Tandy Tech Track
Tandy Tech Track is our special Friday event which consists of a set of highly-technical and informative classes taught by some of the leading figures in the vintage Tandy Radio Shack TRS-80 community. The Tech Track classes will be held in the speakers room. There is an additional cost to attend Tandy Tech Track on Friday.
Fees
- Tandy Tech Track Attendee: $30 includes one entry fee for all 3 days
- Tandy Tech Track Exhibitor: $50 includes one exhibitor table and one entry fee for all 3 days
- All proceeds pay for the costs of running the event.
Please pay via PayPal to tandyassembly@gmail.com
The Classes
TTT101
Title: Vintage Computer Repair 201 - Advanced Diagnostic Techniques
Instructor: Jeff Birt
Abstract: Following on from last year’s Vintage Computer Repair 101 presentation we cover more advanced diagnostic techniques in more detail. Topics covered will include: Test ROM/harness use, Resistance signature testing, Signature analysis, Finding short circuits, NOP generator and Processor/ROM simulators.
Bio: Jeff was born Woodstock, Ohio and now resides in Rolla, Missouri. He runs the popular YouTube channel "Hey Birt!"
TTT102
Title: Modern App Development for the TRS-80
Instructor: Arno Puder and Lawrence Kesteloot
Abstract: Arno and Lawrence will demonstrate how to compile C programs for the TRS-80, a useful new C library for networking and building user interfaces, and an assembly language IDE for fast iterative development.
Bio: Arno Puder's first computer was a Videogenie that laid the foundation for a lifelong passion for everything related to ones and zeros. A few years ago he became interested in retro computing. He started a popular TRS-80 emulator for Android as well as the general purpose I/O card TRS-IO. Lawrence's first computer was a borrowed Model I in elementary school. Lately, in an effort to recover his old programs, he's been developing a suite of TRS-80 software tools, including a file converter, a simulator, a cassette decoder, and an IDE.
TTT103
Title: The Dick Smith System 80 / PMC-80/81 / Video Genie
Instructors: Ian Mavric and Eric Dittman
Abstract: The Dick Smith System 80, which was sold in the USA as the PMC-80/81 and Europe as the Video Genie, was a cheaper mostly compatible entry to TRS-80 computing. I talk about it's golden years from 1980-83. I also discuss some of the aspects to be considered when buying and repairing one.
Bio: Ian is the only person to win the TA trivia competition 3 times in a row. Ian's encyclopedic knowledge of TRS-80s makes him a natural for explaining the history of these vintage computers. His presentation style is always amusing and slightly irreverent, with lots of interesting facts and personal stories thrown in for good measure. Eric is an avid TRS-80 collector with an emphasis on clones. He was introduced to the TRS-80 Model I in high school and his first personal computer was a Model I clone he built in college.
TTT104
Title: Using an Oscilloscope to Troubleshoot TRS-80s
Instructor: Tim Halloran
Abstract: You have a non-functional Model 1 or CoCo 2 and it doesn't go. What can you do? This talk will introduce using an oscilloscope to help diagnose retro computer problems. I'll demo an analog oscilloscope (a Tektronix 2225), a digital oscilloscope (a Rigol MS05104) as well as a Saleae Logic 8 (a logic analyzer with analog capability). This talk will introduce the basics to get you going. I'm a Software Engineer not an Electrical Engineer. But my hope is to get some basic information out and pass along a bit of what I've learned from so many EEs and experts in our community.
Bio: Tim Halloran has a Ph.D. in Software Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, a M.S. in Computer Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology, and a B.S. in Computer Science from the Air Force Academy. He has 30 year of experience in the software development industry. A relatively recent arrival to the TRS-80 retro computing community, Tim tries to focus on software, but keeping his machines going has created big hardware distractions.
TTT105
Title: Extending CoCo BASIC’s Vocabulary
Instructor: Brendan Donahe
Abstract: To make CoCoVGA enhanced features more accessible to BASIC programmers, I recently created a set of patches for 64k CoCo 1 or 2 users which adds commands to Extended Color BASIC for this purpose. This software project is split into two parts, a loader which puts the CoCo in all-RAM mode and copies the ROM into RAM, and the patch itself, which the loader places in upper memory, out of the way of the programmer. Additionally, in some situations, it is necessary to dynamically overlay patches atop the BASIC code image. This project was written in a mix of C (with CMOC) and assembly language.
Bio: Brendan grew up with a 64k CoCo 2 (among a few other microcomputers), learned BASIC and 6809 assembly language, and earned the title "that guy whose Mom DIDN'T throw away his computer collection" from his colleagues. In the past few decades, Brendan has turned to hardware and low-level software projects to help keep himself 'sane'. When he is not hacking for fun, he keeps busy designing or verifying microprocessors such as those used in early 2000s PowerPC G4 Macs, the Nintendo Switch, and various smartwatches.