Tandy 1000RL computer & DeskMate review

The 1000RL features the Tandy sound and graphics that are used by hundreds of classic PC games, as well as digital audio recording, playback, and editing, and the DeskMate graphical user interface with kitchen-themed applications that earned it the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval!

[@carcomp101]

Good lord. I had this in 1988. I was 8 years old. My parents bought it, we used it for about a week and found that no software would run on it (games from the store) and that it “had no hard drive”. They returned it and bought a DTK 286 that was amazing. Now, 30 years later FINALLY I know how it ran deskmate without a hard drive. 30 YEARS of wondering.

[@RS-mu3ci]

Very in depth review. I had one of these models back in 1991 and learned how to use DOS from it. You showing the Desk Mate GUI brought all kinds of memories back immidiately. Played lots of games on that thing. Two that come to mind are Fokker and Stellar 7.

[@jimthvac100]

I worked at Radio Shack years ago part time while going to college in my early twenty's. I used to sell these lol, looking at these I am feeling old now.. My fist computer was a Color computer 2, After that was a Tandy 1000 TX. I am now 48

[@jamierichards2075]

This was my first computer. Amazing how far technology has advanced since then.

[@jackilynpyzocha662]

1000 RLX was fabulous!

[@OptimusNiaa]

I could tell from the moment you pushed the power button that it didn't have the stock hard drive. It didn't make that distinctive sound. Great review, by the way.

[@WayneGilliotti]

the Tandy 1000 SL was my 1st computer system I ever owned, after watching videos on youtube about them, I now realize how much they could do back then.... wish I would have knew back then

[@Gr8thxAlot]

This was a fantastic computer with great software. Tandy sound and graphics really kept this usable. I'd take this over an IBM or Apple product of the day..

[@stevenparker1063]

I had A Tandy 1000 RL in 1990, I upgraded to 768k memory and also upgraded to the 40mb Hard drive which I believe had a RLL Interface. And I was hoping to daisy chain the 20mb to 40mb, but could not do that much to my disappointment. The 40mb hard drive cost me 300 bucks if I remember correctly. OUCH. But I did learn a lot on that computer, used BBS Boards with the 2400 baud modem.

[@vwestlife]

No, I have never cleaned it inside. It stays clean because it does not have a fan, therefore dust does not get sucked into it.

[@TechTimeWithEric]

I saw the icon, and started reminiscing about playing hangman on my Tandy 1000 SL, and then you brought brought out a Tandy 1000 SL

[@vwestlife]

I forgot to mention that the 1000RL uses the 8086's full 16-bit data path to the onboard video, and its IDE interface supports DMA. This makes it very quick for an XT-class machine. I just wish the CPU was socketed so I could replace it with a NEC V30!

[@KingHenryVR4]

watching this makes me wish I still had my old Tandy 1000SL? that my mom picked me up at a yardsale back in the 90s

[@thetinpin]

My first computer :) Man I loved that machine! That little box was the beginning of my nerdom - I taught myself the ins and outs of DOS and did some BASIC programming as well. Ah, the memories. Thanks for the trip back in time :D

[@vwestlife]

There will be more on the way. I have recently sold a few of my more common vintage computers in order to make room for some of the rare and unique machines that most people have never heard of (like the Tano Dragon).

[@KENNETHUDUT]

Very satisfying review. I had the Tandy 1000 TL from 1989 - somewhere in the 90s. Can't actually remember what happened to it but it was my baby for a long time. [probably gave it away or something]. I've missed the SOUND program for a long long time 'til Audacity came along.

[@5roundsrapid263]

KENNETH UDUT my first PC was a TL. I loved the audio editing as a kid.

[@baremetalHW]

Sorry to bother you but can you tell me what the model # of the second (MDA) monitor you used in this video...

[@vwestlife]

It's a Mitsubishi Diamond Scan AUM-1381A.

[@drzeissler]

This is a great machine. I got mine a few days ago. I am waiting for the 220->110 Volt Converter (Germany) More Videos, especially Tandy Games please!!! THX

[@jackilynpyzocha662]

I had a TI 99 4A as my first system, the RLX 1000 was next. I loved Desk Mate 3.

[@BilisNegra]

17:03 I'm impressed that primitive hard drive alone doesn't suck all of those 44 watts!

[@timothyzdroik890]

Miss my Tandy trying to find working one to have my kids learn and see how it was in late 80s early 90s

[@phuturephunk]

This was my first computer. Memories.

[@NightSprinter]

Ooh, I'll need to keep that drive letter bit in mind, as I own a 1000RL now.

