New Toy, Yikes it wants batteries

From: liste_at_artware.qc.ca <(liste_at_artware.qc.ca)>
Date: Sun Apr 16 11:31:51 2000

On 15-Apr-2000 Mike Ford wrote:
> New Toy
> I found a TRS 80 pocket computer in the original box with software
> manual and cassette interface. Cute little monster, but it wants to eat
> Type 675 batteries at a rate of 4/300 hours. It warns against using a
> type 675E, but Radio Shack carried neither a plain 675 or a 675E, just
> a "replacement" for a whole slew (hee hee) of 675 this or thats called
> a RS675. Any ideas on a common modern equivalent battery? I bought one
> feeding of 4, and the thing comes right up, but regular feeding needs
> to be on a bargain brand of battery chow.

You dog! I've been looking for a cassette interface for one of those for
a year now.

The PC-2 (pocket computer) was the first computer I ever programmed.
It's a pretty full-featured scientific calculator that you can also
program in BASIC. They are in fact re"branded" Sharp pocket computers. In
fact, Sharp still makes pocket computers, only nowadays they have
agenda/phone book/stuff and aren't programmable in BASIC via a tiny QWERTY
keyboard.

What model do you have? I have a Sharp PC-1403H... with 32KB RAM! I
bought 2 of them for 20 $ CAD each in a thrift shop. They were sold as-is,
without manual, interface, nothing. I gave one to my brother. We are
both searching high and low for the manual. I took mine apart and notice
there's a pezo speaker in it. Only I haven't found out how to use it.
Ideally, I want to write a video game for it :)

About batteries : are you talking about batteries in the interface or in
the PC itself? Mine came w/ 2x Sharp CR-2032 batteries. I had some
problems with it, so I went to a watch store to get replacements to see if
the battery was the problem (it wasn't, it was the power switch that had
been put back on wrong) and am now using Renata CR-2032.

When I bought mine, it had a program in memory for calculating taxes or
something. I had to use the ALL RESET function to clear it from RAM and
be allowed to program in BASIC. I'm wondering if this wasn't written in
assembler or something.

-Philip

PS : be very wary taking it apart. The keycaps aren't attached to
anything and will all fall out if you aren't careful :)
Received on Sun Apr 16 2000 - 11:31:51 BST