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  • Trying to get an old/beat up TRS-80, Model 4 working again

    From Jeff Hochman@21:1/5 to All on Sun Nov 6 19:10:36 2022
    Hi All,
    I purchased a TRS-80, model 4 online a few years ago and now that I have fixed my model 3's started on the model 4. This is what it does so far...
    I plug it in and the hard drive seeks. I see the raster on the CRT (but no diskette, or cassette prompt --- even if I hold the break key down). I also notice that the keyboard was trashed (several missing keys, and the reset button was jammed down).
    I pried the reset button out so it mostly resets normally now but still no text, only raster. Also, I tried to open the thing up but one of the screws (yep, the last one) is badly stripped. I've tried several techniques to unscrew it, but it's
    stubbornly resisted. I might use a drill soon to drill out the screw to open the thing up. :-( I'm wondering if it's worth working on, or if it's become a boat anchor. BTW, I also tried adjusting the pots for the brightness/contract..still no dice on
    the text. Thanks for any tips/advice.

    -Jeff

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  • From Amardeep Chana@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Mon Nov 7 04:37:54 2022
    On Sunday, November 6, 2022 at 11:01:59 PM UTC-5, [email protected] wrote:
    Hi All,
    I purchased a TRS-80, model 4 online a few years ago and now that I have fixed my model 3's started on the model 4. This is what it does so far...
    I plug it in and the hard drive seeks. I see the raster on the CRT (but no diskette, or cassette prompt --- even if I hold the break key down). I also notice that the keyboard was trashed (several missing keys, and the reset button was jammed down). I
    pried the reset button out so it mostly resets normally now but still no text, only raster. Also, I tried to open the thing up but one of the screws (yep, the last one) is badly stripped. I've tried several techniques to unscrew it, but it's stubbornly
    resisted. I might use a drill soon to drill out the screw to open the thing up. :-( I'm wondering if it's worth working on, or if it's become a boat anchor. BTW, I also tried adjusting the pots for the brightness/contract..still no dice on the text.
    Thanks for any tips/advice.

    -Jeff

    I've found the keyboards are often bad these days so the <BREAK> key might not be registering. Otherwise there would be no indication on the screen for some verions of the ROM. Other versions *might* display "Diskette?" if a disk was in the drive but
    the door was open.

    Every Model 4 is worth saving. If it's not worth the trouble to you, please find it a home where it will get the attention it needs. Where are you geographically?

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    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Walt Perko@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Tue Nov 8 05:18:37 2022
    On Sunday, November 6, 2022 at 8:01:59 PM UTC-8, [email protected] wrote:
    Hi All,
    I purchased a TRS-80, model 4 online a few years ago and now that I have fixed my model 3's started on the model 4. This is what it does so far...
    I plug it in and the hard drive seeks. I see the raster on the CRT (but no diskette, or cassette prompt --- even if I hold the break key down). I also notice that the keyboard was trashed (several missing keys, and the reset button was jammed down). I
    pried the reset button out so it mostly resets normally now but still no text, only raster. Also, I tried to open the thing up but one of the screws (yep, the last one) is badly stripped. I've tried several techniques to unscrew it, but it's stubbornly
    resisted. I might use a drill soon to drill out the screw to open the thing up. :-( I'm wondering if it's worth working on, or if it's become a boat anchor. BTW, I also tried adjusting the pots for the brightness/contract..still no dice on the text.
    Thanks for any tips/advice.

    -Jeff

    Hi,

    I saw in the https://forum.vcfed.org/ one time there was a shop that specialized in repairing TRS-80s ... all models ... I think it was in Texas ...

    I'd say worst case donate the machine to the guy. At least he can fix it or use it for parts.

    .

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Walt Perko@21:1/5 to All on Sat Dec 3 19:14:35 2022
    Hi,

    There seems to be a few places to get help with repairs in this forum: https://retrocomputingforum.com/t/trs-80-model-3-problems/1591

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Jeff Hochman@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Sat Dec 3 18:58:27 2022
    On Tuesday, November 8, 2022 at 7:18:38 AM UTC-6, [email protected] wrote:
    On Sunday, November 6, 2022 at 8:01:59 PM UTC-8, [email protected] wrote:
    Hi All,
    I purchased a TRS-80, model 4 online a few years ago and now that I have fixed my model 3's started on the model 4. This is what it does so far...
    I plug it in and the hard drive seeks. I see the raster on the CRT (but no diskette, or cassette prompt --- even if I hold the break key down). I also notice that the keyboard was trashed (several missing keys, and the reset button was jammed down).
    I pried the reset button out so it mostly resets normally now but still no text, only raster. Also, I tried to open the thing up but one of the screws (yep, the last one) is badly stripped. I've tried several techniques to unscrew it, but it's stubbornly
    resisted. I might use a drill soon to drill out the screw to open the thing up. :-( I'm wondering if it's worth working on, or if it's become a boat anchor. BTW, I also tried adjusting the pots for the brightness/contract..still no dice on the text.
    Thanks for any tips/advice.

    -Jeff
    Hi,

    I saw in the https://forum.vcfed.org/ one time there was a shop that specialized in repairing TRS-80s ... all models ... I think it was in Texas ...

    I'd say worst case donate the machine to the guy. At least he can fix it or use it for parts.

    .
    I'm in Illinois, BTW

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Walt Perko@21:1/5 to All on Sun Dec 4 07:28:45 2022
    Hi,

    This is the Tandy Repair Center in Texas: [email protected]

    https://forum.vcfed.org/index.php?threads/for-sale-trs-80-model-4-non-gate-array.1241071/

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    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)