Tandy Computers: Details and History

Although Tandy, the former parent company of Radio Shack, is no longer manufacturing computers, it played an important role in the computer industry during the 1980s and '90s. Many Tandy computers are still in use today, along with active user groups and related websites.

Tandy's first major line of computers was the TRS-80. These computers ranged from large all-in-one units with built-in monitors (Model III, IV, etc.) to small desktop computers (Color Computer I, II, III) and laptops (Model 100, 102, 200). The TRS-80 laptops remain popular even today among some journalists. Pocket computers which resembled large calculators were also sold under the TRS-80 name (PC-2, PC-3, etc). There are a number of websites about TRS-80s, such as trs-80.com. Some of these computers, like the Model 200 and Color Computer 3, are still fairly valuable on eBay. They can sometimes be found at garage sales and thrift shops as well.

The 2nd major line of Tandy computers was the Tandy 1000 series, which were IBM-compatible. They ranged from the original 4.77MHz 1000 to the 25MHz 1000 RSX, which had a 386 processor and VGA graphics. Despite being made in the United States, their prices and features were quite competitive with those of IBM. Because of this, many are still in use, they can usually be found on eBay.com, and a Tandy 1000 user group remains active on Yahoo! Groups. Most Tandy 1000 models (including the SX, TX, and TL) were traditional desktop-style units with separate keyboards and monitors. The RL, RLX, and RSX were more compact, while the HX and EX had built-in keyboards. Some distinctive features of the Tandy 1000 series were their special sound capabilities and the inclusion of MS-DOS in ROM on some models, eliminating the need for an operating system on the disk or hard drive.

Other less well-known Tandy models included the 2000 (one of the few 186 computers), the 1400 LT (a laptop), the Sensation! (a 486 desktop) and the 5000 MC (an early 386). A few 1500HD and 1100FD/HD laptops are still being used, but they weren't as popular as some of Tandy's earlier laptops. Some of the more recent Tandy models have processors as fast as 486DX2, and a few models like the 3200 can be upgraded to a Pentium. Such computers can occasionally be found on eBay.com or in classified listings, but are less common than the 1000 series or TRS-80 models.

Tandy also manufactured a variety of computer accessories and supplies, including printers, pointing devices, disks, software, and other items. Some of these were sold under the Radio Shack brand name. One of Tandy's more memorable software products was DeskMate, an efficient GUI of which several different versions were released. Some Tandy computers like the 1000 RLX had part of DeskMate installed in ROM so that they could always boot to it (optionally) or open it from a DOS prompt. DeskMate included a word processor, sound and music programs, a drawing program, and other applications. Additional programs which could run from it were made by Tandy and some third-party software manufacturers, similarly to software of the same time period which required Windows 3.x.

According to Wikipedia.org, Tandy was renamed "RadioShack Corporation" in May, 2000 - some time after the production of Tandy computers had come to an end. Nonetheless, Tandy computers, accessories, and software are likely to remain in use for many years to come, thanks to their reliability, unique features, and original popularity.