Tandy 200 - The Legend Continues William T. Walters Portable 100, Feb. 1985 Just as the Model 100 revolutionized the way we thought about portable computing - indeed, proving that those two words were not necessarily mutually exclusive - the new Tandy 200 promises to be a true second generation of the family. Few who saw - and used - the Model 100 weren't impressed by it. Those who weren't either were die-hard MS-DOS aficionados or people who believed they needed bigger displays and more memory than the 100 provided. Okay, folks, Tandy couldn't do much for those enamored with MS-DOS portable computers, but everybody else had better hang onto their pocketbooks! The Tandy 200 is built on the history of the 100. Everything that most of us liked about the 100 is even better on the 200. Some of those things that many of us felt were missing on the 100 are built into the 200. Plus a few neat tricks to boot. Light weight and true portability - the very things that made the 100 revolutionary - are neither sacrificed nor compromised in the process. LOOK AT THE 200'S FEATURES. - Flip-up Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) with 16 lines of 40 characters each; - Built-in 300 baud telephone modem with softwear selective tone or pulse dialing; - 24K Random Access Memory (RAM) standard, expandable to 72K; - 72K Read Only Memory (ROM) standard, expandable to 104K; - RS232 Interface, programmable from 72 to 19200 baud; - Parallel Printer Interface; - Bar-Code Reader Interface; - Powered by four AA alkaline or rechargeable nickel-cadmium (nicads) batteries; - Six built-in software packages for word processing, communications, appointments, address list, spreadsheets, and programming in Basic; - Uses all Radio Shack Model 100 accessories. Although at 2.25 inches in height the 200 is .25 inches taller than the Model 100, the rest of the dimensions remain the same: 11.75 by 8.5 inches. The added height at the rear of the unit is to steady the flip- up LCD. The 200 weighs in at 4.5 pounds, and is decked out in a no-nonsense color scheme of black and white, or fawn grey as Tandy calls it. The processor used in the new Tandy is an 8-bit 80C85 and only can address a total of 65,536 (64K) locations of memory at any one time. The built-in programs are stored in a total of 72K-bytes of ROM. The operating system plus application programs (except Multiplan) occupy a total of 40,960 (40K) locations, leaving 24,576 (24K) locations addressable for RAM. These two values add up to the limit of the addressing capability of an 8-bit processor, 64K. MULTIPLAN. By a novel arrangement, the Multiplan program is contained in a separate 32K ROM, and not the main 40K ROM. When executed it switches out the main 40K ROM to prevent conflicts. Also, there's room for another 32K ROM, like in the Model 100. In this case, however, a CMOS Electrically Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM) will work. If this expansion ROM is installed, its name also will appear on the main menu (a complete reset of the unit is required), and if invoked, it'll swap out the main 40K ROM. The 100 expansion ROM socket required the use of a custom manufactured circuit that generally wasn't available. The 200 expansion ROM will accept a new CMOS EPROM which can be programmed in quantities as small as one. Note that the 200 can't program EPROMS. That requires special equipment. Also, the programs in this expansion ROM must be in pure machine language, not Basic. However, since Multiplan is installed inside the unit, in the same size and type ROM, I predict ROM-based software from Radio Shack and other vendors in short order. RAM BANK SWITCHING. Text files and program files created by the user occupy RAM. The basic 200 comes with a total of 24K-bytes RAM. RAM expands in increments of 24K. Each expansion module costs $249.95 from Radio Shack. In the memory-expansion compartment, located on the bottom of the unit, there are three memory-expansion sockets. Two sockets are for additional 24K banks of RAM and one socket is for the 32K expansion ROM mentioned earlier. The 200 provides the capability of electronically selecting one of the three segments (banks) of RAM at any time. This capability provides greater overall RAM size, but any program or file can't be larger than 24K total. Also, the 200 doesn't have the ability of allowing a file or program to overflow from one bank of memory into another. But then, neither does any other battery-powered portable computer. The good news is all expansion memory, both RAM and ROM, is installable by the customer. BIG, FAST DISPLAY. You're first struck by the large sizes of the 200's display. It shows 16 lines by 40 big characters plus dot-addressable graphics. The LCD has only two positions, either opened or closed. It's easy to read at normal viewing angles and there's a small knob for contrast adjusting. The scroll display is greatly improved from the 100 version. It features its own controller and receives information from the processor serially. This dedicated controller improves the performance of the display and results in faster, smoother scrolling. When, for example, a Basic program consisting of 50 lines of 38 characters each is listed on the 100 (beginning with a clear screen), the complete listing takes 17 seconds, or about .33 secon per line. This same operation on a 