sixsevenco Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 Hi Everyone, Maybe reading Ready Player One reignited a spark from my childhood, but in the last few months, I've found myself looking at Ebay and Craigslist for TI-99's. I had one as a kid (around ages 8-10), and I loved playing Munchman, TI Invaders, and Hunt the Wumpus. I also loved playing with BASIC. When I got older, I eventually moved on to an Apple IIc, so we sold our TI at a garage sale. I wish I still had it and all of the basic programs I created back in the day. Moving to today, I found a pristine TI-99/4a at an estate sale just yesterday. It appears to have been covered from day one, and seldom used. It's truly a collector's class machine, not a scratch or any sign of use. It came with a the power brick, video modulator, and speech synth. And all of this works great! It also came with a cassette player, but that is unfortunately dead. I'm going to try to open it up and see if I can figure out why it's dead, but for now, I don't have any way to save anything. I read the FAQ, as well as some some other posts on WAV sound players/recorders, but I wasn't able find an answer to this: It looks like a lot of the enthusiast solutions (nanoPEB, finalGROM99, etc.) are no longer available for sale or not available yet (TIpi). I am looking for any advice on how to handle storage. Should I get another cassette player, or are there better solutions that I should consider? What other general advice can you offer someone just getting back into it. I don't have TI Extended Basic. It seems like I'm going to need that or a 32K expansion (in some flavor) to run larger cassette-based software... Thanks, 67-co PS - Admins, thanks for adding me to the AtariAge forum! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 Welcome! First, get a copy of Extended BASIC. Next, watch this video to get BASIC and TI BASIC programs to your computer for use without anything but your cassette cable. If you need 32k sidecars, I believe arcadeshopper.com sells them. Additionally, you can pick up loads of game cartridges on eBay for pretty cheap if you watch carefully. If you are interested in programming in BASIC, definitely get a cassette player (cheapest current solution) or a MiniMemory cartridge (4K maximum program size) and start writing and saving. There are tons of programs available for free that run in console BASIC, so you can get started right now just using your cassette port and your PC. These are the simplest and cheapest ways to enjoy your system... not necessarily the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 By the way, the FinalGROM is still in production. You can store almost every cart ever made on that beast. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digdugnate Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 welcome! you can pick up a FG99 still- Ralph has them at https://endlos99.github.io/finalgrom99/or Greg makes them and sells them at https://www.arcadeshopper.com/wp/?page_id=11#!/Finalgrom99-assembled-board-with-low-profile-switches/p/95933522, they are made to order, tho, i think. It's a neat piece of kit and definitely a must-have down the road i think. In the meantime, TI Extended Basic is good if you want to play some of the EB games or do programming stuff. The prices widely vary but picking up a floppy drive/disk controller and the 32k expansion will help. There are several alternatives for 32k just depending on what you find available. My cassette decks either work or they dont (mostly dont, lol), so I don't rely on them too much personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixsevenco Posted February 16, 2018 Author Share Posted February 16, 2018 (edited) First, get a copy of Extended BASIC. Next, watch this video to get BASIC and TI BASIC programs to your computer for use without anything but your cassette cable. Thanks for the super fast response. Should I look to eBay for Extended Basic? What's a good price? Also, I don't think your video link posted correctly. Can I trouble you to re-post it? Edited February 16, 2018 by sixsevenco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 A pristine TI? Congratulations and welcome back to the TI fold! Yep, for a returning TI'er, the 32K sidecar together with a FinalGROM 99 is a great way to get started! Not only that, the 32K sidecar will also give you future expandability supporting the upcoming TIPI. Add an F18A into the mix and you'll be 'stylin'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 Should I look to eBay for Extended Basic? What's a good price? If you get a FInalGROM99 you can get the any of the Extended BASIC's for FREE. in << THIS THREAD >>. The FinalGROM will save you a boatload of money that would be wasted buying a bunch of individual cartridges and paying the shipping expenses on them too. With the money you save on shipping multiple cartridges, you can buy an F18A! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 I dont know if *wasted* is the appropriate term... some folks like physical media. I dont own a flash device and I have hundreds of program options. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixsevenco Posted February 16, 2018 Author Share Posted February 16, 2018 If you get a FInalGROM99 you can get the any of the Extended BASIC's for FREE. in << THIS THREAD >>. The FinalGROM will save you a boatload of money that would be wasted buying a bunch of individual cartridges and paying the shipping expenses on them too. With the money you save on shipping multiple cartridges, you can buy an F18A! Ha. I've thought about the F18A. I called myself an enthusiast in the title, but part of me is not wanting to mod this particular machine. Maybe I need 2 TI's!