Ryan's SepTandy Spectacular! 2 Part #1 - The Radio Shack TV Scoreboard

Well it's blogging time again, and It's September again! and it means another SepTandy Spectacular! Last year, in the first SepTandy Spectacular, I went through the history of Radio Shack, and their computers along with their contributions and firsts. This year, I want to conrinue where i left off at the end of the last special, where I mentioned  If I were to make another, I would talk about some of the more interesting, non computer products, like their lines of video game consoles and even various clones and licensed Tandy computers sold throughout the world, and thats what im talking about this year.

But before we begin I want to correct a statement I made last year, In the first part of last years spectacular, I said that no one on YouTube has done SepTandy since 2021, And I said that this series was meant to take up the torch. However, that's turned out to be an incorrect assumption on my part as a few YouTubers HAD done SepTandys last year. So does that mean I'm not going to continue the specials since YouTubers are doing them? Not a chance! I like looking at this kind of stuff and I feel its important to keep these ignored innovations alive. So, With that cleared up, Lets get into it!

For the first few parts of the spectacular, were going to take a look at Radio Shacks line of game consoles, and to do that, Were going to take a look at the TV Scoreboard line.

The Radio Shack TV Scoreboard line

Introduced in 1976, The TV Scoreboard line was a line of simple, inexpensive Pong Consoles sold through the chain and was Radio Shacks first dive into the video game industry.

Pong consoles refer to the game consoles made in the '70s that didn't utilize cartridges and had one or more built-in games, different variations of Pong.  While on first glance, Its seems insane to think that there can be so many game consoles designed just to play one game, but it was a big deal at the time considering that the first video game console, The Magnavox Odyssey, never sold that well, So the idea of playing a game on a tv set, let alone a popular game like Pong, was very appealing.

It all started in 1973. While Atari's Pong was dominating the CoinOp industry, the company was looking for the next big breakthrough. Nolan Bushnell, the co founder and head of Atari, was pushing the engineers to come up with new products that could become Atari's next big hit. Around the same time, the large-scale integration (or LSI) Integrated Circuit, had recently been invented. The development of these LSI chips enabled hardware manufacturers to pack thousands of transistors and other related components on a single silicon chip about the size of a baby’s fingernail, allowing for smaller, more capable electronic devices to become a reality. 

The development of LSI circuits was a breakthrough. Before this, devices required thousands of transistors and other components to make electronic devices like calculators. Compare the the pictures above of the Friden EC 130 Calculator (The First Solid State Calculator) from 1964 on the left, and the Busicom 141-PF (The first device to use the the first CPU, The intel 4004) from 1971 on the right. 

With that new development, Atari engineer Harold Lee proposed the idea of using LSI technology to covert the entire circuitry of Pong, and shrink it into a chip that could be incorporated into a consumer device which could allow people to play a home version of Pong that could connect to a standard TV set. Bushnell approved the idea and development on the console, codenamed codename Darlene (named, much like many of Atari's products back then, after an attractive female employee at Atari. Something Atari was famous for by the way!), was well underway. Pong engineer Al Alcorn worked with Lee to develop the designs and prototype and based them on the same digital technology used in the arcade game. The chip and a working prototype unit were finished in the latter half of 1974. 

The original Home Pong Prototype 

To market the product, In 1975 Atari signed a deal with Sears, Roebuck and Co. after Bushnell came across a Magnavox Odyssey advertisement in the sporting goods section of its catalog as well as overhearing that they had put a consumer pinball machine in the sporting goods department. Tom Quinn, A buying representative for Sears, was enthusiastic about the product and after a meeting with company executives at the Sears Tower in Chicago, obtained approval. After gaining some extra cash to produce an order of 150,000 units from Sears, Atari's home Pong console shipped in the fall of 1975, just in time for the holiday season. It proved to be an instant hit, selling all 150,000 units by the end of the year. 