[@vwestlife]

The CM-11 monitor is a CGA-only monitor and does not support the higher resolution used by the MDA/Hercules monochrome video mode. The Mitsubishi is a multisync-type monitor and works with anything from CGA all the way up to Super VGA. The DeskMate Music program does use instrument samples.

[@jackilynpyzocha662]

"Reverse Piano" would make a great paranormal video sound!

[@weasel2htm]

I spy an MCS 3050! These vintage computer videos are really nice to be able to fill in the "holes" of hardware I never got to see or expirience.

[@vwestlife]

Yes, there were some games which used 640x200 16-color mode, with dithering to make it look like even more colors on the screen. There's a thread about this somewhere on the Vintage Computer Forums.

[@vwestlife]

You need DeskMate 3.x to get the Tandy DAC sound. Personal DeskMate II was from the 1000HX which only has the 3-voice sound chip.

[@vwestlife]

Yes, it should run, however the graphics may be choppy because it was designed for a 286 or faster processor.

[@vwestlife]

The 1000RL does have one ISA slot, but it is not compatible with CPU upgrades because it has a soldered-in 8086 CPU.

[@vwestlife]

This is DeskMate 3.04. It comes with the home organizer applications, but the tradeoff is that the business-type applications like Worksheet (spreadsheet) and Filer (database) that the other versions of DeskMate came with are missing.

[@rubyvolt]

I have a few TX's and several 486 Tandy machines. My favorites of the era. I had never seen that box for the Information Center. It is inside the Home Organizer. I tried to make an icon for the Info Center but all it did was the little blue oval thing. Did the Info Center come on a separate install so as to get that box?

[@vwestlife]

Yes, the musical group that had hits like "Aquarius" and "Wedding Bell Blues".

[@KuyaBillRomjue]

Wow, I use to sell these for the Shack back in the 80's and early 90's. What a flashback!

[@Lachlant1984]

I love these informative retrospective computer videos you've been doing recently, I hope you have more to come. Please forgive me for being ignorant, but when you were demonstrating MDA/HGA mode and CGA mode, is there any particular reason why you use the Mitsubishi monitor instead of the CM-11? what early DOS games do you have on the computer if any? I take it that Canon in D was composed using sampled instrument sounds as opposed to the Sega Master System esque synth chip in the computer,

[@vwestlife]

This one only gives you amber when you feed it with an MDA/Hercules monochrome signal. Some other multisync-type monitors gave you a switch to choose between white, amber, and green for monochrome video.

[@vwestlife]

The Tandy 1000 series can run normal DOS software just like any other IBM PC clones. You can install a VGA card, but I prefer to use the onboard CGA graphics, because that's what most 1980s PC games were designed for.

[@thepirategamerboy12]

How do you get Cannon.sng to sound like that? In dosbox, it only has PSG notes instead of the .snd samples. I'm using Personal Deskmate II.

[@drzeissler]

You can put in 2drives and an XTIDE-Flash HDD

[@gadget73]

This brings back memories. The first computer we had when I was growing up was a Tandy 1000 with that monitor. I don't know which model of 1000, but I'm pretty sure it had a hard drive. I remember using CompuServe with it on a 9600 baud modem.

[@ravenousjerboa]

great vid, love history!

[@vwestlife]

Windows 2.x has a driver for the Tandy 640x200 mode, but it is only 4 colors, not the 16 colors that the 1000RL/SL/TL support. I'm told this driver can also be used with Windows 3.x. I'm sure GEM and GeoWorks have Tandy drivers as well.

[@jackilynpyzocha662]

I kept track of all my software for the RLX 1000 on the file program!

[@jackilynpyzocha662]

I liked the sounds!

[@vwestlife]

I believe the original PS/1 had a base price of $1299, so the 1000RL definitely was quite a bit cheaper. I used the same camera throughout. DeskMate also had some third-party software released for it, including versions of Lotus 1-2-3, Quicken, PFS Write, and Q&A Write. The demo actually went into 20-column text -- the Tandy/PCjr 160x200 graphics mode! There is no coprocessor socket in the 1000RL.

[@vwestlife]

The Tandy 1000 series were the most popular PC clones sold in the USA at the time, so they are not that rare. Prices vary depending on which model and what it comes with (monitor, software, etc.). I think I got the 1000RL (with keyboard and mouse) and CM11 monitor for around $60 + shipping, but that was back in 2007.

[@vwestlife]

My CM-11 works fine and still has a nice sharp picture.

