Tandy 1000 R-Series

The Tandy 1000 R-Series was the final series of the Tandy 1000 family. The lowest common denominator between them was a low-profile case in a similar design scheme to the SL and TL systems. This low-profile case had room for only one 8-bit ISA card (16-bit in the 1000 RSX). The processors of this series range from Intel 8086 to Intel 80386SX. This is the most varied of all the series and not long after the last model, the Tandy 1000 RSX, Radio Shack started selling AST computers in their stores instead of the long tradition of branded systems.

Tandy 1000 RL (RL/HD)
Manufacturer:	Tandy Corporation
Year Introduced:	1991
Form Factor:	Compatible PC
Clock Speed:	9.54 MHz
Memory Size:	512 KB expandable up to 768 KB (see note below)
Graphics:	Tandy Graphics II
CPU:	Intel 8086
Predecessor(s):	Tandy 1000 HX, 1000 SL/2
Successor(s):	Tandy 1000 RLX

Tandy 1000 RL and RL/HD

The Tandy 1000 RL was the last of the 8-bit processor Tandy 1000s. It was almost identical in features to the 1000 SL/2 except the low profile case and a slightly fast Intel 8086. The RL/HD variant includes a 20 MB hard disk drive. One nice, additional feature is Deskmate 3.69, bundled with both the 1000 RL and 1000 RLX. This version includes an expanded version of the Deskmate Home Organizer add-on integrated into Deskmate. Home Organizer includes a recipe database, a budgeting program, and other "applications." The added features to Home Organizer includes "Smart Home" functionality years before it caught on.

Tandy 1000 RLX (RLX/HD)
Manufacturer:	Tandy Corporation
Year Introduced:	1991
Form Factor:	Compatible PC
Clock Speed:	10 MHz
Memory Size:	512 KB expandable up to 1 MB
Graphics:	VGA
CPU:	Intel 80286
Predecessor(s):	Tandy 1000 RL, Tandy 1000 TL/3
Successor(s):	Tandy 1000 RSX

Tandy 1000 RLX and RLX/HD

The Tandy 1000 RLX is to the Tandy 1000 TL/3 as the 1000 RL is to the 1000 SL/2. Besides the low-profile case, the main differences are expandable up to 1 MB RAM, a standard 1.44 MB 3 and a half inch floppy disk drive and Deskmate 3.69 (see 1000 RL above). The 1000 RL/HD includes a 20 MB hard disk drive.

Tandy 1000 RSX
Manufacturer:	Tandy Corporation
Year Introduced:	1991
Form Factor:	Compatible PC
Clock Speed:	25 MHz
Memory Size:	1 MB expandable up to 9 MB
Graphics:	SVGA
CPU:	Intel 80386SX
Predecessor(s):	Tandy 1000 RLX
Successor(s):	Tandy Sensation

Tandy 1000 RSX

The final Tandy 1000 model, the Tandy 1000 RSX is unique to all other Tandy 1000 systems. It has the same low-profile case like the RL and RLX. Honestly, this released after I left Radio Shack and was not featured in a Radio Shack Computer Catalog, so Wikipedia says it better.

A more upscale offering, the RSX offers a 25 MHz 80386SX processor, 1 MB RAM, two 16-bit ISA slots, AcuMos SVGA video, a bidirectional parallel port, and standard PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports. It is a full 386-class PC and can run Microsoft Windows 3.x. Two sockets for SIMM memory cards are available. Only 1 MB or 4 MB SIMMs of the 9-chip type are supported, and if two are installed they have to be of like capacity. With two 4 MB SIMMs installed, the 1000 RSX can be expanded to 9 MB RAM without using an ISA slot. The RSX/HD variant comes with a 52 MB hard drive using an AT-compatible IDE interface; replacement hard drives up to 504 MB can be substituted. Because of the slimline case, only one hard drive can be installed alongside the 1.44 MB 3.5" floppy drive.

The motherboard has a socket for the 80387SX math coprocessor. The RSX still retains the Tandy 1000 3-voice sound hardware and DAC, though the I/O address for the 3-voice sound chip was moved, rendering many games compatible with it unable to play music unless modified. The DAC can be used to emulate the Covox Speech Thing via MS-DOS device drivers for limited sound support. This works with Chuck Yeager's Air Combat.

Windows 3.xx sound device drivers are available that work in Windows 95 (with full 9MB RAM) on Tandy 1000 RSX.

The ACUMOS VGA graphics can be software-updated with Cirrus Logic BIOS (via MS-DOS driver) to allow VESA/SVGA to function in Windows 95, as the Windows 3.xx Tandy VGA drivers are insufficient for Windows 95.

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Legacy

This line marked the end of the Tandy 1000 series and the only computers released with the Tandy name badge were the Tandy Sensation and Tandy Sensation II. There are no emulators for this series but you can run Deskmate with the separate Home Organizer add-on with DOSBox-x.