website/content/museum/tandy-radio-shack-1000-sl-sl-2.md

---
title: Tandy Radio Shack 1000 SL & SL/2
categories:
- Computers
types:
- Home Computer
origins:
- U.S.A.
years:
- '1989'
cpus:
- Intel 8086
params:
  name: 1000 SL & SL/2
  image: /media/museum/photos/tandy-1000sl2_1s.jpg
  company: /companies/tandy-radio-shack
  company_name: Tandy Radio Shack
  specs:
  - label: NAME
    value: 1000 SL & SL/2
  - label: MANUFACTURER
    value: Tandy Radio Shack
  - label: TYPE
    value: Home Computer
  - label: ORIGIN
    value: U.S.A.
  - label: YEAR
    value: ? 1989
  - label: KEYBOARD
    value: full stroke keyboard with numeric keypad and function keys (102 keys)
  - label: CPU
    value: Intel 8086
  - label: SPEED
    value: 8 MHz
  - label: CO-PROCESSOR
    value: Intel 8087 optional
  - label: RAM
    value: |-
      SL: 384 KB (up to 640 KB)\
      SL/2: 512 KB (up to 640 KB)
  - label: VRAM
    value: Unknown
  - label: ROM
    value: '512 KB (DOS 3.3 on drive C: + main Deskmate 3 program)'
  - label: TEXT MODES
    value: 80 x 25 / 40 x 25
  - 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 + 8-bit mono DAC
  - label: SIZE / WEIGHT
    value: 354 x 394 x 140 mm / 7.8 Kg
  - label: I/O PORTS
    value: keyboard (DIN 5), 2 x joysticks (DIN 6), monitor video output, composite video output, lightpen, parallel port, serial (RS232c) port, 5 internal expansion slots (ISA XT), audio mono output, audio mono inputs (mic + line)
  - label: BUILT IN MEDIA
    value: |-
      SL: one 5.25'' floppy disk drive (360 KB)\
      SL /2: one 3.5'' floppy disk drive (720 KB)
  - label: OS
    value: MS-DOS 3.3, DeskMate 3 and GW Microsoft Basic included with the system
  - label: POWER SUPPLY
    value: Built-in power supply
  - label: PRICE
    value: 1000 SL/2 = 9990 FF (France, 1990)
  tabs:
  - photos
  - hardware
  - emulators
  - links
  - docs
  photos:
  - title: 1000 SL
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/photos/tandy_1000sl_1.jpg
  - title: 1000 SL/2
    subtitle: ''
    text: Thanks to [www.mo5.com](http://www.mo5.com) for this picture
    image: /media/museum/photos/tandy-1000sl2_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)
  comments:
  - author: James Hanley (USA)
    date: Tuesday 13rd October 2020
    text: |-
      I LOVED my Tandy 1000 exactly because I didn''t care about it! It was a gift when everyone had 286s and were even looking forward to the release of the first 386s. So after I tired of Solitaire (it had been upgraded to Dos5 by the previous owner) and journaling, I set out to learn everything I could.... by the crash and burn method.

      I ran every .exe, .com, and .bat file on that box. It often "died" and I then had to learn how to recover. One day I hot swap pulled the WD PATA 20MB drive on an ISA sled to learn about it''s jumpers and in a few minutes (NOT seconds!) I saw a graphic desktop! I discovered it was DOS 3 in ROM and though it was agonizingly slow it opened my eyes.

