Yet despite continued demand, Radio Shack discontinued the Model I on January 1, 1981, slightly less than three and a half years after it was first introduced. The culprit was not customer demand (which remained high) but new radio interference regulations from the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which took effect on that date.]]> http://www.trs-80.org/why-was-the-model-i-discontinued/feed/ 3 http://www.trs-80.org/was-the-model-iii-created-to-replace-the-model-i/ http://www.trs-80.org/was-the-model-iii-created-to-replace-the-model-i/#comments Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:50:40 +0000 Matthew Reed http://www.trs-80.org/?p=159 TRS-80 Model III, introduced in August 1980, is often described as a replacement for the TRS-80 Model I, introduced in August 1977. Considering that the Model I was discontinued just six months later due to its failure to meet new FCC regulations, it is easy to assume that the Model III was always intended to replace the Model I.

But Radio Shack showed no sign of any plans to discontinue the Model I after the introduction of the Model III. It remained in the catalog at a price $200 lower than the Model III. Jon Shirley, Vice President of the Computer Division at Radio Shack, wrote in his “View from the Seventh Floor” column in the September 1980 issue of the TRS-80 Microcomputer News:]]> http://www.trs-80.org/was-the-model-iii-created-to-replace-the-model-i/feed/ 0