200 takes six seconds. COMFY KEYBOARD. The keyboard is a comfortable typewriter style layout with an added row of small pushbutton keys above the regular keyboard. These extra keys provide special functions and commands used in the 200's programs. Plus, a group of four keys controlling the cursor are full-sized keys formed in a diamond keyout. Since the display folds up from the keyboard, both keyboard and display are protected from dust when not in use. This also allows the keyboard to be located physically closer to the bottom of the unit. One doesn't have to stretch his hands to type as is necessary with the 100. THINGS PRESENT AND FUTURE. Like the 100, the 200 has been designed with the most common peripheral interfaces already built in. Also, connections to these peripheral devices have been well thought out. The 200 uses the same cables and peripherals currently being sold by Radio Shack for the 100. (The one exception is that instead of using a fragile 40-pin integrated circuit-type socket inside the unit, Radio Shack used a small 40-pin female connector located at the rear of the cabinet along side the rest of the connectors. Accessories sold by companies other than Radio Shack, such as Holmes Engineering's Bullet and Portable Computer Support Group's Portable Disk Drive, will require new software specifically for the 200. This is because the internal operating system has changed and one of the locations for machine-language routines was left in the same place as on the 100. This requirement has had an impact on Radio Shack, too. Both the Bar- Code Wand and the Disk/Video Interface (DVI) require new software to work with the 200. Also, changing the bus connector causes the DVI to require a new cable just to connect to the 200. Current estimates by Radio Shack executives slate software availability for both items in 60 days. The cable for the DVI should also be available at the same time. I've seen the DVI connected to a 200 and have had an opportunity to put it through its paces. Let me tell you, it's nice - especially with its full-sized 80 by 25 Multiplan. NEW DVI. The new DVI software can reside in any or all banks of RAM and takes about 5.5K of space. It also lets the user know when it's loaded by adding DISK/VIDEO code installed under the bytes-free prompt when entering Basic. If the size of this code takes you aback, remember it only needs to be loaded into one bank of RAM at a time, and then only will work with information in that bank. The 5.5K area of RAM used can be reclaimed without destroying any files and that's a real plus compared to the 100 version. Later, is you want to reboot the DVI code, you can after a quick poke command, followed by pressing the reset button. All of this is not as straight forward or as easy as it could be, but as least the capability has been provided to regain that precious RAM without destroying files. If you own a Model 100 and use these items, you should ask at your store for ordering and pricing information on the new software and cable. SWITCHES AND CONNECTORS. The left side of the unit has a switch to select the use of acoustic cups or direct-connect cable for the modem and the bar-code reader connect. Across the rear of the cabinet are the 1500 baud cassette interface (the cassette interface has been improved through software and is more reliable), the modem connector, the new system bus connector for RS232 and a well-recessed reset button. The right side only has the connector for the AC adapter (same adapter as for the 100) and a dial which adjusts the contrast level of the LCD. The on-off power switch is now a push button and is located above the keyboard in the left corner. Housed on the bottom of the unit are two compartments and one switch. One of the compartments is for memory expansion and the other is for batteries. The switch is labeled memory power and turning it off removes power from the built-in nicad batteries. These batteries power the 200's memory when main power is off and will retain any stored information for approximately 15 days in the case of a 24K RAM unit after the operating batteries are exhausted. In normal operation these small batteries are kept constantly recharged by either the AC adapter or from a trickle charge from the operating batteries. If the memory power switch is in the off position, the unit won't operate. It's left in the on position except when storing the 200 for extended periods of time. POWER UP. The battery compartment is adequately labeled and the owner's manual states that nicad AA batteries are usable "after slight modification by Radio Shack." Originally, there was to be a switch for selection of battery types. Now to prevent any possibly misunderstanding on the part of the customer, a specific setting inside the unit is required. This modification consists of connecting two jumpers inside the unit, installation of a screw which closes the battery compartment, and a seal placed over the screw. This seal warns you to replace batteries only with rechargeable nicad batteries. Why? When nicad batteries are installed, use of the AC power adapter will cause them to recharge. That's good. However, if voltage from the AC adapter was applied to standard nonrechargeable alkaline batteries, they could explode. That's bad. How long does each type of battery last? Standard alkaline