Welcome back to part 13 of my fourth SepTandy Spectacular. In the last post we took a look at the Model 100's Disk Drives and Printers. In this entry we move on to the Model 100's miscellaneous peripherals and add ons.
First up is the Mikrokolor by Andreasen’s Electronics Research & Development, Inc., Released in 1983, at a retail price of 195.00 dollars for a kit, or fully assembled for $235.00 dollars.
Much like the Disk/Video Interface, it allowed the Model 100 to be used with a separate monitor or television. But unlike the Disk/Video Interface, the Mikrokolor could display graphics in color instead of monochrome.
Its very similar to the the CHROMAtrs and the Micromint E-Z Color interfaces for the TRS-80, inn that it used the Texas Instruments TMS9918A to provide a color graphics resolution of 256 by 192 with 16 colors and 32 sprites on a color monitor or television. In fact, it actually got its start as a project. in a two part series of articles called “The 80 Goes Color” in the May and June 1983 issues of 80 Micro Magazine, which described how a user could get parts to build the Mikrokolor for $150.00 and attach it to a Model I or III. When the Mikrokolor was released commercially, versions were also made for the Model I and Model III, and the Model 4, Model 12, S-100 bus based computers and the Apple II as well.
By December of 1983 the price increased to $335.00 dollars assembled and $295.00 dollars for a kit, however was still advertised in magazines until 1984.
Next up we have the Micro Joystick Interface by Susie Software, Released in 1984, at a retail price of $84.95 for a kit, or fully assembled for $84.95 dollars.
With this, you could plug a mini joystick into your Model 100 and use for controlling games and other applications. The device came as is with the joystick, documentation, a cassette with both demo software and an audio guide, and instructions to convert existing software to work with the interface.
Alongside it, Susie Software also released a few pieces of software that were compatible with the device, including some productivity software and a flight simulator. But presumably because it was more of a niche product it never sold well.
For other third storage options, there was the CP/M 2.2 Companion by Companion Computers, released in 1984 for $1095.00 dollars.
Like the PMC MicroMate, it was designed to both work a disk drive and add CP/M capability to the Model 100. But unlike the PMC MicroMate, the controller was a lot more flexible and was able to read disks from other CP/M computers like the Osborne 1, the Kaypro, the Morrow Micro Decision, and even the IBM PC. But much like the MicroMate, it had very little sales and was off the marekt quickly.
Next we have the A&J MicroDrive System-100 by Susie Software, Released in 1984, at a retail price of $84.95 for a kit, or fully assembled for $84.95 dollars.
The drive was nearly identical to the Exatron Stringy Floppy, and as such used the same wafer tape to provide faster loading than cassette, while being less expensive than a floppy drive. But much like other wafer tape drives of the time, it was also very unreliable, and was not popular at all.
Next we have the A&J MicroDrive System-100 by A&J MicroDrive, Released in 1984, at a retail price of $84.95 for a kit, or fully assembled for $84.95 dollars.
The drive was nearly identical to the Exatron Stringy Floppy, and as such used the same wafer tape to provide faster loading than cassette, while being less expensive than a floppy drive. But much like other wafer tape drives of the time, it was also very unreliable, and was not popular at all.
And finally we have the Sound Sight bubble memory system by Sound Sight, released in 1984, for $1050 dollars.
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The device was unique in that it used bubble memory cartriges, which has an interesting back story. The technology was developed in the 1960s, and by the 1970's and 80's, it was often said by tech experts to be the wave of the future when it came to data storage.
It was a non volatile RAM system that utilized small cartriges containing small magnetic domains called bubbles within a thin magnetic film. the benefit was that it had no moving parts and was exceptionally reliable. But the downside was that it was very expensive, which limited usage to niche applications requiring dependability.
And with that weve reached the end for today again. In conlusion, while the Model 100 was expandable, most opted for basic upgrades like RAM, where as adding things like video and CP/M capability was delicated for the few that needed it. but still they make for some interesting historical pieces none the less. This concludes part 13 of my Septandy Spectacular, Join Me next time as we move to the MC-10 and talk about its periferals.
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