tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17264519800540666822024-01-26T00:44:31.916-08:00Late Night CoCo!Ramblings and musings on all things related to the Tandy Color Computer.jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11031266315422011010noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1726451980054066682.post-56269152987719725662019-04-29T16:10:00.001-07:002019-04-29T16:12:44.091-07:002019 CoCo Call For PapersAt this year's 28th Annual "Last" Chicago CoCoFEST on May 4-5, 2019, I am displaying a total of five papers which have been submitted for the "CoCo Call for Papers" project. Here are the links to those papers (listed in alphabetical order by author's last name):<br />
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<a href="http://www.boisypitre.com/papers/cccfp19/CoCoMicrobit.pdf">The Micro:bit as a Color Computer Accessory</a> by Brendan Donahe<br />
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<a href="http://www.boisypitre.com/papers/cccfp19/dwterm.pdf">DwTerm</a> by Michael R. Furman<br />
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<a href="http://www.boisypitre.com/papers/cccfp19/pyDriveWire_history.pdf">pyDriveWire History and Motivation</a> by Michael R. Furman<br />
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<a href="http://www.boisypitre.com/papers/cccfp19/BenchmarkingCF83Forth.pdf">Benchmarking CF83 Forth</a> by M. David Johnson<br />
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<a href="http://www.boisypitre.com/papers/cccfp19/made_in_usa.pdf">Made in the U.S.A. - Are American CoCo 3s Quality Challenged?</a> by Boisy G. Pitre</div>
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Submissions have more than doubled over last year, bringing the total number of papers in this body of work to save. I would like to thank Brendan, David, and Michael for their participation and excellent papers. Great work, everyone!jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11031266315422011010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1726451980054066682.post-20650887487292089692019-01-11T06:27:00.000-08:002019-01-13T03:42:13.674-08:00It's that time again...<div class="rtejustify" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b>Announcing the CoCo Call for Papers '19.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I'm soliciting submission of papers describing significant and innovative research contributions to the Color Computer field.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Here are some topics to consider:</span><br />
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<li><span style="caret-color: rgb(77, 77, 77); color: #4d4d4d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">a new or novel concept or research into improving an existing practice.</span></li>
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<li><span style="caret-color: rgb(77, 77, 77); color: #4d4d4d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">describing the implementation of a project with suggestions for areas of further exploration.</span></li>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Papers should present original work validated via analysis, simulation, or experimentation. All papers will be peer reviewed and evaluated based on originality, technical and/or research content/depth, correctness, relevance to the Color Computer, contributions, and readability.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The last day to submit your paper is Friday April 26, 2019.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Papers will be presented on May 4 & 5, 2019 at the 28th Annual "Last" Chicago CoCoFEST! in Lombard, Illinois.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">For submissions, questions, or other inquiries, <a href="mailto:cococfp19@toughmac.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">email me</a>.</span></span></div>
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jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11031266315422011010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1726451980054066682.post-44355745608927030852018-04-23T11:42:00.001-07:002019-04-29T15:51:37.829-07:002018 CoCo Call for PapersAt this year's 27th Annual "Last" Chicago CoCoFEST, I displayed two papers which were submitted for the "CoCo Call for Papers" project. Here are the links to those papers:<br />
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<a href="http://www.boisypitre.com/papers/cccfp18/sprite.pdf">Feasibility of Hardware Sprite Acceleration with CoCoVGA</a> by Brendan Donahe<br />
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<a href="http://www.boisypitre.com/papers/cccfp18/towards_a_unified_development_experience_for_the_coco.pdf">Towards A Unified Development Experience for the CoCo</a> by Boisy Pitre<br />
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I would like to thank Brendan for his participation and his excellent paper. Next year, I'm hoping for more submissions.jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11031266315422011010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1726451980054066682.post-45181401359380934012017-03-17T14:28:00.003-07:002017-03-17T19:19:42.768-07:00Teaching a Machine to RegurgitateArtificial intelligence (AI) is a topic that is dominating the news. Often, these stories are cast in a fearful light (e.g. your smart refrigerator will one day roll into your bedroom and kill your family). The truth is that while AI as both a topic of study and a commercialization opportunity is noticeably stronger than it has been in years, there's very little to fear from its ascendancy, at least for now.<br />