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 You are right of course Owen. If you are a collector its all good. I imagine those gettiing into something new might like a more inexpensive and streamlined approach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digdugnate Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 Ha. I've thought about the F18A. I called myself an enthusiast in the title, but part of me is not wanting to mod this particular machine. Maybe I need 2 TI's!! aha, this is where they get you! can't have just one...... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixsevenco Posted February 16, 2018 Author Share Posted February 16, 2018 This is awesome! I have a retired laptop that can handle this perfectly. Thanks. I was telling my very patient wife that ideally, I'd like to write basic on my Windows PC, and then transfer it to the TI. This will allow me to do that. Initially, I am thinking that I want to write some music, and I could use MS Excel to help generate some of the BASIC. Is there anyway to go the other way and save to the PC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+adamantyr Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 Ha. I've thought about the F18A. I called myself an enthusiast in the title, but part of me is not wanting to mod this particular machine. Maybe I need 2 TI's!! Yep, I got a few spare consoles for that purpose! I may have a spare Extended BASIC cartridge, if you're interested PM me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 This is awesome! I have a retired laptop that can handle this perfectly. Thanks. I was telling my very patient wife that ideally, I'd like to write basic on my Windows PC, and then transfer it to the TI. This will allow me to do that. Initially, I am thinking that I want to write some music, and I could use MS Excel to help generate some of the BASIC. Is there anyway to go the other way and save to the PC? Look up the thread on JS99er and CS1. I believe it is in the development sub forum. Youll be able to do it using this method Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 Also the Classic99 emulator (along with Js99er) allow for pasting. You can code in Notepad++ and paste into Classic99 for development... then transfer to the real thing for testing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 Ha. I've thought about the F18A. I called myself an enthusiast in the title, but part of me is not wanting to mod this particular machine. Maybe I need 2 TI's!! I have the same dilemma. I bought a new in the box console on Ebay last summer, and I'm on the wait list for an F18A, but I kind of don't want to tear this one open. I may also pick up another console for that reason. If I could score a V2.2 console, that's the one I'd put the F18A in - I've never had (or even seen) a V2.2 console in person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinphaltimus Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 Also, if you code in anything modern (without line numbers) you can code using TidBit - It will convert to TI BASIC for cutting and pasting...http://codehackcreate.com/archives/237 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 ^^seconded and thirded^^ I have a hard time coding without it anymore. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixsevenco Posted February 16, 2018 Author Share Posted February 16, 2018 Also, if you code in anything modern (without line numbers) you can code using TidBit - It will convert to TI BASIC for cutting and pasting... http://codehackcreate.com/archives/237 Thank you. Never heard of this until now. I will check it out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Lee Stewart Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 Welcome aboard! Of course there is Forth! ...lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tursi Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 I have the same dilemma. I bought a new in the box console on Ebay last summer, and I'm on the wait list for an F18A, but I kind of don't want to tear this one open. I may also pick up another console for that reason. If I could score a V2.2 console, that's the one I'd put the F18A in - I've never had (or even seen) a V2.2 console in person. Haha, I'm such the opposite. The first thing I do with any new machines that land in my hands now is open them up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed in SoDak Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 No Disassemble!!!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
senior_falcon Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 (edited) As a former US president once said: "people that had been trained in some instances to disassemble -- that means not tell the truth." Edited February 18, 2018 by senior_falcon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Lee Stewart Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 As a former US president once said: "people that had been trained in some instances to disassemble -- that means not tell the truth." Did he really say that? The word should be “dissemble”, which has quite a different meaning from “disassemble”. Or, was misuse your point? ...lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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