I had been wondering what changes were necessary in TELCOM; the fact that Norway used their own 7-bit version of ASCII would explain the need completely. TELCOM would need to transcode between that and the Model T character set. Does TELCOM on your machine convert those characters without loading the cassette program? Once you get your cassette deck working, I hope you share with us what the difference is between the three versions: plain ROM, Norwegian, and US.
Looking at the International Register’s list of nationalized character sets <https://github.com/hackerb9/vt340test/blob/main/docs/standards/ISO_IR_Character_Set_Registry_2004.pdf>, it seems Denmark and Norway shared a single character set in the early days (IR-09 1975 <https://itscj.ipsj.or.jp/ir/009-1.pdf>) as did Finland and Sweden, and both were sponsored by the Scandinavian Newspaper Technical Cooperation Council (NATS). It wasn’t until 1982 that Norway registered its own character set (IR-60 1982 <https://itscj.ipsj.or.jp/ir/060.pdf>, based on Norwegian Standard NS 4551). Both of those are supersets of the table you showed. IR-60 additionally changes character 7E, ~, to be ‾, while IR-09 changes ~ to be -. While I doubt the Televerket Modell 100 would be influenced at all by IR-09, here’s a chart showing the differences from ASCII you may want to look out for when testing TELCOM. Hex ASCII IR-09 (1975) IR-60 (1982) 20 space (variable width space) 22 ” « (opening quotation mark) 23 # » (closing quotation mark) 2D - — (long dash or minus) 40 @ (short fixed width space) 5B [ Æ Æ 5C \ Ø Ø 5D ] Å Å 5E ^ █ (solid) 60 ` (long fixed width space) 7B { æ æ 7C | ø ø 7D } å å 7E ~ - (short dash or hyphen ) ‾ (overline) —b9 On Wed, Jan 28, 2026 at 8:46 AM Rune Devik <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Jonathan > > yup, this was before my time (I can't remember it) but we also apparently > had the same thing. The norwegian wikipedia article about ascii explains > this (https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASCII): > > Binært Desimal Hex ASCII Norsk > 101 1011 91 5B [ Æ > 101 1100 92 5C \ Ø > 101 1101 93 5D ] Å > 111 1011 123 7B { æ > 111 1100 124 7C | ø > 111 1101 125 7D } å > To answer B9's question: I guess there was changes made to Telecom because > they where needed and because the national telephone company actually sold > these. But that's just a guess. I haven't really found any articles about > how Televerket worked to get this out the door. Only a few adverts and some > news articles about journalists really embracing this machine. On the back > of the machine it says Custom mfd. for Tandy Corporation. So it would be my > guess that Televerket worked with Tandy corp. and they actually did the > needed changes (in coop with MS if needed). > > The prime customer for the m100 in Norway was reporters. But that might > just be what accidently happened after it went on sale. But also Norwegians > need the ÆØÅ chars to effectively communicate natively as the ÆØÅ chars are > quite frequently used :) And there was already other machines that did this > like e.g. the TIKI-100. I also think my Commodore 128 actually is localized > to Norwegian now that I think about it... > > I don't think you can count this machine in as part of any computer > literacy project though. That probably was the native TIKI-100 machine > (more high end real personal computer) and the commodore 64 which was > really popular over here (like everywhere else I guess). > > We also produced the super high end main frame stuff in-house (by Norsk > Data). This video is pretty good at explaining the raise and fall of > Nowegian computing: https://youtu.be/CswjD3plsF8?si=Wd9oxhD1awWt4zlS > > In a alternative universe we might have been a big player in the market :) > > On Wed, Jan 28, 2026 at 2:25 PM <[email protected]> wrote: > >> My m100 is a US model so I can't check things there, but I know that >> there was a '7 bit ASCII' that was adapted for Sweden, where the "å ä ö >> Å Ä Ö" shows up as "} { | ] [ \" and vice-versa. This was before the >> IBM code pages and of course much before UTF. It made code writing much >> harder. At one point, I could almost read Swedish with things like | or >> { mixed in the words but I haven't seen anything like that for a while. >> We still have to use the 'Alt Gr' key to get '} { | ] [ \' from a >> Swedish keyboard. >> >> Did they have somethings like that in Norway that represented the 'extra >> letters' by replacing '} { | ] [ \'? You can find the Swedish version on >> wikipedia under 'Svensk ASCII' . >> >> Jonathan >> >> > ------ Original Message ------ >> > From: [email protected] >> > To: [email protected] >> > Sent: Tuesday, January 27th 2026, 23:58 >> > Subject: Re: [M100] M100Link - Transfer files to/from your m100 >> >> > >> Oh, that's good that the ROM actually works properly without the >> cassette. I wonder what the "Norwegian TELCOM" program actually does >> since the ROM already includes TELCOM. Was it a last minute patch, maybe >> needed for a different method of dialing? > >> > >> It makes sense that the case-insensitivity is broken for nationalized >> characters: the Model-T character map above 128 is laid out >> higgledy-piggledy, unlike the ASCII alphabet where one can trivially >> force letters to uppercase with a single machine instruction (`c AND >> 223`).