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yann64andClaude Opus 5.5 b274874139 All machines linked to their forum thread (full comment import) 
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Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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title, categories, types, origins, years, cpus, params
title categories types origins years cpus params
Tandy Radio Shack MC 10
Computers
Home Computer
U.S.A.
1983
Motorola 6803
name image company company_name specs tabs forum_thread photos hardware connectors screenshots emulators links docs related oc_id source
MC 10 /media/museum/photos/tandy_mc10_1.jpg /companies/tandy-radio-shack Tandy Radio Shack
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NAME MC 10
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MANUFACTURER Tandy Radio Shack
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TYPE Home Computer
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ORIGIN U.S.A.
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YEAR 1983
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END OF PRODUCTION 1984
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BUILT IN LANGUAGE Microcolor Basic 1.0 (Microsoft)
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KEYBOARD QWERTY / AZERTY, Calculator style keyboard, 48 keys, Basic statements written above keys\ SHIFT, CONTROL, ENTER, BREAK
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CPU Motorola 6803 (6800 compatible)
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SPEED 0.89 MHz
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CO-PROCESSOR MC-6847 Video Generator
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RAM 4 kb (up to 20 kb), 3142 bytes left for user
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ROM 8 kb (Microcolor Basic)
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TEXT MODES 32 x 16
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GRAPHIC MODES With Basic : 64 x 32, 8 colors\ With machine-code : up to 128 x 192, 2 colors\ With machine-code and 16k expansion RAM : 256 x 192, 2 colors
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COLORS 9
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SOUND Beeper with variable pitch and duration
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SIZE / WEIGHT 216 mm x 180 mm x 50mm / 836gr
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I/O PORTS RGB DIN8 or RF jack (USA) video out, Expansion port, Tape (DIN6), Serial (DIN5), power IN
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POWER SUPPLY 8.0v AC 1.5A (MATRA Alice PSU can be used)
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PERIPHERALS 16k RAM expansion, Printer
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PRICE £99.95 (UK, 1983), $119.95 (USA), 16K RAM upgrade $49.95
photos
hardware
connectors
software
emulators
links
docs
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THE MC-10 /media/museum/photos/tandy_mc10_2.jpg
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TOP VIEW I have a little game for you : Search for the "V" key... Yes, this must be a fabrication default... /media/museum/photos/tandy_mc10_above_1.jpg
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UNDER... 4 small feet... /media/museum/photos/tandy_mc10_under_1.jpg
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LEFT SIDE /media/museum/photos/tandy_mc10_l-side_1.jpg
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RIGHT SIDE Spot the ON/OFF switch ! /media/museum/photos/tandy_mc10_r-side_1.jpg
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FRONT VIEW /media/museum/photos/tandy_mc10_front_1.jpg
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REAR VIEW From left to right : - power IN\ - RGB video out (DIN8)\ - Expansion slot (cached)\ - Reset button (soft reset)\ - Serial socket (DIN5)\ - Tape-recorder (DIN6) /media/museum/photos/tandy_mc10_rear_1.jpg
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MC-10 MOTHERBOARD /media/museum/photos/tandy_mc10_mobo.jpg
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BOX /media/museum/photos/tandy_mc10_box.jpg
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EUROPEAN BOX (?) Maybe this box was blue (instead of red for the US version) in order to differenciate the MC-10 from the Alice which all visual communication was based on the red color... /media/museum/photos/tandy_mc10_box_2.jpg
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DOCUMENTATION /media/museum/photos/tandy_mc10_doc_1.jpg
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TP10 PRINTER Could print graphics and alphanumerics, 32 characters per line at 30 characters per second on 4''1/8 wide thermal paper. Measures 3 x 8 x 5''. The TP-10 was also compatible with "Coco" computers. /media/museum/hardware/tandy_mc10_tp10-printer_1.jpg
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DISK-DRIVE AND JOYSTICK INTERFACE Vaporware !!! This is the only known picture of the vaporware 3.5'' disk-drive and joystick interface for the Alice. They were presented at the Micro-Expo exhibition in Paris in february 1985, along with a modem (not pictured here). Only the disk-drive and modem are vaporware. The joystick interface was indeed released. /media/museum/hardware/matra_alice32_disk_1.jpg
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JOYSTICK EXPANSION With this add-on, you can use a joystick with the Alice. But you can't use a memory expansion at the same time :-( Thanks to [www.mapetitecollection.com](http://www.mapetitecollection.com/) for the picture /media/museum/hardware/matra-hachette_alice_extension-joystick_1.jpg
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16 KB RAM MODULE /media/museum/hardware/tandy_mc10_16k_2.jpg
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16 KB RAM back /media/museum/hardware/tandy_mc10_16k_3.jpg
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16 KB RAM box /media/museum/hardware/tandy_mc10_16k_box.jpg
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SERIAL INTERFACE 1 - CD (Carrier Detection)\ 2 - RD (Receive Data)\ 3 - GND (Ground)\ 4 - TD (Transmit Data) /media/museum/connectors/tandy_mc10_serial-port_d.jpg
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TAPE INTERFACE 1 - Audio DATA out\ 2 - Ground\ 3 - Audio DATA in\ 4 - Not used\ 5 - Not used 4 & 5 were planned to be used for Remote control of the tape-recorder, but this function was not implemented into the MC-10 / Alice. /media/museum/connectors/tandy_mc10_tape_d.jpg
