I found my first PC! How well does a TRS-80 Model 4P hold up after 37 years? Let's find out...
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
- Recently I discovered that my first PC, the TRS-80 Model 4P, was still sitting under a desk inside an office building that my family owns. I thought they had gotten rid of it long ago. This machine sparked my interest in computers as a kid, something I wound up making a career out of as an adult. But does it still work? In this video I power it on for the first time in probably 20+ years and try it out.
0:01:14 - Looking it over, and the story of this PC
0:06:38 - Powering it up
0:13:20 - Trying some software. "Scarfman", a Pac-Man clone
0:14:42 - "Attack Force", a clone of the arcade game Targ
0:17:44 - "SuperNova", clone of the arcade game Asteroids
0:18:51 - "Galaxy Invasion", clone of the arcade game Galaxian
0:20:17 - "Invaders", clone of the arcade game Space Invaders
0:21:22 - VisiCalc, the first PC spreadsheet software
0:22:21 - "Car Race"
0:23:23 - Wrap-up, more details on the PC and how it's holding up
Wow! Very nice machine! Old computer that can show history and size of CRT and mono / color and 5inch Floppy and Speed of old CPU. Old computer like you shows is very nice to coputer education.
I grew up with a Model III. Big Five made the greatest stuff!
Lucky you, finding one of these again, and working no less! Take good care of it!
Thank you, I will! Look up Big Five, I found some neat interviews with that guy
Awesome to see a Model-4P. Played Scarfman (Pacman knockoff) on a Model-1.
I've seen one in working condition back in 1999, somehow it came over the pond to Europe! Lovely 1980's design! So much nicer compared to the ZX Spectrum clones using the same CPU (I know, different market targeting).
I'm continually amazed at how far the Tandy computers reached. From my perspective back then it was a Texas computer company and I figured most of them were sold/used in this region. Later when I was on the internet and started researching I was blown away at how successful they actually were!
I pulled out my still working 4P today. The awesome intro to Attack Force @14:37 is a nod to the Si-Fi TV series "The Outer Limits"...20 years before the 4P came out. ua-cam.com/video/FCcdr4O-3gE/v-deo.html
Thanks for the memories! My Mom and Dad bought me a Model 4P when they were first available in October, 1983 so I could write programs in Basic for their business. My parents had a Model 3 and then added a Model 4. I upgraded my 4P by adding external modems up to 4800 baud. I also upgraded the Z-80 to a faster one and doubled the RAM and replaced the right drive with a 720K 3-1/2" drive that plugged right in and worked immediately. I then added an external 40MB hard drive which made it run very fast for the day. I also wrote a script for a terminal program that I had purchased that would dial numbers looking for other computer modems and log the numbers - I got the idea from the 1983 WarGames movie. Back then there was no Internet and we connected to dial-up BBS systems usually running on private computers like the TRS-80s. I now have 2 or 3 Model 4Ps in my house somewhere, but I have not fired up any of them in a very long time.
That's awesome! Thanks for sharing. I would have loved a hard drive for our Model 3 or 4's back in the day. I used to flip through the Radioshack catalogs and daydream about them. Far too expensive though, at the time no-one in the business cared that much about computers. I would maintain them but I remember one of my first PC repair mistakes was cracking the neck of a Model 3 CRT when I was trying to reassemble it after replacing a floppy drive. In my defense though they were quite a beast to disassemble and put back together as I'm sure you're aware. And I remember "wardialing" too, haha. I downloaded an app on my Tandy 1000 that would call every number in our area. Found a few BBS's that way. Anyway, try firing them up, I bet they still work, and they probably need some excersize :)
I still use my model 4P once in a while. replaced the original diskdrives with Double Sided/DD white coloured drives that fit perfect with the cover of the 4P. Also had the capacitors of the power supply board replaced after I got the fantastic (and smelly) magic smoke of the old capacitors. Thanks for posting this video of your model 4P.
Still fun to use these old machines every now and then. I'm worried about the capacitors in mine as well, might swap them out in a future video. I also have an SD card "hard drive" for it that I'll be installing soon, will do a video on that as well. Thanks for watching!
I was half wondering if we'd see the reefa cap magic smoke out of this one.
Probably a good idea to look inside it to make sure nothing is leaking all over the boards, etc.
The tilted screen may be just because the yoke came loose on the tube or something.
@@Lilithe Was wondering the same thing as I made the video, haha. I'm definitely planning to check it out internally the next time I'm tinkering with it. Will be interesting to see the state of things in there.
I had a Model I as a kid, and I remember having Scarfman and Super Nova on it. I have seen documentaries about the kids that were behind Big Five Software, and they built up a nice 6-figure bankroll for themselves selling those arcade clones advertising in 80 Micro Magazine.
They built computers to last a lifetime in those days.
not really.
I had this baby. It weighed a ton. 😂
A very shaky video
I agree and I'll try to improve on future videos.
wow
It's all your fault! Now I have one on its way. Great video and a very cool machine! I subscribed.
Very little to go wrong in those old computers. They didn't have nervous breakdowns like today's laptops.
y-yes, but quite frustrating video: the audience can't read a thing on the screen. too far and too wobbly...
The first computer I ever played on was one of these. It belonged to my uncle, he still has it, and like yours it still works.
I want a cell phone with that power button.
lol, I'd settle for one on my laptop
You should replace the electrolytic capacitors, they don't last for ever.
Crazy a computer with no internet..
great games!! :D
Glad you enjoyed it!
San Antonio?
Close!