you have DeskMate 1 or 2, there are a couple programs on the Tvdog site (see
section IV.B.1.) that you can use. The programs are in the tandy1000/deskmate
directory. filer.zip converts a DM 1 or 2 Filer database to an importable ASCII
format. undesk.zip converts DM 1 or 2 Text documents to ASCII. There were also
commercial programs written for converting DM 1 or 2 data files to more common
formats; I don't know where you'd get them now.
III.B.11. DeskMate is asking me for a password, and I don't know it. How do I get in?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some older versions of DeskMate (as on the original 1000 and 1000SX) had a
password option that, if activated, would require the user to enter a password
before DeskMate would start. The password was set by hitting F6 at the main
DeskMate menu. With DeskMate II on the 1000SX at least, the password can be
cleared by deleting file TWSAVE.TWS.
DeskMate Home Organizer (for DeskMate 3.0x) also has a password option. Tandy
produced a program to clear the password:
ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/deskmate/dm3xhprp.exe
III.C. Windows
--------------
III.C.1. Can I run Windows on my 1000?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All 1000-series models can run Windows up to 3.0 in real mode if they have 640k
RAM and a hard drive (6MB or more is required). For adequate performance with
Windows 3.0, a 286 processor and at least 2M of expanded RAM is recommended. EGA
or better graphics is also a plus. Minimum, though, is only 8088, 640k, CGA, no
EMS. (On the TX and earlier, select the 83-key keyboard in setup.)
There are two things to consider in running real-mode Windows 3.0: video and
applications. Generally, any application written for Windows 2.x will run under
real-mode Windows 3.0, while most applications written for Windows 3 will not
run. You will be hunting for used copies of older versions. As far as video, if
you have an XT-class Tandy with Tandy/PCjr Video (TGA) or Tandy Video II (ETGA)
(both versions of enhanced CGA), you will have to use either the Windows CGA
driver, which gives a pretty crappy display, or the Tandy video driver from
Windows 2.x (see below). If you have Tandy Video II (the SL's, TL's, and RL's
have it), you can plug in a mono TTL monitor and run Windows in Hercules mode
for a much better screen.
There is a Tandy video driver for Windows 2.x or 3.0 at:
ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/utilities/tandydsp.zip
One other thing. Real-mode Windows 3.0 will use EMS RAM if you have it (no later
version of Windows will). It needs to be LIM 4.0 EMS, preferably hardware, but
software 4.0 EMS will do. If you have the old Micro Mainframe EMS card that was
formerly sold by Tandy (it is hardware 3.2), there is a freeware 4.x driver for
it at the Tvdog site (see section IV.B.1.). (The driver identifies itself as 4.1
to distinguish it from Micro Mainframe's 4.0 driver, which is no longer
available.)
James S. Blackmon installed Windows 3.0 on his 1000TX and said: "I just got
Windows 3.0 on my computer and it works fine. The only thing is that it is in
black and white." (The Windows CGA driver is black and white.)
The RLX's can run Windows 3.1 in standard mode only, if they have the RAM
upgraded to 1M. The RLX just barely meets the minimum hardware requirements for
Windows 3.1, however, and performance will be poor. Windows will not recognize
the built-in mouse (see section II.G.2.). One user says of Windows 3.1 on the
1000RLX:
Windows' performance is tolerable on a 486DX2/66. I like it on the RLX
because I can start a program, go to the bathroom, and when I come back only
have to wait a few minutes before I can actually use the #@$% thing.
The RSX's can run Windows 3.1 (or 3.11) in 386 enhanced mode if the memory has
been upgraded to 2M or more. There is a Windows sound driver for the RSX's
built-in sound at the Tvdog site and at Tandy's support WWW site (see sections
IV.B.1. and IV.B.2.).
Tandy did not officially support the use of Windows on any model of the
1000-series. The RSX could theoretically run Windows 95 (if its memory is
upgraded to 9MB), but Microsoft does not recommend Win95 for 386's.
III.C.2. Can I run DeskMate under Windows?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To run DeskMate under Windows 3.1, create a .PIF file for DESK.EXE. Try these
settings in your DESK.PIF:
Video Memory: High graphics
Memory Requirements: KB Required 512 KB Desired 640
EMS Memory: KB Required 0 KB Desired 1024
XMS Memory: KB Required 0 KB Desired 0
Display Usage: Full screen
Execution: Exclusive
Advanced:
Reserve Shortcut Keys: Check if any are used by your DeskMate
applications - probably not.
The PC-compatible version of DeskMate 3.05 uses approximately 90k of LIM 4.0 EMS
to load the core, if available. Other programs written for DM 3.05 may also use
EMS. My programs Dmgif and Dmsound will use XMS as well if there is insufficient
EMS available, but that is not standard for a DeskMate program.
If you have a newer version of Windows, DeskMate will probably just run out of
the box. If you have trouble, create a shortcut for DESK.EXE, right-click and
select Properties, and refer to the above.
III.C.3. Where can I find a Windows driver for my Tandy printer?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are no special drivers for Tandy printers. Instead, you select the driver
for the IBM, Epson, or Hewlett Packard printer with which the Tandy printer is
compatible. You will generally have to set DIP switches on the printer to enable
the desired emulation mode; refer to the printer's manual (Tandy's WWW site also
has the DIP switch settings - see section IV.B.2.). The following information
was provided by Bill Walker:
Windows/Tandy Printer Compatibility List
[This] is a Windows 3.1 printer driver compatibility list for Tandy
printers. It cross-references the various Tandy printers and printer
modes with the printer driver support available under Windows 3.1. Note
that support under Windows for printers set to Tandy mode is limited to
plain text-only output via the "Generic/Text-Only" driver. As far as I
know, no one has written a driver that supports Tandy mode.
The driver information is based on a MOM ["Radio Shack Computer
Merchandising Memo of the Month"] published in May(?) 1992. It has also
been updated somewhat.
Please notify me of any corrections or additions.
William K. Walker
North Valley Digital
P.O. Box 1941
Kalispell MT 59903-1941
+1 (406) 257-2306
71066.24@compuserve.com
======================================================================
The following is list of Tandy printers with their appropriate Windows
drivers. In many cases, the Windows driver you will use depends on the
printer mode. For example, if you are using a DMP 440 in Tandy mode, you'd
use the "Generic/Text Only" Windows 3.1 driver; if it's set up for IBM
mode, use the "IBM Graphic Printer" driver.
