Looking At A TRS-80 12 MB External Hard Drive From 1983 

Although hard drives weren’t a typical function yet in numerous personal computer in the 1980s, they were ending up being significantly more inexpensive. For relative significances of the word ‘inexpensive’, naturally. This is shown by the 12 MB HDD for the Radio Shack TRS-80 that [Clint] over at LGR just recently took a peek at.

Costing a cool $3,495 in 1983– or $11,932 in 2026 USD– this 12 MB storage marvel utilized a Tandon TM-603 full-height 5.25 ″ HDD inside. Lacking a working TRS-80 to attempt it out with, the video is restricted to simply a fundamental powering up and opening of the system, however [Clint] will be contributing it to a computer system museum who can ideally put it to utilize once again.

The connection to the TRS-80 computer system is managed by a ribbon cable television, while the HDD has its own integrated power supply, ranked at 60 Watt.

On the primary board for the external HDD controller there is a Signetics 8X300 microprocessor that forms the brains of what makes it into an external drive for the TRS-80. Despite its age, it still looks brand name brand-new within, so in spite of the Rifa capacitors in the PSU, [Clint] chose to power it on. This led to an acoustic experience that’s most likely best compared to a really rusty jet engine spinning up after suffering for a years prior to spooling up for liftoff.

Hopefully we’ll discover whether this specific system and its HDD are still operating in 2026.