It’s amazing. I had never thought about the storage size as compared to a MP3 file…it’s crazy that I could barely fit Gnarles Barkley’s Crazy on the 5 MB drive. 🤣
Wow thanks for all that information. I never realised there was so much to the Tandy line of computers. By the way, you may have already figured it out but, Control-Q is XON hence the error message about flow being already on.
Thanks for the info! It turns out the issue is with all TRSDOS-II 4.x operating systems, not just 4.4. I haven’t had time to dig too much, but since the floppy-based TRSDOS 2.0 works, I’ll just have to stick with it if I want to use TeleTerm.
I swear it’s the most-commented-on thing in the computer room. I thought about changing it once…but now I think the backlash would be too great! 🤣. Thanks for watching!
Tandy also later sold a Hard Disk Interface for the Coco that could use the primary drives as well - but since the drives were very expensive (for the Coco market), not many people used them (they usually went third party SASI ,SCSI (Disto, Kenton, Diskmaster, etc.) and later MFM/RLL drives (Burke&Burke) which were *much* cheaper. I know Steve Bjork had one of the Tandy ones back when they first came out - he had either a 35 MB or the 70 MB drive, I can't remember which. (The Coco version required OS-9 Level 1 Version 2 and a 64K Coco with a floppy controller, floppy drive and Multi-Pak Interface to run).
I always wanted one of the CoCo hard disk controllers. Back in the day I didn’t have a Multipak interface (or money), so it was moot then. I’m hoping to find one…it’d be fun to play with. I would definitely pair it with one of these hard disk systems.
Wow, I had no idea that the wide board is actually doing emulation of a drive controller! Was wondering why it had so many more ICs on it while my Tandy 6000 internal board has like 2.
A bit off topic from this 8-inch rabbit hole I've fallen down, but why on Earth didnt Tandy offer an INTERNAL hard drive for the III/4? Tandon made some in the exact size and form factor to fit those drive bays and IBM and others made use of that. And third party companies offered them for the III/4 too (although not as much as I'd expect). But Tandy kept pushing these physically huge drives for the III and 4 even though the compact all-in-one design of those two computers was one of their biggest selling points - no complicated mess on your desk like the Model I and CoCo
I always wondered that too. Early on it makes more sense - the controller board is the size of a III/4 motherboard. But by the time the 4D was a thing, consolidation would have probably made it possible. My bet is it came down to marketing and price points…Tandy didn’t like to cannibalize sales of their pricer lines, and by the time it was feasible they wanted the line gone because it didn’t run MS-DOS. It would have been great, though!
Tandy / Radio Shack made quite a bit leasing the 16B and 6000 systems to small businesses, along with terminals and software for Xenix. It was equivalent to about $1000 a month to begin with and they probably kept those leases active through the 90s. I remember a few doctor and vet offices running on Tandy 6000 systems through the mid to late 90s.
It’s crazy to think about what these systems cost out the door back then. Most went to businesses, and many were leased, but there were some regular folks who did buy them…I can’t imagine spending the same amount of money you’d spend on two Chevys to get a computer with a hard disk. It’s mind-blowing!
I am a standout among my friends for being a champion of Orange Crush. Everyone else prefers grape. It’s good stuff for sure, but I’ll always be Team Orange. 😁 Thanks for watching!
I don't care if I have been doing computers since mid 91. 8" is all I need to smile. :) Now, at the end my understanding was 1.2mb 8" using both sides of the disk? Like the HD 5.1/2" ?
You’re correct, the 8” 1.2 MB disks were double-sided. The sheer size of the 8” disk makes it work with double density (MFM) media vs 5.25”. Single sided disks got you about 600K, or about 475K on a TRSDOS-II system disk.
It's amazing how much things have changed. Sometimes I host retro computer game nights for friends, and when I do I create placards for each machine that shows storage sizes in modern units (0.000064 GB, for example) and show prices adjusted for inflation. It starts a lot of conversations. Thanks for watching!
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I love how those hard drives cost more than a good used car, are almost as big as an IBM PC, and can store approximately one song in MP3 format
It’s amazing. I had never thought about the storage size as compared to a MP3 file…it’s crazy that I could barely fit Gnarles Barkley’s Crazy on the 5 MB drive. 🤣
Wow thanks for all that information. I never realised there was so much to the Tandy line of computers. By the way, you may have already figured it out but, Control-Q is XON hence the error message about flow being already on.
Thanks for the info! It turns out the issue is with all TRSDOS-II 4.x operating systems, not just 4.4. I haven’t had time to dig too much, but since the floppy-based TRSDOS 2.0 works, I’ll just have to stick with it if I want to use TeleTerm.
Amazing series! Can't wait for the part III.
Thanks! I’m glad you’re enjoying it!
Great video, Chris! Very informative.