> >> > >> If the Modell 100's permit was issued in 1984, that means the changes >> to the ROM had already been planned (and possibly already implemented). >> So, now, I'm thinking of the evolution of the Kyocera sisters as >> something like this:> >> > >> Kyocera Kyotronic KC-85> >> ⮩ TRS-80 Model 100> >> ⮩ TRS-80/Televerket Modell 100> >> ⮩ Tandy 200> >> ⮩ Tandy 102> >> ⮩ Olivetti M10 (European)> >> > >> > >> > >> ⮩ Olivetti M10 (North America)> >> ⮩ NEC PC-8201 (Japan) and -8201A (Export) ⮩ NEC PC-8300> >> > >> I'm curious what the connection was between Tandy / Radio-Shack and >> Televerket that lead to the creation of a customized ROM for the >> Norwegian market. Are you able to search the Norwegian newspapers >> archives and see if Televerket paid Microsoft for the ROM update or >> maybe made the changes in house? Was it part of a governmental mandate >> for promoting the Norwegian language and, if so, was it considered a >> successful project?> >> > >> —b9> >> > >> > >> On Mon, Jan 26, 2026 at 8:00 AM Rune Devik <[email protected]> >> wrote:> >> Hi> >> ÆØÅ> >> * It actually works correctly and prints ÆØÅ and æøå to screen as you >> would expect even without loading the software. When I read the pamphlet >> and the screen displayed for the INSTAL program it translates to:> >> * Press 1 for Norwegian Telecom> >> * Press 2 for English Telecom> >> * Press 3 for Norwegian Printer> >> * Press 4 for English Printer> >> * Press 5 for CR & LF> >> * Press 6 for CR> >> * F8 for Menu> >> So the program apparently is for telecom and printer settings and if >> LF should be used in combination with CR or not (not sure where though >> probably just telecom and printer related as well). I'll put the >> translation of the choices in the "wiki" on both github and >> archive.org. > >> > >> Note: When I say that ÆØÅ works as expected there's actually a >> difference. If I create a file in the text editor and call it æøå and go >> to the main screen I have a file with lower case filename æøå. And I can >> also create a file that is called ÆØÅ and that will be displayed as ÆØÅ >> on the main menu. If you create a file called note it will be shown as >> NOTE on the main menu and you won't be able to create both a note and a >> NOTE file. > >> > >> With regards to the age of the machine I'm actually not sure. I can >> check the date code on the IC's inside next I pop it open. Or see if I >> have some images of that laying around. Even though the permit was from >> 1984 for these it doesn't necessarily mean that the machines was >> produced the same year.> >> > >> PRINT CHR$(208) - This does indeed print Æ. I have not looked at the >> model 102 at all so not sure if this differs from that or not. But I see >> that a lot of the keys (especially on the right hand side and number >> keys shift function) has been moved around to accommodate ÆØÅ but still >> keep the needed functionality. To be able to enter <> and [] I need to >> use the code button in addition to some button on the right side of the >> keyboard (can't remember which).. But all chars I need seems to be >> there. > >> > >> Regards,> >> Rune Devik > >> > >> On Mon, Jan 26, 2026 at 9:31 AM B 9 <[email protected]> wrote:> >> Oh, duh! I just realized that your machine is probably one of the >> reasons why the font changed in the Tandy 200 and 102. If you do> >> PRINT CHR$(208)> >> </pre> I bet it’ll show you Æ, like the later models, instead of  as >> the original Model 100 did. > >> —b9> >> > >> > >> > >> On Mon, Jan 26, 2026 at 12:24 AM B 9 <[email protected]> wrote:> >> Again, nice work! It's fun seeing a Model 100 with >> keycaps nationalized for your country!> >> > >> By the way, what do Ø, Æ, and Å show on the screen if you press them >> when you haven't loaded the nationalization program, RESRAM.BA and >> INSTAL.BA, from the cassette? I wonder i the keyboard works just like >> the American layout, despite the keycaps. I'm also curious if the >> nationalization program changes what character code gets read when a key >> is pressed or (less likely) if it is only changing what is displayed on >> the screen.