TRS-80 Model 4 Restoration

Dave Luna Dave Luna
I restored this TRS-80 Model 4 over the past few months. It arrived with a broken CRT, damaged case and bezel, and non-functional keyboard. Now, it's back to its original, working state after a lot of hours and frustration.
BEFORE: A sad, broken TRS-80
BEFORE: A sad, broken TRS-80
BEFORE: The upper CRT mounts broke during shipping
BEFORE: The upper CRT mounts broke during shipping
AFTER: It works!
AFTER: It works!
Loading a Star Trek game onto the TRS-80 through the cassette port from an audio file playing on the laptop. Note the temporary keyboard that I used before I finished restoring the original keyboard
Loading a Star Trek game onto the TRS-80 through the cassette port from an audio file playing on the laptop. Note the temporary keyboard that I used before I finished restoring the original keyboard
The vacuum seal on the CRT broke when the mounts failed and the tube fell backward into the case
The vacuum seal on the CRT broke when the mounts failed and the tube fell backward into the case
I spent HOURS desoldering every single key switch, cleaning it, and resoldering it to the PCB. It was awful.
I spent HOURS desoldering every single key switch, cleaning it, and resoldering it to the PCB. It was awful.
Testing the keyboard
Testing the keyboard
Original asset tags
Original asset tags

This article was updated on 23 February 2024 22:48-0500