[@jackilynpyzocha662]

I enjoyed DOS 6.22, Desk Mate, BASIC and a floppy drive and a HDD (quirky) I learned a lot on this system, full system.

[@weasel2htm]

This video alone gave me some great background info to the "Tandy" and "Hercules" options on older games. As said earlier, kinda filled in the gaps. I think I have said that my first "real" computer was AMD 80286 based, (and this was at Christmas 1992 or 1993) so I got my start a little later.

[@QuaaludeCharlie]

I have one , Love the GUI Deskmate :) QC

[@jackilynpyzocha662]

My hard drive for the RLX 1000 was from the "Twilight Zone" because it switched from DOS to Desk Mate without any input, from me, with no known reason it would switch. Thankfully, I had a three-year warranty, I had a new drive, no more problem!

[@jackilynpyzocha662]

I paid $699.95 with a Monitor!

[@PoseMotion]

Very nice! That makes me wonder if the 1000 HX needs a fan?

[@EastAngliaUK]

That is an interesting machine the graphics seem all right to.

[@vwestlife]

Yes.

[@coondogtheman]

Hi Kevin. Question, Is there any way to convert the Tandy Deskmate .SND files to .WAV format? I downloaded a couple of them for hahas and I cannot get them to play. I open them in my Goldwave digital audio editor and tried all settings and it just emits static. Is there a converter of some type for windows that can convert between .snd and .wav? And if you wanted to could you take out the Hard drive from this machine and view the files on a regular windows PC?

[@vwestlife]

Yes: www.oldskool.org/guides/tvdog/sound.html The hard drive can only be installed in a more recent PC if it's a ST-351A/X, which can be switched into AT mode.

[@coondogtheman]

vwestlife I tried Conv2snd v2.02 but it doesn't seem to work on my PC. I have windows 8.1 Do I need to run it from DOS prompt?

[@vwestlife]

coondogtheman1234 Yes, it is a DOS program.

[@coondogtheman]

vwestlife I tried it using cmd on windows and It didn't work but I have Dosbox for a few old DOS games I can try that.

[@offensivejerk]

Any tips on finding a replacement floppy drive for this? I cleaned and lubed but no luck. I don't think it even spins as I can't hear it when trying to access

[@vwestlife]

Does the indicator light up? Maybe the drive has bad capacitors.

[@offensivejerk]

vwestlife Yes, the light illuminates. That's about all it does.

[@NJRoadfan]

The form factor does exist, the AE PC Transporter card uses a surface mount NEC V30. I wonder if any early versions of Windows had drivers to take advantage of that 640x200 Tandy video mode.

[@Mattimeoo]

Killlllllllllller! Thank you for making this video!!!

[@jackilynpyzocha662]

I loved Desk Mate 3! Apps!

[@arnierc4]

how do i get to deskmate? when i power on it just says insert disk containing autoexec.bat. im useing that exact computer.

[@vwestlife]

Just click cancel or hit Escape and you can get in. Or if it boots up to the DOS prompt, type DESK and hit Enter.

[@Trance88]

Neat computer! I think this would have been awesome to have in the early 90's. I had no idea that computers this early had "internet ready" capabilities. Very cool.

[@jackilynpyzocha662]

I wonder what browser would have been used!

[@thitichairatanavises1945]

+VWestlife Tandy 1000RSX Which brand of processor using for this model AMD or Intel And it have the math-coprocessor socket?

[@vwestlife]

This is not a 1000RSX.

[@joshuafountain1931]

is it only compatible with the tandy standered or the ibm pc and pc jr ?

[@vwestlife]

Yes, it also supports PC speaker and IBM PCjr sound.

[@weasel2htm]

While I am not familiar with the V30 CPU, could a person, (In theory at least and with the proper skills and equipment), unsolder the current CPU, and install the appropriate socket for said CPU?

[@vwestlife]

Yes, but this AMD 8086 is a surface-mount square chip, and I have never seen a V30 chip in that style. I've only seen them in the long rectangular DIP style.

[@ifragisk]

I recently got an RL and hooked it up to my tandy rgb-11 monitor but all i get is green bars. The monitor works fine with my TL/2. Any thoughts?

[@vwestlife]

It's probably running in MDA/Hercules mode. Press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+V to switch it to CGA mode.

[@ifragisk]

@@vwestlife Ok thanks. I briefly thought about that as I was looking at some old documentation but it just said it shifts between colour and monochrome but I see now it also talks about resolution. Very well built machines, I turned on my TL/2 for the first time in 18 years recently and deskmate had the current day and year! The clock was only 8 hours off.

