Acquired a very nice 1985 Toshiba T1100

[Vint]

I bought a Toshiba T1100 off eBay for 99 cents! I'm very excited about this and I feel this machine will garner a front row in my vintage display models. I really like this thing.

It's got an 8086 processor with 640k RAM, no HD at all, just (2) 720k floppies. It came with all the original goods. All the manuals and original disks, even a very nice Toshiba carry case. For 99 cents! - Oh, the shipping was up there because the box weighed over 30 lbs. but even with that it topped out at $26.
I'm happy to have this fine piece of computing history for $26. Everything works perfectly, disk drives all read and write just fine. This machine came out in 1985 and cost $4,000. - so scarfing it up for 99 cents was a big kick for me It looks to me like it was seldom used and just mainly stored. I'm really starting to like Toshiba 'small' machines. I have 3 now.
On the back were also connections for external monitor through an RGB connection and a Composite connection. After finding out that I needed to press CTRL/ALT/END keys to switch to external monitor mode, I was then viewing on my big monitor, in Composite mode. Very nice.

I do have a question I can't seem to find an answer for. I tried using an available RGB cord I had for my Commodore 128 and it plugs into the RGB connector on the Toshiba T1100, but I couldn't get any display on my monitor. I hooked up to the composite and that worked but not the RGB. Aren't all RGB connectors the same and with the same pinouts?

 

[Mike Chambers]

verrrry cool! i've always wanted an 8086/8088 laptop. i hope to get an 8088 zenith supersport, but i am not sure if i will yet i'm waiting on a reply. you could do some cool stuff with that computer vint. it has a parallel port, right? get yourself a xircom ethernet adapter for it.

about $15 on ebay. make a post here with your toshiba. and yes it was my impression that the pinouts are all the same. the output on your laptop may be broken. is the graphics adapter in the machine monochrome or CGA? if it's monochrome, that's why it's not working.

i learned from trixter than the sync frequency is a bit lower than what a color monitor has as a threshold. i tried my tandy's EGA monitor on an IBM mono card, and sure enough it doesn't work.

 

[Chuckster_in_Jax]

I do have a question I can't seem to find an answer for. I tried using an available RGB cord I had for my Commodore 128 and it plugs into the RGB connector on the Toshiba T1100, but I couldn't get any display on my monitor. I hooked up to the composite and that worked but not the RGB. Aren't all RGB connectors the same and with the same pinouts?

What monitor are you trying to hook up to the Toshiba? The Commodore 128 doesn't have a standard RBG output. It is RGBI which has an additional intensity pin. I don't know if there is a difference in the Commodore cabling vs the standard 9-pin TTL cables. You should be able to hook up an RGB, CGA, or an EGA monitor to your Toshiba. Some of the old Multi-Stink monitors should work well also. VGA definitely won't work.

 

[tezza]

Very nice Vint,

One of the first laptops I used for work was a Toshiba. It might have been a 1900 though?

Anyway, they make good vintage machines.

Tez

 

[Vint]

Toshiba T1100

Toshiba T1100

Ok, I think Chuck. answered my question -
To explain my hookup: I'm using a Commodore cord I bought on eBay that allows me to have C-128 switchable signal - either a Composite or an 80 column video signal present at the S-Video input of my PC capture card - using the following connectors.

My Toshiba manual says "Standard RGB and composite ports on the rear of the T1100 give the option of using an RGB (color) or composite (monochrome) CRT."
So, the composite signal worked - the RGB signal didn't. I guess it's as Chuck. states that "The Commodore 128 doesn't have a standard RBG output."
If I had a regular RGB monitor, I'd be in business. It's cool though - I can still use the slightly blurry Composite signal to blast away at old BASICA and GWBASIC, so I'm quite pleased. I wanted to try the external monitor because although the LCD screen on the T1100 works fine - it isn't backlit, so my old tired eyes strain a little.

Mike; - The T1100 does have a parallel port, so that xircom Ethernet adapter you mentioned to utilize the T1100 for VCF posting is a neat idea. Yesterday I had a looksee at your 8088online site and I was blown away. That's fantastic what you've done with that equipment. It kind of reminds me of those HAM operators I used to listen to and their use of 'Flea Power' transmitters - how far can you go with very little power.

Tez is right about these old Toshiba laptops - they're great vintage machines to add to any collection. I love the keyboards. The keyboard on this latest one (the T1100), is really fun to type on. Nice high big keys - none of those mini-travel flat type regular laptop keys. And the keyboard is right out front where I like it - not back of a giant wrist rest, uuggllyy!