TI-99/4A 64K cart board - 2nd run

[+acadiel]

I put this in the TI-99/4A OLUGs....

 

Yep, you heard it right.

 

There will be a few changes this time. So, please read on and send me e-mail if you are interested in doing the following:

 

I need several people to do particular jobs to get this done. Whether or not you decide to do more than one is up do you.

 

1) Spreadsheet maintainer/counter. I will create a form like last time, and give someone control of the form and resultant spreadsheet. It will be your job to keep track of pre order numbers. For this next order, we want either 100 or 250 - that's our goal. If we take forever to get to 100, we'll order 100. If not, we'll order 250 if we get to it.

 

2) Packager/mailer - You will be responsible for packing the boards (they will already be in ASD bags, assembled) in a box with peanuts to send out to people (after they have been paid for). You will weigh them, and communicate with the invoicer, below, regarding weights so that the invoicer can determine postage costs. After doing all that, you will mail the packages. The invoicer can work with you to pay you back for postage/boxes/peanuts.

 

3) Invoicer - someone who will invoice each person via e-mail for their quantity of boards. You will be responsible for sending out invoices to people. Most boards will go out first class mail, and some will be Priority, etc. You will need a Paypal account to make it easy, and will charge people for the board + shipping/handling. The shipping/handling fee includes the mail cost + $1 for the box/peanuts (approx) + a small offset for the Paypal fees.

 

4) Interface to ACC Electronix - that's me

 

Now, on to the fun part.

 

ACC Electronix will professionally be making the boards this go-around. The boards will be made by PCBExpress, be RoHS compliant, and be professionally assembled. A test fixture will be made by PCBEXpress to electrically test the PCBs before ACC assembles them.

 

ACC is charging just about what we were charging before for assembled boards.

 

If we order 100 from them for this second batch, they will be $1,494, or $14.94/ea. If we order 250 from them, they will be $2,475, or $9.90/ea. That's *assembled*, folks.

 

If we go through this second batch and order a third batch, 100 will cost around $897, or $8.97/ea assembled. 250 would be $1957.50, or $7.83/ea.

 

ACC will charge me a $400 fee up front, and then the rest is due within 30 days. So if we don't get this done within 30 days, some folks will have to help with financing.

 

Bob Carmany and I will still be offering our EPROM burning services. If someone wants to volunteer excess cart cases for the group, we can build that into the cost.

 

Thoughts, everyone? How's $9.90/ea assembled sound? Get 250 orders and you'll get it!

[+retroclouds]

I put this in the TI-99/4A OLUGs....

 

Yep, you heard it right.

 

There will be a few changes this time. So, please read on and send me e-mail if you are interested in doing the following:

 

I need several people to do particular jobs to get this done. Whether or not you decide to do more than one is up do you.

 

1) Spreadsheet maintainer/counter. I will create a form like last time, and give someone control of the form and resultant spreadsheet. It will be your job to keep track of pre order numbers. For this next order, we want either 100 or 250 - that's our goal. If we take forever to get to 100, we'll order 100. If not, we'll order 250 if we get to it.

 

2) Packager/mailer - You will be responsible for packing the boards (they will already be in ASD bags, assembled) in a box with peanuts to send out to people (after they have been paid for). You will weigh them, and communicate with the invoicer, below, regarding weights so that the invoicer can determine postage costs. After doing all that, you will mail the packages. The invoicer can work with you to pay you back for postage/boxes/peanuts.

 

3) Invoicer - someone who will invoice each person via e-mail for their quantity of boards. You will be responsible for sending out invoices to people. Most boards will go out first class mail, and some will be Priority, etc. You will need a Paypal account to make it easy, and will charge people for the board + shipping/handling. The shipping/handling fee includes the mail cost + $1 for the box/peanuts (approx) + a small offset for the Paypal fees.

 

4) Interface to ACC Electronix - that's me

 

Now, on to the fun part.

 

ACC Electronix will professionally be making the boards this go-around. The boards will be made by PCBExpress, be RoHS compliant, and be professionally assembled. A test fixture will be made by PCBEXpress to electrically test the PCBs before ACC assembles them.

 

ACC is charging just about what we were charging before for assembled boards.

 

If we order 100 from them for this second batch, they will be $1,494, or $14.94/ea. If we order 250 from them, they will be $2,475, or $9.90/ea. That's *assembled*, folks.

