Inside a Classic: The TRS-80 Model 100

Instant-on, with a comfortable keyboard and 20 hours of battery life: Little wonder this Radio Shack model is one of the most popular portables of all time. We offer a look at the guts of this featherweight champion.

Benj Edwards, PC World

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Memory Power 6 of 16

Four AA batteries is all it takes to power the Model 100 for up to 20 hours. The 100 stores user files in battery-backed RAM for instant access, which made them subject to loss when the batteries ran out. To prevent this, a small NiCD battery soldered to the motherboard constantly recharges and maintains the memory between battery changes. To wipe that memory out, the user flips the "memory power" switch seen here.