[@vwestlife]

Yes. The monochrome mode is much higher resolution (720x350) and runs at a higher frequency than what CGA monitors can support.

[@JohnAudioTech]

I had the RL. I remember getting AutoCAD to run on it using a coprocessor emulator. It was pretty slow not having a real coprocessor, but I could use it for simple drawings.

[@jackilynpyzocha662]

Desk Mate was a great GUI!

[@MN12BIRD]

Very informative! I remember these old Tandy computers my parents almost bought me one instead of that IBM PS2 as I believe a co-worker/friend of my mom had one a Tandy 1000 and wanted to sell it. I was always confused by these Tandys I never knew if they were custom hardware/software like other home PC's earlier or if they were just IBM clones. Probably that Deskmate confused me but it seems they had custom sound and video HW too. They couldn't run VGA PC/DOS software?

[@alynicholls3230]

is that someone playing the saw in the background audio?, @20:32.

[@vwestlife]

Indian music.

[@vwestlife]

Tandy 1000s are great for playing classic DOS games. But the C64 and Amiga have lots of great games for them as well. It depends on which platform you prefer.

[@80sCompaqPC]

I found a Tandy 1000 RSX HD at goodwill yesterday.

[@fusiukwan4073]

Thanks for watching!

[@tammy-alexandraremo5054]

Cool. Are you selling any of these Tandy systems?

[@jzolghadr]

I remember when we would boot ours up, the default setting played an audio file that said "Welcome to Deskmate. For help at any time, please press the key labeled F1". Do you have that file on your 1000RL, and if so, could you please post a video with that recording? I'm dying to hear it again!

[@vwestlife]

I have a 1000RLX and it says that when it starts DeskMate.

[@jzolghadr]

vwestlife Nice! Can you record a clip and post it?

[@offensivejerk]

How did you get into that setup program? I can't find it on my 1000RL

[@vwestlife]

Type *SETUPRL /A* at the DOS prompt. /A is for Advanced.

[@offensivejerk]

vwestlife thank you!

[@offensivejerk]

vwestlife just got it at the thrift shop for $15 yesterday. Never have used Deskmate before. I'll probably make a video on it.

[@jackilynpyzocha662]

A very good gimmick!

[@ijast2]

Can this computer play Test Drive 3 The Passion?

[@DGTelevsionNetwork]

Would you be able to install Windows 3.00 on that?

[@oatmeal813]

Is that Ravi playing in the background?

[@geotechmore8855]

Tandy computers always looked awesome when I saw them at Radio Shack. I wasn't working back then. I owned a cheaper Commodore 64 which I really loved 😀. My High School had Commodore 64's and also Commodore PET computers that we learned BASIiC on 😀. Later in my last year of High School I.B.M. P.C. computers arrived at my High School 😀. Now I use Raspberry Pi's 😀. I own the Raspberry Pi. 2, Raspberry Pi 3, and Raspberry Pi Zero W which I just bought from Amazon 😀. Do you use any single board computers like the Raspberry Pi?

[@CosmicKangaroo]

How much do these Computers run for today, are they a collectors item or are they common?

[@fulkthered]

Any body that worked in customer service back in the day will get this joke:Where the hell is the any key?

[@caerbanoginterrupted1833]

joseph fulks press any key to continue HAHA!!!

[@jackiepyzocha7380]

The "Twilight Zone!"

[@nelsonferrer8994]

How did you set the date of that computer to 2013? I thought that Tandy computers are having Y2K bug issues

[@vwestlife]

No, that only applies to the old TRS-80 models I, III, and IV. The Tandy 1000 line of PC compatibles are all Y2k compliant.

[@NJRoadfan]

That Hindi music at the end was pretty random. The Tandy 1000RSX could apparently run Windows 95 too. These were pretty good XT class machines given the built in features, not surprising considering how late they were released.

[@Ninnuam999]

That CRT background noise makes me uncomfortable

[@vwestlife]

Just wait until you're older, then you won't even hear it anymore!

[@simonhangan2571]

Can you install Windows on a Tandy?

[@vwestlife]

Yes, up to Windows 3.0 on this 1000RL, but of course Tandy made a wide variety of computers, and some of the newer ones even support Windows 95.

[@wilkes85]

Sure, it might be more practical to do some of this stuff with a pen and paper, but why do that when it's just so much more fun on the computer! Besides, you can print it out and have neatly typewritten notes. It's cool how they included some of these programs. It's got something for everyone.

