--- title: Tandy Radio Shack TRS 80 MODEL II categories: - Computers types: - Professional Computer origins: - U.S.A. years: - '1979' cpus: - Zilog Z80 A params: name: TRS 80 MODEL II image: /media/museum/photos/tandy_trs80-model2_1.jpg company: /companies/tandy-radio-shack company_name: Tandy Radio Shack specs: - label: NAME value: TRS 80 MODEL II - label: MANUFACTURER value: Tandy Radio Shack - label: TYPE value: Professional Computer - label: ORIGIN value: U.S.A. - label: YEAR value: May 1979 - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE value: Basic delivered on disk - label: KEYBOARD value: Full-stroke keyboard with separated numeric keypad - label: CPU value: Zilog Z80 A - label: SPEED value: 4 MHz - label: RAM value: 32 / 64 KB depending on models - label: ROM value: Unkown - label: TEXT MODES value: 40 x 24 / 80 x 24 - label: GRAPHIC MODES value: None, but 32 graphical symbols are available to simulate graphics - label: COLORS value: monochrome built-in monitor - label: SIZE / WEIGHT value: Heavy ! - label: I/O PORTS value: Centronics/Parallel port, 2 x serial/RS232 ports - label: BUILT IN MEDIA value: One full height Shugart 8'' drive, single sided floppies with a capacity of 500K - label: OS value: TRS-DOS - label: POWER SUPPLY value: Built-in PSU - label: PRICE value: $3,450 (USA, october 1979) tabs: - photos - adverts - hardware - emulators - links forum_thread: 253 photos: - title: MODEL II subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/tandy_trs80-model2_2.jpg - title: FRONT subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/tandy_trs80-model2_front.jpg - title: LEFT SIDE subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/tandy_trs80-model2_left.jpg - title: 80'S WOMAN subtitle: '' text: |- This fabulous picture shows a happy woman using a complete TRS-80 Model II system. You can see 3 additional 8'' minidisks under the table, resulting in a 2Mb total storage capacity, wow. Behind the woman is a big Line Printer III. This whole configuration costed $8200 in 1981 (France). image: /media/museum/photos/tandy_trs80-m2_woman.jpg - title: SAME CONFIGURATION subtitle: '' text: '... without the woman' image: /media/museum/photos/tandy_model2_desk_1.jpg adverts: - title: ISAAC ASIMOV FEB. 1982 subtitle: '' text: Courtesy of **[Attached](http://www.aci.com.pl/mwichary/)** image: /media/museum/pubs/tandy_model2_pub_s3.jpg - title: FRENCH ADVERT (1981) subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/pubs/tandy_trs80-model2_pub-dossier17.jpg - title: GERMAN ADVERT (1983) subtitle: '' text: A computer for each job image: /media/museum/pubs/tandy_model2_pub_1.jpg - title: NEW ZELAND ADVERT (1980) subtitle: '' text: |- "A complete system, including furniture (except chair) for only A$13164.95" Ouch!! Thanks to **Murray Moffatt** from New Zeland image: /media/museum/pubs/tandy_model2_pub_2.jpg hardware: - title: 8'' MINIDISKS subtitle: Serial# 26-416x text: |- Each of these additional 8'' minidisks can hold up to 500kb, not bad for 1981. Only one of these cost 7950fr and the box pictured above (3 minidisks) cost 15995fr (France, 81). image: /media/museum/hardware/tandy_trs80-m2_minidisks_1.jpg - title: REMOTE UNIT ACTIVE subtitle: Serial# 26-1210 text: |- This rare unit is meant for teachers to control up to 16 TRS-80 Model 1 from a another TRS-80 equiped with min-disk. All the controled TRS-80 model 1 must be equiped with Level II. It cost 2895fr (France, 1981) image: /media/museum/hardware/tandy_trs80-m1_remote-unit-active.jpg - title: NETWORK II BOX subtitle: p/n 26-1211 text: |- This box allowed up to 16 TRS computer to be networked. Three network boxes were released by Tandy (I, II and III).\ The Network II required verbal communication between the server operator and the remote user, and data transfer had to be completed one user at a time.\ The network III allowed automated control of the network so that users could easily access programs and data stored on the server's storage device. Thanks to **David Sutherland** for the pictures. image: /media/museum/hardware/tandy_network2_s1.jpg - title: DMP-200 subtitle: '' text: 80-column, 100 cps dot matrix printer. image: /media/museum/hardware/tandy_model3_dmp200_s1.jpg - title: DAISY WHEEL PRINTER II subtitle: Serial# 26-1158 text: |- This is a high-quality printer meant to be used with wordprocessors. Some interchangeable daisy-wheels were available (Courrier, Elite, Madeleine). It could print 163 characters per line (34cm), at a 43 cps rate. It cost 9595fr (France, 1981) image: /media/museum/hardware/tandy_trs80-m1_daisy-wheel-printer-2_1.jpg - title: LINE PRINTER I subtitle: Ref# 26-7017 text: |- This printer was a custom version of the Oki Microline 80.\ Printed lower and upper case on paper rolls or listing paper (24cm wide) from 40 to 80 columns/line, at a speed rate of 28 lines/minute. It cost 716 Euros in 1981 (France). image: /media/museum/hardware/tandy_model1_lineprinter1_s1.jpg - title: LINE PRINTER III subtitle: Serial# 26-1156 text: This printer can print lower and upper case, at a speed rate of 120 c/s, on paper up to 38cm wide. It is conceived for intensive use ! It cost 9950fr in 1981 (France). image: /media/museum/hardware/tandy_trs80-m1_line-printer-3_1.jpg - title: LINE PRINTER VI subtitle: Serial# 26-1166 text: |- This large printer can print lower and upper case, graphic characters and symbols at a speed rate of 100 c/s ! This is definately a professional printer. It cost 5495fr in 1981 (France). image: /media/museum/hardware/tandy_trs80-m1_line-printer-6_1.jpg - title: TP-10 THERMAL PRINTER subtitle: Box text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/tandy_trs80_tp-10_thermal-printer_box.jpg - title: EXATRON subtitle: Stringy Floppy drive text: |- The Exatron Stringy Floppy (ESF) was a low-cost data—storage system that fitted the gap, between cassettes and disk drives.