Trying to get an old/beat up TRS-80, Model 4 working again

[Jeff Hochman]

Hi All,
I purchased a TRS-80, model 4 online a few years ago and now that I have fixed my model 3's started on the model 4. This is what it does so far...
I plug it in and the hard drive seeks. I see the raster on the CRT (but no diskette, or cassette prompt --- even if I hold the break key down). I also notice that the keyboard was trashed (several missing keys, and the reset button was jammed down). I pried the reset button out so it mostly resets normally now but still no text, only raster. Also, I tried to open the thing up but one of the screws (yep, the last one) is badly stripped. I've tried several techniques to unscrew it, but it's stubbornly resisted. I might use a drill soon to drill out the screw to open the thing up. :-( I'm wondering if it's worth working on, or if it's become a boat anchor. BTW, I also tried adjusting the pots for the brightness/contract..still no dice on the text. Thanks for any tips/advice.

-Jeff

[Amardeep Chana]

I've found the keyboards are often bad these days so the <BREAK> key might not be registering. Otherwise there would be no indication on the screen for some verions of the ROM. Other versions *might* display "Diskette?" if a disk was in the drive but the door was open.

Every Model 4 is worth saving. If it's not worth the trouble to you, please find it a home where it will get the attention it needs. Where are you geographically?

[Walt Perko]

Hi,

I saw in the https://forum.vcfed.org/ one time there was a shop that specialized in repairing TRS-80s ... all models ... I think it was in Texas ...

I'd say worst case donate the machine to the guy. At least he can fix it or use it for parts.

.

[Jeff Hochman]

I'm in Illinois, BTW

[Walt Perko]

Hi,

There seems to be a few places to get help with repairs in this forum: https://retrocomputingforum.com/t/trs-80-model-3-problems/1591

[Walt Perko]

Hi,

This is the Tandy Repair Center in Texas: texastandyr...@gmail.com

https://forum.vcfed.org/index.php?threads/for-sale-trs-80-model-4-non-gate-array.1241071/