dhe

February 3, 2020

Thanks, the screen is much better than the Trutech (I'll get a picture next time I have it up) - on the Trutech, about ever third character kind of fuzzes (that's a technical term) along the right edge....

February 3, 2020

Old topic, but I would like to add, there is learning assembler, and then there is writing assembly code that is easy to maintain and for others to understand.

My money for people that wrote easy to understand and maintain code was Edgar Dohmann who wrote a series of assembler articles for International 99er and Ken Culp who wrote the book Simplified Assembler.

February 3, 2020

I have xdt99 setup and working under windows 10. I have a question about the xdm command.

The example shows:

xdm99.py -T ashello.obj -n ASHELLO -f DF80

ID rather not use a disk image file, but instead use classic99's - files option (a directory posing as a disk). Is there a way to get xas99 or xdm99 to create files either in that directory, or that I can then copy over and run with ea 3/5

Thanks,

Dan

February 2, 2020

Can any of you element guys post a picture of what the output looks like?

February 2, 2020

While source parts for Stewart Connors 99000 board, there is a call for a TMS9902. I vaguely remember, and hoping someone could help, that you could always replace a 9902 with a 9903, but not vice versa?

Thanks for any help.

February 2, 2020

There was the sort of pbox made by Captains Wheel. I was a 3 card interface the plugged directly in the side of a of a console. I think I purchased mine from Harry Wilhelm.

February 1, 2020

Hi,

I’ve been walking down the path of trying to upgrade my old composite input monitor (about 13" on the diagonal) to a flat panel display. There are many other threads in this forum about that.

There are many considerations, aspect ration, progressive scan, composite input vs component input, as the King of Siam says ect, ect, etc....

People often site the f18a - it’s a great product and once it become available again I will purchase a couple. The down side to this solution, is that they have not been available since 2017(?) and they are a one console solution, so if you bring multiple console to use/work on, only that console benefits.

Newer monitors have the 16:9 aspect ration while the TI was designed for the old 4:3 standard. Gregory recommends the Samsung Syncmaster 910 MP. That’s a great monitor, but no longer in production and hard to locate - if you see one in great condition and you have the space and money - buy it! It's so popular and beloved, there are vendors that sale re-cap kits on ebay to keep them alive, that’s how popular these are!

Not seeing any good quality 910 MP’s for sale any where, I opted to try a Trutech PCS31170S1 - this is a 17" display - fits well on the PE-Box. I hooked the TI using some high quality video cables I picked up off ebay. The display was pretty bad - of course, if you look closely, it’s never perfect on a monitor, I think the blurry monitor display, just kind of masks the problems, where a LCD display will highlight them. After playing around with this unit, I found I can get an acceptable display by choosing “Picture Mode” and “Soft & Movie”.

Next I tried hooking the composite video to an amazon sourced Portta AV/CVBS Compostie S-Video to VGA Mini upscaler. This solution didn’t work, the display was black and white with lines.

Next thing to be tried, I purchased a AV2HDMI and an inexpensive HDMI to VDA output. The looks like connection sequence would be TI Composite Output > AV2HDMI > HDMI/VGA Converter > Monitor.

January 31, 2020

Hi,

I've been working with Newark, as they seem to have better access to European parts. Can those with a better grasp of electronics give me their opinion on this BOM ( I'm more of build a basic Heathkit by the numbers kind of guy! =0 )

