Impossible Electronics???

[captainkirksdog]

Hello,
Is there a way to interface an old Radio Shack Color Computer III to a Dell Dimension 733 XP machine? I want to play some of the old TRS-80 game cartridges I have. I've tried using the software emulators and ROMS, but I'm a programming moron and nothing works the way it should. Any thoughts?

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

You could connect them together via a serial lead, but it won't allow you to play the games on the PC, just transfer data between them.

As you have the Tandy, why not just play them on that?.

 

[Hero999]

Can't you download the ROMs using a file sharing program?

 

[poopeater]

Just get an emulator for your PC.

 

[ApochPiQ]

Strictly speaking, you can't link systems like that. The TRS-80 is a totally different architecture than IBM-compatible PCs, and the two won't "understand" each other. Given special software, you can use a serial cable link (typically a DB9 connector) to transfer data, as Nigel Goodwin noted; but that may not be as easy as it sounds, I'm not sure of the availability of Tandy-compatible file transfer software anymore.

An emulator/ROM setup is probably the easiest way to go. Short of building a cartridge reader that your PC will understand, or actually doing a complete Z80-based clone computer, there's not too much you can do. I'd recommend finding a community experienced in TRS-80 emulation, they can probably help you get things working.