website/content/museum/tandy-radio-shack-color-computer.md

title, categories, types, origins, years, cpus, params

title	categories	types	origins	years	cpus	params
Tandy Radio Shack Color Computer	Computers	Home Computer	U.S.A.	1980	Motorola 6809 E	name company company_name specs tabs photos adverts hardware connectors emulators links comments related oc_id source Color Computer /companies/tandy-radio-shack Tandy Radio Shack label value NAME Color Computer label value MANUFACTURER Tandy Radio Shack label value TYPE Home Computer label value ORIGIN U.S.A. label value YEAR 1980 label value BUILT IN LANGUAGE Tandy (Microsoft) BASIC interpreter label value KEYBOARD QWERTY, calculator type keyboard label value CPU Motorola 6809 E label value SPEED 0.895 MHz (or 1.79 MHz) label value RAM 4 KB (up to 64 KB) label value ROM 8 KB label value TEXT MODES max : 16 x 32, min : 16 x 8 label value GRAPHIC MODES Several graphic modes, max : 256 x 192 (with 2 colors) label value COLORS 9 label value SOUND 1 voice label value SIZE / WEIGHT 36.9 (W) x 34.4 (D) x 9.4 (H) cm label value I/O PORTS Tape, RGB, Joystick (2), Monitor, Cardridge, Serial RS232 label value OS OS-9 Level 1 label value POWER SUPPLY Built-in power supply unit label value PRICE $400 photos adverts hardware connectors emulators links title subtitle text image TANDY COLOR COMPUTER null title subtitle text image UNDER null title subtitle text image REAR From left to right :\ - Reset button\ - Video out\ - Channel select A/B\ - Cassette\ - Serial\ - Right joystick\ - Left joystick\ - ON/OFF button null title subtitle text image OPENED null title subtitle text image LATER MODELS This late model of the Coco is quite similar to a Coco2 in aspect : mechanical keyboard and beige case. null title subtitle text image INSIDE COCO **(1)** Video clock. Fixes the number of displayed characters and lines.\ **(2)** System init button (Reset).\ **(3)** Connector for ROM cartridges or disk drives.\ **(4)** Memory chips holding RAM memory.\ **(5)** 6809-E microprocessor running at 895 Khz. (One of the few computers using a processor clock speed < 1 Mhz.).\ **(6)** Socket for an additional 8 Kb. ROM circuit.\ **(7)** 8 Kb. ROM circuit holding the Microsoft Basic interpreter and Input/Output routines.\ **(8)** Video 6847 chipset. Manages text and graphic displays.\ **(9)** Keyboard connector.\ **(10)** This switch allows two different TV channels to be used.\ **(11)** Standard tape recorder DIN connector with remote control.\ **(12)** Serial RS-232 DIN connector.\ **(13)** Integrated power supply transformer.\ **(14)** Power regulation components.\ **(15)** Power On/Off switch.\ **(16)** Connector for analogue joysticks. Can be used as well for various analog peripherals. null title subtitle text image BOX null title subtitle text image BOX null title subtitle text image US ADVERT #1 Picture courtesy of [Steve Browning, www.sbrowning.com/vintage](http://www.sbrowning.com/vintage). null title subtitle text image US ADVERT SEPT. 1981 Courtesy of **[Attached](http://www.aci.com.pl/mwichary/)** null title subtitle text image ISAAC ASIMOV #1 This November 1982 advert introduces the new CoCo 1 price : $299 instead of $399. Even if the advert said:\ "Hurry - this fantastic offer ends december 31, 1982"\ the price never came back to $399. null title subtitle text image ISAAC ASIMOV #2 Courtesy of **[Attached](http://www.aci.com.pl/mwichary/)** null title subtitle text image CHRISTMAS 1982 Advert said: **A smart investment**\ Radio Shack's popular TRS-80 Color Computer is now on sale. You can get this complete, versatile system with a 16 K-byte memory and Standard Color BASIC language for only $299.95 (Cat. No. 26-3004, reg. $399.95). It's the affordable way for the entire family to start computing. The Extended BASIC - 16 KB version was priced $399.95\ The 32 KB version was priced $549.95. null title subtitle text image DISK DRIVE #1 JAN. 1982 Courtesy of **[Attached](http://www.aci.com.pl/mwichary/)** null title subtitle text image DISK DRIVE #2 FEB. 1983 Advert says: These 35-track, 51/4" double-density drives will give you the high-level performance you want from your Color Computer. Each drive puts over 156K of on-line data and program storage right at your fingertips. And you can chain up to four drives together for a total of more than 626K. Yet all that extra storage is available at a seek time of 30 milliseconds and a data transfer rate of 250 bits per second... null title subtitle text