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ChipMusic.org / Forums / Other Vintage Computers & Consoles / Anybody know anything about this old computer?
Tandy 1000 TL/3. Turning it on produces an error message:
FILE NOT FOUND
Please insert disc with DESKTOP.CFG
I have a stack of DeskMate discs too, but every one bring about that same error. Choosing cancel brings me to that DeskMate screen shown in the pic, but no options are really available except pressing Esc and being able to enter commands. Any way to fix this or is this pretty much done?
well i know some things about that old computer
it's pretty much a 286 pc, you can run msdos up to v6 and possibly pcdos on it. has a decent enough DAC on it , which would be cool for tracking but a lot of trackers (edit: maybe all, didnt encounter a tracker which can use this feature yet) do not have support. also has the soundchip from the sega master system in it, which can be tracked with monotone which has explicit support for this soundchip + cga interface, probably your best bet.
a cool machine but suffering from lack of software to make use of its unique capabilitys
but no i don't know anything about your deskmate problems, which is kind of a bummer because deskmate comes with some music software.
but even if you don't fix that you can still use DOS (maybe tryout monotone it is pretty cool) so its not totally junk
link to monotone: http://www.oldskool.org/pc/MONOTONE
Last edited by ant1 (Sep 2, 2012 3:44 am)
Awesome I was hoping you would, thanks dude! 
I'll check out monotone.
This is actually my parents' old unit. I remember writing endless nonsensical melodies with the Music program and driving them freaking mad with 64th note barrages
monotone is nice ! I did 2-3 songs with it, nothing big but it's fun !
massive resource for tandy 1000 series stuff here http://www.oldskool.org/guides/tvdog/documents.html : - D god i love docummmments
massive resource for tandy 1000 series stuff here http://www.oldskool.org/guides/tvdog/documents.html : - D god i love docummmments
Brilliant, I think I found a lead through that:
III.F.2. What are the options to the system setup command?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~It depends on the system; all of them are undocumented. On the 1000TL, there are
three. Entering, say SETUPTL without options will give you access to only one
screen of setup options - only "safe" things. SETUPTL /A will give access to
several additional screenfuls of setup. /A is mainly useful for controlling the
amount of video RAM (see section II.A.2.). SETUPTL /B will display the actual
binary EEPROM contents and allow you to change individual bits. It is not much
use since nobody has mapped the EEPROM. Beware of /A and /B: it is possible to
mess up the EEPROM so as to make the system unbootable. Finally, SETUPTL /F will
reset the EEPROM to the factory defaults; this option is sometimes useful if
you've messed up the setup so that there isn't any screen output. It is also
useful if your DeskMate DeskTop is messed up and you can't fix it from inside
DeskMate (you should also delete DESKTOP.CFG, and you will have to rebuild your
DeskTop).
trying now, brb
That's a cousin to the first computer I used for midi sequencing. If you want it to "just work" all you need is a FreeDos disc.
Avoid DeskMate, even in its day it was shitty.
It has a three-squares-or-noises chip if you feel like programming it at machine level.
Hm, that's the thing. I'm trying to bypass DeskMate on startup, but it gets disc read errors 99% of the time I put in the startup disc with the option to change that. Wonder if the disc drive is damaged.
Either way, it's cool to learn a little more about this machine. Don't think I'm missing too much that can't be done on a good DOSclone.
If this is anything like a 286, look for Module Editor v2.00 (by Norman Lin) and Blaster Master (sampler software). According to this release (which Radiograffiti will have in stock for the new site launch) it can sound just like an Amiga.
http://www.killbotrecords.com/killbot/d … er-286-12/
That is if I'm understanding any of this correctly, which I may not be considering I just woke up.
Last edited by TSC (Sep 2, 2012 1:14 pm)
Hm, that's the thing. I'm trying to bypass DeskMate on startup, but it gets disc read errors 99% of the time I put in the startup disc with the option to change that. Wonder if the disc drive is damaged.
There's an eeprom in those things that would make it load a deskmate skeleton if there is no bootable floppy or hdd installed. I think all you need is a bootable disk.
I'll see if my brother's memory is better than mine, the answer may be a "hold delete key while booting" option... All I remember is that I turned it off and had a very complex DOS 5 boot menu.
Edit: if I find out my brother still has the setup disk you refer to I'll make a zip file of it. (He and our dad were RS employees when we were teens.)
Last edited by chunter (Sep 2, 2012 6:05 pm)
i thought "pressing Esc and being able to enter commands" meant you were able to get to DOS?
i think this model has DOS built into it (in rom??) so you shouldn't need a disk with anything but trackers/samples but i don't know how you can bypass deskmate startup. a pdf of the tl3 user manual (tl3user.zip) is available from the verrry slow oldschool.org ftp ftp://ftp.oldskool.org/pub/tvdog/tandy1 … l3user.zip
i imagine it would explain in there
If this is anything like a 286, look for Module Editor v2.00 (by Norman Lin) and Blaster Master (sampler software). According to this release (which Radiograffiti will have in stock for the new site launch) it can sound just like an Amiga.
http://www.killbotrecords.com/killbot/d … er-286-12/
That is if I'm understanding any of this correctly, which I may not be considering I just woke up.
blaster master is, i believe, designd for the sound blaster (a clue in the name)
mod edit runs on anything i believe, even MDA and PC Speaker. but i do not think it has support for tandy soundchip so you would be stuck with just using pc speaker. unless you have a speech thing which is an 8 bit soundcard that connects to the printer you can easily build yourself or maybe buy on ebay (http://harryaxten.webs.com/covoxspeechthingclone.htm)
having the speech thing would maybe open up the trackers you could use and give you more compatability but not having EGA/VGA still limits the trackers you can use a lot (maybe screamtracker 2 works with CGA and covox, but it realllllly sucks) (it possible to add a VGA card to a tandy computer I BELIEVE)
anyway! 286 does not "sound like an amiga" since 286 is just a CPU, a 286 computer may have any kind of hardware installed to it. i suppose for this record he had a soundblaster although he doesn't mention it. tracking protracker mods with crappy 8 bit output will sound a bit like an amiga whatever you do though 
i thought "pressing Esc and being able to enter commands" meant you were able to get to DOS?
i think this model has DOS built into it (in rom??) so you shouldn't need a disk with anything but trackers/samples but i don't know how you can bypass deskmate startup. a pdf of the tl3 user manual (tl3user.zip) is available ...
Thanks for the memory jog. The built-in DOS was a Tandy hacked version of DOS 2 or 3 depending on the model, but you can boot anything that boots on a 286 pc. Try typing "version." There was also a GWBASIC for it with a hacked PLAY command for three voice.
having the speech thing would maybe open up the trackers you could use and give you more compatability but not having EGA/VGA still limits the trackers you can use a lot (maybe screamtracker 2 works with CGA and covox, but it realllllly sucks) (it possible to add a VGA card to a tandy computer I BELIEVE)
Not just possible, when I was given mine it already had a VGA card in it. Tandy 1000 series had a proprietary 16 color which was neither EGA nor CGA, though many games supported it. I put an SB pro in it so I didn't use its built-in sound very much.
Tandy 1000 series had a proprietary 16 color which was neither EGA nor CGA, though many games supported it.
mhmm, backward compatible with CGA though ! (and i dont know any trackers that use the tandy extensions)
They weren't sold outside the US much... I'm surprised you know about them. In college I replaced mine with a higher speed 286 iirc. Slimmer case, more memory, less latency when running Master Tracks.
