---
title: Tandy Radio Shack 1000 HX
categories:
- Computers
types:
- Home Computer
origins:
- U.S.A.
years:
- '1987'
cpus:
- Intel 8088
params:
  name: 1000 HX
  image: /media/museum/photos/tandy_1000hx_1s.jpg
  company: /companies/tandy-radio-shack
  company_name: Tandy Radio Shack
  specs:
  - label: NAME
    value: 1000 HX
  - label: MANUFACTURER
    value: Tandy Radio Shack
  - label: TYPE
    value: Home Computer
  - label: ORIGIN
    value: U.S.A.
  - label: YEAR
    value: '1987'
  - label: KEYBOARD
    value: Full stroke keyboard, 92 keys, 12 function keys
  - label: CPU
    value: Intel 8088
  - label: SPEED
    value: 4.77 MHz / 7.16 MHz
  - label: RAM
    value: 256 KB (up to 640 KB)
  - label: ROM
    value: 16 KB
  - label: TEXT MODES
    value: Unknown
  - label: GRAPHIC MODES
    value: CGA/TGA, 160 x 200, 320 x 200, 640 x 200
  - label: COLORS
    value: 16 colours
  - label: SOUND
    value: 3 voices + 1 sound channel
  - label: SIZE / WEIGHT
    value: Unknown
  - label: I/O PORTS
    value: 2 x joysticks, monitor video output, composite video output, mono audio output, lightpen, parallel port, serial port (optional), external floppy drive, 3 internal expansion slots
  - label: BUILT IN MEDIA
    value: one 3.5'' floppy disk drives (720 KB)
  - label: OS
    value: MS-DOS 2.11 built-in ROM, DeskMate 2.0 and GW Microsoft Basic included with the system
  - label: POWER SUPPLY
    value: Built-in power supply
  - label: PRICE
    value: Unknown
  tabs:
  - photos
  - adverts
  - hardware
  - emulators
  - links
  - docs
  forum_thread: 1179
  photos:
  - title: TANDY 1000 HX
    subtitle: ''
    text: Thanks to [www.1000bit.net](http://www.1000bit.net) for this picture
    image: /media/museum/photos/tandy_1000hx_1.jpg
  - title: RIGHT SIDE
    subtitle: ''
    text: Thanks to [Vintage Computer Rescue Project](http://www.vcrp.fr) for this picture
    image: /media/museum/photos/tandy_1000hx_r-side.jpg
  - title: DETAIL
    subtitle: ''
    text: |-
      From left to right:

      \- Volume control knob\
      \- Audio mono output\
      \- 2 x joystick connectors
    image: /media/museum/photos/tandy_1000hx_r-side_2.jpg
  - title: INSIDE
    subtitle: ''
    text: |-
      This is where expansion cards can be mounted

      Thanks to [Vintage Computer Rescue Project](http://www.vcrp.fr) for this picture
    image: /media/museum/photos/tandy_1000hx_inside.jpg
  - title: LOGO
    subtitle: ''
    text: Thanks to [Vintage Computer Rescue Project](http://www.vcrp.fr) for this picture
    image: /media/museum/photos/tandy_1000hx_logo.jpg
  - title: 'LOGO #2'
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/photos/tandy_1000hx_logo_2.jpg
  - title: REAR
    subtitle: ''
    text: |-
      From left to right:

      \- Printer connector\
      \- External drive connector\
      \- Composite video output\
      \- Monitor RGB video output\
      \- Three internal expansion slots
    image: /media/museum/photos/tandy_1000hx_rear.jpg
  adverts:
  - title: UK ADVERT
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/pubs/tandy_1000series_pub_1.jpg
  hardware:
  - title: TANDY JOYSTICK
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/hardware/tandy_1000_joy_1.jpg
  - title: TANDY 300 BAUD MODEM
    subtitle: with box & doc
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/hardware/tandy_1000_300baudmodem.jpg
  emulators:
  - title: Tand-Em
    url: http://www.emu-france.com/?page=fichiers&idMachine=157
    platform: MS DOS
    text: Only dedicated Tandy 1000/IBM PC Jr emulator (offical site seems dead)
  - title: DOSBox
    url: http://sourceforge.net/projects/dosbox
    platform: Windows
    text: Exellent PC emulator to play old DOS games, including Tandy 1000 ones
  - title: MESS
    url: http://www.mess.org
    platform: Multiplatform
    text: This famous emulator can emulate Tandy 1000 systems
  links:
  - title: Radio Shack systems documentation
    url: http://support.radioshack.com/productinfo/ProductResults.asp?Name=Tandy_Desktops&ID=001001001
    text: Radio Shack still offers some old docs on their support site. Download while available!!
  - title: RadioShackCatalogs.com
    url: http://www.RadioShackCatalogs.com
    text: Here, you can actually/virtually flip-through the pages to view the content of every RadioShack catalog!
  - title: Tandy 100 Webring
    url: http://r.webring.com/hub?ring=tandy1000
    text: dedicated webring listing Tandy 1000 websites
  - title: Tandy 1000 EX/HX, PCjr videogames
    url: http://www.brooksdeforest.com/tandy1000/
    text: Games for download
  - title: Tandy 1000 roms
    url: http://retrograde.trustno1.org/tandyroms.htm
    text: BIOS roms to use with emulators
  - title: Tandy 1000-series FAQ
    url: http://www.oldskool.org/guides/tvdog/1kfaq.html
    text: Excellent FAQ. Very complete
  - title: Wikipedia - Tandy 1000 entry
    url: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tandy_1000
    text: Nice article from Wikipedia
  - title: Web Wiz CAPTCHA
    url: http://www.webwizcaptcha.com
    text: FTP Mirror Site for Tandy 1000 programs and documentation
  docs:
  - title: INTRODUCTION TO THE TANDY 1000 - A TUTORIAL TO DESKMATE
    url: ftp://ftp.robertstinnett.com/mirror/Tandy1000/documents/
    cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/tandy_1000_introduction.jpg
    text: |-
      [**INTRODUCTION TO THE TANDY 1000 - A TUTORIAL TO DESKMATE**](ftp://ftp.robertstinnett.com/mirror/Tandy1000/documents/)written by Tandy Corporation