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To gain intelligence, something must be able to "learn." In order for something to learn, it has to be "taught." This process of teaching a machine to learn something is <i>machine learning</i>. As a discipline in computer science, machine learning has been around for decades, but putting it into practice has been difficult -- until now. Advances in computing power, storage, and data have pushed the field forward in significant ways; consequently, this has fueled its resurgence.<br />
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As we teach machines to learn, we as humans also learn how to teach them better. Indeed, years of research and experimentation in the field have led to huge growth in the machine learning ethos, and these techniques can be used to bring a semblance of intelligence to our computers. One of those machine learning methods is the <i>neural network</i>. The idea behind neural networks is to use vast computing resources to mimic the structure of the brain, with cells modeled after neurons that are attached to other neurons, firing as various thresholds are reached. These patterns can be trained to react to certain inputs (stimuli). Much research has been, and continues to be, poured into this area.<br />
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One particular type of neural network is a <i>recurrent neural network</i>, or RNN for short. RNNs are interesting in that they form internal, cyclical connections that can be used to mimic dynamic behavior of sorts. Think of it like a bunch of interconnected roads on a map that turn into and out of each other, allowing traffic to flow more than just one direction. This flow of information allows RNNs to learn differently than the traditional <i>feed-forward</i> networks.<br />
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Neural networks can be trained to do a number of tasks, including recognizing and regurgitating patterns, from images, to sound and music, to text. It's the latter that Andrej Karpathy explores <a href="https://karpathy.github.io/2015/05/21/rnn-effectiveness/">in this blog</a> on the effectiveness of RNNs. To demonstrate his point, he trains an RNN on text from numerous plays written by Shakespeare. This creates a model that is then used to generate text that reads a <i>lot like</i> Shakespeare, although it's not necessarily sensical.<br />
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So what does this all have to do with the CoCo?<br />
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As you read Karpathy's blog, it should occur to you that any collection of text could be used to feed into and train an RNN like the one he discusses. Why stop with Shakespeare? Any sufficiently large body of text is representative of a certain style of writing. Terminology, sentence structure, the use of punctuation... all of this can be "learned" and used to generate new data in the same style and vein. The Malted Media CoCo List is itself a large body of text -- it happens to be composed of many authors, each with their own word usage and writing style. However, it has a common structure: everything is in the context of an email, containing headers, subject, body, and signature. There's sentence structure, quoting other messages, and even repeatable terminology (CoCo, GIME, OS-9, etc.)<br />
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With this in mind, I decided to apply Karpathy's RNN work to training on the entire set of CoCo List raw text data from December 2003 to September 2016. Gathering the data was a matter of pulling down the monthly archives available on the maltedmedia.com site, then concatenating all of that data together into one large file comprised of 7,985,340 lines of text, 45,272,983 words, or 288,690,945 characters (bytes).<br />
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Training on a quad-core Intel Core i7 at 3.4GHz running Ubuntu Linux took exactly 14,654 minutes and 58 seconds (let's be generous and say 14,655 minutes). That's 244.25 hours, or 10.177 days to train an RNN with all of that data. The resulting model file came out to 2GB in size.<br />
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Now you can see the model regurgitate somewhat meaningful CoCo List messages by <a href="http://www.boisypitre.com/cclist">clicking here</a>.<br />
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Here's some sample output:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
>To: ColorComputer at yahoogroups.com, "James M color at yahoo.com) says<br />
my threat Aaron files and I was as well except reads platfor<br />
allowed by a way to make one.<br />
<moss2 at="" hype.proteoytelf.com="">http://www.boy.com?}_So---Mug<br />12V quite a %dolleddlls prompted, so that it wouldn't include it and<br />going for change ports, but what<br />the lowercase could be group to<br />allow the earth. I already exist with "owner" had the asked just application on 4 years. Also why<br />a Dragon 2560 for Gun & e-mak with the disk reference.<br /><br />Run is replaceing inteal for PC cartridge domain needed<br />'descriptor box pully Pin Cloud-9 USB drives on my<br />seems to be the authors are hard come.<br /><br />The online?<br /><br /><br />I really happen to have to see it is directed by cpu data registration with Drive<br />computer??? Anyway, any<br />rest of the weag gback ever. :<br /><br />Just polited to "bus and lc and 12 bit format). Been the interruct and discussion out. This)...<br /><br />Message: 7<br />11:09 Nox6993 #DSK=500+21O auction<br />+723 Electronic Oh<br />Topit controlments in 279-30-1004<br /><br />-Aaron<br /><br />-----<br />Cheers, Glenith at optode.com ?<br /><br />----------<br /><br />-------------------------------<br /><br />> I have currently "need from disk image rares). in specifics plus: *** COCO Daying of<br />> multi-Page Disks' need on prefer or the "but Magazine GIME" and<br />> other<br />> > available?<br />> NitrOS-9's made command code.<br />><br />> Marcution from acsaging to actually learn more of user removable, but keep this memory or a cool.hn Luis I say and 300, 3. I love one<br />> but this is not writting that thread but based in that Cloud-9... the 1.4N talk about?<br />><br />> Cocolist platform I have made for tweak and<br />> work because of<br />they are not zero and it always looking or have the<br />> Disto OS-9 disks screen, too, do a disk image you? Is a personal MESS ERROR if there is a end you?<br />><br />> What should possibher.<br />><br />> The<br />work if not up Wildort Crs9/new prompt possing the faster people work in chance to afford<br />> and I reavenPil config as not going to a development internal language and</moss2></blockquote>
