UNVEILING TLC 2.0 (2024)

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A year after learning about Tandy Light Control at VCFSW 2023, I returned to VCFSW 2024 with a brand-new exhibit of Tandy and Radio Shack computers & memorabilia from my Tandy Showcase collection. Featured "brightly" in the middle was our Tandy Towers project.

Featuring the original 1997 Visual Basic applications that were used to create and download messages to Tandy Center in Fort Worth for so many years, we set up the display in a manner to allow attendees to not only see the tower lights, but to experience the Designer application. 

In the actual Towers, the Designer was installed on a service computer in a maintenance room, and would "download" the messages to the Light Computers located on the 10th floor of each building. For our model, the message was still being sent using the RS232 serial output, but only traveling a few feet to turn on the applicable LEDs in each tower.

Kevin Williams from TexElec stopped by to check out the Towers and inspect his own handiwork for all of the PC Board assembly. Again, this project would not have been possible without his assistance and expertise.

Jerry Heep, Nikki Heep, Ginney Randall and husband, all arrived on Saturday morning. Until this point, none of them had seen the final build. In fact, it's my understanding that they hadn't all been together since completing their college project back in 1997. This was truly a moment to remember.

Ginney, Nikki and Jerry were interviewed by Dr. Anne Balsamo,  Professor of Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication at UT-Dallas.

We posed for a selfie with the Towers and TLC 2.0

Clint Basinger, better known as YouTube star "LGR", stopped by to chat with Jerry and get a demonstration of TLC and our new towers.

Ginney and Nikki took the opportunity to shout out to their college, Texas Christian University. 

Go Frogs!

Throughout the weekend, many attendees stopped by to see the exhibit. Some had never heard of the Tandy Towers (nor had they been to Fort Worth)... others were very reminiscent of the lights, and were "glowing" themselves as they shared fond memories of Tandy Center for shopping, ice skating, or just passing through and seeing the lights. 

As an unexpected outcome, we were nominated and won "Best In Show" for the Vintage Computer Festival 2024 Event!

There were so many wonderful exhibits this year, and we were honored to be recognized... which will hopefully spread the news of not only our project but of the story of the Tandy Center Lights.