PRINTER TANDY MODE IBM MODE EPSON MODE OTHER
------- ---------- -------- ---------- -----
DMP 100 Generic/Text
DMP 105 Generic/Text
DMP 106 Generic/Text IBM Graphic
DMP 107 Generic/Text IBM Graphic
DMP 110 Generic/Text
DMP 120 Generic/Text
DMP 130 Generic/Text
DMP 130A Generic/Text IBM Graphic
DMP 132 Generic/Text IBM Graphic
DMP 133 Generic/Text IBM Graphic
DMP 134 Proprinter
DMP 135 Proprinter II FX-850
DMP 136 Proprinter II FX-850/FX-80
DMP 200 Generic/Text
DMP 202 Proprinter X24
DMP 2100 Generic/Text
DMP 2100P Generic/Text IBM Graphic
DMP 2102 Generic/Text Proprinter XL24
DMP 2103 Proprinter X24/XL24 LQ-1050/LQ-850
DMP 2104 Proprinter XL24E LQ-1050
DMP 2110 Generic/Text IBM Graphic
DMP 2120 Generic/Text IBM Graphic
DMP 2130 Proprinter XL
DMP 2200 Generic/Text IBM Graphic
DMP 240 Proprinter X24 LQ-850/LQ-2550
DMP 300 Generic/Text Proprinter X24
DMP 302 Proprinter X24 LQ-850
DMP 310 Proprinter X24
DMP 400 Generic/Text
DMP 420 Generic/Text
DMP 430 Generic/Text IBM Graphic
DMP 440 Generic/Text IBM Graphic
DMP 442 Generic/Text Proprinter XL
DMP 500 Generic/Text
DWP II Generic/Text
DWP 210 Generic/Text
DWP 220 Generic/Text
DWP 230 Generic/Text
DWP 410 Generic/Text
DWP 510 Generic/Text
DWP 520 Generic/Text
LP 950 Graphic/Proprinter FX-80 HPLJII (1)
LP 990 Graphic/Proprinter FX-80 HPLJII (1)
LP 1000 Generic/Text Proprinter HPLJ+ (2,3)
Note 1: HP Laser Jet II driver
Note 2: HP Laser Jet plus driver
Note 3: The current HP Laser Jet II driver (HPLJII) supports the LP 1000.
It can be downloaded from the HP Peripherals Forum (HPPER).
--
Bill Walker
North Valley Digital
71066.24@compuserve.com
The DMP 133 reportedly works better with the Proprinter driver than with IBM
Graphic. Tandy says that the DMP 134 works best with the Proprinter II driver.
For the DMP 430, try the Epson FX-850 driver. For the DMP 130 and 130A, try the
IBM Graphic, Epson FX-185, or Epson FX-85 driver. For the DMP 136, try the
driver for the Epson JX-80 or IBM Proprinter III; the Epson FX-86e driver might
also work. The DMP 137 emulates an IBM Proprinter III or Epson FX-850 or EX-800.
The LP 950 can use the driver for the Diablo 630 or 630 ECS in addition to the
above. The DMP 2130 can also use the driver for the Epson FX-286e.
There are several sites for Windows drivers; here is
one:
http://www.driverguide.com/
Also check Epson's WWW site:
http://www.epson.com/
And Hewlett-Packard's WWW site:
http://www.hp.com/
III.D. Unix and Other Operating Systems
---------------------------------------
III.D.1. Can I run Unix on my 1000?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Probably yes. The following is from Kenneth Udut:
> I have an old TL2 w/40MB HD and 640RAM sitting upstairs gathering
> dust...
> [...] What about the possibility of loading
> LINUX? Any help would be appreciated!
Linux won't work on the TL2 [...]
But you can run Minix, which includes a C compiler, and other C
compilers are available for it.
The latest version of Minix is free, and runs on the TL2. Subscribe to
comp.os.minix and ask questions (they're a friendly group like
comp.sys.tandy is).
You can find it at: ftp.cs.vu.nl [25]
under [/pub/minix/2.0.0/*]
There are plenty of README files on that site, so read up and it will
show you how to install it onto 720K diskettes, then the hard drive.
FYI: Linux is a product of Minix source code. The only reason Linux was able
to use the Minix source code is that Linux is completely free.
The current version of Minix is 2.0 (C compiler is now ANSI, yay!). Here
are the sites:
http://www.cs.vu.nl/~ast/minix.html
ftp://ftp.cs.vu.nl/pub/minix/
You might have to modify Minix for your machine, especially if you have a
pre-SL system. Get file
ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/documents/minixfix.txt
... and check with the experts on comp.os.minix.
I had Slackware Linux v1.2.8 on my Tandy 4033LX, and it required at least 2MB
RAM to run, preferably 4, and if you wanted to run X Windows, 8. It also needed
at least 200MB of hard drive space. Today's major distributions take a lot more
RAM than that (and are much easier to use), but there are many flavors of Linux,
including some optimized for small size. In any case, Linux requires at least a
386 with extended, not expanded, RAM, so the only 1000 that can run Linux is the
RSX. You will want your machine maxed out to its full 9 meg to improve your
chances of success (see section II.A.5.). Here is a site that talks about a
"small footprint" Linux that might work on the RSX:
http://www.superant.com/smalllinux/
There is a subset version of Linux for the 8086 called ELKS ("Embedded
Linux Kernel Subset") currently under development. Read about it at:
http://elks.sourceforge.net/
And download it from:
ftp://ftp.ecs.soton.ac.uk/pub/elks/
If your system boots from ROM, you will need to set it to boot from disk. See
section III.A.1.
III.D.2. What other operating systems are available?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some people have had success with Geos (sometimes called Geoworks). It is a GUI
like Windows and DeskMate that runs under DOS. For most 1000's, you will have to
use Geos v1.2.x or earlier; the RSX's and possibly the RLX's can run Geos v2.x.
Marc Williams says that most shareware for Geos requires 2.x.
James S. Blackmon writes:
Though I have only recently gotten Pc/Geos and have yet to test it's full
potential I am sure I can point out some advantages. One of my favorites is
the construction and viewing of batch files. The combination of Play3voi.exe
(a program by Jeffrey Hayes), a bunch of wave files, and a custom made batch
file, kept A handfull of College students thoroughly entertained for hours.
(Strangely enough some had their own Pentium 133 and were still in there.) A
lovely thing about PC/geos is that I have not had any software conflicts.
(Although I generally keep all of the large complex programs in separate
directories to keep this from happening.) Its speed on my Tandy 1000 TX,
which has not been suped up yet (same 640K ram as when it was built), is
comparable to that of Windows 3.1 on a 386 or 486. Safe to say it is much
more stable than running from DOS 3.2.
It has its own communication software which is VT-100 compatible. Personally
I prefer to use Procomm. It has Tetris, and Solitaire on it like the ones
that you will find on Windows 3.1.
You can get more information on Geos from this site:
http://www.tvakatter.org/
Geos is discussed in the Usenet newsgroup comp.os.geos.misc and in the Yahoo
group geos-talk [26] .
Greg T. Bzdell says Gem is another alternative OS option - "make your Tandy 1000
look like a MAC." Check this site:
http://www.deltasoft.com/downloads-gemworld.htm
"I think at least version 2 of GEM will work on the Tandy 1000, but I am not
sure," Bzdell says.
