#: 41538 S14/Private For-Sales
    06-Aug-92  10:30:34
Sb: #Tandy 600 for Sale
Fm: Jim Scheef [FUSE Forum] 76702,1654
To: Larry King 70314,336
 
Larry,
 
The M600 was Tandy's idea of an M100 grown up. Standard memory is 32K with
internal slots for 2 96K RAM modules. The internal disk drive is 360K on a
single-sided 3.5" floppy. It is not compatible with most PCs without
additional software on the PC. The screen is 16 lines of 80 characters and at
least 3 lines are used for menus at all times. The internal modem is 300baud,
which was the standard at that time. The internal operating system is not PC
compatible so it will not run PC programs, but the files are PC compatible to
some extent if you can get them transferred to a PC. There was a BASIC
available on an option ROM; Multiplan was available the same way.
 
The M600 never generated any third-party support so there are no programs
available for it. The versions of Word and Multiplan have a non-compatible
file format but both can create ASCII files (text or SYLK) for transfer. The
keyboard has a nice feel and it can be used succesfully for text entry like an
M100. The communications program is confusing but will work. There is also a
'File' application that is a simple database. The Owner's Manual is poor and
sometimes wrong but necessary to use the machine. There are no other books on
the M600 AFAIK.
 
The bottom line is that the M600 is a useable machine if you can live with
it's inconveniences. The base 32K memory is not enough to do anything useful.
I like the keyboard.  If I can fix one of my machines, I'll start using it
again when the mood strikes.
 
                                             Jim
 
 
 
Additional comments from Tony Anderson:
 
The Tandy 600 first showed up in the 1987 Radio Shack catalog, and was
originally offered at $1599.00 for the basic 32K machine.  Each additional 96K
RAM expansion board was listed at $299.95.  The basic machine, with both RAM
expansion boards would come to $2198.90  At least one RAM expansion board is
required for a reasonably usable machine.
 
The 600 was discontinued about 3 years later (we didn't keep track of the exact
date), and was discounted through several sales.  The final one being a $100
where-is, as-is sale.
 
The 600, as purchased, came with several built-in programs, including a word
processing program which reputedly was a version of MicroSoft Word.  The
MultiPlan Spreadsheet was included, as was a database program called File, and
a communications program called TELCOM.  There was also a Calendar, Appointment
and Scheduler program.  Many of the manual's instructions on how to set up
these programs were incorrect.  In the first year, a large list of errors was
compiled, but Tandy Corp. declined to distribute manual revisions.
 
Programming the machine was possible by adding a BASIC ROM chip to the machine.
You had to remove the MultiPlan ROM in order to install the BASIC chip.
However, if you had installed at least one 96K RAM expansion board, you could
copy BASIC from the ROM to disk, remove the ROM chip and reinstall MultiPlan,
and thereafter run BASIC from disk.  The BASIC ROM chip was originally sold for
$129.95, and was later reduced to $99.95.
 
The 360K, single-sided disk drive produces disks that are not compatible with
the PC standard, however, it is possible to read/write disks, and transfer
files into a PC through use of a PC utility called DRIVE.PRM, which allows you
to identify the formatting scheme of the disk in the PC.  Some users who
reported success with this method have indicated that it was most reliable when
disks were originally formatted in the PC, then used in the 600, rather than
the other way around.
 
After the 600 was discontinued, we learned that there was a cross-assembler
which would allow programs to be written in Assembly Language in a PC, then
transferred to, and installed in the 600, and used there.  Tandy did not
promote this product, which could have made the 600 an extension of the PC
environment.
 
As it is, the 600 is not an MS-DOS machine, and is not MS-DOS compatible; it
can't run PC programs.  No third-party software was developed for the 600, and
the only programs currently available are user-written BASIC programs.  The
largest collection of such programs is stored in Library 11 of the Model 100
Forum on CompuServe.
 
There is currently little support for the 600 from other than an occasional
user.  They have been sold on the used market for as little as $100.  RAM
expansion modules have still been advertised, as recently as the April 1992
issue of Portable 100 magazine (no price mentioned), the only magazine that
still provides support for the Model 100 line, including the 600.
 
The 600 features a built-in 300 baud modem, and an RS-232 port that can be used
at baud rates up to 9600 baud.  You can use an external modem with the TELCOM
program.  The computer supports a Centronics parallel printer.
 
As for size and form, it was one of the first of the "PC Laptop" type of
computers, with a flip up screen, with the body of the computer behind the
screen hinge point.  The disk drive was mounted on the right side of this body.
Dimensions were 12 x 13 x 3 inches.  It looked considerably like Tandy's 1400
series.  The computer weighs 9.5 pounds, and the external AC power supply an
additional 1.5 pounds.  The battery life was advertised at 8 hours, but the
computer didn't hardly get that in real operation - barely more than an hour
and a half if you used the disk drive extensively.  It was recommended that if
you needed extensive disk access, that AC power be used.
 
Reportedly, only 25,000 Tandy 600's were built and sold by Tandy/Radio Shack.