> >> > >> Looking at the diff between the ROMs for the Televerket Modell 100 and >> the Tandy 102, there are actually very few differences, mostly in the >> date/time section. You said that this device was being sold in 1984, >> right? That's interesting to me since the Tandy 102 didn't come out >> until two years later, in 1986, and I always presumed that the >> firmware's direct ancestor was the ROM in the Tandy 200 which came out >> in 1985. However, it's possible they both have a common ancestor in your >> Televerket or something similar. Do you know if your machine's font is >> more like the Model 100 or the Tandy 102?> >> > >> —b9 > >> > >> > >> > >> On Sun, Jan 25, 2026 at 3:41 AM Rune Devik <[email protected]> >> wrote:> >> Hi, thanks :)> >> Your gentle encouragement led to >> this: https://archive.org/details/trs-80-m100-norwegian> >> > >> Regards,> >> Rune Devik> >> > >> On Sun, Jan 25, 2026 at 8:02 AM B 9 <[email protected]> wrote:> >> Wow, great job with the documentation! Once you’re finished, I'd like >> to gently encourage you to consider storing it also on archive.org. > >> For deskewing the pamphlet images, you can do it when converting to >> PDF. In particular, the ocrmypdf command has a --deskew option. This is >> what I did on my Unix computer:> >> img2pdf --title "TRS 80 Modell 100: Kortfattet brukerveiledning" >> \> >> --keywords "TRS-80, m100, Norvegian" \> >> --creationdate "January 01, 1984" \> >> Pamphlet*.png \> >> | ocrmypdf --deskew - pamphlet.pdf> >> </pre> By the way, it may make sense to add the original JPEG photos >> to the repository. PDFs usually work best with JPEG or TIFF images, not >> PNG, as no conversion is necessary. > >> And, yes, the soigeneris Backpack looks quite nifty. I don’t have one >> yet, but plan on getting one whenever they are back in stock.> >> —b9> >> On January 24, 2026 11:24:01 AM PST, Rune Devik >> <[email protected]> wrote:> >> > >> > >> That universal backpack looks nice :) > >> I'm almost finished documenting my machine, the box it came with, the >> pamphlet, Cassette (not yet recorded but...), ROM etc. And I have put >> everything up on GitHub for now (of all places..): >> https://github.com/Warshi7819/TRS80-M100-Norwegian> >> > >> Regards,> >> Rune Devik> >> > >> On Sat, Jan 24, 2026 at 2:09 AM B 9 <[email protected]> wrote:> >> The double cassette deck sounds like the way to go. I don't know about >> testing the .wav file out, other than just playing it back from your >> computer and loading it on your Model T. If you need to do it in >> emulation, a good bet is to try MAME's tandy102 as that emulates the >> device at the chip level. > >> > >> If you are not so fond of cassettes any more, you may want to >> investigate getting a REX# chip or a Universal Backpack. I held off for >> a long time because I wanted to experience the way computing was "back >> in the day", but eventually, it just made more sense to get one of the >> modern solutions.> >> > >> —b9 > >> > >> > >> On Fri, Jan 23, 2026 at 12:59 PM Rune Devik <[email protected]> >> wrote:> >> Hi!> >> > >> Thanks for the transformed dump :)> >> > >> I have a new double cassette deck at my cabin (three years old) so I >> was thinking about bringing in that bad boy to dump the tape. Is there >> software that can take a wav file and create a cas file for the trs-80 >> model 100? And is it possible to load a cas file on the emulator >> (Virtual T) to test that the dump actually works?> >> > >> The belts I bought was for the specific model I have (Philips D6280). >> And they seemed good. A lot tighter than the once I had initially at >> least but not too tight either. But the speed of the cassette deck is >> still going up and down.. Could be slipping as you say. You can hear it >> very well when playing music cassettes on it. And I was not able to >> record and load a short program on my trs-80 coco (or was it the Dragon) >> with it either so it's not doing it's job it seems. I'm not sure I like >> cassettes for software. Me, cassettes and Azimuth head alignment go way >> back as nobody in Europe could afford floppies back in the 80's... :)> >> > >> > >> On Fri, Jan 23, 2026 at 9:32 PM B 9 <[email protected]> wrote:> >> By the way, a slow speed recording can be easily corrected as long as >> it is consistent. If I remember right, the TRS-80 audio data format >> starts with a tone of a specific frequency, making it relatively easy to >> see (in Audacity's spectrum mode) if the speed is steady and how much of >> an adjustment is needed. If your cassette deck isn't having other >> problems, like chewing up tapes, I think it'd be worth a shot uploading >> the incorrect speed. > >> > >> I would not suspect