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Another Model II For Sale

pski

pski

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Here's another Model II for sale on our favorite auction site.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tandy-Radio-Shack-TRS-80-Model-II-Microcomputer-Monitor-/191774371770

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I'm very impressed to see 14 watchers! Very nice to see that there is a fairly strong interest in one of my favorite machines. Just be careful as this computer is not shown as working. If you are interested in the machine, keep in mind that a working Model II will display a whiteout screen with the Insert Diskette message even without a boot floppy in the machine. So, it may be a simple issue, like a loose card, or it could be something more serious.

Let us know if you pick it up!
 

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MikeModifed;396728Did one of II guys buy this: [URL said:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Radio-Shack-TRS-80-Model-II-Computer-Manuals-and-Software-Collection-/262227143878?hash=item3d0df4acc6:g:ZAUAAOSwFqJWjS7P[/URL]?

Mike
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Maybe....;)
 
Price dropped to $210.

Also its an early one which has the disk drive light on the lower edge of the eject button, not centralised.

Ian.
 
TRS-Ian said:
Also its an early one which has the disk drive light on the lower edge of the eject button, not centralised.
Click to expand...

Actually, that makes it a late model. The offset disk drive light means it's not the Shugart 800, but rather the TPI 8" drive which was a Shugart clone released very late in the Model II run. The short switches and Arcnet port provision are also an indicator of a later model.
 
Sorry to ask a dumb question but how do you troubleshoot with these backplane-type systems? Surely it's extremely difficult to check anything when all the cards are installed?
 
simplex said:
Sorry to ask a dumb question but how do you troubleshoot with these backplane-type systems? Surely it's extremely difficult to check anything when all the cards are installed?
Click to expand...

Back in the day I believe the Radio Shack technicians had some sort of an extender board that they could plug-in to the motherboard and then plug the card in question onto the end of it. @Hans01 has a solution with the Hans03, Hans04 and 2 40pin ribbon cables that I plan to use for troubleshooting. @TRS-Ian is selling them. You can find more info in one of the recent posts here.
 
TRS-Ian said:
And more come out of the woodwork:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RADIO-SHACK...865978?hash=item35f8e296ba:g:k04AAOSwFqJWkWtt

This one is interesting as it has the 128K upgrade kit.

Ian.
Click to expand...

Keen eye there, Ian. I would imagine that means it most likely has a 68000 board as well. But, the unit has been beaten up a bit. Even the pins in the parallel port are all bent or broken and the fuse is broken off. Probably took a hard hit in shipping at one time. The other unit is much nicer but probably plain-jane inside.

EDIT: Oh, man. I just noticed they are in Jersey City which is not too far from me. Now they will be on my mind. Price would have to come down a bit though for me. I think these may be nice for the first timer Model II owner out there at the current bid price, especially if they do power on to the disk prompt.
 
An ignorant bystander asks, "What shows that it has the 128k upgrade?"

Does it look like the crt has dropped down some? I sure wish that sellers would put pictures od the screen after "powers up."

Mike
 
MikeModifed said:
An ignorant bystander asks, "What shows that it has the 128k upgrade?"

Does it look like the crt has dropped down some? I sure wish that sellers would put pictures od the screen after "powers up."

Mike
Click to expand...

One of the pictures shows the purple Tandy sticker on the top of the front bezel. That 128k sticker is usually found on M16/MII Upgrade machines that have had an additional 128k 68000 memory board installed. It's the 26-6012 128K Memory Kit to be exact. +1 to Mav's eagle eye on that one.

EDIT: Looking at the old RS catalogs I see that there was a 26-6011 128k Memory Board and a 26-6012 128k Memory Kit. The board is listed at $399 and the kit is listed at $199. Anyone know what is the difference? Is the kit just the cables and you needed both 26-6011 and 26-6012 to get a 128k upgrade?
 
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MikeModifed said:
Does it look like the crt has dropped down some? I sure wish that sellers would put pictures od the screen after "powers up."
Mike
Click to expand...

Yes, it does look like the monitor has dropped down some. Ugh, probably happened when it got dropped on the backside.
 
No drive terminator either. So it certainly won't boot.... Very expensive if you ask me. More common in the US than the UK too (makes it even more expensive looking). I'd walk if I were you.

Still, gotta love those klunky old drives!
 
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