Thanks,

Dan

Circuit Diagram Reference	Description	Source	Approx. Cost (excl. delivery)	Newark Part Number	Cost Per
-	For the breadboard system, 3 pieces of solderless breadboard, each section approx. 175 × 65 mm (64 contact points (holes) long by 10 wide, 2 pairs of bus strips along each edge of the board, see this photo)	eBay	£10 for the 3 sections	50AC8943	7.75
-	For the PCB version, contact me for availability of a PCB	-	-		N/A
U1	TMS 99110A microprocessor (a TMS 99105A is normally easier to obtain)	eBay	£30 (I got a working TMS 99105A from eBay seller "polida2008")		N/A
U2, U3	74ALS573 (BN or CN suffix OK) octal D-type transparent latch IC	eBay	£4 each	60K6796	1.38
U4, U5	74ALS645 (AN or A-1N suffix OK) octal bus transceiver IC	eBay	£2 each	08F6096	0.38
U6	74LS32 quad 2 input OR gate IC	eBay	£1	67K2856	0.66
U7	74LS04 hex inverter IC	eBay	£1	33AH4881	0.79
U8, U9	32K byte 27256 or 27C256 EPROM, 120ns or faster (ST part # M27C256B-12XF1 works)	eBay	£2 each	05W3274	N/A
U10, U11	32K byte 62256 static RAM, 85ns or faster, 'skinny' 0.3" wide package(Winbond part # W24257AK-20 or UMC part # UM61256K-15 work)	eBay	£2 each		Available with Board Order from SC
U12	74LS138 3-to-8 line decoder IC	eBay	£1	60K6860	0.84
U13	TMS 9902ANL asynchronous communications controller (ought to be the TMS 9902ANL-40 variant to work at 4 MHz, but a standard version seems to work OK)	eBay	£10 (ignore the overpriced ones at £140!)		N/A
U14	MAX232CPE+ dual RS-232 transceiver	eBay	£2	81Y9311	3.65
X1	16 MHz crystal (AEL Crystals part # X16M000000L259 should work)	eBay	£4	98K3449	0.97
C1, C2	5pF (or 4.7pF) ceramic capacitor	Maplin ‑ part # WX40T	£0.20 for the 2	Voltage rating Req. 13K6284 ?	0.32
C3, C5 - C10, C12 - C17	0.1μF ceramic decoupling capacitor	Maplin ‑ part # BX03D	£1.30 for the 13	37K7184	1.87
C4	4.7μF tantalum capacitor, 16V	Maplin ‑ part # WW64U	£0.30	25M8466	0.02
C11	22μF electrolytic capacitor, 16V	Maplin ‑ part # KQ65V	£0.30	70K9672	0.02
C18 - C22	1μF electrolytic capacitor, 16V	Maplin ‑ part # AU09K	£1.75 for the 5	13M5148	0.02
R1 - R6	10K metal film 0.6W resistor	Maplin ‑ part # M10K	£0.60 for the 6	26R4084	0.04
R7	220 Ohm metal film 0.6W resistor	Maplin ‑ part # M220R	£0.10	45X4683	0.07
D1	LED, 3mm, red	Maplin ‑ part # UK18U	£0.20	16M1519	0.69
SW1	Single pole, push-to-make, PCB mount, non locking switch	Maplin ‑ part # KR91Y	£1.50		Available with Board Order from SC
J1	DC power socket (female), 5.5 × 2.1mm, PCB mount if building on the PCB	eBay	£1	94X0662	Available with Board Order from SC
J2	9-way D-type socket (female), PCB mount if building on the PCB	eBay	£2	42K6561	5.59
-	IC sockets (machine screw) if building on the PCB (all 0.1" pin spacing): • 1 × 40 pin • 4 × 28 pin, 0.6" wide • 2 × 28 pin, 0.3" wide • 4 × 20 pin • 1 × 18 pin • 2 × 16 pin • 2 × 14 pin			Need Pin Spacing


	• 1 × 40 pin			52K3717	3.98
	• 4 × 28 pin, 0.6" wide			17C2341	4.21
	• 2 × 28 pin, 0.3" wide			04M0623	1.45
	• 4 × 20 pin			98K7085	0.98
	• 1 × 18 pin			98K7083	0.83
	• 2 × 16 pin			98K7081	0.75
	• 2 × 14 pin			82K7800	2.77

January 29, 2020

Hi,

This is missing the page, where it tells you how to modify it to make it Geneve compatible! 😃

January 28, 2020

Many of the larger libraries will have book scanners that you can use, that scan from above and also auto correct for page curvature.

