Old OS-9 Software and a couple of funnies

Quick Price Guide note: I've pretty much given up on trying to do rarity.  Maintaining it is just taking too much time away from other projects that are more productive and satisfying.  But not all is lost! :)  I'm slowly working on getting the price guide over to an online format that can be edited by multiple contributors.  Still may be awhile away, since the whole thing has to be converted by hand, but it should be worth it when it's done. 



In the short term, I've got a plan to get more folks involved in maintaining the Price Guide and will hopefully have some news and something set up to handle that shortly.



eBay: Tandy 64K TRS-80 Color Computer 2 in Box with Manuals (item 110138229537 end time Jun-19-07 19:15:00 PDT)



This very nice 26-3127B, complete, went for $22.60 with moderate bidding. This is my favorite CoCo 2, mainly because it's the only one I've confirmed can do true lowercase without a hardware mod. Although I should note that it's been documented before that any Korean built "B" model of the CoCo 2 can do this. The real test is to pop it open and see which VDU is in there. The original CoCo, and the U.S. built CoCo 2s, have a 6847. The Korean "B" models have a 6847T1 chip. The exception, of course, is this CoCo, the 3127B, which was U.S. built.  If you don't want to open up your shiny mint CoCo2, just hook it up and press the zero key. If there's a slash through the zero, it's a 6847T1 model. If so, you can poke the VDU to get true lower case instead of reverse video.  Anyhow, this went a bit lower than previously recorded, so the Price Guide has been nudged down a bit.



eBay: Radio Shack Color Computer OS-9 Profile software (item 320129396988 end time Jun-26-07 20:08:21 PDT)



Nice, unopened copy of Profile for OS-9 (Level 1).  Only one copy recorded previously, also in Fine condition. Worth a look.



eBay: Interlude Adult Computer Game TRS-80 Model I or III (item 180131740024 end time Jun-25-07 08:43:32 PDT)



This is for the Model I/III but it made me laugh so hard I snorted. Remember the old Frank Hogg ads on the back of Hot CoCo with the woman in lingerie? Fun stuff. Fun stuff.



eBay: 6 Vintage Cartridges for TI TRS-80 Color Computer -Rare (item 200120215324 end time Jun-22-07 09:55:12 PDT)



Apparently TI and Tandy joined forces at one point to make ... er... I dunno.  Brian should get a kick out of this one.  (These are NOT for the CoCo, just in case someone didn't get the funny part.)



Angel's Luck,

Capt.

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Oh for crying out loud...

Only have one auction of interest, and it's only interesting due to how RIDICULOUS the shipping is on this one"

Tandy CoCo3 Color Computer Complete Collectors Must See

Okay... figured I'd start this entry with my Mega BSOTD. There is less than half of the CoCo Goodness here than went in last weeks AWESOME auction, yet, his reserve is set at $299. That's not the worst part of it.. the shipping is $100 for the computer, monitor and floppy. If you want the broken DMP-430, it's another $50 shipping cost!!! UNBELIEVABLE!!! Again, I'll go back to the three boxes with a Model IV and ALL manuals, 15 Meg HDD for it, 2 TI-99/4A's, loads of carts, etc... and only paid $60 in shipping. And none of this appears, from the crappy pics, to be in collectible condition.BIDDER BEWARE!!!!

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Complete CoCo 3, a rare game, and an um...

Some stuff for today...



eBay: Tandy CoCo3 512k Color Computer 3 Complete System (item 140127742995 end time Jun-17-07 19:39:26 PDT)



Here's another shot at this lot.  It's Cloud-9 upgraded 512K CoCo 3 with PAL upgraded MPI and FD-501.  Also includes an SSP, RS232 Pak, NitrOS-9 and manuals.  Pretty good way to get a complete, updated CoCo 3 setup.  Reserve auction with a Buy It Now of $269.00. 



eBay: Lot of 3 RARE Radio Shack Tandy TRS-80 Games w/ Manuals (item 270130367992 end time Jun-17-07 19:37:20 PDT)



This lot contains the rare, and fun, Doubleback pak.  Pretty cool kind of game where you try to circle things as they pop.  I actually did a BASIC version of this game years ago using the low-res screen.  Not nearly as neat as this one, though.  Worth a look!  Also, include the rare Dinowars, and the Space Assault paks.  The original boxes appear to be in rough shape, but the Doubleback pak is rare in any condition.



eBay: cm-8 color monitor for use w/ tandy color computer (item 150131528417 end time Jun-13-07 19:31:51 PDT)



Ahem.  "Great shape?" Dude, the side of the case is melted and the front door is missing. On the other hand... well.... there's five more fingers.  Maybe I'll let Brian handle this one. (grin)  Oh wait, I know... If you were interested in repacking a CM-8, here's a contender!  (I can find something nice to say about anything. ha!)



eBay: TANDY 5-1/4" THINLINE DISK DRIVE FOR COLOR COMPUTER, NR (item 280121688433 end time Jun-10-07 14:38:16 PDT)



Was kind of surprised this did sell for a bit more. Went for about US$52.00. 