Thanks! I was not aware of the new HDA board.
Even a home computer in those days really took a whole room. Fortunately houses were only 4x annual income.
Your taste in wood paneling makes you a prince among men
I know, right? It's half of the appeal!
I swear it’s the most-commented-on thing in the computer room. I thought about changing it once…but now I think the backlash would be too great! 🤣. Thanks for watching!
You started the video about 7 minutes early.
I’ll have a word with my producer…when he puts the bourbon down. Hopefully part III starts “on time”…
Got to remember to take my battery of the month club card to Radio Shack to get a 9v for my flavoradio. Late night am dxing again. Oh, yeah!
I was a proud, card-carrying member of the battery club. I never had a Flavoradio, though. I feel like I missed out…
Tandy also later sold a Hard Disk Interface for the Coco that could use the primary drives as well - but since the drives were very expensive (for the Coco market), not many people used them (they usually went third party SASI ,SCSI (Disto, Kenton, Diskmaster, etc.) and later MFM/RLL drives (Burke&Burke) which were *much* cheaper. I know Steve Bjork had one of the Tandy ones back when they first came out - he had either a 35 MB or the 70 MB drive, I can't remember which. (The Coco version required OS-9 Level 1 Version 2 and a 64K Coco with a floppy controller, floppy drive and Multi-Pak Interface to run).
I always wanted one of the CoCo hard disk controllers. Back in the day I didn’t have a Multipak interface (or money), so it was moot then. I’m hoping to find one…it’d be fun to play with. I would definitely pair it with one of these hard disk systems.
Wow, I had no idea that the wide board is actually doing emulation of a drive controller! Was wondering why it had so many more ICs on it while my Tandy 6000 internal board has like 2.
VSLI circuits really changed the game in just a short time. It’s amazing to see the differences side-by-side.
Storage for me in the 80's was audio tape.
I know your pain. My first computer was a CoCo 3 with the CCR-81 cassette recorder. It wasn’t ideal, but it got the job done. Mostly. 🤣
A bit off topic from this 8-inch rabbit hole I've fallen down, but why on Earth didnt Tandy offer an INTERNAL hard drive for the III/4? Tandon made some in the exact size and form factor to fit those drive bays and IBM and others made use of that. And third party companies offered them for the III/4 too (although not as much as I'd expect). But Tandy kept pushing these physically huge drives for the III and 4 even though the compact all-in-one design of those two computers was one of their biggest selling points - no complicated mess on your desk like the Model I and CoCo
I always wondered that too. Early on it makes more sense - the controller board is the size of a III/4 motherboard. But by the time the 4D was a thing, consolidation would have probably made it possible. My bet is it came down to marketing and price points…Tandy didn’t like to cannibalize sales of their pricer lines, and by the time it was feasible they wanted the line gone because it didn’t run MS-DOS. It would have been great, though!
Adjusted for inflation that hdd would cost well over 14k USD😱...
Tandy / Radio Shack made quite a bit leasing the 16B and 6000 systems to small businesses, along with terminals and software for Xenix. It was equivalent to about $1000 a month to begin with and they probably kept those leases active through the 90s. I remember a few doctor and vet offices running on Tandy 6000 systems through the mid to late 90s.
@@HoJoGoGo
Really🤯guess migrating to a different "enviroment" would cost (time and money) too much
It’s crazy to think about what these systems cost out the door back then. Most went to businesses, and many were leased, but there were some regular folks who did buy them…I can’t imagine spending the same amount of money you’d spend on two Chevys to get a computer with a hard disk. It’s mind-blowing!
I know you are wearing orange but we all know grape crush is the best 😄
I am a standout among my friends for being a champion of Orange Crush. Everyone else prefers grape. It’s good stuff for sure, but I’ll always be Team Orange. 😁 Thanks for watching!
I don't care if I have been doing computers since mid 91. 8" is all I need to smile. :) Now, at the end my understanding was 1.2mb 8" using both sides of the disk? Like the HD 5.1/2" ?
You’re correct, the 8” 1.2 MB disks were double-sided. The sheer size of the 8” disk makes it work with double density (MFM) media vs 5.25”. Single sided disks got you about 600K, or about 475K on a TRSDOS-II system disk.
Wow. 8.4MB for $4495 in 1982 is $14,663 in 2024 dollars. That is $1,745 per MB in 2024 dollars. 1,000MB (1TB) drive for $30 in 2024 = 3 CENTS per MB.
It's amazing how much things have changed. Sometimes I host retro computer game nights for friends, and when I do I create placards for each machine that shows storage sizes in modern units (0.000064 GB, for example) and show prices adjusted for inflation. It starts a lot of conversations. Thanks for watching!
I suspect that that watch you keep flashing isn't a Micronta. TRS-traitor!!