TRS-80 Model 2000 The TRS-80 Model 2000 was my second computer that I ever bought, and my first MS-DOS machine. It was powered by the Intel 80186 CPU, and wasn't a PC-compatible due to it's hardware being totally different. It could be had with either dual 720k Quad-density 5-1/4" floppy drives, or a single Quad-density floppy and a 10meg MFM hard disk, dubbed the Model 2000HD. The Model 2000's 4 expansion slots were proprietary and few cards were ever manufactured to fit in them. The only version of MS-DOS ever released for the 2000 were variations on MS-DOS 2.11. The 720k Quad-density floppy drives could read/write standard 360k DSDD 5-1/4" PC floppies. Intel announced the 80186 cpu in July 1982.

Even though it was technically superior to the PC-compatibles of the same period, the TRS-80 Model 2000 was a failure in the marketplace and lasted roughly 7 months in production, starting in 1983. It, like other semi PC-compatible machines, couldn't compete in a time when PC-compatibility was a big selling point. A lot of regular PC software could be coaxed to work on this machine though as long as the software acessed the video and other hardware using BIOS calls instead of writing directly to the hardware. Due to it being such a failure, the 2000 never recieved the support from Tandy that it should have, though beginning in 1987 there was a small group of people called 'The Tandy 2000 Orphans' who exchanged hardware and software tips by way of a monthly newsletter, and who's members even managed to create a few hardware upgrades for the machine.

This particular machine in my collection is the dual-floppy Model 2000 that has been upgraded to a total of 512k RAM, clock/mouse board, and the color graphics option. It has the floor stand as well as the CM-1 color monitor and I have both the U.S. and International keyboards for it. It was originally bought in December 1983 by Misosys, an early-on TRS-80 development company, for software development. When the market never materialized however, the machine sat nearly unused for almost 15 years until I purchased it. I have all the original documentation for this machine. I also have a 2nd Model 2000, a 2000HD, with the origianl 10MB hard disk, dual floppy drives, color video option, 512k RAM, and the clock/mouse board.

One interesting thing that happened to me regarding the Model 2000 is that about 1990 or so I happened to run across 6-7 of the digital mice for this machine sitting on a store shelf in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Unfortunately I didn't have the foresight to go ahead and pick them up at the time.

Model 2000 links:

NOTE: I haven't personally used any of these executables in years. There is the possibility that there could possibly be additional files needed, especially for the use of GT PowerComm. I currently do not have any of the FOSSIL external file transfer protocal files for it.

Jeff's Computer Haven Home Page