Angel's Luck,

Capt.

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Bid Assistant on eBay

New features on eBay don't come up too often.  Oh, there's enhancements and changes to current features now and then, of course.  My World, for example, is just an enhanced version of the old user profile. eBay just doesn't mess with the formula much.  And that's a Good Thing.  It's simple, it's easy, it works.  Don't mess with it.



Bid Assistant, recently introduced by eBay, is a new feature that works just as simply as the rest of the service.  It automatically bids on a group of items for you, up to ten, until you win one.  Pretty slick actually.



What this means for CoCo Collectors is that now you can easily group up some CoCo items, and you'll like win one.  I can see this as a boon against snipers particularly.  Sniping is using an automated program to hit an auction repeatedly a few seconds before it ends, bidding it up and making it difficult for someone doing considered and thoughtfully bidding to get a win.  If you've ever been out bid at the last second, there's a pretty good chance (not necessarily, but pretty good) that you've been sniped.



Example: Let's say there's four disk drive units up for auction. You're willing to bid $50.00 for one, but that your max.  Previously, you would need to find the one ending soonest and bid on it. You would then monitor the auction until you won or got outbid. In the latter case you would bid again, up to your maximum. (Never bid you maximum initially... save that toward the end of the auction! There are actually people out there that will bid up an item just to see how high they can make it go.  They think they're teaching a lesson or exposing foolishness, or whatever.  They don't get the concept of an auction.)  If you loose the auction, you then have to move on to the next drive and start all over.



Bid Assistant helps a bit here.  Now, you could group all 4 drives together and the system will bid on those items, in chronological order, until you win one.  It only bids in the minimum increments until it gets outbid. Then keeps bidding until your preset max is reached.  Obviously, if someone is using Bidding Assistant on the same, you're going to hit your max pretty quick.  For this reason, you can set different bid maximums for each item in a group.  Or you can set a single maximum for each item in the group and "adjust it" as necessary. Ebay emails you when your max is hit, but close to the end of an auction those emails are too late more often than not.  Either way, once your maximum is set, you're good to go. 



Now, it still seems to me that you're not going to want to bid your max right off.  You'll still want to edge it up.  But now you can do that for a whole range of items instead of having to go through them separately.  It is designed, and most useful, for items of a similar nature (8 CoCo 2s, 4 disk drive, 6 program paks, etc).  If you loose one, you've probably eliminated a competitor (hey, they got theirs!) and Bidding Assistant will immediately place an appropriate bid on they next item in line.



Bidding Assistant won't fix problems people have with eBay. But it's not really intended to do so.  It's a convenience tool that makes getting a specific item, from a range of choices, a touch easier.  Give it shot!



Information on using Bidding Assistant is located here:



Using Bid Assistant



Angel's Luck,

Capt

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Big $$$ and a Beaut of a Floppy

First, thanks to Brian for returning in the nick of time with some timely posts. See below for some CoCo Goodness in his posts. :)



Okay, so after a month of trying it and failing miserably I'm going to give up on the regular post a specific day thing. :P  Back to the "when they hit" posts.  These will be briefer than previously.  Here we goooo...





Brian already hit this one, but [expletive deleted] me!!! heh...



eBay: TRS 80 CoCo 3 & 2 RGB MONITOR DSK DR CST DR GAMES BOOKS (item 110133742900 end time Jun-07-07 15:19:04 PDT)



Pretty much a collector's wet dream.  What I though was interesting was the bidding.  This didn't start high.  I think it was around $10.00 to start, or something like that, and the initial bidder retracted.  By the end, the remaining bidders were hitting in $50.00 or more increments.  Serious bidding for a serious lot.  Whether this was sold to someone starting a CoCo collection, or to a regular collector, the buyer scored as well.  I have most of the stuff in that auction, most of it not in nearly as nice condition, a I guarantee I paid WAY more than $300.00 for it. heh!  I've said it before, when these big fat lots come up, grab 'em if you have the means.  The seller got a great price for quick unloading.  Selling the pieces *might* have gotten more money (big maybe), but it would have taken a lot longer to sell it all.  The buyer got a fantastic deal, and a mighty fine CoCo collection.  I'll join in with Brian in congrats all around. Great auction.



eBay: TRS-80 Color Computer GT-116 X-PAD Paint Program DISK (item 130121047267 end time Jun-08-07 09:47:45 PDT)