      That same week a friend "rescued" a set of PC Tools disks from a wastebasket when her place of business upgraded to a Mini Mainframe and I discovered PCs are not just tools, they are TOOLBOXES! A fella could put any kind of tools in them! PC Shell just kicked open the doors. Suddenly I could see the entire directory hierarchy. I''ve never been the same since.
  - author: Sawa (Canada)
    date: Thursday 1st March 2018
    text: I still got my tandy 1000SL and all the docs, brochure, manuals and disks that came with it. It was an awesome computer at the time, even without a hard drive. The souns, colors and 5-seconds boot were second only to the TL model ! Bought it in 89 when it hits the local Radio Shack ($1850 with color monitor and sales taxes) and used it until the year 2000. I replaced it with a 500mHz PC clone mainly because the needs for internet.
  - author: Medic26 on PC-Link
    date: Friday 12th September 2014
    text: |-
      I remember my 1000SL... My first computer also. I was out of college and found this thing in 1991, two years after it came out, so it fit the budget, but was definitely an extravagance back then. I bought the acoustic coupler modem and eventually sprung for a hard disk... I was told I''d never fill up the whole thing, a whole 20 MB!\
      I remember the Deskmate software, my version of which was not capable of doing "lozenges" when a box was empty, and I remember both PC-Link and the free trial to Compuserve... boy did that get me in some financial trouble! I was very happy to find Prodigy, however, because that''s where my wife and I met. So thank you, Radio Shack and Prodigy. Because of you both, my wife and I met, and I''m about to become a grandfather. :)
  - author: Jonavan Barnes (United Kingdom)
    date: Tuesday 12th March 2013
    text: |-
      Amaizing. this was my first computer. I''ll never forget the day that I took it out of the box, turned it on, and it played "Cannon in D" through the MIDI. It changed my life.\
      We had some amazing times together. I wish to god I still had him.
  - author: Elisha Belcher (USA)
    date: Sunday 19th August 2012
    text: |-
      My church had two SL/2''s in the Christian school we had. (I completed K-3rd grade and afterwards the school was too small to stay open any longer.)

      I played many hours of "The New Math Blaster Plus!" and Reader Rabbit 1 $ 2 on these computers!

      I would have both of them in my possession now, but sadly they perished in a building fire. $ All of the Deskmate disks were stored in another building, so I was able to acquire them as well as the original owner''s manual and advertisement brochure!

      Great DOS computers! Would love to have one!
  - author: Robert Wiggins (USA)
    date: Wednesday 1st February 2012
    text: |-
      I rescued this computer from my high school when it was no longer needed. I liked that it had a 3.5-inch floppy drive, since my other computers at the time only had 5.25-inch floppies.

      I used this machine for about three years, during my senior year in high school and two years in college. It had a hard drive installed on an expansion card, and the graphics were a lot better than regular CGA graphics. However, once I added an EGA card to the system, I freed up the system memory that was being used by the onboard adapter.

      Later on, I took the EGA card and hard drive out and installed them in another machine. Overall, though, the 1000 served me well and I enjoyed it very much.
  - author: Mark S. (Canada)
    date: Friday 4th November 2011
    text: |-
      We had an S/L2 as our family computer until 1999 when we got an iMac, but we kept the Tandy until it quit working sometime between 2004-2006.

      I don''t remember a time before we had this computer and I must have been about six (1995) when I became interested in it. At first I would just play Solitaire (probably imitating dad), but we had Broderbund Painting software which I also wasted plenty of ink with on banners. My parents got me SpellCopter and MathCopter, which probably gave me an edge back then. Of course being bored I checked out the other software we had stored on floppies or internally. We had Paganitzu and it''s sequel on floppy, Gorillas and Snake in DOS, and the demos to Castles and Space Quest IV, along with MineSweeper on Windows. I was intrigued about Space Quest as I could never find the ''game'' aspect to it (I believe the demo only included cutscenes) and I couldn''t figure out Castles until I was older and figured out it''s GUI. Castles always crashed the computer just as I was getting good at it, unfortunately. I was definitely disappointed when I found out I couldn''t have a silly match of Gorillas with my brother, or master Paganitzu and it''s sequel any longer when it couldn''t boot past the BIOS any longer.