At a glance, it <i>looks</i> like a message on a mailing list. There's a semblance of a header at the top, then there's a body of text, what looks like a signature, and the quoting of another message with the '>' character indicating the previous reply in the thread.<br />
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The sentences may be somewhat awkward to read, but for the most part, there are sensible words there. You can see references to recognizable words in the CoCo lexicon: OS-9, Cloud-9, Disto, etc.<br />
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What's interesting is just how <i>well</i> the RNN mimics a CoCo List message. It's not perfect, but it's quite close, and it provides just enough of a mixture at times to make for a bit of humor.<br />
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It's a simple, but interesting example of the power and utility of RNNs. I suggest reading Andrej Karpathy's previously referenced <a href="https://karpathy.github.io/2015/05/21/rnn-effectiveness/">blog post</a> for the details and behind this. And don't forget to refresh your browser to get another dose of random CoCo List goodness.jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11031266315422011010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1726451980054066682.post-8110392958741952362015-06-07T06:47:00.005-07:002015-06-07T06:47:51.094-07:00Part III: The RecoveryIn the last blog post, I describe how the Microware CoCo 3s were taken from Microware by Scott McGee and given (gratis) to Bro. Jeremy at a mid-1990s Chicago CoCoFEST, whereupon they were shown there and at subsequent fests. During that time, they remained in the possession of Brother Jeremy.<br />
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The ending to this three part tale is rather short, but necessary to provide closer to the larger story.<br />
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Fast forward to 2012. At this point in time Bro. Jeremy has moved to England and no longer attends CoCoFESTs on a regular basis. Curious about the fate of the Microware CoCo 3's, I contacted our community monk to learn exactly where the computers where. As it turned out, he left them at his home monastery in Wisconsin.<br />
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We discussed an arrangement for them to be shipped to me in Louisiana, where they now reside.<br />
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And now you know.... the REST of the story.jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11031266315422011010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1726451980054066682.post-6213138249525598122015-06-03T04:49:00.006-07:002015-06-03T04:49:44.800-07:00Part II: The Monk Takes The BootyIn my previous blog post I explain how a late night of working at Microware led to the my discovering CoCo related equipment in a cubicle. I shared that discovery with a co-worker, Scott McGee<br />
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Since no one at Microware really had expressed any interest in showcasing the CoCo 3s and other Color Computer related hardware, Scott had the raving idea of donating the CoCo 3s discovered at Microware to Brother Jeremy at the upcoming CoCoFEST. I wasn't particularly fond of the scheme, but didn't put up much resistance to it at the time. Looking back, I should have made a bigger wave and kept the CoCos where they were and made more of a point to display them somehow at Microware's headquarters.<br />
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While I cannot remember the exact year, I believe it was either 1995 or 1996. The Chicago CoCoFEST was coming up during its usual April/May time frame. James Jones and I would take the drive every year from Des Moines to Chicago to attend. Scott drove and attended separately, as I recall, with the haul of Color Computers destined for the fest.<br />
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Brother Jeremy took possession of the CoCos at that ChicagoFEST and for years thereafter, brought them with him to every fest he attended, setting them up at a booth for display. I'll give him credit -- he took care of the systems and made them accessible for the CoCo Community to see.<br />
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However, there was a casualty in this -- the rest of the haul. I cannot recall what happened to the boxes of ROM Paks and the DS-69B digitizer, nor do I know what happened to the original Tandy documents that were house along with the rest of the hardware. It reinforces in my mind that the entire collection of stuff should have never been disbanded.<br />
