Welcome back to part 9 of my fourth SepTandy Spectacular. In the last post we the wrap up our look at the Coco with the many miscellaneous peripherals and add ons for it. In this post we move on to the Pocket Computer Line. Now unlike the previous Tandy computer's we've looked at, the Pocket Computers didnt really have as many add ons and peripherals due to its size and the market it was aimed at. So there weren't really any disk drives or modems or joystick interfaces. Really the main type of periferal designed for these were the docking stations and thats what were focusing on today.
Starting off with the PC-1, initially, there was only one docking station available at launch, and that was the Pocket Computer Cassette Interface (Catalog number 26-3503), Released along side it in 1980, at a retail price of $49.00 dollars.
A listing for the Cassette Interface docking station and the accompanying Minisette-9 cassette recorder in the 1981 Radio Shack Catalog
Much like the Pocket Computer itself, it was an OEM version of the Cassette Interface for the Sharp PC-1211, known as the Sharp CE-121.
The Sharp CE-121
The Interface itself is pretty basic as you would imagine. The only connectors are for the the computer itself, and the 3 jacks for hooking up a cassette recorder.
The front of the Cassette Interface
And on the back you have the model information sticker an the battery compartment with the device taking 3 AA batteries
The back of the Cassette Interface
Also sold along side the Cassette Interface was the accompanying Minisette 9 cassette recorder (Catalog number 14-812), also introduced in 1980, for $79.95.
A listing for the Minisette-9 cassette recorder in the 1981 Radio Shack Catalog
On the top you have the cassette door, the speaker, a tape speed ajustment hole, the controls: Stop/Eject, Record, Play, Rewind, Fast Forward, and pause. a tape counter, Recording volume/battery LED, and condenser microphone
The top of Minisette-9 Cassette Recorder
On the front you just have the carry strap, theres no built in plastic handle.
The front of Minisette-9 Cassette Recorder
On the left side you have a 6V DC Power Jack, Earphone in, Remote In, Microphone In, and one of the pegs for the strap.
The left side of Minisette-9 Cassette Recorder
On the back you have a DC Power Jack for plugging into a wall instead of bateries.
The back of Minisette-9 Cassette Recorder
On the right side you have 2 knobs for volume and tone, and another one of the pegs for the strap. The Minisette-9 is unique as it was the only cassette recorder sold for a Tandy computer that had a tone knob!
The right side of Minisette-9 Cassette Recorder
And on the bottom you have the battery compartment for slotting in 4 AA's, a speaker grill, and the model information sticker..
The Bottom of Minisette-9 Cassette Recorder
The Cassette Interface was really the only docking station available, and while it was fine for users that just needed to load and save programs on cassette, some still wanted a way to print out the calculations. The solution was the Cassette/Printer Interface (Catalog number 26-3505), introduced 1981, at a retail price of $149.95.
A listing for the Printer/Cassette Interface docking station listing in the 1982 Radio Shack Catalog
It was also an OEM of a periferal for the Sharp 1211, the Sharp CE-122.
The Sharp CE-122
On the top you have the built in dot matrix printer with the paper eject on the side, a low battery light, paper feed button, remote switch, power switch, and the connector for the computer.
The front of the Cassette/Printer Interface
On the back you have the model information markings.
The bottom of the Cassette/Printer Interface
You'll notice that there's no battery compartment, that's because the Cassette/Printer comes with a built in rechargeable lithium Ion battery. While that may have been convenient back in 1981, unfortunately very few today either have leaked or no longer hold a charge.
Next for the PC-2 is the Printer/Plotter/Cassette Interface (Catalog number 26-3606), introduced in 1982, for $239.95.
A listing for the the Printer/Plotter/Cassette Interface in the 1983 Radio Shack Catalog
Once again a OEM from Sharp, in this case, The Sharp version was sold as the Sharp CE-150.
The Sharp CE-150
Next for the PC-3 there was the Printer Cassette Interface (Catalog number 26-3591), introduced in 1983, for $99.95.
A listing for the Pocket Computer 3's Printer Cassette Interface in the 1984 Radio Shack Catalog
On the top you have the built in dot matrix printer with the paper eject on the side, a low battery light, paper feed button, remote switch, power switch, and the connector for the computer.
The front of the Printer Cassette Interface
On the right side you have the Earphone in, Remote In, Microphone In, and DC power jack.
The back of the Printer Cassette Interface
And on the bottom you have the model information markings.
The bottom of the Printer Cassette Interface Interface
For this we go back to Dot Matrix again. In fact, the rest of the built in printers are dot matrix, Which is slightly odd but thats just how these are.
Next for the PC-4,5, and 6 there was the Cassette Interface and Printer Interface, both introduced in 1984, for $39.95 and $79.95 respectfully.
A listing for the Pocket Computer 4's Printer Cassette Interface in the 1984 Radio Shack Catalog
These were OEM's of the The Casio FA-3 Tape interface and The Casio FP-12 Printer Interface respectfully.
Left to right: The Casio FA-3 Tape interface and The Casio FP-12 Printer Interface
This is interesting as it uses a modular approach, you could ither have just the cassette interface, just the printer interface, or both plugged in and while it is compatible with the 5 and 6, it needs a special cable to do that.
The front of the Printer Cassette Interface
Finally there was the PC-8 Cassette Interface/Printer (Catalog number 26-3591), Introduced in 1987, and retailing for $119.95.
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The listing for the PC-8 Cassette Interface/Printer in the 1988 Radio Shack Catalog
The Interface is identical to the one for the PC-3, and is even compatible with it, so presumably you could theroetically use the Sharp CE-125, but im not too sure
The Cassette Interface/Printer
What I am sure about is that there were many docking stations available for the Pocket Computers and we've only scratched the surface. This concludes Part 9 of the fourth Septandy Spectacular, join me next time as we move forward to 1981, and take a closer look at the Pocket Computer's Miscellaneous add ons.
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