Thanks for the trip down memory lane! I had one of these back in the day. I found $100 in a parking lot and after waiting 10 minutes to see if anyone came looking for it, I used it to buy a TRS-80 MC-10! The only thing I did with it was write some basic programs. I wish I had kept it...
The MC-10 was my first computer I owned as a teen in the early 80s, together with the 16K ram expansion.. I programmed for about 2 years and made hundreds of programs myselve. I also converted many text adventures from the Commodore 64, BBC-B, MSX and TRS-80 model 1/3 to the MC-10. This little machine learned me BASIC programming and a bit of POKE wizardry.
My first computer back in the early 80's was a 16k Coco 2. I spent hours making my own programs and typing in programs from books and magazines, then saving them to a tape! I had stacks of cassettes that I wish I still had. So this little computer brings back a lot a memories for me.
I just stumbled on this video! I got one of these for Christmas on a clearance when I was around 9 or 10 years old. My folks paid the huge sum of $50 for it. I do still have it, though the power brick is lost to the ages. I learned basic on it, and eventually got a CoCo2 to replace it followed by a Tandy 1000TL. Ahh, memories!
Just found your channel and this video. Wow... this takes me back. I a work as a programmer today, thanks in main part to this little machine right here. I was able to teach myself basic and had an absolute blast with this thing while I served in the Navy during the 80s. Thanks for the memories!!
It is a great little machine, lately there have been a lot of new games released for it as well as new hardware (128k memory expansion, SD card reader). I didn't have one growing up (I had a 16k CoCo2) but am glad I do now!
I did the internal memory mod just recently and also made a custom memory expansion that doesn't overlap the internal expansion - removing the interference. Type POKE49151,255 for 256x192 graphics mode btw.
The expansion pack brought it up to 16k so it only added 12k (12288) to the initial 4K(4096) so 12288 + 7238 ( modified memory ) equals exactly the 19526 he sees on the screen.
You can fix the video problem by correcting a flaw in the RAM modification. Find the 74LS139 chip which is piggybacked on U5. There should be wire from pin 15 of this chip running to pin 8 of U12. Remove this connection and tie pin 15 of the 74LS139 to Ground instead. That should allow you to use the expansion pack without video interference.
A great resource is the TRS-80 MC-10 facebook group that can be very helpful with any questions, also the Tandy Color Computer group on Discord has a dedicated MC-10 chat room, I'll send you a link for the Discord group soon.
So did this computer use the Motorola 6809 CPU as did the Tandy Color Computer (CoCo) models? Does use that familiar green screen background color as its default
The lack of the 6809 is probably its biggest flaw. It was less than the original Color Computer. Had it been a cheapo Coco it might have had more appeal. It would have been cool in 1979. I need one!
My guess would be that the additional "hacked in" 4k is interfering with the 1st 4k of the expansion module. The best solution would be to reverse the 4k to 8k hack, and then everything should operate normally, and the video interference should disappear entirely.
@@CanadianRetroThings Alternatively you could modify the memory expansion so the first 4k is not enabled, preventing the overlap. I made my own RAM expansion after doing the hack to get around the problem, but there should be a way to modify the factory RAM expansion to disable the first 4k. Removing it shouldn't be hard but then you won't be able to do this anymore... ruclips.net/video/WZocRubaYmA/видео.html
The expansion pack brought it up to 16k so it only added 12k (12288) to the initial 4K(4096) so 12288 + 7238 ( modified memory ) equals exactly the 19526 he sees on the screen
I just recently had the opportunity to buy one of these machine for 40$ us , in a very good state it even comes in a wood box with the ram expansion pack, but cable-wise it only has the video cable to the tv and i seem to have a hard time finding out about the other cables i don't know a whole lot about electronics. though 40$ may seem insignificant for a hobby computer where im from it's a little bit more of a considerable sum so i'm trying to make a smart buying decision, PLEASE HELP. thanks
Nice video! We have a weekly live Coco talk show (live.cocotalk.live), where we discuss the MC-10, along with the rest of the Coco line. Please feel free to drop by watch, or join, the show. I happens at 2PM Eastern time every Saturday. Also, re: the interference - I suspect the 8K RAM internal upgrade may be causing it to not get video RAM properly, vs. just interference. Some of our hardware people may be able to answer that on the show.
My guess is also that it is the RAM upgrade due to the way it is only using 4K with the expansion pack. I will definitely check out the talk show, thanks!
@@CanadianRetroThings probably the green desktop colour doesn’t help too, others had difficulty capturing a clear image as well. I should have added that I enjoyed the video. Thank you!
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Thanks for the trip down memory lane! I had one of these back in the day. I found $100 in a parking lot and after waiting 10 minutes to see if anyone came looking for it, I used it to buy a TRS-80 MC-10! The only thing I did with it was write some basic programs. I wish I had kept it...
They have a lot of modern add-ons now that make it a lot more usable for writing programs and gaming on!
The MC-10 was my first computer I owned as a teen in the early 80s, together with the 16K ram expansion.. I programmed for about 2 years and made hundreds of programs myselve. I also converted many text adventures from the Commodore 64, BBC-B, MSX and TRS-80 model 1/3 to the MC-10. This little machine learned me BASIC programming and a bit of POKE wizardry.