OS/2 v2.x or Warp will run on the RSX's, if the memory is upgraded to 4M or
more (6M+ recommended). IBM said:
OS/2 Warp is explicitly supported on non-IBM PC compatibles. IBM is offering
a money back compatibility guarantee in the U.S. Should OS/2 Warp fail to
work on your compatible within the first 90 days of use, and should IBM be
unable to fix the problem, your purchase price will be refunded. To date
over 2000 non-IBM models have been tested in IBM's own labs.
Here are some OS/2 sites:
http://www.mit.edu:8001/activities/os2/os2world.html
http://www-306.ibm.com/software/os/warp/ [27]
III.E. ROM BIOS
---------------
III.E.1. What is the key combination to bring up the CMOS setup on a 1000?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There isn't any. The system setup information is stored in an EEPROM, not CMOS.
To change the EEPROM, you run the system setup program from the DOS command line
(or sometimes from a bootable floppy). Each model and submodel in the 1000 line
has its own specific setup program. The original 1000, 1000A, HD, EX, SX, and TX
have neither EEPROM nor CMOS (treat them like old XT's, which don't have CMOS
either, and use jumpers and switches on the motherboard for setup).
III.E.2. How do I upgrade the ROM BIOS on a 1000?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You generally do not need to upgrade the BIOS. Because of the proprietary
features of the 1000-series, only Tandy BIOSes made for the particular model can
be used. Here are the latest BIOS versions. Nowadays, this information is
basically academic since Tandy doesn't sell parts any more. If your system has
problems with the ROM-based DeskMate, you can simply install and use disk-based
DeskMate 3.05 instead; it is on the Tvdog site in the deskmate directory [21] .
If you just got a 1000 secondhand, you might notice a chip _underneath_ the ROM
chip. That is not a BIOS upgrade. It's a clock chip with an internal lithium
battery, called a Smartwatch. If the battery is dead, you can remove the
Smartwatch and replace it with another (see section IV.G.).
Model Latest Version Problems Corrected
----- -------------- ------------------
1000 01.01.00 Upgrade required for most hard-drive
controllers.****
1000A 01.01.00 none (original version)
1000HD 01.01.00 none (original version)
1000EX 01.02.00 none (original version)
1000HX 02.00.00 none (original version)
1000SX 01.02.00 none (original version)
1000TX 01.03.00 none (original version)
1000SL 02.00.01 Upgrade to DeskMate v.3.05.* **
1000SL/2 02.00.01 Upgrade to DeskMate v.3.05.* ***
1000TL 02.00.01 Upgrade to DeskMate v.3.05.*
1000TL/2 02.00.01 Upgrade to DeskMate v.3.05. Also corrects
possible loss of sound with VGA installed.*
1000TL/3 02.00.01 Upgrade to DeskMate v.3.05.*
1000RL 02.00.01 Lockups in DeskMate due to mouse driver bug.
1000RL-HD 02.00.01 Lockups in DeskMate due to mouse driver bug.
1000RLX 02.00.00 none (original version)
1000RLX-HD 02.00.00 none (original version)
1000RLX-B 02.00.00 none (original version)
1000RLX-HD-B 02.00.00 none (original version)
1000RSX 01.10.00 none (original version)
- The BIOS upgrade to DeskMate 3.05 sold for $99.95 in 1991; Kenneth Udut told
me it was still available as of 1995. DeskMate 3.05 provides scalable fonts,
unlike older versions. Manual and diskettes were included with the upgrade. As
noted above, if you want DeskMate 3.05, you can download it from the Tvdog site.
- * There are two different versions of the BIOS upgrade for the SL. To determine
which you need, look at the three-letter CPU configuration code on the bottom of
the computer:
SYSTEM CPU CONFIG CODE(S) PART
1000 SL UAA, UAF, UAG, UBF, UBG, UBI 70B-1360
UAB, UBB, UBH, UBJ 70D-1360
- ** There are two different versions of the BIOS upgrade for the SL/2. To
determine which you need, look at the three-letter CPU configuration code on the
bottom of the computer:
SYSTEM CPU CONFIG CODE(S) PART
1000 SL/2 UAA 70B-1360
UBA 70C-1360
- *** If you have the two-chip version of the original 1000 BIOS (version
01.00.00), you also need to upgrade the PAL chip when you upgrade the BIOS. The
PAL chip goes in the socket labelled U9. The new one is part number MXP-0081.
Tandy has been out of the PAL chips for a while. If you have this BIOS version,
there are still ways to install a hard drive, but your options are more limited
(see section II.D.1.).
III.F. System Setup Programs
----------------------------
III.F.1. I just got an old 1000 secondhand, with no disks or anything. Where can I get the system setup program for it?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The original 1000, 1000A, HD, EX, SX, and TX do not have a setup program (they
tend to use jumpers on the motherboard instead). For other models, see section
IV.B. for sites.
III.F.2. What are the options to the system setup command?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It depends on the system; all of them are undocumented. On the 1000TL, there are
three. Entering, say SETUPTL without options will give you access to only one
screen of setup options - only "safe" things. SETUPTL /A will give access to
several additional screenfuls of setup. /A is mainly useful for controlling the
amount of video RAM (see section II.A.2.). SETUPTL /B will display the actual
binary EEPROM contents and allow you to change individual bits. It is not much
use since nobody has mapped the EEPROM. Beware of /A and /B: it is possible to
mess up the EEPROM so as to make the system unbootable. Finally, SETUPTL /F will
reset the EEPROM to the factory defaults; this option is sometimes useful if
you've messed up the setup so that there isn't any screen output. It is also
useful if your DeskMate DeskTop is messed up and you can't fix it from inside
DeskMate (you should also delete DESKTOP.CFG, and you will have to rebuild your
DeskTop).
III.F.3. Why does my 1000 RLX say I have an invalid configuration?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anexsia posted in comp.sys.tandy:
I have a tandy 1000 rlx that upon start up tells me that I have an invalid
configuration, and tells me to run the start up utility, which I have. The
message will not go away. The computer seems to run otherwise fine.
When a Tandy with EEPROM setup boots up, the BIOS does a sanity check on the
EEPROM contents, and if the check fails, it uses some built-in defaults instead
of the information in the EEPROM. The message is the BIOS telling you the EEPROM
makes no sense and warning you that it's using the defaults.
The solution to the problem is to run Setuprlx, as the BIOS tells you to do.
When you do that, Setuprlx will examine the hardware installed in the system. If
you then exit the program and "Save changes," the EEPROM will be updated to
match the actual hardware. On the other hand, if you exit Setuprlx without
saving, the EEPROM will not be changed and your problem will recur. Since the
RLX is bootable, you can use SETUPRLX to set it back to the factory defaults, if
you need to.
If you did "Save changes," and you still have the same problem, try mouse on
COM1: and modem on COM2:. The BIOS may be upset that you're not using the COM:
ports in order [note: this user had mouse on COM1: and modem on COM4:].
Frank Durda IV writes:
You didn't mention if you did this, but I'll say it. If the CMOS has a
checksum error, it will also say there is an invalid configuration and that
you should run setup.
