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TRS-80 Model 4 help

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atari2600a

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May 26, 2006
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Schwarzeneggerville, CA
I found a TRS-80 Model 4 today during Neighborhood Cleanup!!!!! (along w/ a small RGB monitor I can temporarily use in my Neo-Geo cab)

It looks like it's been in the elements, due to the mud & leaves on it. When it powers up, it displays random characters (each time different). I'm guessing a loose ROM or a short or something...

It had 2 floppies in it. I have no idea what's on them, or whether I'll be able to read from them due to their condition. (things are looking 50/50)

Does anyone know (to a better extent) what's wrong w/ it? Tomorrow, I'll have the time to crack it open...
 
See if you can clean all the gunk out of it and LET IT DRY. I have done the "let's spill a cup of coffee into our keyboard" trick before. I just drained all the coffee out of a hole in the case and let it dry for a day. Works great to this day.
 
Well I opened it up an hour ago, & removed what was actually very little dried up leaves. (no mud at all). Nothing was out of place, & I made sure all the IC's where seated properly. It still doesn't work.

I thought maybe it might be the Floppy drives, so I unplugged them from the mobo, & it made no difference. I plugged them back in, & now they spin the floppy infinitely.

Does anyone know what the problem is?
 
The latest problem is likely the cables were plugged in wrong (backwards or off a pin) but the original problem is likely something more involved although you can try re-seating the chips. . .
 
atari2600a said:
Does anyone know what the problem is?
Click to expand...

Get the model 4 technical manual from http://www.trs-80.com. Make sure you get the right one. See if you have a gate array version or a non gate array version. Get the manual printed closest to the manufacture date of your machine. You may have to get the 4/4p combined manual too.

Ira puts limits on his downloads, but for a couple of dollars he'll send some DVDs with copies of all the manuals he has.
 
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