image COCO CLONE ADVERT Sampo, a Taiwanese company specialized in monitors and video terminals production also attempted to produce a CoCo clone computer, but the marketing little lasted. null title subtitle text image PRINTERS ADVERT null title subtitle text image TRS-80 COLOR COMPUTER DISK SYSTEM It includes single external disk drive (uses standard DS, DD 5.25” floppy) with plug in disk interface, and 92 page users guide. /media/museum/hardware/tandy_color1_fd500_2.jpg title subtitle text image FD-501 5''1/4 disk-drive This picture show the case housing a double disk-drive, the controler cartridge and the box. The cartridge has the "Microsoft Extended Color Basic 2.1" in ROM. /media/museum/hardware/tandy_coco_fd501-disk_1.jpg title subtitle text image PLUG AND POWER Domotic hardware ! An incredible extension for any Coco computer ! It turns your lights and other equipment on and off at designated times. /media/museum/hardware/tandy_coco_plug-and-power.jpg title subtitle text image PLUG'N'POWER Pic #2 This is the x10 (x-10) "Plug 'n Power Appliance and Light Controller" that goes with the cartridge of the same name. This can be used to program lights and other electrical devices in your home or office to turn on or off using the x10 protocol (you need to have x10 controllers on devices you would like to control) /media/museum/hardware/tandy_coco2_plugnpower_2.jpg title subtitle text image RS232 PACK /media/museum/hardware/tandy_coco_rs232-pack.jpg title subtitle text image SPEECH & SOUND CARTRIDGE /media/museum/hardware/tandy_coco_speech-sound-cartridge_1.jpg title subtitle text image SPEECH-SOUND PAK cat. no 26-3144 /media/museum/hardware/tandy_coco2_speech-sound-pak.jpg title subtitle text image SERIAL TO PARALLEL CONVERTER It is a serial to parallel converter (DB25 connectors). A sticker on the bottom tells of all of the DIP switch settings, and a little LED shows the power status /media/museum/hardware/tandy_serial-parallel_converter_1.jpg title subtitle text image 512K TURBO RAM from Speech Systems This board installs in a coco 3 to give it a whopping 512k of ram ! /media/museum/hardware/tandy_coco3_speech-system-512k-turbo-ram.jpg title subtitle text image WICO JOYSTICK ADAPTER The Wico TRS-80 adapter allows you to use Atari 2600 joysticks (and other various controllers using the Atari standard) on your Color Computer /media/museum/hardware/tandy_coco2_vcsadapt_1.jpg title subtitle text image TRS80 COLOUR MOUSE /media/museum/hardware/tandy_coco2_trs80colormouse_1.jpg title subtitle text image TRS-80 TOUCH PAD /media/museum/hardware/tandy_coco2_trs80-touch-pad.jpg title subtitle text image TANDY JOYSTICK /media/museum/hardware/tandy_color1_joystick_1.jpg title subtitle text image GT-116 Tandy graphic tablet A4 size. It is used for transfering pictures or drawings, and also as a menu pointing system. /media/museum/hardware/tandy_color1_tablet_1.jpg title subtitle text image VINYL KEYBOARD COVER Suitable for models 2 and 3. /media/museum/hardware/tandy_coco2_plastic-cover_1.jpg title subtitle text image DC-2212 1200-baud modem with automatic dialing and answer /media/museum/hardware/tandy_color1_modem2212_s1.jpg title subtitle text image MULTI-PACK INTERFACE Model 26-3124 The Multi-Pack plugs into the cartridge slot on the side of the Color Computer and allows up to four devices to be plugged into the computer at the same time. A switch on the front of the MPI allows to switch between the 4 ROM Paks. This can be done also with software commands. With the MPI, a disk drive, an RS-232 Program Pak, and a game cartridge could be used simultaneously. /media/museum/hardware/tandy_coco_multipack-interface_1.jpg title subtitle text image OLDER MODEL /media/museum/hardware/tandy_coco2_multipack-old_1.jpg title subtitle text image OLDER MODEL Box /media/museum/hardware/tandy_coco2_multipack-old_box_1.jpg title subtitle text image TANDY COLOUR PRINTERS **CGP 220** : (left) 7 colours Inkjet printer\ **CGP 115** : (right) 4 colours plotter /media/museum/hardware/tandy_color1_printers_1.jpg title subtitle text image CGP 115 #2 4-pen color graphic printer.