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jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11031266315422011010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1726451980054066682.post-87940543425299617892015-05-28T20:30:00.003-07:002015-05-28T20:32:10.854-07:00Part I: The DiscoveryIn my previous blog post, I shared photos of six unique Color Computers; four of them are CoCo 3s from Microware Systems Corporation of Des Moines, Iowa (Microware has changed hands a couple of times since that time). In this post, I'll give some background on my Microware experience and how these CoCos came to my attention.<br />
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Background</h2>
I joined Microware in the summer of 1992 as a software engineer. Getting my foot in the door had everything to do with my ownership of a CoCo and familiarity with OS-9, so everyone at the company knew of my Color Computer interests. I worked directly with Mark Hawkins and Todd Earles, two of the "CoCo 3 mugateers" that you see when you hit CTRL-ALT and the reset button on the CoCo 3. I was told first-hand of the lore and war stories behind the development of the Color Computer 3's BASIC and the ports of OS-9 to the Color Computer family. But I never actually saw any evidence of the development of the product. That is, until late one night...<br />
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Finding Gold</h2>
The Microware building on 1900 NW 114th Street was arranged in somewhat of an L-shaped fashion with much of the work areas filled with cubicles. I worked on the side of the building that would be considered the bottom of the L. Near my workspace were other cubicles of other employees, as well as a few empty ones where miscellaneous equipment would tend to accumulate.<br />
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I was working late one evening when I walked by a cubicle next to the "machine room" (a large air-conditioned enclosed area where Unix servers and OS-9 VME crates used for development were housed). This particular cubicle had been empty earlier in the week, but now housed a bunch of boxes of recently moved equipment. Curious, I stepped in and poked around, whereupon I discovered several Color Computer 3s. In another box were a few more Color Computer 3 cases and some documents scattered about, including the specs for the CoCo 3 on a Tandy letterhead. Still in another box were loads and loads of game and application software cartridges from Tandy. Another box held a DS-69B digitizer and some unrecognizable cartridges. There was even a huge GIMIX 6809 computer named "Sybil" which I later discovered held all the OS-9/6809 sources (even the source to the fabled Level 2 Upgrade), but that's another blog post...<br />
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Back to the find... I was ecstatic to see all of this CoCo equipment in one place, and it began to dawn on me that this was Microware's stash of Color Computer goodies they used for development some 10-odd years earlier.<br />
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The next day at work, I shared the discovery with another CoCo aficionado and Microware employee, Scott McGee. Scott had started working for Microware about a month before I did and also got his foot in the door through his Color Computer experience. He was keen on viewing the CoCo stash, so together we went to the cubicle and looked through the boxes to get an idea of what was there.<br />
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I brought up the idea of cleaning up all of the CoCo equipment and putting it in an area of the building that would showcase Microware's legacy work, but that didn't go anywhere. My impression was that no one at Microware really cared to pay homage to the work that was done on the Color Computer. No matter how I viewed these machines and their legacy, for the rest of the company, there was no interest in celebrating the past.<br />
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Everything CoCo related in that cubicle stayed in place for a while, and then it happened...<br />
<br />jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11031266315422011010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1726451980054066682.post-63987195738474602792015-05-27T18:28:00.002-07:002015-05-27T20:11:30.764-07:00Some Serious CoCo HistoryOne of the things on my to-do list has been to showcase some very specific Color Computer history. Those who have read the book "CoCo: The Colorful History of Tandy's Underdog Computer" will recognize the machines in the next photo:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj194yU9wYDVEZe7aLd5X_gngxvK73qqBaIlaOeSWOlxc_dBmSUCd1bcmWOCTHpGUPAXpuLY8F4OubrPornFcRID3QSvNnOGjhwqeHM02A80exTXJBi-9CTsliVaJjOk2eeRdNLYWGA0iI/s1600/IMG_3775.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj194yU9wYDVEZe7aLd5X_gngxvK73qqBaIlaOeSWOlxc_dBmSUCd1bcmWOCTHpGUPAXpuLY8F4OubrPornFcRID3QSvNnOGjhwqeHM02A80exTXJBi-9CTsliVaJjOk2eeRdNLYWGA0iI/s320/IMG_3775.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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These are six Color Computers of historical significance. The top shelf contains the Deluxe Color Computer that was featured in the previous blog posts. It's a rare bird, as only one other is known to exist. To its right is a mock-up of the Tandy Color Computer 4. It's simply a shell without any electronics inside, save the 3.5" disk unit. Like the Deluxe Color Computer, it is unique and is the only one of its kind.</div>