batteries will power the 200 for about 25 hours without any external devices connected. Nicad cells will give about 5 hours under the same circumstances and require 15 hours to recharge. Since the 200 can be operated while recharging from the AC adapter, this short operating time won't be inconvenient. The modification costs $15 and will require you to leave your unit at least overnight. Radio Shack prices calculate $8.78 for a set of nicads and $2.99 for a set of alkalines. It doesn't take long before that adds up to a set of nicads. I intend to have that done first thing on my machine. SIX-SHOOTER. The applications software built in are still the key to success and the 200 has a few slick tricks locked up inside. The software has been produced by Microsoft and at first glance, is identical to the 100. Not so. The six built-in programs are shown on a single menu that has space for 46 files or programs. As on the 100, a shadow cursor indicates which file or program is to be selected. When this shadow cursor is moved over a user file, the next to last line will display the length in bytes (characters) of that file. The last line of the display shows the commands Bank, Copy, and Kill. Pressing Bank will shift you to the next available bank of memory if one is installed. Each bank maintains its own menu of files and each bank is competely separate from other banks. Copy is used if you have one or more optional banks of memory to make a duplicate copy of a file in another bank. This is very useful for managing your limited memory space. The Kill function will erase a file only after asking you if you're sure you want to erase. This is a nice touch when you consider the action of killing a file is irrevocable. ALARM PROMPT. There are two new software features completely unique to the 200: the Alarm and the Calculator functions. I'm particularly enthusiastic about the alarm capability. Alarm can function in one of two different ways. First, it can store a single day/time to turn on and run any specific program. This has application for remote data- retrieval installations or unattended calling and connecting to other computer systems. The second is the capability of keeping track of up to 255 different alarms, along with one-line message prompts. If I wish to be reminded of my wife's birthday, I can make the following entry into the NOTE.DO file: 04/21/85 09:00:00,A, Don't forget the Birthday Tomorrow! The entry consists of four distinct parts. A date which consists of two digits, for month, day and year each separated by a slsh mark (/). The time must be in 24-hour format of hours, minutes, aand seconds separated by a colon and is followed by a comma and a capital A to indicate Alarm. The next comma indicates the start of the message which can't be longer than one line or 40 characters. If the 200 is turned off, it beeps loudly for 10 to 15 seconds and turns on, displaying the message on the bottom line of the LCD in flashing normal then reverse lettering. If any key is pressed, the flashing message disappears. Should I not be close-by, the 200 will turn back off when the automatic power-off time elapses (default is 10 minutes) and the next time I turn it on, the alarm prompt will display. FOUR FUNCTION CALC. Many people have said they feel very silly having to sit with a pocket calculator beside their computer. The problem is that if you're using the computer for almost anything else, it isn't easy to get it to add, subtract, multiply, or divide. Not so anymore! A simple four-function calculator can be called to the top line of the display at any time by pressing the NUM key followed by the GRPH key. It's dismissed by pressing the GRPH key again. With the NUM key locked down you get a pretty fair simulation of a 10-key pad - even to redefining the O as +, the P as - and the ; as *. These reassignments mean you don't have to use the shift keys to generate those math operators. It's neat and more useful than I had originally dreamed it could be. WORD PROCESSING. The Text program is a small text processor which, due to its size, doesn't have all the bells and whistles of a dedicated word processor. The 200 version of Text is almost identical to the 100 version. Both allow continuous typing and will automatically wrap words as they read the end of the display without splitting. All eight function keys are assigned duties that make Text easy to use. The only function key that is different from the 200 version is the F4, or List key which invokes the List Manager program for operation on the text file. The PRINT key is also changed. It still serves a dual purpose; by itself it causes the text currently on the LCD to be printed just as it appears on the LCD. If, however, you depress and hold the SHIFT key and then press PRINT, a large pop-up menu appears. This new menu allows you to set the line length, left margin, number of lines per page, number of lines to print per page, and top margin. It even asks you if you want to pause after each page. Page numbering along with headers and footers are still missing. But any way you look at it, it's one heck of an improvement from the 100 version that only gives you line length as an option. All printed output from the 200, just like the 100, has as a line terminator a carriage return only. No line feed character is ever sent since all Radio