\ Cat. 26-1192A /media/museum/hardware/tandy_color1_4penprinter_s1.jpg title subtitle text image JOYSTICK CONNECTOR Looking at the outside of the Joystick jack on the computer **(1)** Comparator input (Right-Left)\ **(2)** Comparator input (Up-Down)\ **(3)** Ground\ **(4)** Fire button 1, High when open, Low when closed\ **(5)** Vcc, current limited +5VDC\ **(6)** Fire button 2 /media/museum/connectors/tandy_color3_con_joystick_s1.jpg title subtitle text image SERIAL RS232 CONNECTOR Looking at the outside of the DIN socket on the computer **(1)** **CD** Carrier detect (Status input line)\ **(2)** **RD** Receive Data\ **(3)** **GROUND** Zero voltage reference\ **(4)** **TD** Transmit Data Out /media/museum/connectors/tandy_color3_con_serial_s1.jpg title subtitle text image TAPE RECORDER CONNECTOR **(1)** Remote control\ **(2)** Signal ground\ **(3)** Remote control\ **(4)** Input from recorder\ **(5)** Output to recorder /media/museum/connectors/tandy_color3_con_taperec_s1.jpg title url platform text TRS-80 Colour Computer 2 Emulator http://www.vavasour.ca/jeff/trs80.html#coco2 MS DOS This DOS emulator (freeware) will run original CoCo as well as CoCo 2 software title url platform text Virtual CoCo for MacOS http://www.maya.com/Local/phil/coco/ Apple title url platform text MOCHA http://members.cox.net/javacoco/ Other platform TRS-80 Color Computer (CoCo) Emulator Written In Java title url platform text MESS http://www.mess.org Multiplatform MESS emulates Coco systems, among many other computers title url text Cloud-9 http://www.cloud9tech.com/Order/index.html The place where you can even buy a brand new CoCo3 title url text CoCo Quest Color Computer Games and More! http://www.prowler-pro.com/coco/ title url text Coco Webring http://nav.webring.yahoo.com/hub?ring=CoCo&id=40&list It says it all ! title url text CoCo Zonz http://www.bat-soft.com/coco/ title url text Color Computer Links http://coco3nuts.tripod.com/ title url text Color Computer Transfer Utility http://home.netcom.com/~tlindner/CTU.html title url text NitrOS9 HTTP://NITROS9.LCURTISBOYLE.COM Various Coco webpages, including 100+ downloadable games title url text RadioShackCatalogs.com http://www.RadioShackCatalogs.com Here, you can actually/virtually flip-through the pages to view the content of every RadioShack catalog. title url text www.coco3.com http://www.coco3.com The title speaks for itself ! It includes among many things, a Coco FAQ title url text Web Wiz CAPTCHA http://www.webwizcaptcha.com Discussion about Tandy computers author date text david1024 (USA) Sunday 17th June 2018 The CoCo actually did use Microsoft Color Basic which tandy licensed from Microsoft... as a matter of fact, the fact is listed every time the machine boots on the startup screen. author date text Robert (Usa) Monday 15th June 2015 Hey does anyone know what these are worth I''m sitting on about 4 of them that I picked up at a flea Market for 5 bucks author date text Nick Ellerby (UK) Sunday 1st September 2013 To call the Dragon 32 a "clone" is rather unfair. The CoCo and the Dragon were both simply implementations of the Motorola reference design for a computer based on the 6809 microprocessor. The Dragon 32 was my first computer (and later I got a 64). I ordered the Motorola datasheet for the 6809 to help my assembly language programming and it included the circuit design which was used for both machines. author date text marvin cornett (okla usa) Thursday 25th July 2013 hay I got at lest three of everything ever made for the coco an more even every program an mage if u want power out the coco learn machine language I have 22 of them running 24-7 doing mailing stuff but using laser prints\ you can make a coco talk to a new computer buy doing it throw dos so don''t put the coco down but u have to learn to program it in machine language gives it the most power author date text marvin cornett (okla usa) Thursday 25th July 2013 hay I got at lest three of everything ever made for the coco an more even every program an mage if u want power out the coco learn machine language I have 22 of them running 24-7 doing mailing stuff but using laser prints\ you can make a coco talk to a new computer buy doing it throw dos so don''t put the coco down but u have to learn to program it in machine language gives it the most power author date text RICHARD MAGIN (USA) Friday 3rd February 2012 HAVE ONE WITH BOX AND ALL. DO NOT NEED. SOMEONE MAY LIKE TO HAVE IT....CHECK OUT MY ART SITE FOR E-MAIL....RICHARDFMAGIN.ARTISTWEBSITES.COM author date text johng (Australia) Thursday 22nd December 2011 People, I have to tell you, if you''re going to learn a computer language that has extreme versatility, over and above even any of the C deviations, you MUST learn Extended Color Basic (including Basic)... add to this the inter-machine compatibility of the 6809 Machine-code