\ The system was based on a miniature endless—loop tape cartridge called a "wafer".\ The amount of data that could be recorded on a wafer depended on the length of tape in it, typically, a 50—foot wafer could hold at least 40 KB of programs or data. **Matt** reports to us:\ A curiousity about the model 1, CPU SPEED had a direct relatonship with STORAGE CAPACITY. if you doubled the clock speed of your MODEL 1 CPU you doubled the amount of data you could store on your stringy floppies. this is a feat that no other computer no matter how many ghz you have in your PC can do today without using compression. Thanks to **David Sutherland** for the pictures image: /media/museum/hardware/tandy_model3_exatronwafer_s1.jpg emulators: - title: David Keil's TRS-80 Model III/4/4P Emulator Page url: http://discover-net.net/~dmkeil/trs80/model4.htm platform: MS DOS text: This program emulates a complete TRS-80 - title: Matthew Reed's TRS-80 Emulator Web Site url: http://www.arrowweb.com/mkr/ platform: MS DOS text: This page offers shareware versions of a TRS-80 Model 4 emulator and a TRS-80 Model 1-2 emulator - title: TRS-80 Model III/4 Emulator url: http://www.vavasour.ca/jeff/trs80.html#model4 platform: MS DOS text: This TRS-80 Model III/4 Emulator is a commercial product - title: 'xtrs: TRS-80 Model I/III/4 Emulator for Unix' url: http://www.tim-mann.org/xtrs.html platform: Unix / Linux text: xtrs is a Radio Shack TRS-80 Model I/III/4/4P emulator for Unix and the X Window System - title: TRS-80 Level I BASIC in a browser url: http://www.vavasour.ca/jeff/trs80.html#simulator platform: Other platform text: With this Java emulator, you'll be able to write a BASIC program directly in your browser! - title: Ira Goldklang's TRS-80 Revived Pages url: http://www.trs-80.com/trs80-e.htm platform: Multiplatform text: A complete list of TRS-80 emulators for various platforms ! - title: MESS url: http://www.mess.org platform: Multiplatform text: MESS emulator also emulates a TRS-80 systems links: - title: 8bit-micro.com - Online TRS-80 Computer Magazine url: HTTP://WWW.8BIT-MICRO.COM text: Online Magazine dedicated to the TRS-80 and other Vintage - Monthly Issues - title: David's TRS-80 Page url: http://freespace.virgin.net/david.sampson/ text: '' - title: DOCUMENTS > url: http://www.trs-80.com/ text: TRS-80 Model 2 manuals (PDF files) - title: Ira Goldklang's TRS-80 Revived Pages url: http://www.trs-80.com/ text: Lof of infos about all TRS-80 computers - title: Java TRS-80 Model 1 BASIC Interpreter url: http://ganley.org/software/trs80.html text: '' - title: Kees's Computer Home url: http://home.iae.nl/users/pb0aia/cm/modelii.html text: Nice TRS-80 Model II dedicated page - title: Mike's Personal Computer Museum url: http://personal.nbnet.nb.ca/mclays/trsmod1.html text: Level 1 & 2 Basic summaries, Tandy time-lines, price-list, etc ... ! - 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: The TRS-80 Home Page url: http://www.kjsl.com/trs80 text: Full of infos - title: Tim Mann's TRS-80 Page url: http://www.tim-mann.org/trs80.html text: Infos, tools and home of xtrs, a Model I/III/4 emulator for Unix - title: Web Wiz CAPTCHA url: http://www.webwizcaptcha.com text: Discussion about Tandy computers related: - /museum/radionic-model-r1001 - /museum/sysdata-eletronica-jr - /museum/tandy-radio-shack-trs-80-model-12 - /museum/tandy-radio-shack-trs-80-model-16 - /museum/tandy-radio-shack-trs-80-model-4 - /museum/tandy-radio-shack-trs-80-model-4p - /museum/tandy-radio-shack-trs-80-model-i - /museum/tandy-radio-shack-trs-80-model-iii oc_id: 243 source: url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230606185201/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=243 date: '2023-06-06' --- 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. --- **Mark Brumlik** reports to us:\ Actually, there was a Hi-Res Graphics Mode for this machine, which mapped every pixel on the screen (still in monochrome). There was very limited software for it.\ The machine had the capacity in hardware to utilize multiple 64K banks of memory but this was never implemented in production software. This is the same techiique the IBM PC and other clone 8-bit machines achieved 640K of memory (10 banks of 64K). **Edward Griffin** adds:\ This machine could also read IBM formatted Mainframe and data entry unit disks. The data entry units (IBM 3742's I think) would write information directly to 8 inch floppys as the operater depressed the Carriage Return button, and then the disks could be taken from these large units and insterted into the drive of the model II for verification and other checking. I recall a Model II being expressly used for this purpose. It also came with a neat Radio Shack acoustic coupler!!\ These machines did experiance frequent power supply problems though!