Dick Smiths System-80 Repository is now available

[ChickenMan]

The System-80 was a micro-computer sold by Dick Smith Electronics (DSE) from May 1980 till the end of 1983. It was sort of a TRS-80 Model 1 clone but different in a number of ways, though it could run all/most of the Model 1 software.  It was made by EACA International in Hong Kong and was also sold in other countries but called the Video Genie, PMC-80 and others.  There are numerous sites accross the internet with material ralated to the TRS-80 Model 1 and the System-80, this repository is not trying to be a clone of those but just making available files that were written and produced here in Australia, including what DSE made available for the System-80.

Big thanks particularly go to KimJohn, Tezza and archive.com but also to many other web sites that had odd bits of material for scanned or to be scanned or software material.  Without their help, this Repository would not exist. Check out Tezza's excellent site at https://www.classic-computers.org.nz/system-80/ for further information on the System-80.

There are 2 main sections to the repository, Documentation and Software. The Documentation folder contains sub-folders of :-

Brochures
Magazines (APC, EA, ETI and YC)
Manuals
Newsletters
Pictures

The EA Magazines have been gone through and extracted everything System 80 related, the other 3 are yet to be done but there are some files there already.  The Newsletters are from these Australian TRS80/System80 user groups or companies :-

Adelaide_Micro_User_News
ASP
Bits_and_Bytes
Don_McKenzie
Micro-80
Sydtrug_News
TRS-80_Microcomputer_News

We have all the Micro-80 newsletters but they need a massive cleanup, so will be updated in the future.  Others will be added when available.

Much of the Software available on the internet for the System-80 is not on bootable disks. These have all been added to bootable NEWDOS/80 disks for simple running. They all either boot the program directly, boot to a Basic Menu or boot to a DIR.  If you have a Gotek fitted to your System 80, then simple load them into HxCFloppyEmulator_soft and Export as a *.HFC file which you just copy to your Gotek USB Stick. There is also CP/M for a unmodified 48k System 80.  However, it will NOT run regular CP/M programs as base address is 4200h with programs loading and running from 4300h.

This is just a start and the repository will be added to in the future when new material comes available. If anyone could help with any of the DSE or other Australian software and Documentation that's missing, we would love to hear from you.

So check out the new Vintage/System-80  Repository.

[ChickenMan]

The Micro-80 Newsletters have all been cleaned a bit and in the repository.  There was no Vol 2 nor vol4 05 so we have complete from Vol 1 #01 to Vol 4 #08.  If anyone has any issues after Vol4 #8 we would like to hear from you.

The 8th Bit Newsletter's (from a TRS80/System 80 club in Marrickville, NSW) have also been cleaned up and in the repository.  We have #01 to #15.  If anyone has any issues after Vol 15 we would like to hear from you.

Thanks to Tezza and the internet, few more disks were also prepared on auto booting disks. There will be some disks later from Micro-80 as they provided a disk for the issues that had program listings in them, but one included here with their Household Accounts and Household Budget basic programs. Also from Tezza is the System 80 Utility Rom that fits into the free space just above BASIC rom.  A socket will need to be fitted to System-80's prior to the Blue Label model.  

Thanks also to KimJohn for providing a scan of his Sound Off first issue manual.  The current one in the repository was re-named to 2nd issue.

So in the Vintage repository in the System-80 Documentation & Software folders we placed

dse_sound_off_manual_1st_edition.pdf
dse_sound_off_manual_2nd_edition.pdf <-- original manual renamed

micro80_v01_01.pdf
to
micro80_v04_08.pdf

8th_bit_v01.pdf
to
8th_bit_v15.pdf

dse_sound_off.dsk
dse_hangman.dsk
dse_radio_log.dsk
micro80_house_accounts_budgets.dsk

system_80_utility.rom
utility_eprom_manual.pdf

[ChickenMan]

Thanks to archive.com for scans of Bits & Bytes Magazine from New Zealand that contained many System 80 articles and a regular TRS80/System 80 column.  Early editions are not best quality (scanned at only 96 dpi ) but these have been processed to achieve a better read after much clean up. So OCR'ing of these is not the best.

The TRS80/System 80 Column started in the first issue of Sept 82 and last one was in Sept 85 with three months in between where it was absent.  There is a total of 41 of these columns covering just about every possible subject.  Makes for interesting reading.

