The TRS-80 MC-10

microcomputer A microcomputer is a small, relatively inexpensive computer having a central processing unit (CPU) made out of a microprocessor. The computer also includes memory and input/output (I/O) circuitry together mounted on a printed circuit board (P ...

is a lesser-known member of the

TRS-80 The TRS-80 Micro Computer System (TRS-80, later renamed the Model I to distinguish it from successors) is a desktop microcomputer developed by American company Tandy Corporation and sold through their Radio Shack stores. Launched in 1977, it is ...

line of

home computer Home computers were a class of microcomputers that entered the market in 1977 and became common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a s ...

s, produced by

Tandy Corporation Tandy Corporation was an American family-owned Retail, retailer based in Fort Worth, Texas that made leather goods, operated the RadioShack chain, and later built personal computers. Tandy Leather was founded in 1919 as a leather supply store ...

in the early 1980s and sold through their

RadioShack RadioShack (formerly written as Radio Shack) is an American electronics retailer that was established in 1921 as an amateur radio mail-order business. Its parent company was purchased by Tandy Corporation in 1962, which shifted its focus from ma ...

chain of electronics stores. It was a low-cost alternative to Tandy's own

TRS-80 Color Computer The RadioShack TRS-80 Color Computer, later marketed as the Tandy Color Computer, is a series of home computers developed and sold by Tandy Corporation. Despite sharing a name with the earlier TRS-80, the Color Computer is a completely different ...

to compete with entry-level machines such as the

VIC-20 The VIC-20 (known as the VC-20 in Germany and the VIC-1001 in Japan) is an 8-bit entry level home computer that was sold by Commodore International, Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commod ...

and

Sinclair ZX81 The ZX81 is a home computer that was produced by Sinclair Research and manufactured in Dundee, Scotland, by Timex Corporation. It was launched in the United Kingdom in March 1981 as the successor to Sinclair's ZX80 and designed to be a low- ...

. The MC-10 was of value primarily to

hobbyists A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing other ...

and as an introduction to

computer programming Computer programming or coding is the composition of sequences of instructions, called computer program, programs, that computers can follow to perform tasks. It involves designing and implementing algorithms, step-by-step specifications of proc ...

.It was not a commercial success and was discontinued only a year after its introduction.

Description

About the size of a hardcover book, the MC-10 has four

kilobyte The kilobyte is a multiple of the unit byte for Computer data storage, digital information. The International System of Units (SI) defines the prefix ''kilo-, kilo'' as a multiplication factor of 1000 (103); therefore, one kilobyte is 1000&nbs ...

s of RAM, a Motorola MC6803 eight-bit

microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor (computing), processor for which the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit (IC), or a small number of ICs. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, a ...

, a built-in serial port, and graphics capabilities similar to those of the original

Color Computer The RadioShack TRS-80 Color Computer, later marketed as the Tandy Color Computer, is a series of home computers developed and sold by Tandy Corporation. Despite sharing a name with the earlier TRS-80, the Color Computer is a completely different ...

(provided by the same

MC6847 The MC6847 is a Video Display Generator (VDG) first introduced by Motorola in 1978 and used in the TRS-80 Color Computer, Dragon 32/64, Laser 200, TRS-80 MC-10/ Matra Alice, NEC PC-6000 series, Acorn Atom, Gakken Compact Vision TV Boy an ...

video display generator). The MC-10 includes a

BASIC Basic or BASIC may refer to: Science and technology * BASIC, a computer programming language * Basic (chemistry), having the properties of a base * Basic access authentication, in HTTP Entertainment * Basic (film), ''Basic'' (film), a 2003 film ...

interpreter in

ROM Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...

and uses regular

audio cassette The Compact Cassette, also commonly called a cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog audio, analog magnetic tape recording format for Sound recording and reproduction, audio recording and playback. Invented by L ...

s for bulk storage. Text and graphics are displayed on a

television set A television set or television receiver (more commonly called TV, TV set, television, telly, or tele) is an electronic device for viewing and hearing television broadcasts, or as a computer monitor. It combines a tuner, display, and loudspeake ...

via a built-in

RF modulator An RF modulator (radio frequency modulator) is an electronic device used to convert signals from devices such as media players, VCRs and game consoles to a format that can be handled by a device designed to receive a modulated RF input, such ...

. Less common for machines in its class is the integrated

RS-232 In telecommunications, RS-232 or Recommended Standard 232 is a standard introduced in 1960 for serial communication transmission of data. It formally defines signals connecting between a ''DTE'' (''data terminal equipment'') such as a compu ...

serial port A serial port is a serial communication Interface (computing), interface through which information transfers in or out sequentially one bit at a time. This is in contrast to a parallel port, which communicates multiple bits simultaneously in Pa ...

