TRS-80 News

October 15, 2026 - TRS-80 Tool Updated to v4.2.0

Picture

Lawrence Kesteloot has updated his TRS80TOOL to basically become the TRS-80.com recommended tool for disk extraction. Lawrence has been kind enough to keep analyzing the 8,800 DMK images in the archive until divergences hit zero.

The process was that I extracted every image using TRSRead, VDISK, and TRS80TOOL. Those extractions were then analyzed for [1] differences in the number of files extracted (including 'none') and [2] differences in CRC-32 calculations among the three. In cases of differences, if there were cases where TRSRead and VDISK agreed on a CRC32 which TRSTOOL did not, those were flagged for Lawrence.

In the end, TRS80TOOL leads the tools in extractions.

You can read about the new functions DIR and EXTRACT at those links.

The changelog since v3.0.0 is:

  • Can read Model II disks: Model II TRSDOS 1.x and 2.0, TRSDOS-II, DOSPLUS II, the Model II’s CP/M formats (standard 8-inch, Lifeboat, Aton, Pickles & Trout, and CP/M Plus), and Xenix disks that hold a tar archive.
  • Can read FMG’s UCSD Pascal disks for the Model I. extract converts their text files to plain text, unless given the new --ucsd-pascal-raw flag.
  • Can read more CP/M disk formats.
  • More robust reading of damaged and copy-protected disk images.
  • The extract command no longer overwrites files whose names differ only in case; it adds “(2)” etc. to the output filename.
  • Can read ImageDisk (IMD) floppy images, and disk images of Percom MicroDOS for the Model I. Reads more TRSDOS-family disks, and more robust reading of damaged disk images. extract writes damaged files anyway and says what’s wrong with them, with a new --mark-damaged flag to mark their names, and a new --lowercase flag for lowercase file names.
  • New extract command extracts the files of a floppy or cassette into a directory. convert no longer does this.
  • Can read disk images of Model 1 TRSDOS 2.7DD/2.8 and Model 4 Digital Research's CP/M Plus. More robust reading of damaged or unusual disk images.
  • Clip CP/M text files at their Ctrl-Z, with a new --cpm-records flag to keep whole records. Improve support for Montezuma and Holmes Engineering CP/M.
  • Support reading files from Lifeboat CP/M 1.4 disk images for the Model I.
  • Read HFE floppy images (HxC and Gotek), version 1.
  • Better decoding of damaged disk images.
  • Support reading files from Montezuma Micro CP/M 2.2 disk images for the Model 4.
  • When a floppy’s operating system isn’t recognized, convert fails instead of copying the disk image to the output directory.

You can find the instructions at https://www.my-trs-80.com/tool/

Download the updated TRS-80 Tool at https://www.my-trs-80.com/tool/#installation

Source is available at https://github.com/lkesteloot/trs80/tree/master/packages/trs80-tool

October 13, 2026 - New Game - ILLES URSZEKEREI

Gabor Kepes has released a new ame for the TRS-80 (well, for the HT-1080Z), called ILLES URSZEKEREI. It is a reproduction of the Vic-20 game Omega Race.

You can download it from https://gaborkepes.itch.io/illes-urszekerei

October 12, 2026 - DMK/DSK Image Processors Being Tested

With Lawrence's massive update to TRSTOOL, I wanted to see the fidelity across TRSREAD, VDISK, and TRSTOOL. This involved expanding my "export every DMK and gather up the resulting CRC-32's" program, which I use to check for duplicates, into one which would export every DMK using each of the 3, and then compare them to see, for example, if one extracted a different number of files than the other or if the CRC32 of extracted images were different, and which program out of the 3 was the odd man out.

There are 8,810 images in the test group and the results have been disturbing. There are a lot of images where VDISK and TRSTOOL agree and TRSREAD, the program I have been relying on for decades, did the bad extraction.

Since VDISK is no longer being developed, I am working with Lawrence to see where TRSTOOL might possibly be breaking, based on the odd man out; in hopes that TRSTOOL will become the highest fidelity tool for this. To its credit, TRSTOOL was only 'odd man out' on 7 images, and 3 of those were because the images were broken; so extraction fidelity is likely not going to be its problem. Images which either TRSREAD or VDISK do extract but which TRSTOOL cannot are being fed to Lawrence.

This is also having a side effect of letting me label which disks are either 'copy protected' or 'special format', something David S has been asking me to do for years.

Lawrence is actively updating his TRSTOOL during these tests, so hold tight on any upgrade to the latest on that for a bit. I have also asked Peter Philips to look into a few images where TRSRead is clearly failing, in case he might be able (and willing) to update Matthew Reed's TRSREAD utility.