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The following two photos give another view (apologies for the poor lighting conditions).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8yG6CqEmYcrQ_jsvxzGdCxh7yZvU3IBSIpZHZ0jJXRiSZta3xrRxwEbdrti5fAdVYHrtBdvxuur1zVBjq4UJO4V-R1YwamJn9JDnM2_9Z3qB5ZtU675tln_Yep6HUNXRH5arAWpdOar4/s1600/IMG_3776.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8yG6CqEmYcrQ_jsvxzGdCxh7yZvU3IBSIpZHZ0jJXRiSZta3xrRxwEbdrti5fAdVYHrtBdvxuur1zVBjq4UJO4V-R1YwamJn9JDnM2_9Z3qB5ZtU675tln_Yep6HUNXRH5arAWpdOar4/s320/IMG_3776.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The second and third shelves contain four Color Computer 3s of special significance: two PAL versions and two NTSC versions. These four CoCo 3s were the property of Microware Systems Corporation and used to by Mark Hawkins, Tim Harris, and Todd Earles to develop OS-9 Level Two and the "super" extensions to Extended Color BASIC. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizt4u5aWhtrjdAkmaAjB-HyGLXYTWhP9_qapoVkEvfqwjpDjifqdMwfmKw-uWGVC72XYKbUv_EJdqTw6yPt9sfu982QwqbT7qwC1ihHcgaT1VivV-OKTe4QlrrGg3RDE1mdTk4UXnDRxE/s1600/IMG_3777.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizt4u5aWhtrjdAkmaAjB-HyGLXYTWhP9_qapoVkEvfqwjpDjifqdMwfmKw-uWGVC72XYKbUv_EJdqTw6yPt9sfu982QwqbT7qwC1ihHcgaT1VivV-OKTe4QlrrGg3RDE1mdTk4UXnDRxE/s320/IMG_3777.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The black cartridge in between the two CoCo 3s in this last photo is an interesting artifact that I'll devote a whole blog post to later.</div>
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If these four machines could speak, they would tell some interesting stories. While I wasn't at Microware at the time the CoCo 3 was being developed, I came on board later. Now I think it's time to tell the tale about how these CoCos were discovered and where they have been since that time. Stay tuned for the "rest of the story" in a subsequent blog post.</div>
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For now, enjoy the photos!</div>
<br />jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11031266315422011010noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1726451980054066682.post-317171720127901772015-05-18T16:58:00.005-07:002015-05-18T17:22:56.286-07:00Under the Cover<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Now that we've explored the case, it's time to delve into the innards.</div>
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Below is a hi-res picture of the motherboard of the Deluxe Color Computer. You'll immediately notice that it has lots of wires -- undoubtedly modifications to adjust its operation after the board run in order to fix issues.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDhX6zgLya5bz2nw_2YrHS4loL7vPnGqehe933fl8Yo4XUQbyGu1VYgfglbsNxe4fz0vs9yAXX_l71p5Q0_jDxTZ26oIEdRiXiqEIXjYYJEnzIzmOU4g2MI5ZPuNEKcqS_5rjjTWR55mk/s1600/IMG_3695.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDhX6zgLya5bz2nw_2YrHS4loL7vPnGqehe933fl8Yo4XUQbyGu1VYgfglbsNxe4fz0vs9yAXX_l71p5Q0_jDxTZ26oIEdRiXiqEIXjYYJEnzIzmOU4g2MI5ZPuNEKcqS_5rjjTWR55mk/s640/IMG_3695.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Since there isn't a service manual in existence for this machine, any attempt to understand its design must start with a survey of the integrated circuits that it contains. I'll enumerate them here:</div>
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<ul>
<li>U1 - SC77527P</li>
<li>U2 - SC77526P</li>
<li>U3 - RC4559N</li>
<li>U4 - MC6847P (This particular part DOES have lowercase characters -- I verified this)</li>
<li>U5 - MC1489P</li>
<li>U6 - MC1372P</li>
<li>U7 - MC1488P</li>
<li>U8 - S6551P</li>
<li>U9 - SN74LS273N</li>
<li>U10 - RF Modulator</li>
<li>U11 - GI AY-3-8913</li>
<li>U12 - SN74LS161AN</li>
<li>U13 - MC6821P</li>
<li>U14 - SN74LS221N</li>
<li>U15 - SN74LS32N</li>
<li>U16 - SN74LS86ND</li>
<li>U17 - SN74LS09N</li>
<li>U18 - SN74LS22NS</li>
<li>U19 - SN74LS04N</li>
<li>U20 - SN74LS260N</li>
<li>U21 - MC6822P</li>
<li>U22 - F74244PC</li>
<li>U23 - SN74LS273N</li>
<li>U24 - 27128 (16K ROM, currently DWDOS for CoCo 2 that I installed)</li>
<li>U25 - MC68B09EP</li>
<li>U26 - 6349-IN</li>
<li>U27 - SN74LS74AN</li>
<li>U28 - SN74LS161AN</li>
<li>U29 - SN74LS161AN</li>
<li>U30 - SN74LS783N</li>
<li>U31 - SN74LS244N</li>
<li>U32 - N82S153N</li>
<li>U33 - SN74LS157N</li>
<li>U34 - SN74LS14N</li>
<li>U35-U42 - TANDY 8040655</li>
<li>U43 - SN74LS12N</li>
<li>U44 - SN74LS393ND</li>
</ul>
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There is an additional IC near U20 that is glued upside down on the board with wires coming from it. I have not identified that IC up to now.<br />
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The power supply is located on the middle left side of the case, just as it is on the 64K Color Computer. The keyboard connector accepts the ribbon style mylar cable that is common on the CoCo 2 and CoCo 3. And of course, the 40 pin expansion connector is right where it should be.<br />
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Recall from the previous post that a 9 pin serial connector is mounted on the back, as is composite audio and video.<br />
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There's quite a bit to digest here, and I'll be out of town a few days on business, so there will be a stretch of time before I can make another post. So have fun and let the comments ensue!<br />
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jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11031266315422011010noreply@blogger.com47tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1726451980054066682.post-7751392410605003992015-05-17T13:39:00.002-07:002015-05-17T13:39:26.669-07:00A First Look...<div>
It's time for a little "computer archaeology."</div>
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Other than pictures in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/CoCo-Colorful-History-Underdog-Computer/dp/1466592478">"CoCo: The Colorful History of Tandy's Underdog Computer"</a> and a showing at the VCF East 9.1 (April 4-6, 2014 in Wall, New Jersey) and the 23rd Annual "Last" Chicago CoCoFEST (April 24-25, 2014 in Lombard, Illinois), the Deluxe Color Computer has not been seen in the wild. There are two that I know of in existence, and both are in my possession. One is in better shape than the other, and that's the one I brought to the above events.<br />
