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From: rlp@beach.cis.ufl.edu (Jarhead)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.tandy
Subject: Re: Tandy 2000 upgrade
Summary: the Holy Grail
Keywords: Holy Grail Tandy 2000 PC clone
Message-ID: <24345@uflorida.cis.ufl.EDU>
Date: 6 Sep 90 23:50:09 GMT
References: <6535@ncrcae.Columbia.NCR.COM>
Sender: news@uflorida.cis.ufl.EDU
Reply-To: rlp@beach.cis.ufl.edu (Jarhead)
Organization: Bad Bob's Byte Basilica
Lines: 51

In article <6535@ncrcae.Columbia.NCR.COM> richard@ncrcae.Columbia.NCR.COM (Richard Maxwell) writes:
>I am pretty familiar with ibm pcs, clones, etc. but not at all  
>familiar with this machine.  I also have facilities available to 
>modify existing h/w somewhat.

How extensive are your modification facilities?  "Converting" a
Tandy 2000 to a PC clone will require more than "somewhat" amounts
of work.


>So, without dropping in a new mother
>board, is there an easier(cheaper) way to modify this machine to make 
>it pc compatible?

Don't forget the disk drives (720K), the keyboard, etc.  Going out
on a limb, as a Tandy 2000 owner, I'd say there's no way to make it
any more PC compatible than it already is.

>  I don't suppose life could be as easy as new f/w
>could it?  Has anyone done this out there? 

By f/w I presume you mean firmware, as in ROM upgrades?  Doubt that
would even be possible (kinda like putting a cockroach brain into
a human body:  it wouldn't be able to control the superior features
of the new body :) ).  IBM-compatible ROMs wouldn't know how to
handle the dual-mode (720K and read-write 360K) disk drives, nor
the non-clonepatible video, memory, serial, parallel, or expansion
systems.  Open the machine up and see what's there.  Beautiful
engineering (in my opinion).

The quest to make the 2000 more PC compatible was named as the Holy
Grail of 2000 owners by David R., founder/presidente of the late
great Tandy 2000 Orphans, a loosely-knit user group for the 2000.
Some progress had been made toward creating a software-based PC
emulation as of the time of the group's demise.  If you're interested,
let me know and I'll send you the address for David R., who is
still (as of the last I heard from him) sending out disks and
information concerning the 2000.  If you're really dedicated to
hard work, off-beat but nifty hardware, and the thrill of exploring
the unknown, maybe you'll want to undertake the...

	QUEST FOR THE HOLY GRAIL!!!

Good luck!

Bob
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