However, on some systems, running setup is not enough! You must change
something, anything to get setup to write the good values back to the CMOS.
For example, change the type listed for drive B, then change it back, then
hit F2, or whichever key is correct to store the settings.
Running setup and saying "yep, its all correct" will not update the CMOS
even if you press F2, unless you change something, at least on a lot of
the older systems. I think the RLX was in this category.
Later Tandy SETUPs would consider fields to be "changed" if you simply moved
the cursor to them (they changed color), so all you have to do there is move
the cursor around and hit F2 to write new CMOS values.
The CMOS settings on ISA systems don't care about IRQ or DMA settings (it
does matter on EISA, PCI and Plug And Play systems), so changing those
settings on boards isn't going to make the CMOS happy. Memory-mapped devices
can also cause problems if there isn't a gap between real memory and the
addresses used by the memory-mapped adapter.
CMOS on ISA systems is concerned with memory size, video type (Mono, CGA or
EGA/VGA) floppy type and number of hard drives. Most systems CMOS checks
can't tell if you got the hard disk drive type settings wrong, but they will
know if the count is wrong or the floppy count or type settings are wrong.
Verify these things, make a pointless change and then put things back
correctly, and then save the settings and see if it shuts up.
If it still doesn't work, write down your configuration information, then select
"factory defaults" in setup. After resetting to the defaults, change back to
your original configuration, then save and reboot.
III.G. Applications
-------------------
III.G.1. Some compilers do not detect my hardware. Is there an explanation for this?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Borland languages may not be able to detect an 8087 coprocessor on a Tandy
1000-series. WATFOR-77 has a similar problem on the 1000TL; it indicates that
the 287 is not generating interrupts (the coprocessor error interrupt, Int 16h,
is rerouted to Int 2 on the TL). Other than the above, all (older versions of)
Borland and Microsoft languages will run in the 1000-series, although lockups
have been reported with Microsoft Quick C. Programs compiled with QC (version
1.x) may not run on the 1000-series due to a bug in the graphics library.
III.G.2. What C compilers will work on my Tandy 1000?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following C compilers will run on an XT: Turbo C v.1.0, 1.5 and 2.0, Turbo
C++ v1.0, QuickC up to v2.5, Microsoft C up to v6.0 (works but is slow), Zortech
C/C++, Mix Power C. Mix Power C [28] is still available new:
Mix Software
1203 Berkeley Drive
Richardson, TX 75081-5932
ph. (972) 783-6001
http://www.mixsoftware.com
Mix Power C has been highly recommended in the Delphi Tandy forum.
Old Borland compilers (Turbo C, Turbo C++, Turbo Pascal) are available for
download from their web site:
http://bdn.borland.com/museum/
EMS Professional Software sells old compilers:
http://www.emsps.com/oldtools/
Pacific C is in the misc directory [29] on the Tvdog site; it is mainly for
embedded systems but it should work on the 1000's as well.
III.G.3. Where can I find a program for the Tandy 1000 that does (x)?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Generally, you don't need a Tandy-specific program. The vast majority of DOS
programs for the IBM PC or XT will work fine. You only really need or want a
Tandy-specific program when you're trying to take advantage of special features
the 1000's have, like the 640x200x4, 320x200x16, or (on some models) the
640x200x16 video modes. Programs to play sounds on the SN76496 3-voice tone and
noise generator or the Tandy DAC (PSSJ) are another exception. You can find a
couple nice GIF/JPG viewers and a couple nice sound file players at the Tvdog
site (see section IV.B.1.). Tandy video is largely compatible with CGA, and
programs that play sound on the PC speaker will work on the 1000's too.
There are several good DOS sites with programs to meet practically
every need. Try these:
http://cd.textfiles.com/directory.html
http://garbo.uwasa.fi/pc/
http://www.umich.edu/~archive/msdos/
http://www.eunet.bg/simtel.net/msdos.html
If you prefer FTP, try these sites:
ftp://garbo.uwasa.fi/pc/
ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/
The index for the Simtel site is on Garbo:
ftp://garbo.uwasa.fi/pc/filelist/simdos-l.zip
The PC-Blue archive at
http://cd.textfiles.com/pcblue/
has a lot of very old programs that will run in very limited memory (if you
have one of the older 1000's with 256k or less RAM).
To find copies of old commercial programs, check here:
http://www.users.voicenet.com/~generic/
III.G.4. What games are there for the 1000's?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Most any game for the original IBM PC or XT will work (see section III.G.3.).
The only thing different about the Tandy joystick is the plug; it is programmed
exactly the same. In action games, it is of course best if you can find a game
that supports your video and sound, but games that only require CGA and the
speaker will work.
Sierra (Sierra Online, Coarsegold, CA 93614) made several games that took
advantage of the 1000's video and sound. Some of these have remained popular and
continue to be put out in new versions (King's Quest is one that comes to mind).
Other Sierra games were The Black Cauldron and Space Quest (Sierra also produced
the Homeword word processor for DeskMate). Other companies that made games for
the 1000's were Spinnaker (Fraction Fever and Kindercomp), Infocom (Infocom
Sampler), Microsoft (Flight Simulator), Broderbund (Lode Runner and Carmen
Sandiego), Electronic Arts (Star Flight, One-on-One, and Pinball Construction
Set), Epyx (Rogue), Columbia Pictures (Ghostbusters), and Microprose (F15 Strike
Eagle and Silent Service).
Per Jim Leonard <trixter@oldskool.org>, Mobygames lists commercial games using
Tandy 1000 graphics and sound:
http://www.mobygames.com/attribute/sheet/p,2/attributeId,31/ (graphics)
http://www.mobygames.com/attribute/sheet/p,2/attributeId,32/ (3-voice sound
chip)
http://www.mobygames.com/attribute/sheet/p,2/attributeId,33/ (Tandy DAC)
Used DOS games are constantly for sale on eBay [8] . There are also hundreds of
games available for download on dozens of sites, try starting at the DOS games
Webring [30] .
There are a few games that take advantage of 1000-series video and sound at the
Tvdog site (see section IV.B.1.). One of them, Stormovik, is now commercial, and
the (shareware) Tandy version is quite impressive.
III.G.5. How can I access the Internet with my 1000?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
According to Will Baldwin:
There are 3 main ways to access the net using DOS text-based programs:
1) Thru a shell account to an Internet Service Provider (ISP). You can
usually do this using any standard DOS terminal program.
2) Thru a SLIP connection directly to the Internet backbone.
3) Thru a PPP connection directly to the Internet backbone.
There are some freeware and shareware software available to take care of 2
and 3 above. To use them, you have to be able to access a SLIP or PPP
gateway on your ISP. On your computer, you have to use a packet driver or
packet driver emulator. If you are a standalone computer wishing to
communicate through a modem, you need a packet driver. If your computer is
part of a LAN, chances are your server already has a packet driver, in which
case you need to have a packet driver emulator on your machine. I have found
the most widely used freeware/shareware packet drivers are UMSLIP (for
SLIP), and Etherppp (for PPP).
