TRS-80 Bar Code Reader drivers for Model 100/200 and Kyotronic 85

I admit I’ve been obsessing over my old Model T computers this past week or so. I finally did dig up my Null Modem cable and got the little laptops talking to the PC again, and I also dug up my old cassette software for the T100/200. I’ve sampled them all to digital WAV files and tested it all – not a single failed LOAD. Not bad at all for 30 year old data tapes and a worn out tape deck. I guess I underestimated the old CCR-81.

Anyway, one thing I dug up was the manual and cassettes for my #26-1183 TRS-80 Bar Code Reader wand. One of my very favorite accessories for the Model T’s, in fact – I used it to turn my Kyocera Kyotronic 85 or Tandy 200 into a mailing list* collecting cash register for use at my band’s merchandise table. The BASIC program I wrote to do that is long lost, but it basically took the customer’s name and address as input (or they could just hit ENTER if they didn’t want to join), and then I’d scan in the 3of9 barcodes on the merch they’d selected and the computer would show the total. When they’d paid, I’d scan a “reset” bar code which would tell the program to log the customer’s order and contact info to a textfile and reset the loop for a new order. Very handy, and in the late 80’s it was a big curiousity draw to have a portable computerized order taking system. People would buy stuff just to see it work. :D

I lost the actual bar code reader wand sometime in the 1990’s, but retained my manual and cassettes. This week I missed my BCR enough that I broke the rule about eBay and I found one new in the packaging with a 99 cent starting bid. I won with that 99 cent bid:

Note however that the packaging says “For Model 100”, and the cassette included contains only Model 100 drivers and the manual only tell you how to load the drivers onto a Model 100/102. How did I make it work on a Kyocera 85 and a Tandy 200? Well, it wasn’t easy even back when the machines were all still in production. Here’s how:

***

Tandy TRS-80 Bar Code Reader Wand (26-1183)
Drivers and example programs for Model 100. Also works for Kyo 85 and Tandy 200 (see notes below).

Included in this zip file:

1) Directory BCR100: contains drivers and example programs from 26-1183 driver cassette included with Bar Code reader wand. These files can be directly loaded to your laptop via Desklink/TEENY/TS-DOS/NADSBox.

2) Directory BCR200: contains the same files from the T200 driver cassette (70-3407).

3) Directory DOCS: contains high-resolution JPG scans of the 26-1183 manual and the 70-3407 addendum documents.

4) WAV file bcr100-drivers.wav: this is a WAV sample of the 26-1183 cassette itself. Can be used to load the programs through the cassette port to the Model 100.

5) WAV file bcr200-drivers.wav: this is a WAV sample of the 70-3407 cassette itself. Can be used to load the programs through the cassette port to the Tandy 200.

6) readme.txt: this file.

###################

TRS-80 Bar Code Reader Wand (26-1183) works with Kyocera KC85

1) Use Model 100 driver cassette included with the wand (26-1183). The Model 100 BCR drivers work on the Kyo 85, and may even work with the Olivetti M10 and the NEC machines, assuming you know what the differences in the memory maps are. I presumably knew back in the 80’s what the formula was for working out the positions, and worked out the proper memory addresses for my K85, annotating my manual with the values in case I forgot them.

2) to load the binary driver (.co) files from the T100 cassette, use these commands in BASIC:

CLEAR 110,52992
CLOADM “B3OF9”

will return address space pointers:
TOP: 52992
END: 53488
EXE: 53152

you then “save” the .co file using these addresses:

SAVEM “B3OF9.CO”,52992,53488,53152

this will save the .co file to your file menu for use. replace “B3OF9.CO” with “PLESY.CO” or “UPC.CO” to load either or both of those drivers from the cassette.

Note in the BASIC examples provided with the program cassette and the manual, anywhere that BASIC calls “CLEAR 100,61788” you should change the 61788 to 52992. Also note that any BASIC calls to close the BCR port (“CALL 61807”) should be changed to “CALL 53137”. That should be all you need to get the wand working with your Kyotronic 85.

***

TRS-80 Bar Code Reader Wand (26-1183) works with Tandy 200 (but not with default drivers)

1) The Tandy 200 will not work with the drivers/software that comes on the cassette included with the bar code reader itself. To get the proper drivers, you had to special order them. I doubt many people did order them, for these reasons:

a) Radio shack didn’t exactly go out of it’s way to inform anyone they existed. The Bar Code wand was consistently advertised as “For Model 100 Only” and the T200 driver cassette never showed up in any of Radio Shack’s distributed software catalogs.

b) Even if you knew the drivers existed and knew the catalog number printed on the cassette and documentation of the software, trying to order that catalog number from Fort Worth or any Radio Shack store would get you “That catalog number doesn’t exist in our system.” This was because the catalog number printed on the cassette and documentation was “700-3407”, but the actual catalog number in Radio Shack’s ordering system was “70-3407”. It took a friendly Radio Shack store manager who was willing to try a number of different combinations for me to finally get my order entered way back in the day.

c) What I got in the mail back from Fort worth was a hand-run cassette in a generic Tandy binder with a few sheets of Xeroxed “addendums” to the original manual. It was clearly a one-off product that had extremely low demand. The tape is very clear, as if it was run off directly from a computer save, and lacks the muddy sound of the mass-produced duped cassettes. It’s entirely possible that I have the only surviving copy 30 years later. :D

2) to load the binary driver (.co) files from the T200 cassette, use these commands in BASIC:

CLEAR 110,60160
CLOADM “B3OF9”

will return address space pointers:
TOP: 60160
END: 60656
EXE: 60320

you then “save” the .co file using these addresses:

SAVEM “B3OF9.CO”,60160,60656,60320

this will save the .co file to your file menu for use. replace “B3OF9.CO” with “PLESY.CO” to load that driver from the cassette. The T200 cassette does not contain the UPC driver. That was sold on yet another cassette (26-3894) which I did not get.

Note in the BASIC examples provided with the program cassette and the manual, anywhere that BASIC calls “CLEAR 100,61788” you should change the 61788 to 60160. Also note that any BASIC calls to close the BCR port (“CALL 61807”) should be changed to “CALL 60305”. That should be all you need to get the wand working with your Tandy 200.

#################################
* The No Laughing Matter Mailing List:
If you were crazy enough to sign up for our mailing list, you’d get strange things in the mail every so often. Sometimes actual newsletters, but most often enigmatic flyers and stickers that I’d made. Here are a couple that show what my fancy handwriting looked like back then.