 

If we go through this second batch and order a third batch, 100 will cost around $897, or $8.97/ea assembled. 250 would be $1957.50, or $7.83/ea.

 

ACC will charge me a $400 fee up front, and then the rest is due within 30 days. So if we don't get this done within 30 days, some folks will have to help with financing.

 

Bob Carmany and I will still be offering our EPROM burning services. If someone wants to volunteer excess cart cases for the group, we can build that into the cost.

 

Thoughts, everyone? How's $9.90/ea assembled sound? Get 250 orders and you'll get it!

 

 

This is great news. I will be ordering some fome my future homebrew games.

Already have quite a few cart boards from Jon and they are all of the fines quality!

[Opry99er]

I also have assembled cartridges from Jon. Magnificent work of the highest grade and quality. I highly reccommend, if you are interested in homebrew carts, to order some of these as soon as possible.

[+acadiel]

I also have assembled cartridges from Jon. Magnificent work of the highest grade and quality. I highly reccommend, if you are interested in homebrew carts, to order some of these as soon as possible.

 

We're up to 52 preorders... keep em coming, folks!

 

I did hack one of the boards.. check out the 512K TI Multicart:

[Opry99er]

Could you hack one for a price? I'd love one of those multicarts!

[+save2600]

Put me down for a multi-cart too

 

Re: the 64K cart, would you be able to download a TI file to it from a G5 Mac running OS10.4.11? If so, I'd like one of these as well. Not quite ready to get back into developing games for the machine (waaaaaay too rusty and no time), but I'd be interested in checking out the random rare game with one...

Edited December 26, 2009 by save2600

[Opry99er]

It can be done... You need to run "Virtual Box", a free application that emulates a PC. Then follow the instructions on the Opry99er PC->TI data transfer video on YouTube. Remember, when setting up virtual box to run the OS of your choosing, to enable the USB or serial ports during setup.

[+save2600]

Thanks for the tip Owen, but as soon as you posted it, I had to qualify what I said about my Mac... it's a G5. I'm sure it won't be too long before I treat myself to a shiny new 24" or larger Intel based iMac though

[Opry99er]

I have both... Intel and G5.  The only difference really for OUR purposes is that with the dual processor Intel Mac, you can run a PC based OS directly from boot up... Use "Boot Camp".  Literally, when you start up the computer, it shows 2 icons... Windows and MAC.  Native OS is Mac... But technically, they are both native.  It is LITERALLY 2 computers in one.  I'm sure you already know all this stuff, but people may read this post hundreds of years from now and this could be very valuable information to them.  . Hehe

[Opry99er]

Sorry--- I misread your post... I do not believe the actual CART can be downloaded TO... You can theoretically transfer to and from the TI with your mac and then make the EPROM you would need for the cart--- but Jon knows alot more about that than I do. I think for bank switching, the code must be modified or "massaged".

[+acadiel]

Yep, you have to burn the EPROM first. Tursi had to help with a lot of 'bugs' in the program to get them all working. A lot of the later work was just hex editing the EPROM and re-burning it.

 

BTW, I have the new pictures of the finished product up on my website. You can view the pictures starting here: 512K MultiCart pics

 

I don't really plan on making these, but all of what I did is documented on my website, and Tursi's Multicart program that made it all possible is on my hexbus.com home page. I'm kind of hemming and hawing about releasing the ROM, but I probably will.

 

Remember, everyone can pre-order the 64K boards here: 64K Board Orders

 

If you want to make a multicart, you just need a 32 pin socket, a 27C010 (128K)/27C020 (256K) or 27C040 (512K), some wire, tape (Kapton/Electric), potentially some heat shrink, wire, two 2.2K ohm resistors, and an exacto knife.

 

It would help to have an EPROM burner as well or a friend that has an EPROM burner, along with a good hex editor on your PC. (I use 0xED on the Mac.)

[Opry99er]

And for those of us who have no idea how to do any of that, report immediately to the yahoo group for the TI994A. Your tutorial awaits you!!!

[+save2600]

And for those of us who have no idea how to do any of that, report immediately to the yahoo group for the TI994A. Your tutorial awaits you!!!

 

Cool - now who's sitting on that finished Tutankham prototype...

[Opry99er]

He also resides on the yahoo user group. He has the fully playable

game... And he paid a TON of money for it from the author. The guy won't release the source, so he is charging an insane amount per copy he sells.

