Imagine this – the year is 1977, the personal computer revolution has barely begun, and most people have never even seen a home computer in real life. Enter the TRS-80 – an unlikely creation that would go on to kickstart the mainstream PC industry as we know it today.
In this guide, I‘ll give you the inside scoop on the history of this pivotal early machine – the tech that powered it, the vision behind it, and how it managed to take the computing world by storm. You probably didn‘t even know Radio Shack played such an influential role! Grab a coffee my friend, and let me tell you the fascinating tale of the TRS-80.
In the Beginning, There Was Radio Shack
Today Radio Shack is mostly defunct, but back in the 1970s they were THE nationwide electronics retailer. With over 3500 stores across the country, they had scale unlike any tech company at the time.
So it might surprise you that this erstwhile seller of walkie-talkies and wire helped spearhead the PC revolution. But that‘s exactly what happened when buyer Don French brought an early MITS Altair computer kit into Radio Shack‘s Fort Worth headquarters in 1976.
Intrigued executives gave young electrical engineer Steve Leininger just 5 months and a measly $150k budget to create a consumer-friendly take on the Altair specifically for their stores. Amazingly, he pulled it off!
In August 1977 Radio Shack unveiled their creation – the TRS-80 Micro Computer System, complete with monitor, keyboard, cassette tape storage, and BASIC programming language, all for the crazy affordable price of $399!
Let‘s pop open the hood and see what sort of technical wizardry powered this thing…
Under $400 – What Kind of Computer Did That Buy in 1977?
For 1977, the specs were pretty decent for the sub $500 price point:
| Spec | Details |
|---|---|
| CPU | Zilog Z80 @ 1.77MHz |
| RAM | 4KB (yes, kilobytes!) |
| Storage | Cassette tape drive |
| Display | 12" monochrome, 64 x 16 character text |
| Language | BASIC interpreter built into ROM |
| Ports | Serial, cassette, display output, expansion interface |
Now I know what you‘re thinking…4KB of RAM? Cassette tape storage? Keep in mind that the Apple II launched just 1 year earlier at nearly 3X the price with almost identical capabilities.
And that super friendly BASIC programming language opened up tinkering for hobbyists and educators alike!
A Blockbuster Hit – The World Snapped Up This Early PC
Within a month and a half, over 15,000 eager customers flooded Radio Shack stores to buy one of these newfangled "micro computers"!
Business analysts remained skeptical that a retail chain could sell a complex piece of technology. "We figured they’d sell a few thousand to hobbyists, and that would be it," said one former Tandy executive.
But everyday consumers surprised the experts, embracing the TRS-80 as a useful tool for everything from personal budgeting, to farming optimization, to early computer games and programming education.
By 1979 over 100,000 units had sold, making Radio Shack the largest retailer of PCs in the world at the time. Some figures estimate the TRS-80 outsold the Apple II five to one well into the early ‘80s!
Arcade Games and Graphics – Who Knew This Thing Could Play Space Invaders?
Game play on the TRS-80 Model I was limited by today‘s standards. With just text and the most basic block graphics, it didn‘t have enough horsepower to run recognizable versions of seminal arcade hits like Space Invaders.
But later TRS-80 models opened up gaming possibilities thanks to faster processors, memory expansion, high resolution graphics, and innovative sound capabilities.
Popular titles included:
- Space Assault
- Mystery House
- Microsoft Adventure
- Pool 1.5
And I‘d be remiss without mentioning early text adventure games like the original Zork trilogy!
This unexpected gaming prowess extended the computer‘s appeal beyond the expected business and programming niches – crucial for driving mainstream adoption.
Extending the Line – Improved Specs in Models III and IV
Over its 6 year lifespan, the TRS-80 expanded into a full line encompassing over a dozen models tailored different audiences. Let‘s look at how capabilities advanced in a couple standouts:
TRS-80 Model III – Released 1980, mostly compatible with Model I software.
| Spec | Details |
|---|---|
| CPU | Zilog Z80 @ 2.03MHz |
| RAM | 16KB-64KB |
| Storage | 5.25” floppy disk drives (bye bye cassettes!) |
| Price | $699 base configuration |
TRS-80 Model 4 – The most advanced TRS-80, with business users in mind.
| Spec | Details |
|---|---|
| CPU | Faster Zilog Z80A @ 4MHz |
| RAM | 64KB, expandable to 128KB |
| Storage | 5.25” floppy drives |
| Display | 80 x 24 characters + high resolution graphics mode |
| Price | $1,149 – $4,199 based on hdwr. config |
With capabilities on par with higher-end Apple and IBM machines, the Model 4 showed how far this computer line had advanced in just 5 short years!
Lasting Legacy – Why The TRS-80 Was a True Tech Pioneer
While Radio Shack is mostly a memory today, and even their mighty computer line faded away by the late ‘80s, the TRS-80‘s legacy lives on through its contributions to the booming PC industry:
- Made computers affordable & accessible to ordinary consumers
- Introduced millions to practical home computing
- Accelerated software development through popularity
- Drove early computer use for education and games
- Propelled wider adoption of data storage standards like cassettes and floppies
- Played catalytic role in development of desktop publishing software
So while it didn‘t make a dent like later machines from Apple or Microsoft, make no mistake – the pioneering TRS-80 micro computer helped start the PC revolution that has now transformed modern society!
I don‘t know about you, but next time I pass an abandoned Radio Shack, I may just stop and offer a little salute to the TRS-80 inside that launched the future. Now who‘s up for a game of Zork?