language via the ''USR'' command in BASIC or the ''DEFUSR'' command in Extended Color Basic and things all of a sudden take on a very Dossy aspect. Of course then there was the progression to Deskmate which seemed to be an earlier version of Windows... however, time ticks on and now that it seems there never will be that IBM/Tandy merger I heard about on the bit-bangers grape-vine back in t'' eighties, seems like all I got to look forward to is someone who''ll adapt Extended Color Basic Boot n ROM to x86 and I''ll be convinced the world is going the right way again... regards author date text The_Biking_Viking (Minnesota) Sunday 4th July 2010 Wow! I started researching ubuntu on wikipedia and ended up reminscing here like the rest of you how I got my start in computers. At school I got excelled math classes and learned Basic on the U of M''s mainframe (even though I was only in 7th grade, mind you) and the next year bought my first TRS-80 CoCo after saving my 3 paper route monies for a year just to get the computer. Took me more years to buy the disk $ controller, then printer and speech card. It is so funny and cool to see so many other people reminscing about their past CoCo''s. I built the single transistor driver provided in Rainbow magazine so I could use a reall greenscreen monitor for BBSing purposes which were very active here. Yes, Rainbow was a pricey magazine for its time. I met hundreds of local techies that way. Went to a couple of CoCo meetings where guys had ''supercharged'' their comps with 10 meg hds which was almost unfathomable at the time What''s sad is not too long ago I moved and threw some of my equipment out because until this minute I never knew there existed this kind of support for it. A friend gave me a few more and I bought another one which had a custom ram bank to 512K which ran so hot it was mounted by the previous guy ON TOP of the grey case to help keep it cool. During hot weather I babied it by putting a small fan on low to run over it and it still worked last I disconnected it. Too bad I threw away so many magazines, maybe the multipak and all kinds of other items. But you can''t store everything forever you know. I''ve got enough of my dad and his dad''s tools I keep derusting and sharp to prove that....Stanley Saws and planes and a that go back to their first house built near Staten Island when they immigrated in 1911 or so. I still use some of them, too. Well, I''m digressing but reading all of your messages is really bringing back memories and that I should go through that stuff and see what I have and maybe even try to put it to use as a security system or home automation center with the X-10 units or find some use for it. It was an incredible machine for its day. Coincidentally enough the movie WARGAMES is playing and that is bringing back memories, too. I spent a lot of hours programming back then. And conquering the Tape Game Madness and the Minotaur before I got a few of the cartridges. If it''d be possible to link it to this computer it might be worth putzing with. I always wondered if this would make the ideal solar powered computer due to its easy, and minimal, voltage requirements. With no inverters needed. Soon I have to move all of that stuff to another, smaller, more compact storage space. I''ll have a chance to go through it then. I always had bad luck with the printers. Actually my mother would probably be more comfortable using it as a WP than any IBM machine. Any suggestions what printer might work well with it? Quiet a must. My DMP-250 was so noisy I soldered together an extension cord using a 25 foot telephone cord for the serial port connector and bought the connectors from RS. Then I put the DMP-250 on another floor in the closet. Making paper, for school reports and papers, was one of the most important things back then. Now we''re trying to go paperlless! LOL author date text Dan Damron (Calgary, AB Canada) Sunday 19th August 2007 ahh, the coco, the reason I got into computers... Couple notes that are worthy here... The coco, when used with OS9 Level II, was way ahead of it's time. It was one of the only computers that could share memory between processes... of course it was completely multiuser... At one time, I had a 20MB Hard Drive, 4 rs232 ports, TRUE parallel port, all modded into an IBM case, complete with an IBM keyboard adapter.. Of course this wasn't the standard defacto... hehe reusing memory between processes meant it utilitized memory extremely