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Chatter on Facebook about a "better CoCo 2" brought me to the idea of finally taking this beauty out of the cabinet she lives in and show her to the world. There is no technical or service manual available anywhere that I know of. The web is rife with speculation about what's in it, so I figured it's time to delve into the details. Who knows where this will lead...</div>
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For this post, I'll show pictures of the case.</div>
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<h2>
The Top</h2>
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The top case looks exactly like the case from a 64K Color Computer. In fact, I think that's exactly what it is. The indention for the badge features prominently in the middle, and the side vents on the left and right match those of a 64K Color Computer case.</div>
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The label "CC-23" taped to the top is of unknown significance, but I speculate that it has something to do with where it came from. The provenance of this computer is revealed in the above mentioned book, so I won't give it away here.</div>
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The layout of the keys indicate the keyboard to be just like a CoCo 3, but with a black bezel instead of the familiar grey on the CoCo 3. Radio Shack sold keyboards like this in baggies for a time, and it's widely speculated that those keyboards were salvaged from the scrapped Deluxe Color Computers in order to get some value out of the aborted computer. I tend to concur with this explanation.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7QePuyrCMOCBPFFJsP9Ey4gOMYQ4RO1IA7fR45u6ymfVxwGPv-pYCwSIeRalcjTEOLlSmPNXmle9SDCGHJIGFlY_rH9tv1N_zJ3Nm4PACuRB9prMvnIE2oj8cIs4Cs2NZ5nmLxkcEmQM/s1600/IMG_3689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7QePuyrCMOCBPFFJsP9Ey4gOMYQ4RO1IA7fR45u6ymfVxwGPv-pYCwSIeRalcjTEOLlSmPNXmle9SDCGHJIGFlY_rH9tv1N_zJ3Nm4PACuRB9prMvnIE2oj8cIs4Cs2NZ5nmLxkcEmQM/s320/IMG_3689.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<h2>
The Top (Underneath)</h2>
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There's always something interesting to glean when you see handwritten markings. Underneath the top case and written in red permanent marker are two pieces of information:</div>
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<b>SNI JN</b></div>
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<b>5-11-83</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizF6N9v2nfHIoSF78rJBt0i8KFGfpe5vZLkDavqBVkV467WvDfYFm9U8Fgs0YionQqAQCHFFUyRpWp47bLTAFlF6YbHV_xFxGzLIcymkrIxbw_c13nET-vV8XhtHI1NGRmUzh8OjUa4Ls/s1600/IMG_3690.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizF6N9v2nfHIoSF78rJBt0i8KFGfpe5vZLkDavqBVkV467WvDfYFm9U8Fgs0YionQqAQCHFFUyRpWp47bLTAFlF6YbHV_xFxGzLIcymkrIxbw_c13nET-vV8XhtHI1NGRmUzh8OjUa4Ls/s320/IMG_3690.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The dashes between the dates are actually dots, but it's clear this was marked on April 11, 1983.<br />
<h2>
The Bottom</h2>
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The bottom is nothing spectacular. No serial number sticker, no manufacturing code or location, nothing... The only thing there are the common rubber feet. Again, the screw holes and vent holes match that of the bottom of a 64K Color Computer case.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRvTkXWv-OstLxGGcL-h3NHHCEnc2jCxMy7DlOzKvn4TgfNO3BbPe_lpfBYtIAK1HZ6ZlpoFDXvRk2XRF3CTg85ivNXtNE293E-FhwJopnKFB0T5ErumgyVBU1SZrWu0bUAv_EmdqZEoI/s1600/IMG_3691.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRvTkXWv-OstLxGGcL-h3NHHCEnc2jCxMy7DlOzKvn4TgfNO3BbPe_lpfBYtIAK1HZ6ZlpoFDXvRk2XRF3CTg85ivNXtNE293E-FhwJopnKFB0T5ErumgyVBU1SZrWu0bUAv_EmdqZEoI/s320/IMG_3691.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Turning over the bottom and looking at the inside of the bottom case reveals another set of markings:</div>
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<b>NB3</b></div>
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<b>5/2/83</b></div>
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<b>KJW</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoYn-k8P7VhB6sY8R248qs3_UM8UW_2A8ZKO2LSYNsHdGfEIM_KCrFTeutPKzF2A-ul4bQ_NTeJPB-OmjLadn60SsHcfb4jNOqXC-QpYqRbd8DSyJ7WsNWEUxOeBWe23SSrsklVqqT154/s1600/IMG_3693.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoYn-k8P7VhB6sY8R248qs3_UM8UW_2A8ZKO2LSYNsHdGfEIM_KCrFTeutPKzF2A-ul4bQ_NTeJPB-OmjLadn60SsHcfb4jNOqXC-QpYqRbd8DSyJ7WsNWEUxOeBWe23SSrsklVqqT154/s320/IMG_3693.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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This date is 9 days earlier than the one written on the inside top of the case. Again, the significance isn't clear, but <b>KJW</b> appears to be someone's initials. This more than likely is documentation of some type of quality assurance check -- a "stamp of approval" if you will.</div>
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<h2>
The Back</h2>
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The back of the Deluxe Color Computer clearly indicates new hardware features. Again, it's clear that the case itself derives from the 64K Color Computer, and I've stacked one on top in this photo to illustrate this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0T2fIDZSJ9rnKMfuF2Wev1bdGRylDjQRjZ75ckGh996nejAHCHBSwBu5zq5ksxVFD1WGm66fC1dFMQEBvw6hsTl6PZr3GgkfvqOrpZiRZaTtd1rcz9gCF1_erDhMr7jyz36uQVzVNxXs/s1600/IMG_3692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0T2fIDZSJ9rnKMfuF2Wev1bdGRylDjQRjZ75ckGh996nejAHCHBSwBu5zq5ksxVFD1WGm66fC1dFMQEBvw6hsTl6PZr3GgkfvqOrpZiRZaTtd1rcz9gCF1_erDhMr7jyz36uQVzVNxXs/s320/IMG_3692.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's obvious that the back-top of the Deluxe Color Computer case had to be cut to accommodate the new connectors. In addition to the omnipresent RF modulator, there's composite audio/video and a 9 pin port. Cassette, serial, and joystick ports are where they normally are, as well as power and reset (the power button is missing its black cap on the Deluxe Color Computer).</div>