October 11, 2026 - TRS80GP Overlay v1.1

Joe Costolnick has developed a Windows app that launches the trs80gp TRS-80 emulator and wraps it with a bezel overlay with optional GPU rendering which can add bloom, brightness above 100%, curvature, scanlines, vignette, tint and a glass cover. A WebView2 settings window exposes all look settings; they are saved to (and loaded from) .gpc preset files.

A writable folder for presets is mandatory, as GPC saves settings and logs.

A sample command line is: bin\GPC.exe presets\M3.48K.Cheap.gpc

You can find the download and instructions at https://github.com/FastDogJo/GPC

October 11, 2026 - TRS-80 Tool Updated to v3.0.0

Picture

UPDATE: This version has been superceded.

Lawrence Kesteloot has updated his TRS-TOOL to include dsk/dmk reading. Changelog is:

  • v2.9.1: Added a --json flag to the info command.
  • v2.9.2: New tools in the mcp server: record_start and record_stop record an MP4 of the screen, screenshot writes a PNG, and mount_disk and reset let an assistant boot a machine with several floppy disks in it.
  • v3.0.0: Much better reading of floppy disks. The dir, info, convert, and sectors commands now read disks from TRSDOS 2.0–2.3, 2.3B, and 3.0; TRSDOS 1.2 and 1.3; TRSDOS 6.0–6.2 and LS-DOS 6.3; LDOS 5.0–5.3; DOSPLUS 3.1–3.5 and DOSPLUS IV; NEWDOS 2.1, 2.2, and 3.0; NEWDOS/80 1.0 and 2.0; MultiDOS 1.0–2.0; VTOS 3.0 and 4.0; UltraDOS 4.1 and 4.2; Percom DoubleDOS 4.2; and RAPIDOS 1.3, single- or double-sided, in single, double, or mixed density. info names the DOS and its version from what the disk says about itself.
  • v3.0.0: The dir, info, sectors, hexdump, and disasm commands send their output to a pager, with colors intact, when it’s going to the terminal. See Usage to choose the pager or turn it off.
  • v3.0.0: The dir command colors its output using the LS_COLORS and EZA_COLORS environment variables. The tool also honors NO_COLOR.

You can find the instructions at https://www.my-trs-80.com/tool/

Download the updated TRS-80 Tool at https://www.my-trs-80.com/tool/#installation

Source is available at https://github.com/lkesteloot/trs80/tree/master/packages/trs80-tool

September 30, 2026 - Archive Search Updates

The Archive Search page has been updated to add little magnifying glasses next to authors and publishers in each search results. Clicking on those will re-do the search using that author or publisher, so you can see other software by the same entities.

This required a substantial audit of author names and publishers. There are a few publishers that used multiple names for various purposes, such as Programma International and Programma Corporation, and those will not be treated as the same. Thankfully, this affects only a handful of publishers.

September 22, 2026 - New Software

CYB2000 was kind enough to dump and scan Blockade.

Blockade - Joseph Moran / Acorn
Software

Model: I Type: WAV/CAS

Manual

September 22, 2026 - TRS-80 Trash Talk Live # 50

TRS-80 Trash Talk Live #50 is shcheduled for Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 6:00PM Pacific Daylight Time

You can watch on the TRS-80 Trash Talk channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXkGugvdCkpkMDylVQb9gfg

This will include a detailed rundown of next week’s Tandy Assembly so if you are speaking or exhibiting at TA please try to join us and tell the community about what you will be speaking or exhibiting.

If you want to participate in the live zoom session, reach out to trs80trashtalk at gmail dot com for information.

September 20, 2026 - Funsoft Source Code

Jenz Guenther was kind enough to let me know that Yves Lempereur has released the assembler source of his TRS-80 Model I/III games!

  • Time Runner
  • Mad Mines
  • Apple Panic
  • Bable Terror
  • Aliens Eggs
  • Limit Zero
  • Black Hole

You can find Yves' Github at https://github.com/ylempereur?tab=repositories. Note: These files are in ASCII as they are for research.

Thank you, Jenz (and Yves!)

September 19, 2026 - Site Updates

  • A kind member of the TRS-80 community let me read about 250 disks, which have been added to the archive information.
  • The ad copy and missing files have both received a major update thanks to the Radio Shack Sourcebooks.

September 16, 2026 - New Simulator

Richard Merryman has let me know of a Level II BASIC interpreter written in GNU awk

David Forbis posted on Reddit that he has written a Model I/III Level II BASIC interpreter co-written with Claude in GNU awk which aims at the behavior of the Model I machine, not just the language: the same error codes and number formatting, the ROM's RND generator, and the 64x16 pseudo-screen with semigraphics drawn in a virtual terminal. It's mostly Level II BASIC, but he added some Disk Basic features where he found good uses for them.

