80-GRAFIX

Programma International advertisement from
November 1980 issue of 80 Micro

Many people considered the lack of high-resolution graphics to be the biggest deficiency of the TRS-80 Model I. The maximum resolution of the Model I was 128 by 48 by using block graphics. Many games made good use of that resolution, but it was still low compared to other computers.

The 80-GRAFIX was one of several high-resolution add-ons available for the Model I. Designed by Ted Carter, it was originally sold by Programma International for $149.95. The 80-GRAFIX fit entirely within the Model I case and required only minimal soldering.

The Programma advertisements stressed that the 80-GRAFIX was “simple to install” and provided screen resolutions higher than the Commodore PET and the Apple II.  But the 80-GRAFIX didn’t actually provide direct access to a bitmapped high-resolution screen. What it did provide was the ability to completely remap the upper 128 characters of the Model I character set.

Programs could use these remapped characters to create new character sets (Arabic and Hebrew were demonstrated), inverse video, graphic screens, or even animations. Programming the 80-GRAFIX was fairly simple and could be done from BASIC. Programma also sold software for the 80-GRAFIX. One example was HIRES80, a machine language tool written by Ralph Burris to help design new character sets.

Micro-Labs advertisement from
September 1982 issue of 80 Micro

After Programma went out of business in 1982, Micro-Labs, Ted Carter’s company, took over support for the 80-GRAFIX. In addition to new utilities and games, Micro-Labs also sold an updated version of the 80-GRAFIX. Judging by the advertisements, there were three differences from the Programma version:

• The price was $169.95.
• There was a Model III version in addition to the Model I version.
• Installation no longer required soldering.

The 80-GRAFIX didn’t stay in Micro-Labs advertisement for very long. Their more famous high-resolution product was the Grafyx Solution add-on for the Model III and Model 4. The Grafyx Solution provided bitmapped high-resolution graphics rather than the character set remapping of the 80-GRAFIX. Unlike the 80-GRAFIX, the Grafyx Solution never supported the Model I.

Filed Under Hardware · Micro-Labs · Programma International · Ted Carter