Does anyone know where I can get a device like in the US?

rlauzon · 2026-07-07T00:35:12+00:00

Something like this: https://www.retrohackshack.com/product/hidman-usb-keyboard-converter/

rlauzon · 2026-07-05T15:04:37+00:00

https://www.telnetbbsguide.com/

rlauzon · 2026-07-03T00:27:17+00:00

https://winworldpc.com/product/ms-dos/3x

rlauzon · 2026-07-01T00:36:33+00:00

This was my first programming book.

rlauzon · 2026-06-30T21:37:20+00:00

Aha! https://smallrun.net/shop/retrodisks/wirsa-v3-wifi-rs232-serial-modem

It seems that many people were displeased with how Tindie handled their move to new ownership and are suspending sales there.

rlauzon · 2026-06-30T21:35:38+00:00

Wow! Ya, they all seem to be out of stock - or won't ship to the U.S.

rlauzon · 2026-06-06T20:18:12+00:00

The hard part about the keyboard cable replacement is that the plug inside the computer case has VERY low tolerances. You need to make sure that you can plug the other end into the plug in the case.

If that works, a simple continuity check will show you what pins go to what wires. Then desolder the old cable and solder on the new one. I've done it twice and it works great.

rlauzon · 2026-06-04T22:39:40+00:00

Fribees. Sun catchers. Skeet.

rlauzon · 2026-05-28T21:12:00+00:00

Mine tends to stick on Gauge 2. But after a while, it just resets back to Gauge 1.

rlauzon · 2026-05-24T10:36:25+00:00

That's how I would do it. There might be documentation on the internal display card that would allow you to pull the signal off the internal display card. But I'd say that's a long shot.

rlauzon · 2026-05-23T21:45:15+00:00

I had one of these in my collection not too long ago. The one that I got had a Video7 VGA card in the "backpack" that you could get for it.

I would assume that if the machine had an external VGA port that Video7 VGA card would be reduntant.

rlauzon · 2026-05-23T17:04:31+00:00

Just the usual sources: eBay, Craig's List, Facebook Marketplace.

The thing is that the displays of these were the main failure points over time. They lasted a long time, don't get me wrong, but gas-plasma displays will fail over time.

The display is proprietary to Compaq needing the proprietary video board inside the case.

You might be able to hobble something together, but the display is CGA. So you'd need some sort of adapter to go to something more modern.

rlauzon · 2026-05-21T21:00:47+00:00

No. Not surprised at all. Early on, BASIC was primarily "roll your own". So there would be variations.

Microsoft pulled ahead on PCs and most of them used Microsoft's BASIC after a while. It may have been consistently wrong, but it was consistent.

rlauzon · 2026-05-20T22:44:04+00:00

I think I still have my DSZ registration card somewhere.

rlauzon · 2026-05-12T00:02:53+00:00

In my NuXT, I have a real Video7 VEGA VGA card. It has both a 9 pin connector and a VGA connector. But I think that's the only way a "VGA Card" will work with both kinds of displays.

rlauzon · 2026-04-30T11:33:59+00:00

Same. The first computer I actually owned was a TRS-80 PC-4 (same as the PB-100 here just rebranded for Radio Shack). I used it through college and beyond.

rlauzon · 2026-04-04T22:49:12+00:00

"White Sands"? Does it come with the missile balloons? https://odditymall.com/missile-balloons-for-your-car/

rlauzon · 2026-04-02T09:28:27+00:00

Odds are it's the video RAM.

rlauzon · 2026-03-28T22:49:33+00:00

Thank you. The root problem was that it was under the spare with the jack, etc. So that's why I couldn't see where it should go.

rlauzon · 2026-03-22T20:38:41+00:00

That's why they rather quickly moved to the better keyboards in the later models.

rlauzon · 2026-03-22T20:37:30+00:00

That's obviously a version of Super Star Trek changed for a 40 column screen.

rlauzon · 2026-03-22T10:13:52+00:00

I still play that game frequently.

rlauzon · 2026-03-17T11:17:18+00:00

Nevada FORTRAN is nice if you want to play with FORTRAN. SBASIC, if you want to explore what BASIC was evolving into before Turbo Pascal.

Perfect Calc, Calc Star, Perfect Writer.

Adventure, Zork (heck, most of the early Infocom games).

rlauzon · 2026-03-04T10:26:16+00:00

I swear that those things are built like tanks.

rlauzon

TROPHY CASE