Model 1 Character mod (Not lowercase???)

[DistantStar001]

I just got a TRS-80 Model 1 with some interesting mods.  The first is a button on the left side of the keyboard that appears to do nothing.  It's soldered to two ICs on the keyboard.

 

The other is a switch that enables an alternative character set, but it's not lowercase. Any idea what it is?

 

Sorry for the lousy focus.  There's a short in the ribbon so at the moment, so all it does is flash a "(", an error, then it reboots.  Planning to replace the ribbon.

 

 

 

Edited December 2, 2022 by DistantStar001

[DistantStar001]

I fixed the keyboard and managed to get a better picture of the character set. Is it just me, or does the 7th character after the check mark  look like Q-bert?

 

[DistantStar001]

It was a lowercase mod all along!  Now that the keyboard's fixed, I was able to locate a BASIC program to list the full character set.  For some reason, the mod shifts the uppercase characters to a different location in memory.  It's a bit weird, but a nice surprise for a new computer.

 

Still don't know what the button does though.