This is the exceedingly rare McPaint from the same guys who did Color Max. :)  Woo hoo!  Seriously, this is so rare it makes my credit cards itchy.



eBay: TRS-80 Color Basic and Extended System Reference Card (item 250124068746 end time Jun-09-07 11:37:46 PDT)



The startlingly rare Nano Systems' CoCo reference card.  Nice looking and useful as well. 



eBay: TANDY 5-1/4" THINLINE DISK DRIVE FOR COLOR COMPUTER, NR (item 280121688433 end time Jun-10-07 14:38:16 PDT)



Amazingly nice looking FD-502 (Amazingly, Startlingly, Exceedingly... what I am, Stan Lee today...)!  Alas, no manual, but well worth considering for a collection.  Good 40-track drive for using, as well.  Makes a good OS-9/NitrOS-9 drive.



eBay: LOT of 25 TRS-80 Color Computer RS-DOS DECB PD DISKS (item 130120717210 end time Jun-07-07 07:43:32 PDT)



A collection of 25 disks chock full of Public Domain software for the CoCo.  The seller didn't list the contents, but hopefully the buyer will post these eventually.  Bet there's some pretty cool stuff in there.





eBay: TRS-80 COLOR DISK DRIVE FOR TANDY WITH BONUS CoCo (item 280122647534 end time Jun-13-07 11:08:50 PDT)



For the old school CoCoist, a good looking, in the box, 26-3022 disk drive with controller and cables.  Again with the alas, no manual.  Still, if you're interested in doing some serious retro-CoCoing, this will certainly do the job.  I remember reading in the mags that these drives were a bit unreliable.  The one I have ran for, oh, 27 years and I'm pretty sure it just needs a little head cleaning (motor runs, power's fine, head moves smooth as silk, etc.).  Your mileage may vary.



Angel's Luck,

Capt.

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Wholly Cash Cow Batman!!!!

As I write, this auction TRS 80 CoCo 3 & 2 RGB MONITOR DSK DR CST DR GAMES BOOKS is selling for $305.00 with two and a half hours left. Very kewl to see a CoCo auction garner these bids. Of course, with all of the software it's now wonder. This auction was a veritable goldmine of awesome games and a few proggies to boot. Congrats to this seller for the killer auction in the first place, as well as the successful sale. And congrats to the buyer as well... (me thinks someone is having an early Christmas...)

Other than these two auctions: Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer T/S EDIT Software and Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer T/S Word Software I haven't seen a whole lot that's grabbed my attention the last few days.

Later,

Brian

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Update - Remember this auction...?

Tandy TRS-80 Color Computer & OS-9 Archive 15919 files

Seems daddy, and apparently someone else, didn't think too much of these eBay auctions. Again, I have mixed feelings. IMHO, definitely prior approval should've been received from the owner of the site he downloaded the files from, and a Buy It Now price should've been negotiated for like $5 to cover his cost and time, but still not profit too much. Or an agreed upon price to share the profits with the site owner to share the sales to help offset his costs. I dunno... just kicking some thoughts around.

To me this only works if the guy actually downloaded the stuff from the internet. In the case of the actual DVD's he got after making a donation, there is no excuse...

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Two posts from me in a week... isn't that special!!!!

Seriously, checking eBay this morning, there is at least one auction
that peaked my interest. However, finances being what they are one you
out there in CoColand have a much better shot at them than I do...


TRS-80 Color Computer MUS File Player, Manual and Music

If you like listening to music on your CoCo (and who doesn't) this may be
something you find useful. And if nobody else is interested, I'll buy
it...


TRS 80 Computer w/ Wico Command Control

If you're looking for a well used gray, this is one has your name on it.
However, I'm sure most will look at this auction for the rare Wico
Command Control Atari joystick adapter.


Vintage TRS80 CoCo Speech/Sound Synthesizer #26-3144

Here's a S/S cartridge for the CoCo. Notice that it has possibly been
disassembled. Maybe the 2MHz mod??? I'd ask before bidding, tho the
seller does state it's guaranteed to work.


TRS 80 CoCo 3 & 2 RGB MONITOR DSK DR CST DR GAMES BOOKS

Wow. Just WOW!!! This is an awesomely good auction with just about all of
the CoCo Goodness ANYBODY could expect. There appear to be at least a
few semi-rare to rare games, looks to be a dual disk drive (tho I
didn't see a controller), looks like a Koala pad hiding behind the
yellowing CoCo2. Not sure about collectible status on these since I
don't see any original package for the CoCos themselves. Many of the
softs look to be in collectible shape, tho. The link to check shipping prices appears to be broke...


That's about all the interesting stuff I've found today. maybe Cris will chime in later with his thoughts...


Later y'all,

Brian

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