So in the Vintage repository in the new System-80\Documentation\Magazines\Bits_&_Bytes_NZ folder we placed

computer_centre_advert_bits_&_bytes_v1_06.pdf
dick_smith_advert_bits_&_bytes_v1_06.pdf
dick_smith_advert_bits_&_bytes_v1_08.pdf
disk_drive_expansion_review_bits_&_bytes_v1_07.pdf
john_gilbert_electronics_advert_bits_&_bytes_v1_09.pdf
microprocessor_services_advert_bits_&_bytes_v1_07.pdf
molymerx_advert_bits_&_bytes_v2_11.pdf
pencil_driver_listing_bits_&_bytes_v2_09.pdf

system80_column_bits_&_bytes_v1_01.pdf
to
system80_column_bits_&_bytes_v4_01.pdf

think_big_listing_bits_&_bytes_v2_04.pdf
whodunit_game_listing_bits_&_bytes_v1_02.pdf

[ChickenMan]

Yet another TRS80/System 80 Newsletter as produced by the North and Western Suburbs Computer User Group (NAWSCUG) in Victoria. Again these are full of useful tips and tricks and makes for interesting reading.  We don't have them all so if anyone can help with additional editions, that would be great

So in the Vintage Repository in the System-80/Documentation/Newsletters/NAWSCUG folder we placed

nawscug_82_02.pdf
nawscug_84_03.pdf
nawscug_84_04.pdf
nawscug_86_06.pdf
nawscug_86_08.pdf
nawscug_86_09.pdf
nawscug_86_11.pdf
nawscug_87_05.pdf
nawscug_87_07.pdf
nawscug_87_11.pdf
nawscug_87_12.pdf
nawscug_88_02.pdf
nawscug_88_03.pdf
nawscug_agms_87_88_89.pdf
nawscug_barbecue_83_12.pdf

[ChickenMan]

Yet another TRS80/System 80 Newsletter as produced by the Eastern Suburbs 80s User Group (ES80UG) in Victoria. Again these are full of useful tips and tricks and makes for interesting reading.  We don't have them all so if anyone can help with additional editions, that would be great 

So in the Vintage Repository in the System-80/Documentation/Newsletters/ES80UG folder we placed

es80ug_newsletter_85_01.pdf
es80ug_newsletter_85_02.pdf
es80ug_newsletter_85_07.pdf
es80ug_newsletter_85_08.pdf
es80ug_newsletter_85_09.pdf
es80ug_newsletter_86_02.pdf
es80ug_newsletter_86_03.pdf
es80ug_newsletter_87_04.pdf
es80ug_newsletter_87_10.pdf

[ChickenMan]

Thanks to Ian Mavric for making available further scans of the Newsletters Adelaide_Micro_User_News and Bits_and_Bytes Newsletter.  These were all cleaned (some needed a lot, some needed little), de-skewed and converted to searchable pdf's.  Some have had been filed in a 3 hole folder so some have a few bits missing.

There are a some Newsletters missing from the collection.  The Adelaide_Micro_User_News collection is missing those prior to October 1980, March 81, June 86, all of 1988 & 1989 (bar one), our 1990 issues are missing most pages, 3 issues for 1991 and any after May 1995, if there were any.  Your help in completing this collection will be gratefully appreciated in any small or large amount.  To make it easier for downloading, a zip file of each year newsletters has also been included.  There was no January issues released, so 11 per year only.

The Bits & Bytes Newsletter collection is also missing some Newsletters, these are #1 to 21, #31, #25 and any after #145.  Again, if anyone can help with filling these gaps, your help will be much appreciated.  Index files of 1 to 100 and 101 to 137 are included as well as a 37 page History of Bits & Bytes released in Jan 1996. A zip file each containing about 10 issues have also been included for easier downloading.

So in the Vintage Repository in the System-80/Documentation/Newsletters folder we placed (minus those listed above that are missing) with a total of 202 new Newsletters :-

amun_1985_02 to amun_1988_02
amun _1991_04 to amun_1995_07

Bits_&_Bytes_28.pdf 
to
Bits_&_Bytes_145.pdf

Bits_&_Bytes_Complete_Index_issues_1_to_100.pdf
Bits_&_Bytes_Complete_Index_issues_101_to_137.pdf
history_of_bits_&_bytes.pdf

[ChickenMan]

Thanks to kimjohn for making his original copy of History of Bits & Bytes booklet available to be scanned.

This 40 page booklet was produced in Jan 1986 by the TRS-80 / System 80 Computer Group in Brisbane, Queensland and their Monthly Newsletter was called "Bits & Bytes" and not to be confused with the Monthly Magazine also called "Bits & Bytes" produced in New Zealand.  This is better quality than our existing copy which it has replaced.  From the booklet

In writing the history of the Bits & Bytes Computer Users Group -
originally the "TRS-80 Club" then the "TRS-80 System 80 Computer
Group", I have used the regular monthly newsletters going back to June
1985 as the basis. Unfortunately the earlier newsletter sheets have been
lost A simple record of the events noted in these newsletters, in
chronological order, would make very boring reading so I have split the
history into phases in the development of the club, with separate sections
dealing with particular aspects of the group's activities over the years.


So in the Vintage Repository in the System-80\Documentation\Newsletters\Bits_and_Bytes folder we placed

history_of_bits_&_bytes_1986.pdf