well, if two terminals loaded the same app, only 1 instance of that app would remain in memory.. we had an active CCUG here in Calgary, can't remember everyone's name... Specifically the gentleman who designed and manufactured the IO controller for the HD.. I remember it was an INTERFACE, attached to a MFM or RLL controller, then attached to the hard drive... remember MFM & RLL? Had to set the interleave to 3:1 for optimum performance.. We ran quite a few BBS's on cocos.. even through the bit banger port... At the time, I only had a 300 baud MANUAL modem (DCM 101 I think, with the red button on the front to turn it on and off).. we made an auto-answer circuit, sensing ring voltages off the phone line, triggering a relay, causing the modem to turn on... My long time friend, even to this day, Ken Johnston wrote Inteleterm... author date text David A. Czuba (Bellingham, WA) Wednesday 27th June 2007 Does anyone recall the ad to learn 6809 assembly language with a cartoon character in suspenders saying "I'll Teach You a Lesson!". I've always liked that emblem, and want to make it into a patch. author date text David A. Czuba (Bellingham, WA) Wednesday 27th June 2007 My CoCo I was given as a Christmas gift from my brother in 1982. I quickly upgraded to 32K and started acquiring other hardware. The SAM chip tended to overheat, as another poster mentioned, so I purchased what was known as a Dragonfly fan, which was a two-winged device powered by an occilating piezoelectric ceramic. It failed quickly, so was replaced by another. As that other poster mentioned, I also wrote many programs for the Coco including Scrabble, and Rutherford's Experiment, where you shot at an unknown object, and tried to determine its shape. I also loaded Lisp and OS-9. Using Rainbow magazine as a jumping off point, I soldered together a light-pen, then programmed an application to use the input. I also came into a Helium-Neon (HeNe) laser, which I set up with a detector which 'read' the beam bounced off of a pool of Mercury. This was my rudimentary seismograph. I had so much fun with that computer! The chicklet keys had to be cleaned about 2 or 3 times throughout its lifetime. author date text Will Sawtelle (Earth) Thursday 25th January 2007 A friend of mine supposedly was able to put an early Unix and 2 dumb terminals of the back of a CoCo or CoCo2. The Motorola 6809 was a fairly capable chip, and a predecessor of of the 68000 which was the driving force of the Fortune 32:16 multi-user machine I ran one with 4 terminals attached. author date text Ernest (Greenwood S.C.) Wednesday 17th August 2005 i HAD A TRS 80 color computer my favirite game was donkey kong;pac man,and zaxon any one ever\ herd of it i would like to have it for my pc now probblynever will though the co co was a great littel computer though thanks for listening Ernest. author date text Keith Smith (Hardburly,Kentucky) Friday 9th July 2004 I have some parts still for various models of the Coco,as well as a few intact and working units.I kept most(if not all) of the Programs(Rainbow on tape and on disk,too) using backups of the orginial disks..Love to get my hands on a few more. author date text Gabriel Sierra (Toa ALta, P.R.) Friday 11th June 2004 Hello! Does anybody know if Mickey Term for the CoCo is still available somewhere? I have the RS-232 pack and I plan to use it for packet radio. Thanks author date text Kasey Chang (San Francisco, CA) Sunday 21st March 2004 I had attended UT Austin for my EE program and one of the classes there use the CoCo's assembler cartridge (sold separately!) to teach assembly programming. As you can guess, it ain't easy typing assembly programs on that chiclet keyboard! Fortunately I was able to borrow my mom's Coco3 with the much improved keyboard and do most of the work at home! author date text Paul Gerwitz (Rochester, NY) Tuesday 11th November 2003 I have a CoCo 2, CoCo 3 system with floppy disks, extra memory, disto controller, etc that is taking up space in my garage. I hate to throw it out if someone could make use of it. I would give it away if you would pay the shipping. If no-one bites, it's history author date text Fabio Baccaglioni (Buenos Aires, Argentina) Wednesday 30th July 2003 I had my first computer in 1988 (yes, too late, but i was 8 years old!), a TRS-80 CoCo with 16Kb RAM and Floppy Disk Drive.