[+acadiel]

He also resides on the yahoo user group. He has the fully playable

game... And he paid a TON of money for it from the author. The guy won't release the source, so he is charging an insane amount per copy he sells.

 

Yeah... I wonder if Parker Brothers would have something to say about their intellectual property (with a NDA) being sold by the guy who sold the cartridge to Bryan. It's their copyrighted property, not the guy who sold it.

[+save2600]

He also resides on the yahoo user group. He has the fully playable

game... And he paid a TON of money for it from the author. The guy won't release the source, so he is charging an insane amount per copy he sells.

 

Yeah... I wonder if Parker Brothers would have something to say about their intellectual property (with a NDA) being sold by the guy who sold the cartridge to Bryan. It's their copyrighted property, not the guy who sold it.

 

Good point, unless the author secured 100% of the rights from PB. Also, out of curiosity, how much is the 'insane' amount he asks? And are we talking about Bryan Roppolo Boulder by any chance? I remember Eric Bray and I talking about this cart a couple of years ago, but I don't think he mentioned him...

[Opry99er]

Well yes... I agree. However, IIRC, Parker Brothers never received the source code from the programmer. He wrote it, and before it was done, PB discontinued support for the 4/A... And it was right around the time TI shut down as well.... His claim is that, since he wrote it and it was never distributed, he owns the rights to it. But copyright stuff is hard to figure out.... I just think it's a shame that nobody can play it without paying several thousand dollars for it!!!

[Opry99er]

And yes... Bryan Roppolo Boulder is the fellow

[+save2600]

And yes... Bryan Roppolo Boulder is the fellow

 

Cool, he's an old buddy from the Usenet days. I should write him and see what's up. Have never paid attention to the Yahoo! groups things since the gigantic split from Usenet. Still pissed and bitter about that <sigh> as I HATE maintaining all these screen names and passwords for the dozens of proprietary classic gaming forums, but that's another chapter

[+acadiel]

Well yes... I agree. However, IIRC, Parker Brothers never received the source code from the programmer. He wrote it, and before it was done, PB discontinued support for the 4/A... And it was right around the time TI shut down as well.... His claim is that, since he wrote it and it was never distributed, he owns the rights to it. But copyright stuff is hard to figure out.... I just think it's a shame that nobody can play it without paying several thousand dollars for it!!!

 

True - so if this is indeed the case, he can do what he wants with the source.

 

However, I still find it strange that he wants to horde a 25-year-old game.

 

This is what I got in December 2008 when I e-mailed him (Steve Zedeck):

 

"Hi Jon, Yes, I did sell one of my Tut boards to Brian about a year ago. Under contract he is unable to duplicate or sell it. I still have a couple more but they can not be given away. Sorry.

Steve"

 

Makes you wonder if it has the nuclear launch codes embedded in it or something.

[Tursi]

Well yes... I agree. However, IIRC, Parker Brothers never received the source code from the programmer. He wrote it, and before it was done, PB discontinued support for the 4/A... And it was right around the time TI shut down as well.... His claim is that, since he wrote it and it was never distributed, he owns the rights to it. But copyright stuff is hard to figure out.... I just think it's a shame that nobody can play it without paying several thousand dollars for it!!!

 

It's not that hard to figure out, if Parker Brothers told him to write it, and paid for it, then it's a work for hire, and Parker Brothers owns the copyright. Nothing in copyright law says you have to do anything with the property you own.

 

Even if they didn't request it or pay him, the game itself will be owned by whoever owns the right to Tutankham, as this would fall under derived work.

[Opry99er]

Yea... This has been rehashed over and over a hundred times on the OLUG... What I believe is that Bryan paid for it in cold hard cash, and not a "small" amount, either. If Steve doesn't own rights, then a non distribution contract is null in void. Oh well... One day, I hope my son can play the game---

[+retroclouds]

I seriously considered doing a remake based on the colecovision version.

Haven't done it because I know Bryan paid a lot for it.

 

Still I think that programmer of the TI version was out to make a quick buck,

most likely trying to get some cash out on efforts he invested 25 years ago

 

As far as the game itself is concerned. I'm pretty sure a good version could be done in

less than a year. With todays possibilities I'd go for a 32K cartridge (adding a decent title screen).

[Opry99er]

I would love to have at least a remake of this game... Bryan's is original--- and that will always be unique... But a retroclouds remake would be flipping awesome.