Once you have a SLIP or PPP driver, you then need a client program. I have
found YARN, PINE, Minuet, DOSLynx, and SLippper. Despite its name, I believe
Slippper can be used with either SLIP or PPP. I prefer Minuet and Etherppp
on a Tandy 1000 through the Compuserve PPP gateway. Minuet offers Ftp,
Gopher, Telnet, WWW, etc., all in one program. [...]
Also available [...] is a utility program I wrote, MYIP.zip, which makes it
easier to use Etherppp w/Minuet (and other internet software) with PPP hosts
that assign new IP addresses at each logon, by automatically passing the IP
address to the client software, making it unnecessary for the user to type
it in each time. It also helps software take full advantage of unattended
mode features.
For hints and tips about using the above, there are mailing lists for Minuet
and DOSLynx, and usenet newsgroups for PINE (comp.mail.pine), and PPP
(comp.protocols.ppp). Instructions to subscribe to the DOSLynx mailing list
are in the documentation. Instructions to subscribe to the Minuet mailing
list are available from the Minuet.FAQ file accessible at the URL shown in
the opening screen.
Good luck. I'm no expert, but feel free to netmail me on Fido, or send email
to my internet box at Will.Baldwin@nemspa.org.
Marc Williams has the following notes on DOS
Internet programs:
Packet Drivers:
Quakeppp works fine.
Uses Klos Technologies PPP drivers/software. Dialer/terminal
program can connect via scripts or manually.
Etherppp works fine too but it's a memory hog.
Causes some programs to error out like PC-Pine and Minuet.
Slipper/Cslipper work flawlessly.
Need dialer program or terminal software to connect first.
Clients:
Minuet.
Integrated tools. Telnet, mail, gopher, ping, finger, news, web,
ftp. Web does not support forms. Can't use News as it doesn't work
on Stacker drive. Minuet is my main program for mail, gopher and
ftp.
Requires dial-up program. Companion UMSlip/phone package works
fine. I use phone to load cslipper.
Net-Tamer.
Integrated tools. Telnet, mail, ping, web, news, ftp.
Built-in PPP using scripts or dumb terminal mode.
I'm using XT/286 version which does not support graphics/sound. Web
leaves a lot to be desired. Reader module allows for offline
newsgroup reading. My main program for usenet. You can download only
subject headers so you can then pick which full messages to download
for reading. Pretty cool.
Three versions available: 386 (graphics, sound, fonts), XT/286, and
Palmtop (no graphics/sound on last two).
NCSA Telnet w/FTP.
Very good package. Also includes whois, finger,
rsh/rexec, etc.
CUTCP Telnet w/FTP.
Based on NCSA work. Includes printing utilities
like lpr/lpq/etc. TN3270 also.
Trumpet.
Cool nntp news reader. Not offline but windowing/menuing.
DOSLynx.
World Wide Web browser. Not a port of Unix Lynx. Too bad. Uses
Borland Turbovision interface (like Minuet/Trumpet). Slow, buggy,
crash prone. In alpha and doesn't seem to be supported.
New note: DosLynx is being worked on by a private party and is now
at [0.26] (UKansas' last version was 0.8a). It fixes some bugs.
It can be had from [http://members.nccw.net/fmacall/]
POPMail.
Pre-Minuet. No longer supported. Incorporated into Minuet. Includes
Webster module (not in Minuet). Includes telnet, finger, ping.
PC-Gopher III.
Pre-Minuet. No longer supported. Incorporated into Minuet. The
version I use(d) is pretty fast with windows opening all over the
place with no memory problems. Later version (1.1.x?) had major
memory problems.
NuPOP.
POP mail. Based on Minnesota code (POPMail/PC-Gopher/Minuet).
Telnet, ping, finger, and quite a few more. Will call external
programs like Trumpet, html viewers, graphics viewers, etc.
Those are some of the cool programs that work (except DOSLynx). Minuet,
NuPOP, POPMail, PC-Gopher III, Trumpet, and DOSLynx use the Borland
Turbovision interface so they're full windowing/mouseable programs.
Tried PC-Pine but couldn't get it to work. Probably since Annex
doesn't use the unix box/pine to receive mail anymore.
Experimenting with Yarn (usenet SOUP) offline reader but haven't got it to
work yet. Need the correct programs to import the packets.
Most of the above (and a few more) can be found at the Tvdog site:
http://www.oldskool.org/guides/tvdog/internet.html
ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/internet/
The programs on that site have been tested on the 1000HX and 1000TL. Oh, and
PC-Pine doesn't work because it requires 600 kilobytes of free RAM ;-).
Obviously, if the 1000RSX is running Windows, OS/2 Warp, or Linux, there are
Internet access programs for those environments.
III.H. Basic
------------
III.H.1. What are the Basic patches?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is a bug in GW-Basic 3.20.20, which came with the SL, TL and TL/2. After a
syntax error, the <up arrow>/8 key on the numeric keypad stops working until
Basic is exited. The executable can be patched to fix the problem; the fix
appeared in the December 1990 issue of PCM, page 138. Enter the following at the
DOS prompt:
PATCH BASIC.EXE,96A2,A483C702,FCA44747
GW-Basic v01.01.00, included with the original 1000, has a bug that causes the
sense of the BEEP ON and BEEP OFF commands to be reversed. The fix is to patch
the program with Debug as follows, as described in the October 1986 issue of
PCM. First rename BASIC.EXE to BASIC.TMP. Go DEBUG BASIC.TMP, then type:
E 6AA9 74
W
Q
Rename BASIC.TMP back to BASIC.EXE. Tandy GW-Basic v01.01.01 or later does not
have the bug.
III.H.2. How do I get information on Basic programming?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With newer models, there may be a Basic command reference in the manuals that
came with the system. On older models, the Basic documentation may have been
sold separately. GW-Basic didn't change much between the original 1000 and the
1000RL, so a command reference from another model will probably work. See also
section IV.D.
PCM magazine used to publish a lot of Basic programs for the 1000's - see
section IV.C.
III.H.3. What is the "Child of Basic" problem?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The "Child of Basic" problem was caused by a bug in the Microsoft QuickBasic
v1.0 compiler. Programs compiled with QB 1.0 would display the message, "Cannot
execute as a child of BASIC" and refuse to run on the Tandy 1000. The solution
was to run a program beforehand that would set a byte in the BIOS data area to
the value that QB expected. There is a program available to do this:
ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/utilities/t1qbfix.zip
It is also possible to make a program to fix the problem with the following
Debug session:
a0100
push ds
push dx
mov dx,0050
mov ds,dx
mov dl,00
mov [000f],dl
pop dx
pop ds
int 20
f0111 0180 00
nqbfix.com
rcx
80
w
q
Note the blank line after "int 20". The program QBFIX.COM is produced.