\ I Made a lot of appz in Extended BASIC, excelent computer but nobody has another like this in my city, Commodore64 was the most common computer here. author date text Roland Weigelt (Bonn, Germany) Monday 21st October 2002 After playing around with my cousin's ZX81, I could convince my father to buy me a computer. In May 1983 I got a CoCo with 16Kb RAM and Extended Color Basic. The fact that there was virtually no software available here in Germany and that the Basic (and its manual!) was pretty good, turned out to be the starting point of my career as a software developer.\ Being 14 years old and without any contact to other people interested in programming, my first programs were complete failures. Then I managed to locate a foreign press shop where I could buy the "Rainbow" and "Hot CoCo" magazine (both VERY expensive). Reading other people's code really helped me a lot. Christmas 1984 I switched over to a Schneider CPC 464 (aka Amstrad). This is the computer I really had my first really big projects on (first in Basic, later in Z80 Assembler). I used it until 1988, when\ I started using PCs. But I will always remember my CoCo... author date text Jim (Toronto, Canada) Tuesday 2nd April 2002 My CoCo started out with 16K, but was eventually upgraded to 64K with Extended Color BASIC. I wrote a number of my own programs (wish I still had them), plus I tried out a number of programs from COMPUTE! magazine, which one of my teachers brought in every month. But my favourite programs came from the Program-Paks, among them, Mega-Bug (a type of Pac-Man game) and Dungeons of Daggorath (a 3D adventure). I recently downloaded an emulator. Maybe I can re-create some of my programs. :-) author date text Nathan (Santa Clara, CA) Wednesday 27th March 2002 My CoCo tended to overheat, so I would have to take the cover off after a few hours. I also had to fiddle with the video connection frequently when lines formed on the TV. I started with 4k memory, upgraded to 16k and some advanced graphics package where you could actually draw lines on the screen (rather than use colored ASCII). I subscribed to Rainbow magazine. Ideally, a friend would read the BASIC code to me while I typed. Half of the games actually worked. I gave it away to my cousin, and his dad sold it at a flea market. I wish I still had it. /museum/tandy-radio-shack-color-computer-2 /museum/tandy-radio-shack-color-computer-3 91 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230326032528/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=91 2023-03-26

The Tandy TRS-80 Color Computer was known to be called "coco" (Color Computer) by its users. It uses its own version of BASIC, "Tandy Color BASIC" instead of the world famous Microsoft BASIC.

It was followed by the TRS-80 Color Computer II in 1982.

The Welsh Dragon 32 was one of its many clones...

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More information about the various Tandy Color BASIC versions from Lee Veal :
In reality, the 'dialects' of BASIC on all versions of the TRS-80 Color Computer 1s & 2s were written by Microsoft for Tandy. That includes Color BASIC (CB), Extended Color BASIC (ECB) and Disk Extended Color BASIC (DECB).
In fact, with very few modifcations, BASIC programs from an IBM-PC or compatible using Microsoft BASIC could run on a CoCo and vice versa. (The way I know that is that I did it. Some were quite complex graphics oriented programs.)
Within one-half K of the beginning the Color BASIC ROM address, there's a character string that reads "COLOR BASIC 1.0(C) 1980 TANDYMICROSOFT". When you fire up a CoCo 1 that has only the Color BASIC ROM, you'll see on the screen
COLOR BASIC 1.0
(C) 1980 TANDY
The authors of Tandy's Color BASIC (Microsoft) left their name in the code, but they left it off the opening display.
Subsequent levels of CoCo BASIC (Extended CB and Disk Extended CB) had Microsoft prominently displayed in the opening display. Thus, Color BASIC was quite compatible for obvious reasons with the BASIC that Microsoft develped for the PC. Extended and Disk Extended versions of CoCo BASIC were even more compatible with Microsoft's BASIC for the PC.

On the other hand, the BASIC dialects contained in computers like the Commodore-64, TI-994A, etc were quite incompatible with any version of Microsoft BASIC.

The BASIC developed by Microware (the developers of the OS-9 operating system and originally Tandy's first choice of a BASIC developer), called BASIC09, was NOT compatible with Microsoft BASIC. BASIC09 is and was a powerful language that compiled to intermediate code but it is more akin to Pascal then BASIC.