You can find the project at https://github.com/davidscan/trs80basic

September 10, 2026 - TRS-80 Tool Updated to v2.9.0

Picture

Lawrence Kesteloot has completed a very unique upgrade to this TRS-80 Tool: AI MCP. He writes that the new routine:

Runs an MCP server on stdin/stdout, which lets an AI assistant drive a TRS-80 directly. The assistant can boot a ROM, type at it, run it for an exact number of clock cycles, and inspect the screen, memory, and registers. The machine stays running between requests, so the assistant can explore interactively instead of guessing.

You don’t run this command yourself. Your AI tool starts it for you, so what you do is tell that tool about it.

The MCP can:

  • boot — start a machine, either with the stock Basic ROM or with a .cmd file that replaces the ROM.
  • load_program — load and start a program file on the running machine.
  • type — type text at the keyboard, waiting until the ROM has taken every key.
  • key — press or release a single key and leave it that way, for programs that care whether a key is held down.
  • run — run for a number of clock cycles or emulated seconds.
  • step — single-step the CPU.
  • run_until_pc — run until the program counter reaches an address.
  • run_until_screen — run until some text appears on the screen, and report how long it took. This is how you time a Basic program.
  • screen — read the screen as text.
  • read_memory, write_memory, registers.
  • search_memory — find a byte sequence, for locating code in ROM.
  • disassemble — disassemble straight out of memory, ROM included.
  • profile_pc — run for a while and report where the program counter spent its time, as a histogram of the hottest addresses.
  • call_routine — call a machine-language routine with chosen registers and report exactly how many clock cycles it took, the way another program calling it would see it.

You can find the instructions at https://www.my-trs-80.com/tool/#mcp.

Download the updated TRS-80 Tool at https://www.my-trs-80.com/tool/#installation.

Source is available at https://github.com/lkesteloot/trs80/tree/master/packages/trs80-tool

September 9, 2026 - New Software

"CYB 2600" has provided some additional software! Thank you!

Title:Battle Games Year: 19xx Model: Level 1 Model I Publisher: Southern States Systems

Title:Battle Games Year: 19xx Model: I Publisher: Southern States Systems

Title:Blockade Year: 1979 Model: I Author: Joseph Moran Publisher: Acorn Software Products

Title:System Savers Year: 1978 Model: I Publisher: Acorn Software Products

September 9, 2026 - New Software

Gabor Kepes has developed Planet Makruk for the HT-1080Z. It works on the TRS-80.

Planet Makruk (2026)
Software

Model: I Author: Gabor Kepes

Manual

You can find more information about it at https://gaborkepes.itch.io/planet-makruk

TRS8BIT - Vol 20, No. 3

Cover

Issue Information:

Date: September 2026
Pages: 78
Blurb: In this issue, George and Peter Phillips release details of their latest version (2.5.8) of trs80gp. Ian Mavric has details of the speakers for the forthcoming T.A. 2026. He also warns us that it’s tough times ahead for retro-computer lovers.
Check-out page 11 if you’re interested in some U.K. hardware bargains.
Randy Kindig starts a series transcripts of ‘Floppy Days’, with episode 8, part 1. E.T. Fonehume has a BASIC one-liner displaying a Kaleidoscope. Egotiz Campo reports on the latest Basgue, TRS-80 Tournament. Vince Otten supplies part 7 “Double Trouble” of his series “The Power of the ROM”. In the regular feature ‘The Way We Were’, there’s an interesting software upgrade for the System80/Video Genie’s. There’s a couple of interesting finds in ‘Surfin the Net’.
And finally, there’s the latest puzzle in our ‘Countdown’ series.