Left to right:  An early unit sold by Sears sold under the "Tele-Games" brand (1975) and the later Atari branded unit (1976) (Fun Fact: The deal started a good business relationship between Atari and Sears, as Atari continued to license their consoles to Sears to sell under the "Tele-Games name")

With Its success, Other companies naturally sought to do something similar, But due to the Atari chips were not available to other manufacturers, It limited the possibility. However, there was nothing stopping other companies from making a similar chip and that's what happened. By 1976, there were numerous manufactures making "Pong On A Chip" ICs, But the leader in that field was General Instrument Microelectronics, also known as General Instruments (Or GI).

They were founded in 1923, and got their start manufacturing parts for radios. In the 1950s, the began a series of mergers with other electronics companies to diversify into manufacturing devices like radios, Tv sets, and early cable TV boxes. In the 1970's the were an expert as designing LSI circuits, and after seeing the interest in "Pong On A Chip" ICs, decided to make their own. The chip had began development at the GI Glenrothes plant in Scotland in 1975, at the behest of Finnish TV manufacturer Salora Oy for use in a design for a TV set (The set would release 2 years later as The Salora Playmaster, considered to be the first video game console released in Finland). The chip became very popular in Europe, So GI decided to bring the chip to the U.S. and work on an American version began at GI's plant in Hicksville, NY. and in February 1976, The AY-3-8500 went on sale in the U.S. and was an immediate success. 

Left to right:  The Salora Playmaster (1977) and the AY-3-8500 (1976) 

Dozens of manufacturers in the U.S. took advantage of the chip, With Radio Shack being one of them, Launching the TV Scoreboard line that year. The first unit in the range was the titular TV Scoreboard, Catalog item number 60-3050, launched in 1976 for $99.95 as part of its product line up for 1977.

The Radio Shack TV Scoreboard 60-3050 listing in the 1977 Radio Shack Catalog

Now other than the catalog listing, I can't actually find much information about this unit or an actual photo of one, so I don't know exactly what the unit looks like in action or if it uses the GI chip. However I have a theory that it does, as the unit looks very much the same as another pong console, The Ricochet by MicroElectronics, released around the same time.

The Ricochet by MicroElectronics (1976)

So its possible that Radio Shack either licensed it to sell under their name, or just simply copied the housing both are possible but it seems that the former seems more likely. If this is the case It's probably the only model in the range using the GI chip that was in color, as the rest of the units were simply Black and White. Its also one of the more unusual designs for a pong console, as it's not just 2 controllers, its 2 consoles! One is for Player 1, on the top has setting switches for speed, English, serving rackets, color, and the reset button. below that is the game selector switch, the paddle itself, and buttons for Pro Slam, Pro English, and Manual Serve. It also has the wires for both the second console and the RF modulator cable to hook it up to a TV, with the channel selector switch on the bottom. The other is for Player 2, and has the power switch and a sound switch to turn the sound on or off. Bellow that is the paddle, and a duplicate set of buttons for Pro Slam, Pro English, and Manual Serve. It also contains the speaker. Yes, as was typical for most Pong Consoles of the era, the sound doesn't come from the TV, but rather a speaker inside the console itself. It also contains the battery compartment, Again typical for typical for most Pong Consoles they usually ran off a few C cell batteries. There is a spot for an external AC adapter, so you can plug it into the wall.  Now I don't know why the system is designed like this, I assume it was so you and a second player could put them on your laps and play from a couch, But this is just a guess.

The Left and Right consoles of The Ricochet

Powering up the console, Your greeted with the familiar playfield, paddles and scoring system, there are four games, Tennis (Your standard Pong game), Hockey (which adds an additional paddle for both players and dividers to resemble a Hockey Rink), Racketball (Also known as Squash, Smash, or Handball on other Pong consoles, which both player hit the ball against a wall), and Ricochet (Also known as Practice or solo on other Pong consoles, Which is a 1 player version of Racketball). the switches on the Player 1 Unit select different game settings. The Speed switch adjusts the speed (Obviously) between a slow speed (Marked Normal) and a fast speed (Marked Pro), the English switch adjust the angles the ball can travel between 2 and 4, the Serve switch selects between serving the ball automatically after every loss or manually by hitting the manual serve button on each unit, Serving Rackets adjusts the size of the paddles between a large set and a small set, and the Color switch switches between a green background (labeled Court) and the traditional black background (labeled Player).