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RGB VIDEO / AUDIO OUTPUT 1 - Commutation\ 2 - Ground\ 3 - Red\ 4 - Video\ 5 - Green\ 6 - Audio\ 7 - Blue /media/museum/connectors/tandy_mc10_rgb-video_d.jpg
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EXPANSION PORT The sketch represents the connector when you look at the back of the MC-10 / Alice (see Reset button on right). 1 - 2 = GND (Ground)\ 3 - 10 = D0..D7 (Data Buses)\ 11 = R/W (Read/Write signal)\ 12 - 27 = A0..A15 (Address buses)\ 28 = E (CPU clock, 1Mhz)\ 29 = SEL (peripherals invalidation entry)\ 30 = RESET (hard reset)\ 31 = NMI (non-maskable CPU interrupts)\ 32 = +5v (power in, 5v 300mA)\ 33 - 34 = GND (ground) /media/museum/connectors/tandy_mc10_expansion-port_d.jpg
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BOOT SCREEN /media/museum/software/tandy_mc10_boot_ss.gif
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DCAlice http://alice32.free.fr/index.html Windows Excellent working Alice emulator
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Emucompboy's MC-10 Emulator http://www.geocities.com/emucompboy/ Windows Nice Windows emulator
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The MC-10 Emulation project http://www.student.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~camennie/mc10/ Unix / Linux Still active ?
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The MESS project http://www.mess.org/ Multiplatform This multi-platform emulator can emulate the MC-10
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Alice FAQ http://membres.lycos.fr/romualdl/alice/alice_faq.txt Useful source of information about the Alice systems
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Alice page http://membres.lycos.fr/romualdl/alice/alice.html Excellent dedicated pages full of info by Romuald Line, includes a FAQ
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Inside the Radio Shack MC-10 http://www.slowcomputing.org/ssouth/mc10/ Simon South's excellent and useful page. Lot of hardware info.
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My MC10 Home Page http://mymc10.tripod.com/ Lot of stuff here, especially software. Cool.
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The MC-10 archive http://mc10archive.com Small dedicated site with extended Basic available + utilities, games and documents to download !
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TRS-80 MC10 Club (Yahoo club) http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/trs80mc10club The heart of the MC-10 community. Quite active.
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DECOUVREZ LE BASIC http://alice32.free.fr/doc/index.html /media/museum/docs/couvs/alice_decouvrez-le-basic.jpg [**DECOUVREZ LE BASIC**](http://alice32.free.fr/doc/index.html)written by Matra & Hachette  compiled/archived by Daniel Coulom\  type of document : DJV\  source : [DCAlice website](http://alice32.free.fr/)
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RÉSUMÉ DES COMMANDES ET FONCTIONS BASIC http://alice32.free.fr/doc/index.html /media/museum/docs/couvs/alice_resume-commandes-basic.jpg [**RÉSUMÉ DES COMMANDES ET FONCTIONS BASIC**](http://alice32.free.fr/doc/index.html)written by Matra & Hachette  compiled/archived by Daniel Coulom\  type of document : DJV\  source : [DCAlice website](http://alice32.free.fr/)
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GUIDE D'INSTRUCTIONS DE L'ÉDITEUR ASSEMBLEUR http://alice32.free.fr/doc/index.html /media/museum/docs/couvs/alice_assembleur.jpg [**GUIDE D'INSTRUCTIONS DE L'ÉDITEUR ASSEMBLEUR**](http://alice32.free.fr/doc/index.html)written by Matra & Hachette  compiled/archived by Daniel Coulom\  type of document : DJV\  source : [DCAlice website](http://alice32.free.fr/)
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ALLER PLUS LOIN AVEC ALICE http://alice32.free.fr/doc/index.html /media/museum/docs/couvs/alice_aller-plus-loin.jpg [**ALLER PLUS LOIN AVEC ALICE**](http://alice32.free.fr/doc/index.html)written by Ediciel / Matra & Hachette  compiled/archived by Daniel Coulom\  type of document : DJV\  source : [DCAlice website](http://alice32.free.fr/)
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MC-10 SERVICE MANUAL /media/museum/docs/tandy_mc10_service-manual.zip /media/museum/docs/couvs/tandy_mc10_service-manual.jpg [**MC-10 SERVICE MANUAL**](/media/museum/docs/tandy_mc10_service-manual.zip)written by Radio Shack  compiled/archived by Jim Marek\  type of document : PDF
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TP-10 OPERATION MANUAL http://themc10archive.com/node/44 /media/museum/docs/couvs/tandy_mc10_tp10-manual.gif [**TP-10 OPERATION MANUAL**](http://themc10archive.com/node/44)written by Tandy  compiled/archived by Gary (JaGF)\  type of document : PDF\  source : [The MC10 archive](http://themc10archive.com)
/museum/matra-hachette-alice
/museum/matra-hachette-alice-90
/museum/sysdata-eletronica-microcolor
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url date
https://web.archive.org/web/20230608154729/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=163 2023-06-08

The Tandy MC 10 (MC means Micro Color) was designed as an "initiation" computer to compete with the Timex Sinclair 1000, the american version of the Sinclair ZX-81. It was more expensive than the Sinclair machine, but outpassed it in every category. It had sound, color, more memory and even a better keyboard.

In fact, the MC-10 is basically a cut down version of the Tandy "Coco" computers, but didn't have as much success as its big brothers.

It is fully compatible with the first version of the Matra Alice (a French computer). Actually both are the same computer (except for the case color, the Alice is red and the Tandy is white).

Richard Vermeulen adds:
The Tandy MC-10 micro color computer was not a commercial success. Tandy did not support this machine. In Basic you could only use 8 color and a graphic resolution of 64x32 dots. However, the MC-10 had much more capabilities: 2 color 256x192 graphics, 4 color 128x192 graphics and the sound-chip had synthesizer posibilities. If all these extra functions were mentioned in the manual, I bet that these machine would have sold much more.

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