1979 Radio Shack TRS-80 Model II
The TRS-80 model II, is the obscure brother of the TRS-80 family. Many internet pages deal with the models 1,3 and 4 but omit the model 2… This is maybe because the TRS-80 Model 2 was intended to be a business computer for use in offices and labs. Thus it is equiped with a full height Shugart 8” drive with a capacity of 500k which is a lot compared to the 87k offered by the TRS-80 Model 1 system disk.
It is also possible to connect up to 4 floppy disk units, so you could have 2MB disk space online !
It runs under TRSDOS, but can also achieve CP/M compatibility.
Options for the machine included a hard disk controller, an arcnet network card, a graphics card and a 6 MHz 68000 board set with extra memory (up to 512K) so it could run XENIX (Microsoft’s Unix System).
| NAME | TRS 80 MODEL II |
| MANUFACTURER | Tandy Radio Shack |
| TYPE | Professional Computer |
| ORIGIN | U.S.A. |
| YEAR | May 1979 |
| BUILT IN LANGUAGE | Basic delivered on disk |
| KEYBOARD | Full-stroke keyboard with separated numeric keypad |
| CPU | Zilog Z80 A |
| SPEED | 4 MHz |
| RAM | 32 / 64 KB depending on models |
| ROM | Unkown |
| TEXT MODES | 40 x 24 / 80 x 24 |
| GRAPHIC MODES | None, but 32 graphical symbols are available to simulate graphics |
| COLORS | monochrome built-in monitor |
| SIZE / WEIGHT | Heavy ! |
| I/O PORTS | Centronics/Parallel port, 2 x serial/RS232 ports |
| BUILT IN MEDIA | One full height Shugart 8” drive, single sided floppies with a capacity of 500K |
| OS | TRS-DOS |
| POWER SUPPLY | Built-in PSU |
| PRICE | $3,450 (USA, october 1979) |
Related
Filed under: 70s Computers - @ January 31, 2022 11:25 AM