If we wanted to make a list of all the computer models that have hit the market from the first moments of the microcomputer boom to the present day, we would be faced with such a difficult task that, at least a priori, seems overwhelming. However, in this hypothetical and endless list there are some models that stand out above the restbecause they made history in their time and no matter how many years have passed, they are still well remembered. The Radio Shack TRS-80, also known as the Tandy TRS-80 and affectionately as the Trash-80, is definitely in that selection..

The TRS-80, released on August 3, 1977, is one of them a large collection of personal computers built around the legendary Zilog Z-80, which a few years later would also be responsible for other devices such as the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and MSX, as well as found in other types of devices such as the Prophet-5 synthesizer, created by the father of the MIDI format, the recently deceased Dave Smith . This chip is so well remembered and reliable that a few years ago work began on the project of an operating system for a post-apocalyptic scenario and it was designed to work with the Z-80.

But back to the TRS-80, which turns 45 today and was revolutionary for its price: $599.95 in 1977, which would be approximately $2,900 in current dollars. It may seem very expensive, but of course we have to analyze this price in its context, and for this we can compare it with the Apple II, which was released on similar dates and had a price of $1,298. Indeed, it was a very, very cheap option at the time.

Plus, while the vast majority of builds coming out at the time were CPU-only, The TRS-80 featured a head unit with a built-in keyboard, cassette deck, and monochrome monitor, elements that in the remaining cases had to be purchased separately and which, as you can imagine, were not exactly cheap. True, three years later Sir Clive Sinclair would arrive with the ZX-80, but we are talking about an incredibly effervescent period in which three years can be considered three lifetimes.

Image: Flominator

The Sinclair ZX-80 thus made it possible to measure the price of computers in tens of dollars instead of hundreds, but the Radio Shack TRS-80 three years earlier was the protagonist of the leap from the previous step to price measurement. in hundreds of dollars, not thousands. Something that added to the enormous popularity of the Radio Shack chain at the time, contributed significantly to the popularization of the home computer.

In retrospect, it’s clear that it was a big success, but in reality, Tandy, the owner of Radio Shack stores (which is why you can read references to the Tandy TR-80 and the Radio Shack TRS-80, which are actually the exact same machines), didn’t like it clearly. It was supposed to be the most expensive item sold in the retail chain and there was still much doubt as to whether there was really much demand for home computers.

So Tandy was quite conservative and pro-launch in its predictions initial production limited to 3,000 units. And why that particular amount? Because according to their calculations, if the TRS-80 was a commercial failure, they would allocate one unit to each of the group’s 3,000 warehouses to use for bookkeeping. Surely you already imagined that neither of these teams was ultimately destined for such a function, because 10,000 computers were sold in the first monthand the figure rose 55,000 after completion of first year. It remained on the market until January 1981, when it was bid farewell total sales of about a quarter of a million units.

At this point, you’re probably wondering the reason for its name, or if you’ve been gathering data from what’s been told so far, you may have already “figured it out.” TRS stands for Tandy Radio Shack and 80? Yes, indeed, in honor of its processor, the Zilog Z80.

Designed by Don French and Steve Leininger, we could find inside the aforementioned Zilog Z-80 running at 1.77 megahertz, accompanied by 4 kilobytes of RAM. If you’re particularly young (and in this case your interest in these “war stories” makes me especially excited) and you’re having trouble getting an idea of ​​how much that is in relation to, say, 8 gigabytes of your PC, the TRS-80’s memory was 0 percent, 00005% of your current team’s memory. 0.000025% if you have 16 gigabytes and 0.0000125% if you have 32.

The TRS-80, like all computers of the era, they did not have a graphics mode as we understand them today, i.e. with the ability to represent bitmaps. Its interface was limited to 64 columns and 16 lines of monochromatic text (capital letters only), which, yes, using a block text character, made it possible to “create” a 128×48 pixel screen. It also didn’t have a sound system (not even a speaker), but many shows used a gimmick to output simple sounds through the cassette port. In the video above, you can see what ingenious and creative programmers have been able to do despite these limitations.

And how was the TRS-80 used? Using the most popular programming language of the time, of course, a BASIC interpreter loaded into the computer’s ROM. And Tanda’s great achievement in this regard was the inclusion of a manual, which you can check out here if you’re interested, a tremendously simple one that opened the door to programming for all its users. Let’s remember that we are talking about the days when the supply of software was still very rare, so knowing how to program added many points when it came to being able to use the computer for what you wanted it to do.

In terms of storage, as I have had before, the package also included a cassette deck which was a support for both saving and loading software. Tandy also released a floppy disk drivewhich of course provided much faster read and write operations, but its price was extremely high, so the vast majority of TRS-80 users never had this peripheral.

Many users remember him with great affection, despite the fact that the affectionate nickname trash-80 somewhat darkened his image, The TRS-80 was a very important step in popularizing the home computer, both for its price and how easy it was to use. And therefore, even with its faults, because it was not a perfect machine, far from it, it is one of the systems to which we owe computers gaining a presence in our lives. Happy Birthday TRS-80!