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jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11031266315422011010noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1726451980054066682.post-76199087197237258732015-05-16T07:32:00.002-07:002015-05-16T09:22:06.067-07:00The "Deluxe" Color ComputerIf you've read the book written by Bill Loguidice and me, you already know a little about the Deluxe Color Computer. Tandy engineers designed, developed, and even began manufacturing this unique addition to the CoCo family, but it would never see the light of day. Due to the unavailability of certain chips (the VDG being the prime candidate), it was canned, and all product were destroyed. Instead, we got the 64K Color Computer and the Color Computer 2 in the fall of 1983...<br />
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But there were survivors.<br />
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Over the next series of blog posts, I will dissect this very unique computer. Who knows what might come of this... a new board for the CoCo 1 or 2 which finally brings the functionality of the Deluxe Color Computer to the masses? An extension to existing emulators like MESS which can properly emulate the machine?<br />
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Stay tuned...jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11031266315422011010noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1726451980054066682.post-7027070944883528152013-09-12T10:57:00.001-07:002013-09-12T10:57:45.198-07:00Almost Done...Bill Loguidice and I have worked over a year on our upcoming book "CoCo: The Colorful History of Tandy's Underdog Computer" and we are finally seeing the end in sight. Today, CRC Press released the book cover that we designed:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwqh8npE1FL89XvAI_3Pfe1VXKvOkzCcdzPamES74zXvGcuez-Q0NsWvgjeecU-HAWqFHC4cZ9UHetBys8z8jTM-hkQOIHFl-HE3EifUQoqo93rcvIzb3cV5k7hUakKZ0YTrZpLactg4Q/s1600/K20564_Cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwqh8npE1FL89XvAI_3Pfe1VXKvOkzCcdzPamES74zXvGcuez-Q0NsWvgjeecU-HAWqFHC4cZ9UHetBys8z8jTM-hkQOIHFl-HE3EifUQoqo93rcvIzb3cV5k7hUakKZ0YTrZpLactg4Q/s320/K20564_Cover.png" width="211" /></a></div>
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The book continues to go through the publishing process, and should be out in print sometime in November. There will also be an eBook version with color photographs.jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11031266315422011010noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1726451980054066682.post-37348580250011882402013-08-21T13:12:00.001-07:002013-08-21T13:12:19.746-07:00Draft review done!Today Bill and I handed our review of the draft of the book to CRC Press. Overall, we're quite pleased with the layout and organization of the book and expect readers will enjoy it. For now, it still looks like it will be out before Christmas, but that date should firm up soon enough.jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11031266315422011010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1726451980054066682.post-2158158488448244042013-06-02T19:57:00.000-07:002013-06-02T19:57:26.114-07:00The Mystery Part II<i>She never has been sold,</i><br />
<i>yet is worth her weight in gold.</i><br />
<i>Her keys appear to be</i><br />
<i>that of a CoCo 3,</i><br />
<i>but nary a GIME does she hold.</i><br />
<br />jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11031266315422011010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1726451980054066682.post-27526607012748675172013-05-20T18:54:00.002-07:002013-05-20T19:24:54.280-07:00The Power Tower<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
For some time, I've been thinking about how to organize my collection of working Color Computers and Ataris into a super connected DriveWire mash-up. I envisioned a rack system based on the same hardware that is used to stack networking equipment, where one CoCo would sit on top of the other. Each CoCo would have its own roll-out shelf for easy keyboard access, and at the very top would be space for a monitor that each CoCo could drive, switchable by a video routing system.</div>
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I shared my idea with Aaron Wolfe, who gave me some additional things to think about. After going on eBay looking for a rackmount cabinet, I quickly realized that they don't give that stuff away. Plus, the shipping costs would make acquiring a racksystem that much more expensive.</div>
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Giving some more thought to my options, I began to look around my workshop and came across an idea. Years ago, I rescued a rather large Hewlett-Packard plotter. The plotter itself was discarded; I kept the rolling steel cart frame that the plotter sat on, however. It was used as a roving sawhorse a few times, but mostly just sat out of the way.</div>
