Hello all, this is my first post here. I have recently required a couple of TI-99 4a's and have been very excited about learning BASIC. Unfortunately I did not have a cassette program recorder, so I came up with a quick way of saving programs for later use. I have seen some hints of this on the internet but haven't really seen any definite documentation. Hopefully this helps some people! I am using a Macbook Pro.
You will need:
a TI-99/4a
a computer with Audacity (free software) or other audio software installed
a TI-99 cassette cable (or use this guide to make your own)
To save to computer:
1. Hook up only the red and white wires. White wire goes to headphone jack, red to microphone jack. The other plug goes into the back of the TI-99. You don't need the black wire.
2. Open up Audacity. Go under Preferences and make sure it will record the file as an 8bit mono .WAV file, 44100 Hz.
3. Turn up Audacity and computer microphone input and audio output to maximum.
4. When ready to save your TI-99 program, type in SAVE CS1 and follow the directions.
5. Hit record on Audacity right before hitting enter to record on the TI-99. The stopping point isn't too important. You can trim it later.
6. You should see pretty much nothing in the waveform viewer. That is because it recorded so softly, but its there. Delete the first 1/2 second of the .WAV now.
7. Select the entire .WAV now. Go to Effect>Amplify and keep amplifying it until you can see the waveform clearly and it is clipping (when there is blue everywhere). Don't be afraid, clip it! Not sure about the precise dB amount.
8. Delete everything up to about 2 seconds before the sound begins.
9. Save it as .WAV! Listen to it on your iPod if you're a real 99er.
To load into TI-99:
1. Hook up all of the wires again (see step 1 above.)
2. Open your program's .WAV in Audacity, or even iTunes! Make sure the output volume is way up.
3. Type in OLD CS1 into the TI-99 and follow the directions.
4. Hit play on your computer right after hitting play on the 99.
5. You will hear some sounds coming from the TI-99. That's good.
6. When it is complete, type in LIST and your program should be there!
Although I have just put this together today, I imagine that you could have a folder in your computer of short mono .WAV files instead of clunky old cassettes or disks taking up space under the kitchen table. It would be easy to send these .WAVs to others over the internet for easy transfer. If this has been done or documented before, then I'll feel silly for "discovering" this! But I do hope it helps. Later! And let me know if there are any problems.