TRS-80 Features A number of Monitor Assist, And Excessive-Decision Graphics

To name [Glen Kleinschmidt] a classic computing fanatic could be an understatement. Who else would add the flexibility to manage and handle a number of VGA displays to a rack-mounted TRS-80 Mannequin 1? A number of 64-color 640×480 displays may not be thought of notably wonderful by immediately’s requirements, however for 70s-era computing, it’s a unique story.

How does a TRS-80 even handle to output something helpful to those displays? [Glen] wrote his personal low-level driver in machine code to deal with that. The driving force even has helpful routines which might be callable from inside BASIC, which means that applications written on the TRS-80 are granted highly effective drawing skills. Oh, and did we point out that the VGA graphics playing cards themselves had been designed and made by [Glen]?

Taken with making your individual? [Glen] gives all of the sources you’ll must re-create his work, together with machine code drivers and demonstration BASIC applications as downloadable audio recordsdata, simply as they might have been on authentic cassette tapes.

Watch issues in motion within the movies embedded under. The primary attracts a Land Rover, and the second plots a easy Moiré sample star. Not dangerous for 70s-era {hardware} and 74xx logic!