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Looking at the cart, I realized that with some lumber, I could create something akin to an organizational system, albeit more wide than tall as I initially envisioned. A few trips to Lowes and some days later, I began to work adapting this plotter stand into a CoCo "Power Tower."</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXRAgci4DcnGf7ukAXL5eYX2pGYHHeD5QDaHE3oVL2L93BG5JYo3ebhk_5_hB4FTsrdlwFOTv5B-Am9C25kL14IvHkdDuR1zZ9FWulHMIA8GA_u5ypFs-gskqcs-h3aF2hvL-UcOZWJ-g/s1600/2013-05-20+16.16.47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXRAgci4DcnGf7ukAXL5eYX2pGYHHeD5QDaHE3oVL2L93BG5JYo3ebhk_5_hB4FTsrdlwFOTv5B-Am9C25kL14IvHkdDuR1zZ9FWulHMIA8GA_u5ypFs-gskqcs-h3aF2hvL-UcOZWJ-g/s640/2013-05-20+16.16.47.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The project was relatively simple. I picked up three boards of 1'x4'x1" red oak shelving, sanded each with 120 grit sandpaper, then sealed each board with Helmsman Minwax clear semi-gloss, waited for it to dry then sanded again and wiped down.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnu_9qoQ6bZU2eANpqdm3E_hugZbO2vH6Eb_fmjfvHxRsen3Vkhqrru-ZzUCwN4CM1bFJNNPNgz7EBWRQNr8ib1TW2e7Y1ZP97N6f1LpZxQ6NyTqfEovbAdGygZoE6ORCZk7SRz1qIhrs/s1600/2013-05-20+19.59.40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnu_9qoQ6bZU2eANpqdm3E_hugZbO2vH6Eb_fmjfvHxRsen3Vkhqrru-ZzUCwN4CM1bFJNNPNgz7EBWRQNr8ib1TW2e7Y1ZP97N6f1LpZxQ6NyTqfEovbAdGygZoE6ORCZk7SRz1qIhrs/s640/2013-05-20+19.59.40.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The top board is 4' wide and sits atop the cart where the plotter was. The steel frame had two rows of screws along the inner sides for a basket; I decided to expand to two additional shelves, using angle brackets to hold up the shelving, which had to be cut a little over 10 inches to fit in the smaller width.<br />
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This photo shows the back, with a power strip mounted underneath the back with wire guides allowing the cord to go to the side and down.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4TcEpL76jZNLelm22CTuoG8EmrctNIc2oHwtGlipC52p0xmE0s3ef12gf28cI_XFlw1w8xPvQKqOhgYkhvEynkW3kQ_Qf8LA9mt7gxQRfrArkBNZ_04a6lpDV4DSGI07f_2qvquQy3mo/s1600/2013-05-20+19.59.56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4TcEpL76jZNLelm22CTuoG8EmrctNIc2oHwtGlipC52p0xmE0s3ef12gf28cI_XFlw1w8xPvQKqOhgYkhvEynkW3kQ_Qf8LA9mt7gxQRfrArkBNZ_04a6lpDV4DSGI07f_2qvquQy3mo/s640/2013-05-20+19.59.56.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here's the finished result with several CoCos and Ataris.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmqloaIXzDhoCi3wEPcee7fBRHc2evXBVfFi0HIUQ4RLTNI2u3GpC4KGrs9fr6UGrr3EyPMtW2FSJ4pH8pJeVph8VYXXqxKzgubAhRqNG-e5fMrSWwlCFDXkuWC_vNRRQSKzS-fTpFhRw/s1600/2013-05-20+20.05.24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmqloaIXzDhoCi3wEPcee7fBRHc2evXBVfFi0HIUQ4RLTNI2u3GpC4KGrs9fr6UGrr3EyPMtW2FSJ4pH8pJeVph8VYXXqxKzgubAhRqNG-e5fMrSWwlCFDXkuWC_vNRRQSKzS-fTpFhRw/s640/2013-05-20+20.05.24.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The next steps are:</div>
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<ol>
<li>Add a monitor stand.</li>
<li>Find a way to keep the machines locked down. Right now they are just sitting atop the shelving.</li>
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<br />jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11031266315422011010noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1726451980054066682.post-63358825337527742732013-05-10T07:13:00.002-07:002013-05-10T07:13:42.254-07:00The Mystery...<i>T'was once a mystery,</i><br />
<i>in the CoCo Community.</i><br />
<i>Except for a glance,</i><br />
<i>they looked askance,</i><br />
<i>that the machine they could not see.</i><br />
<br />jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11031266315422011010noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1726451980054066682.post-53144281610151079632013-05-07T18:27:00.002-07:002013-05-07T18:27:53.705-07:00Searching for a Transformer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I'm in search of a replacement transformer for a later model CoCo 1. Below are several pictures of the transformer assembly, which contains the transformer as well as the printed circuit board and electronic components.</div>
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What I really need is the actual transformer itself, but am willing to take the entire assembly too. The transformer secondary is rated to output 33.5VAC and 16.3VAC. The printed circuit board drops the voltage down to 18VAC and also uses a rectifier to output 9VDC.</div>
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If you have a working spare CoCo 1 power supply, even if it doesn't look exactly like this, please let me know.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioR9ujiyu1Vw7QQlq5IsRn2aTW5rEz-OybhUwuFbLr7pqol3WrNgrypm37xGXNZBG4-wsS0YqLv2WUmaJ2l6dy0qZAZf-zyCcSdaiT3_4CdBAo32Eh4rZ0csc1Heote00z-nH8ImieHE4/s1600/IMG_1939.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioR9ujiyu1Vw7QQlq5IsRn2aTW5rEz-OybhUwuFbLr7pqol3WrNgrypm37xGXNZBG4-wsS0YqLv2WUmaJ2l6dy0qZAZf-zyCcSdaiT3_4CdBAo32Eh4rZ0csc1Heote00z-nH8ImieHE4/s320/IMG_1939.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhecvFp73BMujwwcW_VF-qY9fFOYe99kPOy8CPrn6zgEbtVvkzqE6dT2TsN6XjkVKlszatzOgy8g4HGlMR6UNP6EAAWh01Drodi6WKg81_s5rvPw6HmAswivnmWHXIRuhRbzLOTR4ESy9Q/s1600/IMG_1941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhecvFp73BMujwwcW_VF-qY9fFOYe99kPOy8CPrn6zgEbtVvkzqE6dT2TsN6XjkVKlszatzOgy8g4HGlMR6UNP6EAAWh01Drodi6WKg81_s5rvPw6HmAswivnmWHXIRuhRbzLOTR4ESy9Q/s320/IMG_1941.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11031266315422011010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1726451980054066682.post-38265972388437809762013-05-07T18:20:00.005-07:002013-05-07T18:20:40.301-07:00Welcome!Welcome to my blog! I'll post on various and sundry topics related to the Tandy Color Computer (also known as the TRS-80 Color Computer and Radio Shack Color Computer.)jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11031266315422011010noreply@blogger.com0