Interestingly enough, All the Scoreboard unit have the same settings, other than the color switch as well as some consoles dropping switches for cheaper units.

The next two models, also introduced in 1976, were the TV Scoreboard, Catalog item number 60-3051 and the TV Scoreboard, Catalog item number 60-3052. These weren't listed in the catalog so i dont know their exact price, but they are very much the same as the 60-3050, only they're in much more standard (Well except the 3052, its shape is still a little weird) design, and they've switched to the much more standard Black and White display. 

Left to right:  The 60-3051 and the 60-3052 (1976) 

The 60-3053 is not a console but rather a power supply after the 60-3050, which included one in the box, Radio Shack dropped including an AC adapter and instead made it an optional extra. Whether they did this as a way to get the consumer to spend more on batteries or to drop the price I don't know. 

The 60-3053

The next model was the TV Scoreboard, Catalog item number 60-3054, introduced in 1977. This was also not listed in the catalog so I don't know their exact price, but as far as I can tell it may just be a rebadged 60-3051. 

The 60-3054

The Next model was the TV Scoreboard, Catalog item number 60-3055, introduced in 1977 for $59.95.

The Radio Shack TV Scoreboard 60-3055 listing in the 1978 Radio Shack Catalog

This unit was quite a basic model as it can only play 3 games Tennis, Hockey, and Handball. It does have a unique feature though, There a small Players switch on the front that when set to one, will  allow the games to be played in solo, with both paddles of the games using the same controller.

The 60-3055

The unit is also different than the previous ones because it doesn't use the GI chip, but rather a chip from National Semiconductor, the MM-57100N, Introduced in 1976, around the same time as the AY-3-8500, and was effectively its closest competitor.

The National Semiconductor MM-57100N (1976)

As a result, the visuals are quite different. Unfortunately there is currently no emulator that I can use to simulate the MM-57100N, but I can show a video of another unit with one for demonstration.

The next model was the TV Scoreboard, Catalog item number 60-3056, Also introduced in 1977 for $39.95.

The Radio Shack TV Scoreboard 60-3056 listing in the 1978 Radio Shack Catalog

For this unit we go back to in a 60-3051 style case (with some minor differences) and the Black and White AY-3-8500 again, but this time, with lever style Paddle controllers as apposed to the dial and slider ones of previous units.

The next model was the TV Scoreboard, Catalog item number 60-3057, also introduced in 1977 for $79.95.

The Radio Shack TV Scoreboard 60-3057 listing in the 1978 Radio Shack Catalog

This is probably the only unit that has 4 player capability. there are extra controllers that plug in to back and there are extra score markers on the unit for the 2 extra players. It also has two light gun gams built in with a colt 45 styled lightgun and attachments to turn it into a riffle included.

The 60-3057

Much like the 60-3055, This unit also doesn't use the GI chip, but rather a the MPS-7600-001 a chip from a surprising source, MOS Technology. The same company that created the 6502 CPU and the KIM-1 and was bought by Commodore to become their own chip fabrication arm

The MOS MPS-7600-001 (1977) (Fun Fact: Commodore actually made their own Pong Consoles with the MOS MPS-7600-001 and related chips. However these units were only released in Europe.)

Again there is currently no emulator that I can use to simulate the MPS-7600-001, so here's another  video of a unit with one for demonstration.

The next model was the TV Scoreboard, Catalog item number 60-3060, introduced in 1978 for $29.95.

The Radio Shack TV Scoreboard 60-3060 listing in the 1979 Radio Shack Catalog

For this unit we go back to the Black and White AY-3-8500 again, but this time, in a completely new case. It looks kind of like a tv remote with a detachable paddle on the side. It also takes 6 AA batteries instead of C batteries

The 60-3060

The Last model was the TV Scoreboard, Catalog item number 60-3061, Also introduced in 1979 for $39.95.

The Radio Shack TV Scoreboard 60-3061 listing in the 1979 Radio Shack Catalog

This unit is pretty much the same as the 60-3060, only the dials and switches are black instead of blue, and it also contains some extra gun games.