The "Child of Basic" problem was Microsoft's fault, not Tandy's, and it had
nothing to do with Tandy's GW-Basic interpreter. QuickBasic v2.0 or later does
not have the bug.
IV. Miscellaneous Information
=============================
IV.A. How do I contact Tandy?
-----------------------------
Tandy can be reached by mail, phone, or e-mail.
Tandy can be reached by mail at:
Radio Shack Corporation
200 Taylor Street, Suite 600
Ft. Worth, TX 76102
Attn: Product Support
The various phone numbers at Tandy have all been consolidated into
1-800-THE-SHACK (1-800-843-7422). Call this number to order Tandy products or
obtain support. Outside North America, call Tandy International at
1-817-390-3475.
Call the Radio Shack telephone order center to ask about the availability of
old Tandy products: (800) 433-2024.
Tandy publications used to be obtained by calling the toll-free fax-back service
at (800) 323-6586 with a touch-tone phone. It doesn't really work any more since
you can't get a catalog listing the available documents. The documents on the
fax-back service can be obtained via WWW from Tandy's support site (see section
IV.B.2.). If you have a question about jumpers, switches, and that sort of
thing, this is one way to get it answered.
To send email to Tandy, go to this page:
http://www.radioshack.com/Contacts/ProductSupport.asp
IV.B. FTP sites, Web pages, BBS's, etc.
---------------------------------------
IV.B.1. What FTP sites are there for the 1000's?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following site has setup programs, documentation files, and free/shareware
programs for the 1000's, as well as Internet access software for old PC's. The
latest version of this FAQ is also to be found there:
ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/
The vast majority of DOS programs will run on the 1000's, though they may not
take advantage of the video and sound capabilities. See section III.G.3. for
some sites.
IV.B.2. What WWW sites are there for the 1000's?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tandy's site has a lot of support documents as well as most of the setup
programs and utilities for Tandy computers. Get to the support page via:
http://support.radioshack.com/productinfo/
There is a Yahoo group for discusssion of the 1000-series:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Tandy1000/
Check out Trixter's Oldskool Shrine to the IBM PCjr and Tandy 1000:
http://www.oldskool.org/shrines/pcjr_tandy
The Tvdog site has links to the above as well as this FAQ and access to files in
the FTP archive:
http://www.oldskool.org/guides/tvdog/
The above site is a member of the Tandy 1000 Webring, which has links to several
Tandy-related WWW sites:
http://r.webring.com/hub?ring=tandy1000
The Tandem emulator enables you to run your old Tandy 1000 programs on a newer
PC:
http://www.oldskool.org/pc/tand-em
A Google search for "Tandy 1000" turns up over 11,000 hits.
IV.B.3. What BBS's are there for the 1000's?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This BBS has some of the files on the Tvdog FTP/WWW site. It is generally a
gay-oriented BBS, and you have to be 18 to enter; the Tandy stuff is a hobby:
Paul's Waka Waka BBS
Seattle, WA, USA
1-206-783-7979 or Telnet to wakawaka.dns2go.com [31]
Sysop: Paul Casey <wakawaka@serv.net> [32]
Running Searchlight v5.1 at 2400-33600 baud
Paul writes: "You must register as a NEW User to be able to download files. The
BBS is totally 'FREE' with no time limits. No Registration Form is required." To
find Tandy stuff, go to the files section and look in the TANDYCPU directory.
IV.B.4. What online services had 1000-related areas?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CompuServe and America Online used to have Tandy areas; don't know if they still
do. CompuServe's was the biggest - GO TRS80PRO. Delphi and BIX had Tandy areas
too, but they don't exist any more. I have heard that AOL has deleted many old
files, but I'm not on AOL, so I can't check that.
IV.C. What magazines and newsletters are there for the 1000's?
--------------------------------------------------------------
There are none. There were several.
There was a bimonthly newsletter called Computer News PC published by the same
people who publish Computer News 80, a newsletter for TRS-80's (which is still
around). There are a few issues online in the documents directory [19] . I am on
the lookout for more and will scan them if I can find them.
The major magazine for Tandy 1000 owners was PCM. It is now out of print. The
publisher has no back issues for sale but refused my request for permission to
scan them. From time to time you will see these offered for sale in
comp.sys.tandy, and some libraries may have copies. The best years for PCM were
1988-1991. Delphi used to have back issues of PCM available for download for an
extra charge ("PCM on Disk"). PCM published an index to the previous year's
articles in each July issue.
There was another, smaller magazine for the Tandy 1000-series, called 1000
Magazine. I have never seen it. It is out of print as well.
IV.D. What are some good books about the 1000's?
------------------------------------------------
Upgrading Your Tandy [33] , from DCS Industries. An excellent reference, like
the Tech Notes and Jumper Manuals, below.
1000's Tech Notes and Jumper Manual, Volumes 1 and 2, from Micro Systems. Volume
1 [34] covers the 1000's themselves; volume 2 [35] covers various adapters and
accessories sold by Tandy for the 1000's. These books are a highly recommended.
You _do_ still have your owner's manual, don't you :-)? Well, if not the manuals
for several models are available in the documents directory [19] at Tvdog.
The technical reference manual for your system is your best source of hardcore
technical data. There are several technical reference manuals in the Tvdog
documents directory [19] also.
The technical reference may assume you are already familiar with commonly-used
(or emulated) Intel chips. If not, the Intel Microprocessor and Peripheral
Handbook (ISBN 1-55512-041-5 [36] ) contains the data sheets for the 8088, 8086,
80286, 8259A, 8254, etc. The technical reference manual for the original 1000
(above) includes most of these, however, and I have added them to the manual for
the TL also.
The IBM PCjr Technical Reference Manual can be helpful. It contains BIOS
listings for that system and documentation on the Tandy 1000/PCjr video system
and 3-voice chip that is a bit more complete than what is in Tandy's manuals.
There is a copy in PDF format [37] available online.
Many of the 1000's are intermediate between the IBM PC and the PCjr (see section
IV.H.). From that point of view, a good book to get is Compute's Mapping the IBM
PC and PCjr (ISBN 0-942386-92-2 [38] ), which covers both systems. It covers
programming the machines in Basic and assembler, including Tandy 1000/PCjr video
and the 3-voice chip.
A service manual, Computerfacts Technical Service Data, was produced for some
early 1000-series models by Howard W. Sams & Company. These manuals are aimed as
service technicians and include detailed schematics, replacement part lists, and
service procedures. The manuals available are:
CSCS-19 Tandy 1000SX
CSCS-21 Tandy 1000EX
CSCS-30 Tandy 1000TX
The manuals are available through the Sams copy service - call 1-800-428-SAMS.