Table of Contents

02 TRS80GP - Latest upgrade details: Version 2.5.8, adding paste macros for macOS and Linux and a disk summary that can show likely empty sectors, by George & Peter Phillips
04 Tandy Assembly 2026: Latest news and details of speakers for this year's event which is being held on the 2nd to the 4th October 2026 in Cincinnati, OH. Are you lucky enough to be going?, by Ian Mavric
11 For sale - Large donation given to the site: I'm looking for offers as a 'job lot' please. (Re-sell on eBay and tripple your money! Or just increase you collection!) Buyer to collect, estate or small van needed!, by Unattributed
18 Floppy Days - Transcript, Episode 8, Part 1: TRS-80 Model I history, part 1, plus part 1 of the interview with David and Teresa Welsh, authors of 'Priming the Pump', by Randy Kindig
31 Kaleidoscope: Another fantastic BASIC one-liner. I'll mention the 'fun' George and I has with it, on the next TTLive event!, by E.T. Fonehume
34 XII Basque TRS-80 Tournament: Here are the result from the latest competition, by Egoitz Campo
38 The Power of the ROM: Part 7 of Vince's series, 'Double trouble', by Vince Otten
59 The Way We Were: A look back to 'the day' with an interesting software upgrade for the Video Genie/System-80, by Andrew Howard
70 'Countdown' Quiz: Can you work out the answer in under 30 seconds?, by Unattributed
74 Tough times for retro computer buyers: More 'sad' news of retro computer lovers, by Ian Mavric

You can download it from http://TRS-80.org.uk/.

August 31, 2026 - TRS80GP Updated to v2.5.8

George and Peter Phillips have updated their awesome TRS80GP emulator to v2.5.8. Changes are:

New Features:

  • MX-70 now has printer sound effects on Mac.
  • Disk summary has option to show likely empty sectors
  • Command line -im disksummary and -im disksummarye output disk image summaries

Bug Fixes:

  • Reset FDC on Model I reset button press
  • Model 4P defaults to having hires Tandy graphics
  • FreHD always given short file names on Windows even when it refuses
  • Don't force cursor off when directly loading /CMD files
  • File Utility was crashing on Model 2 systems under MacOS

You can download it at http://48k.ca/trs80gp.html

August 31, 2026 - New Software

Alex Mota has written a utility to identify which memory blocks are occupied on a Model I

Title:Map Mem [Identify which memory blocks are occupied] Year: 2026 Model: I Author: Alex Mota

August 24, 2026 - CalvaDOS for the Genie III

Egbert Schroeer has lt me know that he has gotten CalvaDOS reconstructed and running on a real physical Genie III

You can see his write-up at https://github.com/Egbert-Azure/TCS-Trommeschlaeger-Genie-IIIs-CalvaDOS

August 23, 2026 - Fixed Software

Claude continues to amaze me. I had the below software as "Can't figure it out". It turns out that Info Cras needed a "Security Disk" and Test Bank System kept rebooting because was looking for protection on the disk.

Claude examined the files, determined the protection, and built not only a cracked file, but also built the associated DMK's with the required security so that a crack wasn't neccessary. The below include all those, including its analysis; for those who are curious.

Title:Info Cras Year: 1979 Model: I Publisher: The Bottom Shelf

Title:Test Bank System v3.01 [Protected] Year: 1983 Model: III Author: Atherton + Dayton Publisher: Advanced Technology Applications

August 21, 2026 - Site Updates

I have updated the Software Search expanded results page to include the text of an ad applicable to the product, if available. This is also a searchable field.

August 17, 2026 - TRS-80 Emulator for Android

The team behind the Android TRS-80 emulator has pushed a brand new version of the TRS-80 app with a new and streamlined UI

You can find it at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.puder.trs80

August 15, 2026 - PC-3 Service Manual

R Pickett was kind enough to provide the missing PC-3 Service Manual!

Title:PC-3 Pocket Computer Service ManualPublisher:TandyYear:19xxSize:23,492,220Pages:20Notes:RS26-3590

August 10, 2026 - Site Updates

I have updated the Software Search results page to permit for the same expanded results as are shown on the category results page, so now you can choose between the single line and the expanded when getting results.

August 10, 2026 - Tandy Assembly 2026

Tandy Assembly is coming up! Here's what the organizers have to say
Well, it’s less than 2 months until Tandy Assembly 2026 folks (Oct 2 - Oct 4, 2026 in Cincinatti)! The speaker schedule is booked, the Friday Tech Track track classes are all assigned and the planning is proceeding on target. If you’re not aware, we’re at a new venue this year just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. Very convenient to the airport for those that fly in…in fact, we’re at the airport!
The new venue is also quite a bit larger so you can have multiple tables this year if you plan on exhibiting or becoming a vendor. For vendors, we have some new rules that you need to follow so please be aware of that. See the website for details.
More details will follow as the show date approaches so please watch your inbox.
If you have not yet registered, please do so soon so that we have a good idea of how much space we will need to configure at the venue.
Remember, all exhibitors, sponsors and Tech Track attendees will be invited to the Friday night onsite dinner. Others can attend the dinner for $20 additional cost.
Send any questions to this email address.
Take care and we’ll see you in October!
To get more information, visit the Tandy Assembly Web site

August 3, 2026 - New Manual

The manual for the Exatron MM-800 64K RAM Board was found!