Shack printers expect to receive only carriage return without a line feed. This feature eliminates a number of good printers that are available from non-Radio Shack sources. It didn't take very long, however, for someone to figure out a small patch-type program that would fix this problem on the 100. The program to do it was put on CompuServe's Special Interest Group ( SIG) bulletin board in a matter of weeks after the Model 100 was introduced. It probably won't take long for someone to figure out how to do the same thing on the 200, too. TELECOMMUNICATING. The communications program which is included with the 200 is called Telcom. It, too, is very similar to the earlier 100 version. The Telcom instruction manual is a separate book and goes into great detail about information services and ways to access them. This information should help first time users understand what services such as Dow Jones, The Source, and CompuServe are. It also explains that communications networks such as Tymenet and Telenet are separate services used to connect to the information providers. The manual is quite thorough and contains very explicit instructions for connecting to Dow Jones and CompuServe as well as to other systems. The draft I reviewed didn't go into much detail on connecting to other personal computers, but Radio Shack executives said additional information would be included in the final manual. Running Telcom brings up a screen which shows the settings for the serial communications channel, a prompt indicating that you're in Telcom, and labels the function keys. The communications settings now include four extra parameters. The only functions assigned which are different from the Model 100 version are: Stat - allows altering of the communications settings. You have the capability to set various word length, parity, number of stop bits, enable or disable X-ON/X-OFF flow control, even mask unwanted control characters, and add or strip line feeds at the end of each received line. These last two features were missing from the version in the 100 and are a welcome addition. Originate or answer and tone or pulse dialing also are selectable through software control, another change from the 100 version. Brk - causes a break sequence of 250ms to be sent. Just as a control-C character is sent to services such as CompuServe to signal for attention, a break sequence is sent to quite a number of mainframes to signal attention or to disconnect. The 100 didn't allow this signal and was unusable with quite a few mainframe systems. LIST MANAGER. The 200 has one mini data-base manager and it's called the List Manager. The List Manager is the core program executed by the Schedl and Addrss, and Text programs. Both Schedl and Addrss preset the text file that is to be used to the name of a specific file. A number of 100 owners said they wanted to be able to use the Schedl program with any text file. Their goal was to be able to create a number of smaller, specialized lists that could be used to contain specific information. That capability is included with the 200. Text has the F4 key assigned to LIST and selecting it will cause the mini data-base program to be executed. The data file it will use will be the current file being accessed by the Text program. Another nice touch. The owner's manual gives a pretty good explanation of this as well as the Schedl and Addrss programs and several samples are included. Schedl and Addrss program functioning is identical to the same programs in the 100 with one exception; F4 is marked EDIT and causes the Text program to be entered with the appropriate file, all ready to add or change information. When you enter Text this way, pressing F4 again will return you to the program it was entered from. This way, you don't have to be jumping back and forth to the main menu to add or update the information file that's being used. PORTABLE MULTIPLAN. The last program included with the 200 is Msplan. Yes, a protable-sized Multiplan, and it's impressive. As a test, I took several medium-sized spreadsheets in a Model 4 and created a special type of file called SYLK (SYmbolic LinK). This means that Multiplan examines the spreadsheet and creates a text file with all the necessary information for it to be sent to another computer. Then, using Vidtex on the Model 4 and Telcom on the 200, I loaded in the SYLK and presto. They all worked. I'm truly impressed that such a small portable could have an almost complete implementation of Multiplan already installed. Now you can carry your spreadsheets around just about anywhere you like. That feature alone ought to excite more than a few who yawned at the Model 100. FUNCTION KEYS. Since this is a portable implementation, the limitations are 63 columns by 99 rows. Believe me, that's pretty hefty and bigger than anything I loaded in. If you're familiar with Multiplan, about the only change you'll have to get used to is using an equal sign when entering formulas. Everything else is the same, from named data references to a full-featured set if intrinsic commands. The function keys provide the capability to: -Edit - lets you edit the contents of a cell. -Blnk - replaces the contents of a specified cells with blanks. -Copy - duplicates the contents of a cell or group of cells. Secondary options are right, down, and from. -Form -changes the