[@vwestlife]

Yes, it can run Windows 3.0.

[@vwestlife]

Intel owned the copyright to the 8086 chip, and AMD manufactured it under license.

[@Punky-Boy]

Why the name intel printed on a amd processor?

[@RetroGamerVX]

Wow, that thing starts fast :o) Nice, never fully seen around one before :o)

[@jackilynpyzocha662]

It looks like "Tunnel" by Irwin Allen!

[@sargetech]

Sir, have you made any videos on Microsoft "BOB" ?

[@vwestlife]

5argeTech No, but look for bbishoppcm's video about it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJvKiYZpadODa68

[@sargetech]

Thanks, I have a copy of it. It will run in XP as a separate application. It's not that bad considering its age. WOW I just looked at it. I have the same Gateway 2000 edition. Thanks for link...:)

[@GAMMAXII]

HOLY SHIT. I just found a Tandy 1000 HX in my basement!!

[@shrijanshetty6642]

Lucky you

[@ifragisk]

you said it has no fan design because there is no hard drive. but then later you show us the hard drive. ?? Also, that demo program with the graphics and sound, is that on all Tandy computers? I have a 1000 in storage for the past 20 years, might take it out soon.

[@vwestlife]

The hard drive model doesn't have a fan either. Most Tandy 1000s came with DeskMate but the sound and graphics demo is something I downloaded from oldskool.org.

[@NickMurray]

Nice review!

[@christo930]

Were these monitors TTL? Also, at the time they came out, you could have bought a better 286 with EGA and a SB card for abut the same price and have a MUCH better computer. The real appeal these had was the games.

[@vwestlife]

christo930 The 1000RL was cheaper than any 286 you could buy with those features. The most direct comparison was to the IBM PS/1, which cost $999 in 1990 with a 10 MHz 286, 512K of RAM, a VGA monitor, and 1-voice PC speaker sound. The Tandy 1000RL cost $899 with a 9.54 MHz 8086, 512K of RAM, a CGA monitor, and digital audio recording and playback capability just as good as a Sound Blaster.

[@christo930]

vwestlife I meant a used 286. You could get a used clone with 286 and EGA with a Meg of ram and the ability to load dos high and can access more memory in protected mode for about a grand, maybe slightly less.. These are fascinating machines though and I really enjoyed your videos (I watched quite a few of them last night). You have a great collection. Were the ISA slots the standard 4.77MHZ XT class? What about the board, was speed of the system board and ram access? The move to VLSI surface mount in this machine was probably the factor that made them so cheap and presumably very profitable.

[@vwestlife]

christo930 On XT class systems the ISA slots run at the same speed as the CPU. So in the 1000RL, its ISA slot runs at 9.54 MHz, as well as everything on the motherboard.

[@christo930]

vwestlife Doesn't that cause compatibility problems with such a high clock speed? I'm going off memory here, but IIRC, 6 or 8 mhz was the fastest generally available XT system. Since there is so much built in, I suppose there would be few reasons back then to need any ISA cards.

[@vwestlife]

christo930 Up to 10 MHz most ISA cards were fine.

[@offensivejerk]

Another annoying question: Do you know where the password file is? I can't do much with mine since someone put a password on it, and my floppy drive doesn't work. I need to unlock the other features.

[@vwestlife]

There is a DeskMate password recovery program on this web site, but it won't be of much use until you get a working floppy drive: www.oldskool.org/guides/tvdog/deskmate.html

[@offensivejerk]

vwestlife I was hoping the PC-LINK program was installed on mine, but it isn't. Now I can't even serial the program over. Also, transferring the hard drive to another computer is out of the question. Do you think I can install an ISA floppy controller that has a BIOS in the ISA slot to temporarily install floppy? Need to find a floppy power splitter too, since there aren't enough molex connectors.

[@vwestlife]

offensivejerk If it is an ST-351A/X hard drive, you can connect it to any ATA (IDE-AT) controller by changing a jumper on it from XT mode to AT mode. There is also a serial transfer program called FastLynx that can transfer itself to a client computer without needing any special software first: www.minuszerodegrees.net/transfer/fastlynx33/fastlynx33_serial.htm

[@offensivejerk]

vwestlife It's a Seagate ST-325X hard disk. I looked online but it doesn't appear this model supports AT mode. FastLynx may be the way to go for now until I get a floppy.

[@shparker]

I thought the hard drive was RLL interface?

[@vwestlife]

No, it is IDE-XT.

[@vwestlife]

Yes, the TL/2 is more powerful and expandable, but is hard to find these days.