The owner's manual from my dad's 1st PC

"RacinBob" (racinbob)
10/18/2020 at 12:19 • Filed to: None

I came across this while visiting home. From circa 1984 “luggable” 30 pound PC with built in amber monitor. This manual is heavier than most laptop PC’s today ....

DISCUSSION (24)

wafflesnfalafel > RacinBob
10/18/2020 at 12:48

had a friend in jr high who’s dad had one of those “portable” Compaq machines with the little screen and the keyboard that clipped across the top to cover it. We were in awe of it’s twenty MEGABYTE hard drive. (Who would ever use more than 20 megabytes worth of data?)

benn454 > RacinBob
10/18/2020 at 12:53

Your dad remembered to lift with his legs and not his back, I hope.

RacinBob > RacinBob
10/18/2020 at 12:54

Sounds just like my IBM luggable. I wonder if IBM was allowing Compaq to brand their PC.

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > wafflesnfalafel
10/18/2020 at 13:00

Lucky. My dad would never spring for the hard drive.

“Why do you need it? The programs run off of the cartridge or floppy. You have plenty of floppies to use for saving stuff.”

RacinBob > RacinBob
10/18/2020 at 13:00

Here it is, an IBM 5155. It cost $4225 at launch which is the equivalent to $10,525 today. It weighed 30 pounds... http://oldcomputers.net/ibm5155.html

I see the Compaq is a different unit. http://oldcomputers.net/compaqi.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Portable_Personal_Computer

Kinja'd!!!

onlytwowheels > RacinBob
10/18/2020 at 13:02

My first computer. My stepdad worked at Texas Instruments and bought one in 1982 or 83 when they were on clearance at the company store.

Kinja'd!!!

wafflesnfalafel > This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja:
10/18/2020 at 13:05

right - and it probably cost as much as the average car at the time...

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > wafflesnfalafel
10/18/2020 at 13:12

The very first computer we had was from Radio Shack. I don’t recall the model but it used cartridges for programs. It had no monitor but instead connected to a regular tv via the 2-wire antenna connectors. And it used a cassette tape recorder for storage.

Super high tech at the time. Pre-dated the floppy disk.

barnie > RacinBob
10/18/2020 at 13:31

Thanks. This brings back memories. My 1st PC was a Data General picked up from their assembly plant in Cola SC. 286, 5 meg drive, 3.5" floppy, Sony Trinitron EGA monitor all for about 5grand . Only 3 years later I remember RAM costing $400 a meg. Used it to write dice roll generators, create D&D characters sheets and other like things on. (our group had moved to a mana system where instead of learning a spell several times, we calced the mana points for level and spells available and just used that pool to cast from. Any spell learned any number of times until dry. Or something like that. ) At work, I was writing bal360 on mainframes so the PC was little help but it was fun!

subexpression > RacinBob
10/18/2020 at 13:44

My first computer was a beige Apple IIe, monochrome green monitor, dual 5.25" floppy drive. I think all of that stuff is still stacked in my mother’s house somewhere. The IIe still had connectors for cassette tape storage and TV output, even though most people were moving on to monitors and floppies.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja:
10/18/2020 at 13:54

Commodore 64?

ranwhenparked > This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja:
10/18/2020 at 14:07

Early TRS-80 (aka TRaSh-80)?

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
10/18/2020 at 14:07

Definitely not a Commodore. I believe it was Radio Shack branded. Maybe a model 100 or trs -80 judging by pics I’m seeing online

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > ranwhenparked
10/18/2020 at 14:09

I believe that may have been it.

sn4cktimes > onlytwowheels
10/18/2020 at 14:45

First thought, wow, that’s an old ass PC.

Second thought, nice gender assumption there TI.

Goggles Pizzano > onlytwowheels
10/18/2020 at 14:58

Kinja'd!!!

Aremmes > This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja:
10/18/2020 at 15:27

Most likely a TRS-80 Color Computer. It didn’t predate floppies but certainly didn’t make it easy or xheap to use them, requiring a special controller cartridge to connect to an external drive. Other TRS-80 models had built-in floppy drives and monitors.

Kinja'd!!!

onlytwowheels > Goggles Pizzano
10/18/2020 at 15:29

Too funny...

Mine went to Goodwill in the 90's.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > RacinBob
10/18/2020 at 15:40

I have a graphing calculator with more processing power.

RacinBob > benn454
10/18/2020 at 18:14

Not sure, but I will attest to the ab solute pain it was to take it on a business trip and schlep it across downtown Manhattan on the only business trip I took it on.

kanadanmajava1 > RacinBob
10/18/2020 at 18:31

I have a nearly identical “portable” IBM stashed at work. It was the first such unit purchased for our vehicle testing team i n the early 80's. It didn’t start when I tried in the last time but I’m pretty sure that it could be still fixed.

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > RacinBob
10/18/2020 at 22:09

I didn’t realize IBM made luggables in those days.

pip bip - choose Corrour > RacinBob
10/19/2020 at 05:14

sell it on ebay

benn454 > RacinBob
10/19/2020 at 09:42

Thank god for miniaturization.