display format or width of one or more cells. Secondary options are cell and width. -Name -assigns a name which can be used to identify one or more cells in a command or formula. -Opt -selects various options including automatic or manual recalculation and mute or beep on errors. -Tran -loads a worksheet into memory, saves active worksheet to cassette or disk, clears the current worksheet or moves the cell pointer. Secondary options are load, save, clear, and goto. -Exit -exits Multiplan and saves the active worksheet to RAM. COMMAND KEYS. Three command keys are also in Multiplan: -PASTE -inserts rows or columns in the worksheet before the specified cell. -PRINT -prints the current window as displayed on the LCD screen. -+PRINT - prints all or a portion of the active worksheet. Don't think this is just a miniature version of the real Multiplan. Except for mutiple windows and iterative calculations, this is the real McCoy and, boy, is it nice! MICROSOFT VARIATION. The version of Microsoft Basic which is included remains unchanged from that of the earlier Model 100 except for one command extension. To test this I logged onto CompuServe and went to the Model 100 SIG data base of prgrams. These programs have been written by users of CIS and the SIG and most have been contributed to public domain. This large wealth of programs is available free or nearly so since you have only to pay for the CIS connect time. I used the Telcom download function to retrieve 15 different programs. The only criteria I used was that a program couldn't contain any Poke or Call commands since the 200 ROMs are different from the 100 ROM. Every program, functioned perfectly. Going one step further, I opened my drawer full of Model 100 cassette programs. Again, a random sampling of programs was made with the same criteria-except I gave up after 10 programs. The results? Same. Perfect operation. POWER AUTO-EXECUTE. The power command has been extended and when used will set an internal alarm that will cause the 200 to power on and execute a Basic program at the specified time. As mentioned earlier, this has some nice potential for control or monitoring applications as well as sending information to a remote computer system late at night unattended. The syntax used for this new extension is POWER "time"."date"."program.BA". As an example, to get a program called TEST to execute on February 28th, 1985 at 9 a.m., the entry in Basic would be POWER "09:00:00"."02/ 28/85"."TEST.BA". This new option can run only one program which must be located in RAM Bank 1 and only one Power Auto Execute can be set at any time. The Power Auto Execute can be set or reset while in any RAM Bank. If the target program is not found, RAM Bank 1 main menu will be displayed, and, if no target program is specified, Basic will be entered with RAM Bank 1 active. To illustrate the thought that Microsoft and Radio Shack gave to this feature, you have to consider to possibility that the 200 is busy running another program when the Power Auto Execute occurs. It's very rude of your computer to suddenly terminate a program you're using. Relax. That's not the way it happens. Should it become time for the Power Auto Execute sequence, the 200 will begin beeping, three beeps per second for five seconds. If you want to see what all the fuss is about. press the CTRL and LABEL keys and you'll see the prompt "It's time to run TEST.BA" displayed in reverse lettering on the last line of the LCD. You can cancel this message by pressing any key. If you want to let the system run TEST.BA, you must exit back to the main menu and from there the 200 will take over. BOTTOM LINE. The 200 is an excellent portable computer and provides a lot of power for each dollar spent. As reviewed, it does have some shortcomings. All documentation I received was at the semi-final draft stage. Conversations with Stu Weinstock, buyer for the Tandy 200, brought prompt reassurances that the errors I found had been identified and are in the process of correction for the final versions of the manual. I'd hoped that a renumber capability would have been added, but no commands could be added without destroying compatibility with Model 100 Basic programs saved on cassette. Hopefully, someone will create a short machine-language utility that'll perform true program renumbering. The limitation of 24K RAM will seem formidable, but I can't think of the last time I had a single program which required more than that amount. It's going to be nice for text files, because I can type up a blue streak, and 24K disappears almost like magic. Now, I have the capability of switching to one of two more banks with a total storage capability of 72K. Well, almost. Aproximately 4906 bytes are consumed in each bank for system overhead. Still, 19,670 is a lot of programming room and three times that is 59,010 - more room anyway you look at it. The Text program still doesn't have page numbers, header/footers, or, most importantly, search and replace. Basic doesn't have nice functions like HEX$ or renumber capability, but I can certainly live without those. The size is right. The weight is right. It has just the right mix of features and capabilities for me. I'm willing to wager that for quite a number of people who are in the market for a good portable computer, the Tandy 200 is going to fit them like a glove.