The 60-3061

This is the only unit that takes full advantage of the GI chip, as the two gun games, Known as Target and Skeet, were already built into the AY-3-8500. So lets finish this look by powering up the unit shall we? 

Tandy continued to sell the TV Scoreboard line until it was dropped from Radio Shacks catalog in 1983. The Tv Scoreboard, along with its fellow Pong Console Bretherin, have quite a historical importance, not only because they where some of the first video game console that were truly successful, but also for a much more darker reason, They contributed to the industries first real Video Game Crash. 

Youve probably realized that all these Tv Scoreboard units are essentially the same just in different cases. That wasn't just the case for Radio Shack, but every other Pong Console manufacturer at the time. In 1976 alone there were 75 manufacturers making Pong Consoles and a majority of them used the GI AY-3-8500.  this lead to an oversaturation in the market leading to video games slowly losing their appeal to consumers. With Numerous Pong Consoles, A rehash of old game ideas in arcades, and new cartridge based game consoles like the Fairchild Channel F and the RCA Studio II lacking appealing games, video games were close to becoming a fad. But after the subsequent success of the Atari 2600, as well as the release of games like Space Invaders, The interest in video games came back and bigger than ever!

So this concludes my look at the The Radio Shack TV Scoreboard range and concludes Part 1 of my second Septandy Spectacular, join me next time as we move forward to 1982, and look at a Tandy console that came from an unexpected source.

Lookin at food: The Story of Twinkies

Well it's blogging time again, and today its another entry of Lookin at Food, where I take a look at a food that I’ve tried and discuss my thoughts on it. However this entry is going to start differently than the other as its not starting with the food in question, it starts with an illustration:

This is a political cartoon created by Nick Anderson for a 2012 issue of the Huston Chronicle newspaper. As you can see, It depicts a group of rabid campaigners under a giant banner bearing the words “Save the Twinkie”, and next to this large group are two people, standing alone, under a much smaller “Save the Earth” sign, of which the male says in a speech bubble, "We're Doomed.".

Now why am I showing you this? Because I once was shown this image in an English class my senior year of high school, and at the time I made the comment, "The Twinkie isn't going away.". However at the time, I was unaware that there was more to this image than meets the eye. While it is meant to tell the message of the American public efforts in standing up for seemingly unimportant things, this was created in response to something that actually almost happened. 

You see, this image comes from 2012 as I've mentioned and at the time, Hostess was about to go bankrupt and the Twinkie, as well as other Hostess treats, were on the verge of discontinuation. In fact, the situation was so severe for die hard fans that a box of Twinkies could sell for over $250,000 on Ebay. For a treat that that had been around since the Great Depression and had survived multiple wars, a threat of nuclear attack, and their manufacturer filing bankruptcy twice with employees and striking against them, The Twinkie was seeming at the end of its life. 

So how did this happen and how was this iconic little yellow slice of America saved from extinction? In order to answer that question we go back to the beginning. This is the story of Twinkies.

The story begins with a man, some strawberry shortcakes, and a wagon. In 1920, a man named James Dewar began his career at the Continental Baking Company in Schiller Park, Illinois at the age of 23 as a delivery driver. Each day, he would take loads of cream-filled strawberry shortcakes, load them into a horse drawn wagon, and deliver them all over the town. He did his job quite well, and ten years later in 1930, he was promoted all the way up to bakery plant manager. 

James Dewar in 1980

However, there was a problem. As the Great Depression hit, He came to a realization, They were losing potential sales. The reason was because when strawberries went out of season, the plant’s machinery used to make the shortcakes stopped and the expensive pans lied empty. Luckily, he came up with a solution. If they could replace the strawberries with bananas, then the production could continue year round. Inspired by a billboard for the Twinkle Toe Shoe Company he saw on a business trip, He called his snack cakes Twinkies and the treat made its debut on  April 6, 1930. 