       type of document : PDF\
       size : 7 MB\
       source : [ftp.robertstinnett.com](ftp://ftp.robertstinnett.com/mirror)
  - title: TANDY 1000 - DOS MANUAL
    url: ftp://ftp.robertstinnett.com/mirror/Tandy1000/documents/
    cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/tandu_1000_dos_manual.jpg
    text: |-
      [**TANDY 1000 - DOS MANUAL**](ftp://ftp.robertstinnett.com/mirror/Tandy1000/documents/)written by Tandy Corporation

       type of document : PDF\
       size : 8 MB\
       source : [ftp.robertstinnett.com](ftp://ftp.robertstinnett.com/mirror)
  - title: TANDY 1000 PROGRAMMER'S REFERENCE
    url: ftp://ftp.robertstinnett.com/mirror/Tandy1000/documents/
    cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/tandy_1000_programmers-reference.jpg
    text: |-
      [**TANDY 1000 PROGRAMMER'S REFERENCE**](ftp://ftp.robertstinnett.com/mirror/Tandy1000/documents/)written by Tandy Corporation

       type of document : PDF\
       size : 6.5 MB\
       source : [ftp.robertstinnett.com](ftp://ftp.robertstinnett.com/mirror)
  - title: TANDY 1000 SERVICE MANUAL
    url: ftp://ftp.robertstinnett.com/mirror/Tandy1000/documents/
    cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/tandy_1000_service-manual.jpg
    text: |-
      [**TANDY 1000 SERVICE MANUAL**](ftp://ftp.robertstinnett.com/mirror/Tandy1000/documents/)written by Tandy Corporation

       type of document : PDF\
       size : 13.5 MB\
       source : [ftp.robertstinnett.com](ftp://ftp.robertstinnett.com/mirror)
  related:
  - /museum/tandy-radio-shack-1000
  - /museum/tandy-radio-shack-1000-ex
  - /museum/tandy-radio-shack-1000-sl-sl-2
  - /museum/tandy-radio-shack-1000-sx
  - /museum/tandy-radio-shack-1000-tx
  oc_id: 1211
  source:
    url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230603013814/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=1211
    date: '2023-06-03'
---

The Tandy 1000 HX is a member of the [Tandy 1000 series](/museum/tandy-radio-shack-1000/) family. See this entry for more info.

The Tandy 1000 HX, released in 1987, was designed as another entry level [IBM compatible personal computer](/museum/ibm-pc-model-5150/) and the successor to the EX. Like the EX, the HX was a compact computer with the keyboard built into the computer casing. The computer came with an Intel 8088 CPU, 256 KB of memory, and had one 720 KB 3.5" disk drive on the right side of the machine behind the keyboard. HX computers came with MS-DOS 2.11 built into the ROM and “Deskmate 2” on diskette.

The computer's memory could be expanded to 640 KB by the use of a memory expansion card; by default these cards, sold by Tandy, came with 128 KB, but one could add another 384 KB in memory chips to this board. These cards were named “Plus Cards” and used a pin configuration instead of the slot system used by IBM or the T-1000. The cards themselves followed all the IBM standards and eventually Radio Shack started selling the adaptors in their stores to allow the cards to be inserted into a standard IBM 8-bit ISA slot. There were three such spots available in the computer case.

There was also a spare 3.5" drive bay in the computer case. On the back of the machine there was a port which allowed a user to connect an external 5.25" (360 KB) or 3.5" (720 KB) disk drive. There was also a connector for a printer.

The 1000 HX did not come with a hard drive, and Tandy Corporation did not manufacture fixed disks for this type of computer. A HDD could be purchased from third party vendors, however.

It was also here that the DOS in ROM was getting a little old and for the first time the settings on the computer could be changed so that instead of looking in ROM for DOS at bootup, it would go direct to the floppy drive instead. Most versions of MS-DOS worked with the 1000 HX, including 3.x, DOS 5.x & 6.x. DOS 4.0 did not work due to a bug in its environment that prevented it from working.

---

Contributors: Derek McDonald (aka “Skel”)\
Sources: Switchtec's Virtual PC Museum, Emperor Multimedia Electronic Archives, Wikipedia, 8-Bit Micro, Tandy 1000 PC Museum