[Coco] Second Edition of Tandy's Little Wonder

[farna at att.net]

I had intended to get the second edition of "Tandy's Little Wonder: The Color Computer, 1979-1991" printed so a few copies could be sent to the CoCoFest this weekend. I got notified a couple months ago that I'll be deploying to Afghanistan May 8 through mid September and just couldn't get everything done! It is now ready, but since I'm leaving soon I can only offer to e-mail the 4MB file to those with a PayPal account. I'm asking $12 for the book e-mailed to you. Of course it's copyrighted and I ask that the file not be shared with others. You may keep one electronic copy and one printed copy for your personal use at all times. I can only fill orders through Thursday, May 4th!! Sorry about this, but Uncle Sam sending me away means I have to limit to PayPal and e-mail. I'll offer CD-ROM versions for $15 (sent anywhere in the US) and possibly a hard copy when I return. 

For those who aren't familiar with "Tandy's Little Wonder", here's the table of contents:

Writting Conventions 6

Introduction 7

History 8
CoCo Hardware Prices: 1980-1991 34
CoCo Clones 36
Dragon Systems/Tano Dragon 36
FHL TC-9 38
Operating Enviroments &Programming Languages
Color Basic 39
ADOS 43
Compiled BASIC 45
Converting Between BASICs 45
Other DECB Programming Languages
CoCo-C 46
CF-83 FORTH 46
Machine/Assembly Language 48
Binary & Hexadecimal Conversions 49
Microwares' OS-9 50
NitrOS-9 53

Support
Glenside Color Computer Club 54
Cloud-9 54
Internet Resources 55
The CoCo Library 56
Past Magazines 57
A Tribute to "The Rainbow" Magazine 58

Technical Reference
Peripherals
Video Display Devices 59
Mass Storage 63
Printers 68
Expansion Devices 70
Miscellaneous Devices 74

Hardware Upgrades & Modifications
ROM Upgrades 75
RAM Upgrades 76
Upgrading the Keyboard 78
The Hitachi 6309 CPU 79
Putting It All In One Case 81
Repairs
General Procedures/Tools 82
General Trouble Shooting 83
MC6809E CPU 85
MC6821/6822 PIA 85
MC6883 and 74LS783/785 SAM 86
MC6847 and MC6847T1 VDG 86
The GIME 87
Disk Controller and Drive Repairs 87
RS-232 Pak Repairs 88
Multi-Pak Intrface (MPI) Repairs 89
Power Supply Repairs 89

Tid-Bits
The "Colour" Computer Down Under 92
The "68xxx" Story 93
Two Boys and the CoCo 94
Frank Hogg and Frank Hogg Labs 95
About FARNA Systems 97

APPENDIX:
Color Computer Users Guide 100
Serial Interface 101
Cassette Interface 101
Joystick Interface 101
RGB Interface 102
Cartridge Connector 102
ASCII Character Codes 102
BASIC/Extended/Disk Error Codes 103
Bank Switched ROM Paks (Activision) 103

SCHEMATICS:
Typical B&W TV Circuit 61
CoCo 1 (D&E board) 104
CoCo 2 (American made) 107
CoCo 2 (Korean A, B is similar) 109
CoCo 3 111
Multi-Pak Interface (large) 113
Multi-Pak Interface (small) 114
FD-501 Disk Controller 115
FD-501 Disk Drive 116
Chip Placement Guides 117
Block Diagrams: GIME and MC6809E 119

PHOTOS:
CoCo 1 3
15th Annual "Last" CoCoFest 4
CoCo 1 Magazine Ad 33
CoCo 2 Tandy Catalog Page 33
TANO Dragon 37
FHL TC-9 (on cover of Rainbow) 38
CoCo 2 w/accessories 42
Cloud-9 Super IDE HD controller 52
Cloud-9 512K SIMM Memory Upgrade 52
TRS-80 Color BASIC book cover 56
Typical CoCo 3 setup 57
Rainbow first/mid/last issue covers 58
CoCo 3 connectors 75
Exploded view of CoCo 3 121

Photo Gallery
14 pages of bonus photos added just before publishing in
April 2006! 122 - Back Cover

--
Frank Swygert
Publisher, "American Independent 
Magazine" (AIM)
For all AMC enthusiasts
http://farna.home.att.net/AIM.html
(free download available!)