An early ad for Twinkies (1930)

The treat proved to be a massive hit at a time when stores were boarding up nation-wide, and families were losing everything, especially money to buy food to eat, The Twinkie seemed to be a welcoming treat to provide nourishment in a dark time. But as the 1940s rolled around the snack cake got an unexpected ingredient change when America entered World War II. To support the troops in Europe and the Pacific, Soon after, The U.S. government began rationing a list of foods in short supply to ensure everyone got their fair share. And on that list was one of the key ingredients of Twinkies, Bananas. 

A photo of a fruit stand without bananas in the UK (Circa 1940s) (Trivia: The Banana rations had effected the UK severely too. In fact, many children had never had even seen bananas!)

Without one of Its key ingredients, the company was forced to make a risky move, switch the banana cream to vanilla cream. It could have severely hurt sales, but they had no other option. luckily for them, nobody seemed to mind and the change was successful. In fact, the new vanilla filling was so popular that even when bananas were available again, they decide to make the change permanent. The success continued into the next decade as well. As more and more TV sets began to fill homes in the 1950s, Continental decided to increase the awareness of Twinkies by partnering with one of the first children’s shows on TV, and arguably the most popular of its time: “The Howdy Doody Show” Not only did the show air ads for Twinkies, but the host, Buffalo Bob, encouraged kids to ask their moms to buy them. 

A Twinkies sponsor segment in The Howdy Doody Show (1958)

It seemed like Twinkies were on top of the world and that success continued to grow, even in dark times. As the 1960s rolled around, The Cold War began. Nations became torn between the United States and the Soviet Union, It became a battle of East vs. West. And every day, the threat of a nuclear war seemed to be a frighteningly real possibility for average people. In these uncertain times, the U.S. government urged citizens to duck and cover and prepare for possible nuclear attacks.  So, many Americans decided to built bomb shelters in their backyards or under their homes and stockpiled supplies and food. 

The family of Navy Lt. Cmdr. Thomas W. Robinson preparing to enter an underground bomb shelter at Parks Air Force Base near Pleasanton, Calif. (1960)

As they thought about being stuck in a dark, underground, concrete room for an uncertain amount of time, they began looking for food with a long shelf life, and many turned to Twinkies. With their claim of “stay fresh forever”, and their sweet, fluffy flavor, Twinkies were an inviting treat in a dark time. 

In the 1970s, Continental ramped up its marketing campaign for Twinkies even further with a new mascot. Denny Lesser, a route delivery driver for Hostess in San Fernando Valley, California, designed the perfect mascot for the brand to use during a traveling promotional campaign. It was an anthropomorphic Twinkie clad in a classic cowboy outfit with boots, a 10-gallon hat, a heart-covered handkerchief around his neck and a trusty lasso, The character was called Twinkie the Kid and he had a look that screamed “America”. His wife made a costume of the character for lesser to use in the campaign, and eventually became the brands official mascot appearing in TV adverts shortly afterward. 

An ad for Twinkies featuring Twinkie the Kid (1971)

But Continental didn't stop there, as they ramped up its marketing campaign even further. From 1975 to 1982, they stuck licensing deals with DC, Marvel, Archie, Harvey, and Gold Key Comics to feature humorous ads in their comics featuring their respective characters. Soon, Superman was saving kids stuck in a gold mine being awarded Twinkies afterward, Captain America was stopping a Roman army sent to the present from a time warp bent on conquering America by offering Twinkies, Archie and Jughead were cheering up a losing baseball team with Twinkies, Casper was stopping a monster from stealing Twinkies sponge cakes, and Tweety Bird was foiling Sylvester's plan of eating him by using a Twinkie to trap him. 

Various comic ads for Twinkies (1975-1982)

