Searchable Tandy Technical Bulletins

I've decided to remedy a deficiency that his been bothering me for awhile now. The Tandy Technical Bulletins PDFs for the big Tandy computers that are available and that we have included in the model2archive are not searchable. This makes researching problems with these machines a real pain. So I fired up my Abbyy Fine Reader tonight and did some OCRing.

I have uploaded 2 additional versions of the Model II Technical Bulletins. One version uses the existing text images with the searchable text hidden underneath. The other version replaces the text images with actual text. While I like keeping the original look of most documents with the originally scanned text images, the pure text content version is much more legible and easy on the eyes.

I'd like to get your opinions on which do you prefer.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/net.pski.retro/Model+II+Archive/Model_II_Technical_Bulletins_Searchable.pdf

https://s3.amazonaws.com/net.pski.r...el_II_Technical_Bulletins_Searchable_Text.pdf

The pure text version is easier to read, and it scrolls more smoothly in my reader. But I'm also very wary of OCR'ed documents that don't preserve the original image from my experience with scanned military technical manuals. The scanned versions of those (and I'm talking official scans as distributed by DOD as primary service documentation) frequently include OCR errors, and they seen to most likely to occur in the very worst places for a technical user: in critical voltage, torque, resistance, pressure, etc. values, component designations, and any other such high-information-density items that a proofreader is less likely to notice.

Maybe include both of them in the archive? Users can read the plain text version, but also refer back to the image version as necessary. Disks are cheap nowadays.

Yes, I completely understand the concern about ocr errors with the text version. I do plan to be very thorough in proofreading as I will be using these documents myself. I also find that proofreading forces me to read the entire document which is helpful to refresh the memory. Just this one document required hours of corrections. I found that the most subversive error is "5" being replaced with "3". But, I will always make sure to include the original scan as well.

I recently acquired almost the complete set of Tandy 6000 documentation that I am starting to scan. This is a huge amount of text in a number of volumes and I will be reading every word of it to proofread. Should take a year or so.

I'm excited about the new Tandy 6000 documentation!

BTW, I am aware of at least two 6000HD's that are about to become available, along with other related gear. A non-retrocomputing acquaintance from another hobby, over on the other side of the country in Alabama, has acquired a warehouse containing the remnants of a company that apparently used a bunch of Tandy stuff. He's working on taking pictures and inventory, and I'll help with identification and posting details to the places where we big-boned TRS-80 collectors hang out. I'm counseling him to try to find a local buyer first due to the difficulty of packing a 6000HD to survive shipment. I lust after the pile a bit myself, but it's too far away and I'm too short on space. But I get first dibs if a Model II System Desk appears. I did see at least one piece of boxed Tandy furniture in the preliminary pictures, I think, but not one of the items I'm looking for.

Wow, do keep us informed. It would be great to have someone else have one of these beautiful machines and have more people to talk to about them. But, I'd seriously consider the drive to Alabama as a rescue effort rather than have it shipped UPS somewhere. That's just asking for it to be destroyed.

I'm not interested in driving to Alabama myself, but if that sounds like fun to you then I'd be quite happy to hook you up with the seller. I have a few preliminary pictures, and he says he'll work on better pictures and inventory today. So far I've seen:

• 2x 6000HD
• 2x boxes that they came in
• One or more of the later big-bone keyboards, I think
• Model II keyboard
• DT-1
• Model I Expansion Interface
• 15 meg secondary external drive, white case
• 12 meg (I think) primary external drive, silver case
• A pile of disks (5.25, I think)
• Boxed hutch add-on for one of their later woodgrain desks

I don't know how deep he dug into the pile for the initial pictures, so it'll be interesting to see if anything else appears. I know him from my military radio collecting hobby, and he contacted me for advice on the retrocomputing stuff he found.

I'm just back from Alabama...2000 mile round trip in one weekend! In all, I rescued

1 Tandy 6000HD
2 Model 16B HD
1 Model 12 (with card cage!)
1 12 MB HD
1 15 MB HD
1 DT-1 Data Terminal
1 Model I EI
Lots of disks

will follow up with a seperate detailed post soon.

Congratulations! Did you buy the system desk hutch, too?