My first computer back in the early 80's was a 16k Coco 2. I spent hours making my own programs and typing in programs from books and magazines, then saving them to a tape! I had stacks of cassettes that I wish I still had. So this little computer brings back a lot a memories for me.
I just stumbled on this video! I got one of these for Christmas on a clearance when I was around 9 or 10 years old. My folks paid the huge sum of $50 for it. I do still have it, though the power brick is lost to the ages. I learned basic on it, and eventually got a CoCo2 to replace it followed by a Tandy 1000TL. Ahh, memories!
It is a great little machine. There is still a lot of people making hardware and software for it!
Just found your channel and this video. Wow... this takes me back. I a work as a programmer today, thanks in main part to this little machine right here. I was able to teach myself basic and had an absolute blast with this thing while I served in the Navy during the 80s. Thanks for the memories!!
It is a great little machine, lately there have been a lot of new games released for it as well as new hardware (128k memory expansion, SD card reader). I didn't have one growing up (I had a 16k CoCo2) but am glad I do now!
My neighbor had one , and unfortunately I only got to use it a handful of times, and after, didn't get to touch a computer until my teenage years.
Got one when my grandfather got a vic 20, Learned to program on it.
There has been a lot of things developed for this little system in the past few years.
I did the internal memory mod just recently and also made a custom memory expansion that doesn't overlap the internal expansion - removing the interference. Type POKE49151,255 for 256x192 graphics mode btw.
Thanks for the suggestion! That sounds like it would be an interesting project to do (I had not even thought of doing something like that).
The expansion pack brought it up to 16k so it only added 12k (12288) to the initial 4K(4096) so 12288 + 7238 ( modified memory ) equals exactly the 19526 he sees on the screen.
You can fix the video problem by correcting a flaw in the RAM modification. Find the 74LS139 chip which is piggybacked on U5. There should be wire from pin 15 of this chip running to pin 8 of U12. Remove this connection and tie pin 15 of the 74LS139 to Ground instead. That should allow you to use the expansion pack without video interference.
Thanks for the suggestion, it looks like I am opening the MC-10 again!
Also i have trouble finding the manual, and startup guide , thanks for scrolling by my comments
A great resource is the TRS-80 MC-10 facebook group that can be very helpful with any questions, also the Tandy Color Computer group on Discord has a dedicated MC-10 chat room, I'll send you a link for the Discord group soon.
The Discord link is discord.gg/4J5nHXm
@@CanadianRetroThings thanks a lot
Really cool video!
Thanks, the MC-10 is surprisingly good little computer!
I always felt like the MC-10 should have been paired with the CCR-82, not the CCR-81. Smaller computer, smaller tape drive
So did this computer use the Motorola 6809 CPU as did the Tandy Color Computer (CoCo) models? Does use that familiar green screen background color as its default
The MC10 was released with a Motorola 6803 running at just under 1 Mhz
The lack of the 6809 is probably its biggest flaw. It was less than the original Color Computer. Had it been a cheapo Coco it might have had more appeal. It would have been cool in 1979. I need one!
My guess would be that the additional "hacked in" 4k is interfering with the 1st 4k of the expansion module. The best solution would be to reverse the 4k to 8k hack, and then everything should operate normally, and the video interference should disappear entirely.
My guess is also the additional 4k is causing the interference. I will have to decide if reversing the hack is within my abilities or not!
@@CanadianRetroThings Yeah, also Join the Facebook community (and Radio Shack Color Computer community) and you'll find alot of help there.
@@CanadianRetroThings Alternatively you could modify the memory expansion so the first 4k is not enabled, preventing the overlap. I made my own RAM expansion after doing the hack to get around the problem, but there should be a way to modify the factory RAM expansion to disable the first 4k. Removing it shouldn't be hard but then you won't be able to do this anymore... ruclips.net/video/WZocRubaYmA/видео.html
The expansion pack brought it up to 16k so it only added 12k (12288) to the initial 4K(4096) so 12288 + 7238 ( modified memory ) equals exactly the 19526 he sees on the screen
I just recently had the opportunity to buy one of these machine for 40$ us , in a very good state it even comes in a wood box with the ram expansion pack, but cable-wise it only has the video cable to the tv and i seem to have a hard time finding out about the other cables i don't know a whole lot about electronics. though 40$ may seem insignificant for a hobby computer where im from it's a little bit more of a considerable sum so i'm trying to make a smart buying decision, PLEASE HELP. thanks
Nice video! We have a weekly live Coco talk show (live.cocotalk.live), where we discuss the MC-10, along with the rest of the Coco line. Please feel free to drop by watch, or join, the show. I happens at 2PM Eastern time every Saturday. Also, re: the interference - I suspect the 8K RAM internal upgrade may be causing it to not get video RAM properly, vs. just interference. Some of our hardware people may be able to answer that on the show.
My guess is also that it is the RAM upgrade due to the way it is only using 4K with the expansion pack. I will definitely check out the talk show, thanks!
Please, next time have the TV set up in a better angle, can’t figure out why are you talking about or showing on the screen
It was more the crappy camera I had back then, this was the better angle!
@@CanadianRetroThings probably the green desktop colour doesn’t help too, others had difficulty capturing a clear image as well. I should have added that I enjoyed the video. Thank you!