TRS Color Computers  Color Computer 1
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TRS80 Color Computer

The Tandy TRS-80 Color Computer had nothing to do with the previous TRS-80 models, and is not compatible. Tandy developed it's own version of Tandy Color Basic for this machine. The Dragon 32 was a clone of this computer.

The CoCo model 1 runs on the Motorola 6809E processor clocked at 0.89MHz. By programming the clock generator, speeds of 1.8MHz could be achieved.

Expansion Ports:

  • Expansion/Cartridge port
  • Two analog joystick connectors
  • Cassette Interface, 1500 baud
  • RS232 Serial port
  • RF TV connector

Motorola 6809 CPU

The Motorola 6809 is an 8-bit microprocessor with some 16-bit features. It was designed by Motorola's Terry Ritter and Joel Boney and introduced in 1978. Although source compatible with the earlier Motorola 6800, the 6809 offered significant improvements over it and 8-bit contemporaries like the MOS Technology 6502, including a hardware multiplication instruction, 16-bit arithmetic, system and user stack registers allowing re-entrant code, improved interrupts, position-independent code and an orthogonal instruction set architecture with a comprehensive set of addressing modes.

Motorola MC6847 Video Display Generator

The MC6847 is a video display generator (VDG) first introduced by Motorola and used in the following machines (this is not a full list):

  • TRS-80 Color Computer
  • Dragon 32/64
  • Laser 200
  • TRS-80 MC-10/Matra Alice
  • NEC PC-6000 series
  • Acorn Atom
  • APF Imagination Machine

The VDG is a relatively simple display generator compared to other display chips of the time. It is capable of displaying alphanumeric text, semigraphics and raster graphics contained within a roughly square display matrix 256 pixels wide by 192 lines high.

The ROM includes a 5 x 7 pixel font, compatible with 6-bit ASCII. Effects such as inverse video or colored text (green on dark green; orange on dark orange) are possible.

The MC6847 is capable of displaying nine colors:

  • black
  • green
  • yellow
  • blue
  • red
  • buff (almost-but-not-quite white)
  • cyan
  • magenta
  • and orange
Two extra colors, dark green and dark orange, are only possible as backgrounds for alphanumeric text modes.

Technical Details
Released 1980 Brand Tandy Radio Shack Type TRS Color Computers RadioShack Name Color Computer 1 CPU Class 6809 CPU Motorola MC6809E @0.89MHz Memory RAM: 4kB
RAM max: 32kB
Sound Chip none Sound square wave tones using cassette port Display Chip MC6847 Video Display Generator Display Text & Bitmapped graphics with 9 colors
max 256x192 2 color mode
Best Color Bitmapped 9 color mode Best Graphics 256x192 in 2 colors Sprites none System OS Microsoft BASIC
Related Systems
 
TRS Color Computers RadioShack
» 
Color Computer  1 (1980)
Related Media
 
Micro
The 6502/6809 Journal
World Wide Web Links
 
Wikipedia: Motorola 6809 CPU
Wikipage about the Motorola 6809 CPU and compatibles
 
WikiPedia: Motorola MC6847 Display Chip

The MC6847 is a Video Display Generator (VDG) first introduced by Motorola in 1978