Hi David, I bought my 102 on eBay as a single non-lot unit (that is, without the slipcase, manuals, cabling, and other assorted goodies you might get in the box) for a song (about $100). I then ordered a recap kit, external power supply, internal NiMH battery, and 8K chip from Arcadeshopper. The 8K expansion for the 102 is extremely easy to install -- there's a simple DIP socket accessible by a hatch on the bottom of the computer. You simply open the hatch, orient the chip, and push it into place. Be aware that the 8K expansion chip for the 100 does not fit in the 102. The 100 uses a different socket.
It's imperative that you at least replace the internal battery -- used to keep the contents of RAM intact while you switch AA batteries -- as these are all old enough to be on the verge of leaking battery acid all over the board, destroying it. Replacing the capacitors on the board is also a very good idea -- I have done most of mine except for the two tucked under the big coil that I assume is part of the modem assembly. Those two are tough to get to and I have yet to reach out to the listserv's experts for advice about them. Recapping is pretty simple, but takes some manual dexterity and good eyesight. I have neither of those things in abundance, and was able to do the bulk of the recapping work in about an hour with a simple soldering/desoldering kit from Amazon. Since then, I have bought a number of little things to make my life with the M102 better. I found a M100 slipcase on eBay, and while it's a little large and loose around the smaller 102, it suffices to take the computer for travel. I bought Stephen Adolph's REX system, which is a device and software subsystem that is inserted into the "Option ROM" slot and used to allow you to load various application or development environment ROMs without using up your precious RAM. It also allows you to back up the contents of RAM to the flash device, which is a huge lifesaver, as you *will* experience loss of state in the course of using your T. The REX is the secret sauce for making your T into a daily driver! I also bought a Panasonic eneloop rechargable battery kit with 8xAA batteries, and use the NiMH cells as primary power for the 102 when I'm away from my desk. Despite heavy usage, I have yet to go through the first charge. The eneloops are great. I also have a USB to serial rig, and the requisite adapters, so I can connect the 102 to another computer. I use my household's file server, and can mount it directly over the serial port using TS-DOS (loaded into the REX). I have a 32K computer with 40 terabytes of storage! Depending on the condition you get your 102 in, you might want the Novus 3-step plastic polishing kit. I used mine to buff and polish the plastic that covers the screen, and it removed nearly every sign of scuffs and scratches. This makes it much more pleasant to read the screen. As far as software loadout goes, I try to keep things light. I have a couple of programs I picked up after sifting through the contents of club100 and the ZIP file floating around that contains the old CompuServ SIG file area. Between those -- and the member file area of club100 -- you'll find lots to choose from. I do the majority of my writing in the built-in TEXT program, which is pretty rudimentary, but has some handy navigation hotkeys. I also use a small basic program called JERNAL which creates and timestamps entries into a text file, allowing me to make diary-like entries. For note taking, you can use TEXT to create a file called NOTE.DO and search through it with the built-in SCHEDL program. There's an option ROM available called Sardine which offers a spell checker, but requires a peculiar TPDD storage device emulation setup that I haven't had an opportunity to play around with. The Ultimate ROM II offers some word processing features, but they're largely irrelevant as I have no interest in print formatting. I write everything in plain old Markdown, and upload it into my home directory on the server for processing. There's a port of ANS FORTH called MFORTH. Pick it up from the MFORTH web page, because the one linked on the bitchin100 wiki is an older version. It's a pretty full featured FORTH programming environment, and I'm having a blast reacquanting myself with the language. There's another option ROM called Cleusau which provides a bunch of BASIC programming and debugging enhancements. I highly recommend it -- once you get your REX. On Mon, Apr 27, 2020 at 6:19 PM David N. Hughes-Robinson <oag...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hello!! > > I have recently learned of the model t and have fallen head-over-heals. As > a full-time python developer, I have enjoyed playing with BASIC and look > forward to conquering low level programming in 8085 assembly. I live in a > tiny apartment, so the model t is the only retro-computer I can justify > space-wise, otherwise I would already filled several desks with old > computers and disk drives. > > Currently I am getting my model t fix by playing with VirtualT but would > love to get my hands on real hardware. What is the preferred place to get a > working Tandy 102 with 32k of ram? I’ve been looking on eBay and have found > a few listings, but many of them are untested or have known flaws. Are > there any repairs that are easier to perform And therefore worth purchasing > with a repair in mind? I’ve also seen many more model 100s, but the article > listing the differences between models on club100.org suggests it is > better to acquire a 102 than a 100. > > I’ve ordered a physical copy of David Leon’s “The TRS-80 Mode 100 Portable > Computer,” which I look forward to reading and have downloaded tons of > books off archive.org. That said, I am open to and ready for more reading > suggestions about the model t and programming for these old micros. > > Finally, I would love any tips for writing prose on the model t. Are there > any particular workflows or BASIC programs you find essential? > > Thank you so much in advance. Looking forward to loads of fun with this > list and the model t. > > Best, > oaguy1