      Oh, what did we need the computer for? My parents were using it for personal finance book keeping. My dad used it for schematics (he''s an electrician/general handyman at the plant he works at) seldomly. I used it for homework too... Once?
  - author: DudeGuy
    date: Friday 6th May 2011
    text: This was my first computer back in the 90s. I wish I still had that thing. Ah memories of playing the original side scrolling Duke Nukem, Ken''s Labyrinth, Blake Stone Aliens of Gold, Commander Keen. Good good times.
  - author: Jeffrey Drake
    date: Thursday 25th February 2010
    text: I had a Tandy 1000 SL in the first 5 years of the 90s. It was a wonderfully designed piece of hardware. One detail I remember was that of the 384 kB of memory, only 320 kB was available.
  - author: Doug Chambers
    date: Saturday 22nd November 2008
    text: |-
      I used a Tandy 1000 SL/2 when I was a kid back in 1990. It was given away a long time ago, but I still have the programs that came with it on 3.5" disk. I remember it came with a simple drawing program, a word processing program, and a very nifty music program where you were shown a staff and could place notes on it. You could have the program play your composition through the computer''s speaker. Also included was a program for saving recipes.

      Radio Shack sold a joystick made for the system as well as a mouse. If I remember correctly, the mouse only worked with the Deskmate programs and a couple of games. Most programs that I had did not recognize the mouse.

      That''s really all I remember about the system other than the fact that it was my first computer and was quite useful and entertaining at the time, and it worked very well, as it never gave me any problems in the 5 years I had it.
  related:
  - /museum/tandy-radio-shack-1000
  - /museum/tandy-radio-shack-1000-ex
  - /museum/tandy-radio-shack-1000-hx
  - /museum/tandy-radio-shack-1000-sx
  - /museum/tandy-radio-shack-1000-tx
  oc_id: 1218
  source:
    url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230320222056/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=1218
    date: '2023-03-20'
---

The Tandy 1000 SL series of computers were an update of the [Tandy 1000 SX](/museum/tandy-radio-shack-1000-sx/). They came in a redesigned case and, in the case of the TL/2 and above, featured onboard XT IDE hard disk controllers (These controllers are not AT IDE compatible and thus will not work with modern ATA hard drives).

The Tandy 1000 SL boasted an Intel 8086 processor running at 8 MHz. The 8086's 16-bit bus gave it a small but definite performance advantage over the earlier 8088-based [Tandy 1000s](/museum/tandy-radio-shack-1000/). The SL came with 384 KB of memory preinstalled, whereas the SL/2 offered 512 KB. Both machines could be expanded to 640 KB.

The Tandy SL model was equiped with a 5.25" floppy disk drive (360 KB) whereas the SL/2 featured a 3.5" floppy disk drive (720 KB). It was possible to add a second disk drive or even a hard disk.

The SL series offered two innovations over the earlier SX series. One is high resolution (640x200) 16 color graphics; the other is an improved sound circuit, using an 8-bit mono DAC alongside the PSSJ 3-voice sound source. The DAC gave the SL series digital sound output capabilities not much unlike those of the early 8-bit SoundBlaster line of audio cards: 3 PCM voices, 8-bit DMA up to 22050 KHz, audio mono output, audio mono inputs (mic + line), sampling at 5512 KHz, 11025 KHz and 22050 KHz.

One interesting feature was the 512 KB BIOS, from which 350 KB where available as a read-only C: drive. DOS 3.3 and the main component of Deskmate 3 where stored on it. This was excellent as you could access DOS and start to work only within a few seconds (an unreachable dream nowadays).

There is no internal clock but one called "SmartWatch" was available as an option. There was thus a socket on the electronic board reserved for it.

---

Contributors: Derek McDonald (aka “Skel”)\
Sources: Wikipedia, MO5.com

**Ray Jewhurst** comments:\
The SL and SL/2 both came with Deskmate 3 not Deskmate 2 I know this because I used to be a Radio Shack store manager in the early 90's and Deskmate 3 was one of improvement over the SX.

<table> <tr> <td></td> <td>We need more info about this computer ! If you designed, used, or have more info about this system, please send us pictures or anything you might find useful.</td> <td></td> </tr> </table>