, which allows the MC-10 to use

line printer A line printer Printer (computing), prints one entire line of text before advancing to another line. Most early line printers were printer (computing)#Impact printers, impact printers. Line printers are mostly associated with unit record eq ...

s and

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s without additional hardware. At the time of its release in 1983, the MC-10's specifications were underwhelming (at least for its home market; North America).

Disk drives Data storage is the recording (storing) of information (data) in a storage medium. Handwriting, phonographic recording, magnetic tape, and optical discs are all examples of storage media. Biological molecules such as RNA and DNA are cons ...

, full-travel

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mus ...

s, medium-resolution graphics, and complete 64-kilobyte memory banks were becoming popular features for home computers; the MC-10 offered none of these, severely limiting the functions it could perform and the range of users to whom it could appeal. The MC-10 was discontinued in 1984, along with the 16 KB memory upgrade and small amount of cassette-based software that had been released for it.

Specifications

* VDG:

** Text: 32×16 ** Low-res: 64×32, 8 color (4 bpp) ** Low-res: 64×48, 2 color (not fully implemented) ** Low-res: 64×64, 4 color (2 bpp) ** Med-res: 128×64, 2 color (1 bpp) ** Med-res: 128×64, 4 color (2 bpp) ** Med-hi: 128×96, 2 color (1 bpp) ** Med-hi: 128×96, 4 color (2 bpp) ** Hi-res: 128×192, 2 color (1 bpp) ** Hi-res: 128×192, 4 color (2 bpp) (partially supported, insufficient video RAM) ** Hi-res: 256×192, 2 color (1 bpp) (partially supported, insufficient video RAM) * I/O Ports: ** RS-232C

serial interface A serial port is a serial communication interface through which information transfers in or out sequentially one bit at a time. This is in contrast to a parallel port, which communicates multiple bits simultaneously in parallel. Throughout mo ...

(300-9600

baud In telecommunications and electronics, baud (; symbol: Bd) is a common unit of measurement of symbol rate, which is one of the components that determine the speed of communication over a data channel. It is the unit for symbol rate or modulat ...

; 600 baud from

) ** Cassette interface (1500 baud) ** Internal RF modulator ** Memory expansion interface Although the memory expansion interface connected directly to the CPU bus and could have been used for many applications, the

edge connector An edge connector is the portion of a printed circuit board (PCB) consisting of signal trace, traces leading to the edge of the board that are intended to plug into a matching jack (connector), socket. The edge connector is a money-saving devic ...

involved had an unusual number of pins and was difficult to obtain. The RS-232C serial interface had extremely limited usefulness. Although the 6803 CPU conveniently includes a built-in

UART A universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter (UART ) is a peripheral device for asynchronous serial communication in which the data format and transmission speeds are configurable. It sends data bits one by one, from the least significant to ...

, it was left unconnected and did not assist the RS-232C interface in any manner. In part, this is because a single 3.58 MHz TV colorburst crystal is used to generate video and clock the CPU, and this

clock rate Clock rate or clock speed in computing typically refers to the frequency at which the clock generator of a processor can generate pulses used to synchronize the operations of its components. It is used as an indicator of the processor's s ...

could not be divided by an

integer An integer is the number zero (0), a positive natural number (1, 2, 3, ...), or the negation of a positive natural number (−1, −2, −3, ...). The negations or additive inverses of the positive natural numbers are referred to as negative in ...

to obtain any standard baud rate for the UART. As a result, programs have to shift bits individually into and out of the RS-232C interface, a mode of operation that entails atypical and especially critical timing requirements. The cassette interface has similar difficulties, plus a few. Although Micro Color Basic includes an undocumented CLOADM command for loading machine-language programs and an undocumented VARPTR function for manipulating

variables Variable may refer to: Computer science * Variable (computer science), a symbolic name associated with a value and whose associated value may be changed Mathematics * Variable (mathematics), a symbol that represents a quantity in a mathemat ...

as memory, there is no corresponding CSAVEM command (documented or otherwise) to permit machine language programs to be saved to tape.

Software

A limited amount of software was available on cassette for the MC-10, including Lunar Lander, Checkers, and a machine-language pinball program. However, as most programs written in Basic for other TRS-80 models were compatible with the MC-10, many books with BASIC programs were available for the user who was willing to type in the code.

Clone

A clone of the MC-10, the

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

, was marketed in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

through a collaboration among Tandy,

Matra Matra (an acronym for Mécanique Aviation Traction) was a major French industrial Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. Its business activities covered a wide range of industries, notably aerospace manufacturer, aerospace, defence industry, def ...

and

Hachette Hachette may refer to: * Hachette (surname) * Hachette Livre, a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hachette Fil ...

References

External links

Old-Computers.com

Browser based emulator for the MC-10

MC-10 Article at TRS-80 Color Computer Wiki
{{Authority control Home computers Computer-related introductions in 1983