capacitors or the motor for the speed problem, at >> least, not at first. Did you buy a replacement belt of exactly the same >> size as the old belt? If so, it likely would be too loose since they get >> stretched out. Another problem I've seen is the rubber of the pinch >> roller hardening to a glaze and slipping. > >> > >> —b9> >> > >> On Fri, Jan 23, 2026 at 4:30 AM Rune Devik <[email protected]> >> wrote:> >> Hi> >> So, attached is the dump of the ROM. The file romdump_real.txt is the >> output from running Clinton's basic script. The output_hex.txt file is >> my creation by extracting all the numbers from the romdump_real.txt file >> and then converting the numbers to hex pairs using >> python format(int(value), '02X')> >> > >> I was kinda expecting that I would find some version info or some >> ascii text in the rom dump but browsing through it I didn't see anything >> like that in my hex editor.> >> > >> Anyways, please share any insights you might get when looking at these >> dumps :). > >> > >> Also back to another of B9's questions: Yes, I have the cassette that >> came with the unit as well but I haven't recorded it yet. Basically >> because my cassette deck I have at hand is not behaving correctly at the >> moment. I haven't had the time to fix it yet. The motor is not running >> at full speed (I have changed the belts) so either caps or the motor >> itself. The M100 also came with a Norwegian pamphlet and the full hefty >> Tandy M100 manual (in English). I will try to scan the Norwegian >> pamphlet and share that on arhive.org as well. > >> > >> Regards,> >> Rune Devik> >> > >> On Fri, Jan 23, 2026 at 11:30 AM Rune Devik <[email protected]> >> wrote:> >> Hi> >> Also verified that * PEEK(63789) returns Year (ones place)* >> PEEK(63790) returns Year (tens place)Just like the US and UK model in >> your table. > >> > >> On Fri, Jan 23, 2026 at 11:24 AM Rune Devik <[email protected]> >> wrote:> >> Hi> >> Unfortunately PEEK(1) returns 167 on my Norwegian model as well. Which >> means that it's probably based on the American version and that is also >> indicated by the sticker on the back where it says "Custom mfd. in Japan >> for Tandy Corporation". But as stated before the date format is >> DD/MM/YY.> >> > >> I'll send the full dump of the ROM as soon as I have had the time to >> do it!> >> > >> Regards,> >> Rune Devik> >> > >> On Fri, Jan 23, 2026 at 10:34 AM B 9 <[email protected]> wrote:> >> Did you send the value from PEEK? That file contains this repeating >> sequence:> >> > >> ```> >> 00> >> 01> >> 02> >> 03> >> 04> >> …> >> FC> >> FD> >> FE> >> FF> >> ```> >> > >> Oddly symmetric indeed!> >> > >> —b9> >> > >> > >> On Thu, Jan 22, 2026 at 4:39 PM Rune Devik <[email protected]> >> wrote:> >> Hi> >> After reducing the speed to 1200 bauds I finally managed to dump the >> rom but I think this script dumps the optional rom? And not the "main" >> rom? It dumped the data but it seemed strangely symetric when I saw the >> data pass by lie it was repeating itself over and over so not sure >> there's actually any info there. Which makes sense as there is no >> optional rom installed. Or I might be completely wrong and this is it. I >> could not make sense of it in a hex editor either... But this is not my >> expertise so any help appreciated :)> >> > >> At least the file is exactly the correct size as it should be. > >> > >> On Thu, Jan 22, 2026 at 7:05 PM Joshua O'Keefe >> <[email protected]> wrote:> >> > On Jan 22, 2026, at 7:43 AM, Joshua O'Keefe >> <[email protected]> wrote: > > I'm fairly sure I've seen >> software to do this posted here on the list in the past. I'd be willing >> to bet Stephen A. has something on hand because this is very much his >> wheelhouse. Curiosity got the better part of me. Stephen does have such >> a utility posted[1] that ought to work with a USB/RS-232 bridge on the >> other end. It produces a hex dump rather than binary data, so you might >> need to poke around for a utility to decode ASCII hex pairs to binary. >> [1] >> >> https://www.club100.org/memfiles/index.php?&direction=0&order=&directory=Steve%20Adolph/ROM2S >> > >> > >> > >> -- mvh,> >> Rune Devik> >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> -- mvh,> >> Rune Devik> >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> -- mvh,> >> Rune Devik> >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> -- mvh,> >> Rune Devik> >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> -- mvh,> >> Rune Devik> >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> -- mvh,> >> Rune Devik> >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> -- mvh,> >> Rune Devik> >> > >> > >> > >> >> >> >> >> [email protected] >> >> > > -- > mvh, > Rune Devik >