Title:MM-800 64K RAM BoardPublisher:ExatronYear:1982Size:13,985,507Pages:29

August 1, 2026 - Site Updates

If you are bored, or want to help out the site, visit the categorization project page and categorize some of the archive! You can jump to various pages, or a random one, a letter of the alphabet, or search. Do as much or as little as you want!

Update: Thanks for everyone who has submitted! Only 26,752 more to go!

July 30, 2026 - GW2DMK for Mac released

Quentin Barnes has released GW2DMK for the Mac.

You can find it at https://github.com/qbarnes/gw2dmk/releases/tag/v0.5.1.

July 30, 2026 - TRS80Tools Updated to v2.8.12


Lawrence Kesteloot has released an updated copy of his trs80tools, now new version 2.8.12, with updates to the disasm command as follows:

  • The input file is detected by its contents, not the filename extension, so that FLT, DVR, and OV? files will be treated like CMD files.
  • CAS and WAV files can be disassembled directly. If multiple programs are on the cassette, only the first will be disassembled.
  • The --full flag now no longer causes jump targets to be disassembled. The assumption is that all code is sequential.

You can download it for the Windows, Mac, and Linux at https://www.my-trs-80.com/tool/#installation.

July 28, 2026 - Site Updates

  • Model I LDOS v5.3.1 has been fully disassembled. You can find the main page here.
  • Thanks to Anthropic giving everyone a $100 credit to use Fable 5, I have managed to identify all patches. The Patch Page now includes all unsorted patches I had, and to the extent that they needed to be matched with a specific program version or DOS version, they have been.
  • The Software Search page has been updated with an additional icon. If a program has patches, a little icon pops up in the right icon grouping to allow for download of those patches.

July 26, 2026 - New Model I Game - LEO25

Gabor Kepes has written a new game for the TRS-80 Model I and HT1080Z called LEO25. He is asking people to try it out and report any bugs

You can download a DSK of the game at https://gaborkepes.itch.io/leo25.

July 24, 2026 - GW2DMK Updated

Quentin Barnes has updated his GW2DMK Utility v0.5 noting the following changes:

  • USB bus scanning for the Greaseweazle should now work. No need to always specify -G|--device option.
  • Autodetect floppy drive when -d|--drive option not given.
  • New -Z|--serial option to give a GW serial number if more than one GW.
  • New -B|--bustype option to specify type of floppy cable (ibm or shugart).
  • New -C|--config|--noconfig options to specify an INI file (or disable it) for default arguments. See the man pages under section "CONFIGURATION FILE" for details.
  • The -R|--replay option is now implemented. Uses -U logfiles instead of a level 7 -u logfile like in cw2dmk.
  • -y|--testmode
  • -h|--hd
  • -f|--fillmode
  • -p|--precomp
  • -a|--rateadj
  • --dither

This wonderful program uses the still-being-manufactured Greaseweazle instead of the defunct Catweasel, to create DMK images from real disks. This utility permits caching of good sectors to rebuild damaged tracks, making it far superior to any other method of archiving.

You can see entire GITHUB project at https://github.com/qbarnes/gw2dmk. For those who want a faster download, you can download all OS releases (Linux: ARM Arch64, ARMv7l, x86_64 and Windows: 32- and 64- bit), including source code, from here.

July 15, 2026 - Model I Case and Bezel

Dusty has unveiled his Model I Case with Bezel and Badge product! He also has put up a web page --- https://dustysvintageworkshop.com/.

You can see all of his EXTREMELY impressive work on that site! e-Commerce to come at some point.

July 10, 2026 - 3-D Printer Model I Case - 2 on eBay

Dusty of Dusty's Vintage Workshop has two (2) finished model I replacement cases for sale

July 8, 2026 - LDOS v5.3.0 for the Lobo Max-80

Scott Toenniessen has provided LDOS v5.3.0 for the Lobo Max-80.

You can download it here

I have no way of testing this image.

July 5, 2026 - 3-D Printer Model I Case

Dusty of Dusty's Vintage Workshop has been fine-tuning his 3-D printable Model I case, and has released the STL files and builder's guide.

You can download it here

July 4, 2026 - Expansion Interface Revision D

Marcel Erz of RetroStack has released the full schematic, Gerber files for the common manufacturers, and a complete BOM for his reverse engineered and updated version of the TRS-80 Model I Expansion Interface.

You can read all about it at https://www.patreon.com/RetroStack/posts/trs-80-model-1-d-162928605

July 2, 2026 - H-DOS (Genie) and Banker Hardware Hack

The prolific Eghbert Azure has provided more links

Older News

Older news can be found here ...