I had a PC6 in high school. I saved up all $120 or so to buy it. It was awesome to have all of my electronics formulas programmed in. The ‘assembly’ programming on it was a joke as I recall; some sort of interpreted rubbish that was worse than BASIC.
Jeff From: M100 <m100-boun...@lists.bitchin100.com> On Behalf Of Kevin Becker Sent: Wednesday, August 8, 2018 10:03 AM To: m...@bitchin100.com Subject: Re: [M100] TRS-80/Tandy Pocket Computer Yeah some of the newer Sharp stuff is really cool but my soft spot is for the Tandy/Radio Shack stuff. But even the PC-2 has bitmapped graphics and the ability to load machine language programs. http://www.pc1500.com/assemblylanguage.html On Wed, Aug 8, 2018 at 10:52 AM, Nathan Misner <shicky...@gmail.com <mailto:shicky...@gmail.com> > wrote: Sharp actually continued making the PC series of pocket computers into the early 2000s. The last model (the PC-G850VS) can show bitmapped graphics, is programmable in BASIC, C, and Z80 assembly, and has an 8-bit parallel user port. On Wed, Aug 8, 2018 at 9:31 AM, Jeff Gonzales <gonzobra...@gmail.com <mailto:gonzobra...@gmail.com> > wrote: I have a PC-6 which I used in high school. It was such a cool "calculator" for the time. I liked the earlier ones more, however, as they had more cool accessories. "Ready P0" haha. On Wed, Aug 8, 2018 at 8:59 AM, Kevin Becker <ke...@kevinbecker.org <mailto:ke...@kevinbecker.org> > wrote: I'm a pocket computer fan too. My original was a PC-3 that I used through high school. At some point it died and I got a PC-7 which I used through college and early career. In the mean time the PC-3 had been repaired by a friend but the PC-7 was a better calculator for my needs at that time. Not long ago I dug them out and started messing around with them again. The keys on the cover of the PC-7 no longer work. I suspect the ribbon cable is broken and there probably isn't an easy way to repair it without destroying it in the process. The PC-3 mostly worked but the run/program/power switch was flakey. I took it apart and cleaned it an bent the contacts a bit to make a better connection and it is good to go. I also replaced the nicad pack in the printer. Since then I picked up another PC-3a and printer that needed the same repair. It has some bleed on the LCD but not too bad. I also acquired a PC-4 which is working great with no refurbishment. Most recently I got a PC-2 and a Sharp PC1500 that are also in great shape. I have a Sharp CE-150 printer for it but I actually haven't tested it out yet but it seems to have been unused, with unopened pens included. Ron Lauzon was nice enough to sell me some memory modules for them and I'm looking forward to doing some more advance programming on them soon. On Wed, Aug 8, 2018 at 7:39 AM, Jim Toth <jt...@localnet.com <mailto:jt...@localnet.com> > wrote: I'll keep that in mind. But so far, so good. ----- Original Message ----- From: you got me <mailto:ven...@hotmail.com> To: m...@bitchin100.com <mailto:m...@bitchin100.com> Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2018 1:26 AM Subject: Re: [M100] TRS-80/Tandy Pocket Computer be careful about the pc-2 and printing. You can always make or refill your own pens.... but the MAJOR problem is a plastic cog within the printing mechanism itself. Over time these things would crack and then you would have abnormal printing operations. A brass or 3d printed version of that cog would revitalize 98% of those ancient pc-2 printers. (that, and changing the ni-cad batteries with ni-mh ones). _____ From: M100 <m100-boun...@lists.bitchin100.com <mailto:m100-boun...@lists.bitchin100.com> > on behalf of Jim Toth <jt...@localnet.com <mailto:jt...@localnet.com> > Sent: Wednesday, August 8, 2018 2:08:03 AM To: m...@bitchin100.com <mailto:m...@bitchin100.com> Subject: Re: [M100] TRS-80/Tandy Pocket Computer You can still purchase PC-2 printer pens? Excellent. Where? ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ron Lauzon" <rlau...@gmail.com <mailto:rlau...@gmail.com> > To: <m...@bitchin100.com <mailto:m...@bitchin100.com> > Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2018 9:46 PM Subject: Re: [M100] TRS-80/Tandy Pocket Computer My PC-4 was my constant companion through college and into my first job. I picked up a PC-2 at the Tandy Corporate auction and got bit by the pocket computer bug. What I've put together is this: + PC-1 - usually had bad screens over time. + PC-2 - frequently people left the AA batteries in them when they stopped using them. The batteries leaked. So always check the battery compartment before buying one. Leaky batteries can cause a great deal of damage. The printer/cassette interface is where the flaws are. The printer gears tended to wear out. Also the rechargeable battery packs are shot by now and are leaking. There are some people who refurbish the printers (new batteries and new gears), but they will be more expensive. Surprisingly, you can still purchase the pens. + PC-3 - Not much that I know of. I only have 1 in my collection and it has no problems. The printer even works. + PC-4 - No problems with the pocket computer itself that I know of. The printer batteries are shot by now. Usually they don't leak, but the batteries are not meant to be replaced. But with some work, the printers can be made to work with an AC-adapter. On Tue, Aug 7, 2018 at 8:01 PM megarat <mega...@yahoo.com <mailto:mega...@yahoo.com> > wrote: > > Hey folks, a recent thread here highlighted my interest in the old > TRS-80/Tandy Pocket Computers (rebadged from existing Casio and Sharp > models). I always had a fascination with these things as a kid, and I was > lucky enough to own one of them for a while (a PC-5), so I'm entertaining > the possibility of hunting some of them down. > > I'm concerned, however, with how well these models age. Specifically the > electrolytics (and how easy are they to replace?), the LCD display (do > they have a tendency to fade/bleed?), and the keypad (do those little > chicklet keyboards still hold up years later?). > > Are there any PC collectors on this list that can offer me some > advice/guidance? Thanks. > > /CAM -- Ron Lauzon - rlauzon at acm dot org Homepage: http://webpages.charter.net/rlauzon/ Weblog: http://ronsapartment.blogspot.com/ TRS-80 Pocket Computer 2 - TRS-80 Pocket Computer 4 - TRS-80 Model 100/102 Some people like to work on old cars. But old computers are cheaper and don't require a big garage.
