Should I upgrade a TRS-80 Model 1 Level 1 4k?

Porkchop · September 4

I received a rare TRS-80 Model 1 that was never upgraded. It still has a Level 1 ROM and only 4k of memory (8 X 4096 DRAM). This is the first one I have ever seen that was not upgraded. Is it worth keeping it in its original state or should I upgrade it to Level 2 and 16k? Serial number is 47,362 not sure it that is considered early. To get it to work properly I had to replace the Charter generator IC with an EPROM so it is now not all original.

Prosystemsearch · September 5

Its up to you, ultimately. For sure, both Level 1--->Level 2 BASIC and 4k expansion to 16k upgrades are possible, but the latter is harder. Level 1 BASIC ROM has a place, such as the shorthand style commands, among other things such as not tokenizing commands. If I got a Level 1 BASIC TRS-80 Model 1 that was still in working condition, I'd rather have it be equipped and/or expanded to 16k.

Hwlngmad · September 9

On 9/4/2024 at 2:26 PM, Porkchop said:

I received a rare TRS-80 Model 1 that was never upgraded. It still has a Level 1 ROM and only 4k of memory (8 X 4096 DRAM). This is the first one I have ever seen that was not upgraded. Is it worth keeping it in its original state or should I upgrade it to Level 2 and 16k? Serial number is 47,362 not sure it that is considered early. To get it to work properly I had to replace the Charter generator IC with an EPROM so it is now not all original.

I would say it is totally up to you, but the machine will do a lot more with more memory. Take care, have fun with the machine, and I hope you can get lots of use out of it.