By that point, the Twinkie started to make appearances in movies as well. The first was in the 1979 comedy film The Jerk starring comedian Steve Martin (In his film debut). In the film, theres a scene where Martin's character, Navin, is celebrating his 21st birthday with his adopted African-American family and is served favorite meal: A tuna fish salad sandwich on white bread with mayonnaise, a Tab cola, and a couple of Twinkies. other notable examples include of course the famous scene in Ghostbusters where Dr. Egon Spengler (played by late great Harold Ramis), is trying to explain to Winston Zeddemore (played by Ernie Hudson) an analogy to represent the unusually high level of psychokinetic energy in New York City, In Die Hard its the favorite treat of Officer Al Powell (played by Reginald VelJohnson), who is seen eating the snack cake throughout the film, In Monster Squad, The character Eugene (played by Michael Faustino) is about to eat a Twinkie until his beagle Pete knocks it out of his hand, falls into the lake, and is snatched by the Gilman to which he explains to his friend in an adorable voice "The creature stole my Twinkie!",  In Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, when the titular duo (Played by Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves respectively) travel back to the days of Genghis Khan (Played by Al Leong), they offer him a Twinkie, In UHF, George Newman (Played by "Weird Al" Yankovic) offers a Twinkie Wiener Sandwich to cheer up his best friend Bob Steckler (Played by David Bowe), InThe Iron Giant, Hogarth Hughes (Voiced by Eli Marienthal) makes a "Turbo Twinkie" (Twinkies injected with whip cream, based on an actual snack director Brad Bird made when he was young) while watching a B movie on TV, In WALL-E, the namesake robot protagonist (Voiced by Ben Burtt), gives his cockroach pet a Twinkie to sleep in (A nod to the “stay fresh forever” claim), and in Zombieland, the character Tallahassee (played by Woody Harrelson) hunts for Twinkies throughout the film as a "side quest" while fighting the wave of zombies, Much to the dismay of Columbus (played by Jesse Eisenberg). 

Some of the many movies featuring Twinkies (1979-2009)

In 1984, the same year the Twinkie made its mark in Ghostbusters, Continental was purchased by the Ralston Purina company for  $475 million dollars, With Ralston holding the Twinkies reign until 1995, when they sold it to Interstate Bakeries for $560 million dollars, Already a giant in the baking industry, Interstate’s merger with Continental made it the largest baking company in the U.S. Unfortunately as the 2000s approached, the company would be in trouble. With the growing popularity of diets like South Beach and Atkins, as well as the growing concern of obesity throughout the country, as Americans took issue with an ingredient list full of calories, sugar, and preservatives. On September 22, 2004, Interstate Bakeries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to decreased sales, increased ingredient and pension costs, and an inefficient delivery systems.

But thanks to a powerful fan, the company would unexpectedly emerge from bankruptcy. New York senator Charles Schumer personally appealed to a big lender to save Interstate. In 2009, Ripplewood Holdings paid $130 million to take control of Interstate and renamed it Hostess Brands, However this victory was short lived. Just 3 years later, in 2012, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy again, due to adding debt, and selling products at a price that didn’t cover costs or return a profit. a few months later, employees nationwide went on strike. The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers' International Union (BCTGM), representing 6,600 Hostess employees, took action after a contract proposal from Hostess Brands was rejected by 92 percent of its members. The public were also unhappy about the news, News outlets everywhere reported the death of Twinkies, They flew off store shelves, even those who never cared for them bought them.

It seemed like the Twinkie and its Hostess brethren were doomed, But luck was on their side. Andy Jhawar, another powerful fan of the snack cake and a senior partner at Apollo Global Management, saw the value of the nostalgia for Twinkies. So he reached out to Dean Metropoulos, the founder of Metropoulos & Company. 

Left to Right: Andy Jhawar and Dean Metropoulos.

Fortunately, Hostess’ bankruptcy resulted in a 363 asset sale, where a company sells all or part of its assets. So they could buy what they wanted, like Twinkies, Hostess’ recipes, and five Hostess factories, while leaving its inefficient delivery system behind. Apollo Global Management and Metropoulos & Company spent $410 million dollars for the acquisition, and in 2013, it paid off. Twinkies and its other hostess counterparts hit store shelves again across the U.S. alongside a viral “The Sweetest Comeback in the History of Ever” ad campaign, bringing in $555 million dollars in revenue. In 2014, the two took the company public valued at $2.3 billion dollars.

Today the Twinkie still remains an American icon and has been reference in a variety of movies and tv shows and has been a go to comfort food for many. It proves that for an iconic brand, no matter how many hardships it may face, it will never die. That wraps up this entry, Thanks for reading, See you next time!