There was a manual sold with the Tandy 3000HL, catalog number 25-4109, MS-DOS/GW
Basic, covering Tandy DOS 3.3. There was a book, Tandy MS-DOS Reference Manual,
catalog number 25-1501, that came with the SX (DOS version 3.2). Other models
had similar manuals. Radio Shack also sold a book by David A. Lien, Learning
Basic for the Tandy 1000/2000 (ISBN 0-932760-31-7 [39] ). It is a good tutorial
to Basic but contains little that is Tandy-specific. There are some Tandy DOS
manuals in the documents directory [19] at Tvdog and some Basic manuals in the
basic directory [40] there.
David Lien also wrote DOS books for Tandy: MS-DOS Volume 1: The Basics (cat. no.
25-1506, ISBN 0-932760-45-7 [41] ) and MS-DOS Volume 2: Advanced Applications
(cat. no. 25-1507, ISBN 0-932760-42-2 [42] ). The two DOS books and the Basic
book by Lien were sold as a unit, cat. no. 25-1508. I have the Advanced
Applications book; it really isn't all that advanced, but it explains some of
the nonstandard features of Tandy DOS.
The Complete Guide to the Tandy 1000 (cat. no. 25-1505, ISBN 0-912677-57-0 [43]
) by Eric Grevstad and Jim Heid covers the original 1000 and 1000HD. It is a
combination of basic and technical information and might serve as an
introduction to the "good old days" of computing for someone who has only ever
used Windows.
A useful book is Getting the Most Out of DeskMate 3 (ISBN 0-1320233-4-2 [44] )
by Michael A. Banks, published by Brady. Contains whatever is left out of the
DeskMate manual.
DeskMate 3 Made Easy (ISBN 0-07-881633-5 [45] ) by Ramon Zamora and Bob
Albrecht. This one is pretty basic.
The First Book of DeskMate (ISBN 0-672-27314-4 [46] ) by Jack Nimersheim is
another basic text, though it has some interesting sections on the Autoconfig
box, Lotus-DM, and Q&A Write.
Radio Shack once sold a software package called "Fundamentals of the TL"
containing introductory information on the 1000TL. They bring you into a town,
called "Tandyland". You have a set of software packages with you. You go to each
store, and each merchant has a problem they want to solve. You have to give them
the right software. It also teaches you how to use MS-DOS, as well as how to use
DeskMate, ver 3.01. There were also "Fundamentals" programs for other systems,
including the original 1000, SX, EX, and SL. The version for the original 1000
[47] is in the game and demo directory [48] on the Tvdog site. It is _very_
fundamental (this is how you format a disk, this is how you copy a file, this is
how you run a program ...), but it nicely demonstrates Tandy 1000 graphics and
sound.
Ken Udut provided the following information:
From Ramon Zamora & Laran Stardrake in One Thousand Magazine, October
1991
"Your DeskMate Backpack - the ShareBook
We are writing a sharebook called Your DeskMate Backpack in 8.5" by 11"
loose-leaf format. This sharebook may be freely copied and distributed. The
first 10 pages are free. To get them, send a SELF-ADDRESSED, STAMPED (29
CENTS) ENVELOPE, to:
Your DeskMate Backpack
PO Box 1635
Sebastopol, CA 95473-1635
If you do, please tell us about your computer and what you would like to
learn about DeskMate."
I do not know if they are still providing this service. They also wrote a
DeskMate book, which I used to have but gave away to a friend who received a
used Tandy 1000 TX and wanted to learn more about DeskMate. I will find out
the name of it. (I think my local library has a copy).
Radio Shack once sold a book called Graphics and Sound for the Tandy 1000 and PC
Compatibles by William Barden, Jr. (catalog number 25-1512, ISBN 0-915391-27-9
[49] ) for $7.95 (as of 1990). It was primarily oriented toward Basic but
contained useful appendices. The information in the technical reference manuals
for the various models is more complete.
There are many general books about the IBM PC and MS-DOS available - check your
local library. For programmers, the Microsoft MS-DOS Encylopedia (ISBN
1-55615-049-0 [50] ) is an excellent reference. It covers DOS up to 3.3.
IV.E. What other newsgroups are of interest to 1000 owners?
-----------------------------------------------------------
There is a DeskMate group, sort of:
alt.os.deskmate
comp.sys.tandy is much more widely read, so it is better just to post your
DeskMate-related messages there.
For general IBM PC-related information, check out these hierarchies:
comp.os.msdos.*
comp.sys.ibm.pc.*
It must be said that Web groups have gotten more popular than the newsgroups
above. Check this URL:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Tandy1000/
Search for other groups on these sites:
http://groups.yahoo.com
http://groups.msn.com/
http://groups.aol.com/
There are groups for DOS, programming, hardware, whatever. Of course, you can
access regular newsgroups through the Web as well:
http://groups.google.com
IV.F. Where can I get other FAQ's?
----------------------------------
FAQ's for many newsgroups were periodically posted to news.answers. Also check
comp.answers for comp.* newsgroups and alt.answers for alt.* newsgroups.
FAQ's are also available by FTP from:
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/
A list of available FAQ's is to be found at:
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/periodic-postings/
Via WWW, check this site:
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/
IV.G. Where can I get upgrade/replacement parts for my 1000?
------------------------------------------------------------
Parts are no longer available from Radio Shack:
We regret that hardware and software, including drivers for installation in
the Tandy 1000 series system are no longer available as stock items at the
warehouse.
Hence, it is doubtful that Radio Shack would have a part you need - unless it's
Zener diode #26J3347. If you want to check anyway, search the faxback documents
on the support WWW site for the part number (see section IV.B.2.), then call
1-800-THE-SHACK.
The following company sells memory chips for most models of the 1000-series.
Check the list in section II.A.1. or consult the Tandy support site to find out
what type of chips you need first:
Jameco Electronics
1355 Shoreway Road
Belmont, CA 94002-4100
ph. (800) 455-6119
email: info@jameco.com
WWW: http://www.jameco.com
Go to category IC's & Semiconductors/Memory/DRAM on their Web site to see what
they have; be sure to get a couple more chips than you need in case some are
bad. They have the V20 upgrade chip also.
If you need to replace the lithium coin battery in your system, Radio Shack has
a pretty good selection. Make sure you bring the original battery to match it.
(If Radio Shack doesn't have the battery, they can order it.)
This company still sells 8-bit cards, MFM, RLL, and old IDE drives, XT
keyboards, low-density floppy drives, and CGA monitors. If your system can take
a standard XT part, look here:
Computer Reset
P.O. Box 461782
Garland, TX 75046-1782
ph. (214) 348-6484
fax (214) 343-3140
email: sales@c-reset.com
WWW: http://www.c-reset.com
This company also sells old computer parts:
ABC Resellers
2760 F.M. 726 South
Gilmer, TX 75644
ph. (903) 797-4992
fax (903) 797-4993
email: webmaster@abcresellers.com
WWW: http://www.abcresellers.bigstep.com
The original 1000, A, HD, EX, HX, RL, SL's, SX, and TX do not come with a
real-time clock. To get one, you can install a Smartwatch under a 28-pin ROM
chip (the SL's have a special socket instead). The Smartwatch is Dallas
Semiconductor part number DS1216E, and you can get it from:
Allied Electronics
P.O. Box 2325
Fort Worth, TX 76113-2325
ph. (800) 433-5700
WWW: http://www.alliedelec.com/
You will often find upgrade parts for older PC's on eBay [8] , as well as
complete 1000 systems. 30-pin SIMMs for the RSX can be found there. Search
Google for "computer liquidators" to find companies that still sell 8-bit cards
and other old upgrade parts. Some cities have junk shops that sell all kinds of
old electronic equipment (there is one in Virginia Beach); check locally.
