Viewer mail: All-in-one RAM + CF + RS232 for the Tandy 1000 EX/HX!

Time to test out a new a new and better Memory Expansion board for the Tandy 1000 EX/HX. This one comes to me from viewer Robert and includes 384k RAM + 96k UMB but also adds Compact Flash (with XT-IDE BIOS) and a full DB9 serial port!

Note: Sorry about the bad audio, the new camera is pretty terrible in that department. I'm working on fixing it.

If you are interested in purchasing a completed board, a kit or a PCB from Robert please complete this google form:

The boards are Open Source Hardware and you can see the Github repository here: [[Sorry, it's not ready yet. Email Robert for more information]]

Robert tested several CF cards and found that small Cisco 32, 64 and 128mb cards work well. I have good luck with the OneFavor brand along with some other generic looking Chinese cards commonly available from AliExpress. Your mileage may vary, so if you get a card that misbehaves, try another.

I have had great luck with these with PCs:

$2.99 free shipping for 256mb
$4.55 free shipping for 1gb

[thebitpc_]

Hi Adrian,
I love your channel because I grew up with 8 bit machines.
I still have a 486DX 66MHz computer and I show my daughter how it works. She doesn't even understand what a floppy drive is :-) but she likes old games like Prehistoric or Transport Tycoon etc. Thank you for making such videos, I wish you good luck.Vitek from Czechia

[NighT-WolF]

May sounds strange... but does anybody else feels heart warmed by seeing the C:\ prompt? It always reminds me of the good old times. :)

[BDreGaming]

My family got a Tandy 1000 EX back in the day, from RadioShack. It is the primary reason that I'm into computers and video games to this day.. I played the holy hell out of the Black Cauldron from Sierra. I love your YouTube series!

[VernesMisadventures]

Hey Adrian!
I've been watching your channel for a couple of years now. I bought a Tandy 1000 EX today and I wanted to learn more about it before it arrives. I thought I remembered something about a 3 in 1 card so I searched for it and here we are. Thanks so much for your immensely helpful content. I ordered one of these boards from an eBay seller today. . . And now, we wait. . . It will be interesting to see how the board I bought differs from the early revision you reviewed. Anyway, the Tandy 1000 EX/HX has been on my wish list for quite a while now and I'm really looking forward to digging into it. Keep up the great work!

[defaultuser]

I had a Tandy 1000 HX when I was a kid with the memory upgrade for 640k. A board like this would have been epic back then. Having no storage space besides the floppy drive was a real bummer. This is very awesome. Great work guys.

[SidebandSamurai]

You can have as many tandy 1000 videos as you want. I will watch every one of them. Thank you for your hard work

[cosmicrdt]

Please keep on bringing the Tandy content! I can't get enough.

[pbee]

My first computer was a Tandy 1000ex back in 1985 I think. Loved it and learned how to write in BASIC lol

[tylerufen]

"No one will ever need more than 4K of RAM."

- Can't Remember

[twocvbloke]

Eucalypti, the multiple of Eucalyptus, the trees that Olbas oil comes from, and Koalas love to munch on, but yeah, horrible choice of words to guess... :P

[wolvenar]

I love these Tandy videos. I guess it helps that I am a Tandy fan.

[orangeActiondotcom]

Received and installed mine in my HX today!

[MichaelAStanhope]

Those who are tired of the Tandy 1000 are tired of life! It’s great to see projects like this for the EX and HX machines. They never get love!

[chainqk]

The only problem I have with Tandy content is that it makes me want to have a Tandy, esp. with cool expansions. And I already don't have time for the dozens of retro machines I already have. MUST. NOT. BROWSE. EBAY. Darn it...

[johnathanstevens]

Ohh, I would have looved to have this for my HX back in the day.

[ChrisLenderman]

Received my production card from Robert today. Beautiful card! I tested it with a Sandisk 256MB CF card. Works great!

[RetroSpector]

Excellent video as always ! Learned a ton of new stuff.

[freddyvretrozone]

Hi Adrian,

We can extend the DOS 2 or 3 memory to use UMB in theory, I will do a little utility for this.

(It does not require the application to support UMB, as the standard DOS Memory command is used)

[HavocSun]

I have collected just about every Tandy computer I sold while I managed the Pacific Beach, California RadioShack. I will be excited to see the difference between the original expansion board that was available threw RS for the EX/HX computers. Speed, memory mapping, etc. Going to try and reach out to him very soon & order one of these.

[Lee_Adamson_OCF]

Nicccce. Great job, gentlemen! ---- I haven't done much with my card lately! I grabbed an extremely rare 1890s Estey Philharmonic chapel organ off Craigslist, and have been busy restoring it. Hoo boy it's a basketcase though. But the finest single-manual organ that Estey ever made, so worth it! Not sure why I am sharing that.... Maybe old organs and old computers kinda tickle the same psychological urge! (Or maybe I shouldn't have had that beer!)