February 16, 2025 – What have I been up to

The Software Archive is unwieldy. Between SUPERZAP and BASIC, so many files were modified by the various users resulting a slightly different versions of otherwise identical files.

In attempting to weed through all these, I realized that I needed to be more descriptive in each filename, so that duplicates could be sussed out.

This entails running every piece of software in the archive, figuring out something that would quickly distinguish one version of, let’s say, Star Trek or Othello or Poker, from another, and re-labeling the ZIP with that note. Then, seeing which files have the same label and running them again to see if they are identical and, if so, merging them into a single ZIP file instead of having multiple ZIP files. Then running them all again to get screen shots.

This exercise also allows for discovery of previously missing information, like an embedded author’s name in one copy that was removed from another.

So that’s what’s going on. It is a drastic renaming and recommenting of the archive, but with a reduction in ‘Author Unknown’ and duplicate entries.

… and it also lets me program, something I don’t otherwise do, in developing all the tools and batch files I need to make this jobs somewhat easier. VB6 still works fine under Windows 11, thank goodness!

February 3, 2025 – Modern Replacement Parts

Marcel Erz, through his Retrostack github page, has put together a lot of modern replacements for TRS-80 Model I/III/4 parts, including motherboards, ROMs, character generators, and various plastic parts.

As of this posting, the site includes:

  • Model I:
    • Motherboards: Revision A, D, E, G
    • ROMs: Broken out into 2×64, 2×128, 2×256, and 2×512
    • Keyboards: ALPS and MX
    • Power Supply with 3-D Printable Enclosure
    • Mods: XRX-III
    • Adapters: Keyboard, ROM, and Character Generator
    • 3-D Printable Parts
  • Model III and 4:
    • Keyboard Adapter
    • 3-D Printable Parts

February 2, 2025 – Greaseweazle Driver Update

Greaseweazel hardware

Quentin Barnes has released an update to his Greaseweazle software, now at version 0.0.1.beta.1. Supported is Windows 32 and 64 bit varieties, and Linux Aarch64, Arm7L and x86/x64.

IMHO, he is being very conservative with his numbering – the program works perfectly.

You can download it from Quentin’s GITHUB at
https://github.com/qbarnes/gw2dmk/releases/tag/v0.0.1.beta.1 or all compiled in one zip here.

If you are dumping your own images, please consider sending them over to me for addition to the archive.

January 22, 2024 – New Software Manuals thanks to Tom Bourke

Title: EnhComp Enhanced Basic Compiler Development System
Publisher: Philip Oliver
Year: 1986
Size: 113,813,889
Pages: 191
Title: LS-Utility
Publisher: Misosys
Year: 1984
Size: 30,338,491
Pages: 30
Notes: [L-32-150]
Title: MC C-Language Compiler v1.6
Publisher: Misosys
Year: 1985
Size: 267,958,512
Pages: 363
Title: Pro-ADE
Publisher: Misosys
Year: 1984
Size: 16,662,505
Pages: 16
Title: Relocating Macro Assembler Development System
Publisher: Misosys
Year: 1985
Size: 92,189,668
Pages: 105