Another possibility if you need something specific and no substitutes are
acceptable is the places that sell "rare electronic equipment" - but their
prices may be quite high.
There used to be several places that specialized in parts for the 1000's;
unfortunately, they are all gone now.
Generally, whatever works in an IBM XT can be made to work in a Tandy 1000.
There are quite a few exceptions, though. If you are in doubt (and this FAQ
didn't tell you), ask in comp.sys.tandy or, better yet, get one of the books
listed in section IV.D.
IV.H. Why is this @#$%!! machine so incompatible?
-------------------------------------------------
The original Tandy 1000 was introduced to compete with the IBM PCjr, and it is
compatible with it in most respects. Shortly before the 1000 came out, the PCjr
was discontinued, and it is largely forgotten now. The 1000-series, by contrast,
were quite popular, and Tandy continued to produce new models for a decade,
adding enhancements and gradually improving compatibility with the IBM PC.
The keyboard on the original 1000 through the 1000TX is an improvement on the
original 83-key IBM PC keyboard, and most of the scan codes are compatible with
that, though not with the later 101-key keyboard. The PCjr's poor keyboard was a
principal reason for its demise.
The joystick ports on the original 1000 were made compatible with the Color
Computer, to enable owners of those machines to use their old joysticks and
Color Mice with the new machines.
Reducing manufacturing cost was another reason for some of the
incompatibilities.
By the way, you could be even worse off - you could have an IBM PCjr. PCjr
owners frequently modify their machines to be more compatible with the 1000:
http://www.micro-zone.com/tandymod.html
IV.I. I'm thinking of selling my old 1000, what is it worth?
------------------------------------------------------------
Not much. While some older computers are now becoming valuable as collectors'
items, that is unlikely to happen with the 1000's. To a collector, scarcity is
the main source of value, and the Tandy 1000-series, on the whole, are simply
not scarce. For a time during the late 1980's the 1000's were the number one
selling computer line in the U.S.; hundreds of thousands were made, and very
well at that, so that many remain in working order today. So for every person
that wants to buy a 1000, there are probably several machines sitting in attics,
closets, and garages waiting to be put back in service.
If you want to sell your 1000, your best bet is to sell it intact, with the
monitor, keyboard, mouse, and all software and manuals. CGA monitors have gotten
hard to find, and Tandy-style keyboards are impossible. Set it up and take a
picture of it working. Weigh it all, locate boxes to put it in, and find out how
much it will cost to ship it to the other side of the country. Then advertise it
on eBay. For a complete system as described, I have seen prices in the $10 to
$25 range, sometimes more.
The EX and HX are worth less than other models; they are the most common because
they were the cheapest, and their nonstandard expansion makes it a hassle to
deal with them. The original 1000 is somewhat desirable for its historical
value, especially if you have original boxes. But your old 1000 is not going to
make you rich.
IV.J. What happened to Tandy?
-----------------------------
Tandy Corporation has changed its name to Radio Shack. See section IV.A. for
ways to contact them.
In May 1993, Tandy sold its computer manufacturing facilities and the rest of
its computer business to AST Research, which quickly closed the plants down. For
a while, the desktop computers sold in Radio Shacks were made by AST, using
Tandy's old engineering staff, who had been transferred to the new company.
Tandy's laptops were mostly made in Japan, most by Panasonic, some by Seikosha,
often with custom ROM's. Tandy printers were generally made in Japan as well,
generally with custom ROM's.
In May 1996, AST terminated its in-house software development efforts, and the
remaining Tandy programmers scattered to the four winds (some were still left
from the DeskMate days at that time). AST Research dissolved in 1999, and a new
company called AST Computers, LLC acquired the intellectual property rights. AST
Computers, in turn, is out of business now, so effectively nobody owns the
rights to DeskMate any more.
Currently, Radio Shack is selling HP/Compaq models (yecch - how the mighty have
fallen).
[1] mailto:tvdog_site@sbcglobal.net
[2] ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/utilities/vgafix.zip
[3] ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/emulators/tandm055.zip
[4] http://www.oldskool.org/guides/tvdog/emulators.html
[5] ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/emulators/t1k_0102.zip
[6] http://support.radioshack.com/productinfo/
[7] ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/misc/setbpb.zip
[8] http://www.ebay.com
[9] http://www.oldskool.org/guides/tvdog/system.html
[10] http://www.oldskool.org/guides/tvdog/utilities.html
[11] ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/documents/pcsprint.zip
[12] http://www.evertech.com/
[13] ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/misc/mouse.zip
[14] ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/misc/ctmouse.zip
[15] ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/utilities/mouseclk.exe
[16] ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/utilities/joysys.zip
[17] http://users2.ev1.net/~switchtech/Tandy1000_DB25.html
[18] http://www.oldskool.org/pc/tand-em/
[19] http://www.oldskool.org/guides/tvdog/documents.html
[20] ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/documents/mfb1000.zip
[21] http://www.oldskool.org/guides/tvdog/deskmate.html
[22] ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/wares/
[23] http://www.oldskool.org/guides/tvdog/graphics.html
[24] http://www.oldskool.org/guides/tvdog/sound.html
[25] ftp://ftp.cs.vu.nl/pub/minix/
[26] http://groups.yahoo.com/group/geos-talk/
[27] http://www-306.ibm.com/software/os/warp/
[28] http://www.mixsoftware.com/product/powerc.htm
[29] http://www.oldskool.org/guides/tvdog/misc.html
[30] http://l.webring.com/hub?ring=dosgamesring
[31] telnet://wakawaka.dns2go.com/
[32] mailto:wakawaka@serv.net?subject=Tandy 1000-series FAQ
[33] ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/documents/upgradng.zip
[34] ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/documents/1ktech-1.zip
[35] ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/documents/1ktech-2.zip
[36] http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1555120415/
[37] ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/documents/jrtech.zip
[38] http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0942386922/
[39] http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0932760317/
[40] http://www.oldskool.org/guides/tvdog/basic.html
[41] http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0932760457/
[42] http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0932760422/
[43] http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0912677570/
[44] http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0132023342/
[45] http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0078816335/
[46] http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0672273144/
[47] ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1000/games/fundamnt.zip
[48] http://www.oldskool.org/guides/tvdog/games.html
[49] http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0915391279/
[50] http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1556150490/