January 20, 2020

Sorry gentle folks, this thread has went on to long for me not to hijack it! 😃

I have learned the hardware in hobbyist community, if you see something you want, best jump!

I lost out on getting a gramulator, cause I had a gram kracker!

I lost out on getting a f18a - cause, I was on the fence and figured, I could always pick up one later, worse case, I'd have to wait a couple of months until another batch was put together.

I'm working on a Z88 - membrane keyboard is known to die. A group put together an order for 50 new keyboard membranes, I think I got the 2nd to last...

So if you see something you want jump! 😃 You can let your wife know I said so! 😃

January 18, 2020

From the book - rework... More working and less talking! 😃

In addition to all the other mounting issues, most of the working ones have a rotary knob at the top of the console that selects the module.

I think most people gave up and had John Wilforth from the PA UG build it for them.

Which is why I think he quit the TI hobby to never be heard from again.....

January 18, 2020

I feel lucky to have gotten a copy. I saw the posting like two days after it was opened up for ordering, and I was like 118 in line!

January 18, 2020

fwiw - A lot of things tipi came together for me, by watching Wagners Tech Talk video on youtube.

January 18, 2020

Given the header, something like purple wire up and closest to the console, black wire up and farthest away from the console. Once I know I have it properly connected, I'll probably take a silver sharpy and on the end facing up, slather it silver. I had to do that on my Myarc disk controller cables also, because for me, if it can be plugged in wrong, I probably will.

January 17, 2020

TIPI Setup PDF is a great resource.

Could some kind soul, post a picture of their TIPI's with their PI's connected.

The orientation is a little hard for me to picture from the docs, and it sounds like you can definitely plug the cable in wrong, with poor results.

January 15, 2020

I was reading the CYC last night and came upon - OPA News No. 2, Spring 1992. Good stuff.

Does anyone have No 1? or maybe 3-X? 😃

January 13, 2020

Just a few questions for anyone that has worked through this board.

Has anyone created a digikey BOM?

Is there a preferred or non-preferred vendor for 99110/99105's - as they are all pretty much $35 from China.... I'm guessing some type of pulls.

Can someone point me to a power supply?

Anyone put in ZIF sockets?

Anyone that has built this, any tips to share?

Thanks,

Dano

January 13, 2020

Ok, I bit the big one and got a FR-300. Now, for you folks with actual experience, what tip do you use on most TI Equipment?

January 3, 2020

You know what's even more rare then a Zeno board? One that's actually in a console and working. I knew when I saw one it was way above my pay grade. So I had one of the guys in the Hugger U.G. build it for me. He had 30 years of experience as an electronics tech and an electronics hobbyist.. He was really good and said it was the most difficult board he ever worked on. Amongst the problems, mounting, no solder masks, small traces, super small pads.

January 1, 2020

Do you have plans for that mod sounds like one I would like to do.

January 1, 2020

Did you have to replace the belt on the program recorder, or had it survived the ravages of time?

January 1, 2020

I use a back light keyboard on my PC. Maybe I could either repaint the top of the keys with glow in the dark, or lay some led strips down an attach to power?

January 1, 2020

One more I thought of:

7 - put an inline rocker switch from ac to the transformer,

that will keep the transformer from being powered, when the console is off.

also, replacing an inline switch on the transformer is much easier then replacing a console power switch.

I was thinking about 4, Gary had diodes tacked on to the back of the 2 or 4 prong power cord coming in to the back of the console.

Any EE types can give me the scoop on what parts to use, where to put them and the bennies?

Does anyone know if you can still get gold plated replacements for the cartridge port? I think last time I placed an order, I ended up getting units that had the correct pins, but rather than the backs sitting against the cartridge board, you had to solder pins in the correct spacing....

Thanks,

Dan

December 31, 2019

For the Cyc, I did a number of interviews with former TI Developers. One of those was with Granville Ott - he seemed to be the program manager that was originally tasked with creating the Home Computer Division, for that, he pulled some guys from the calculator division to form the proto home computer division - he credits the TI's tight, almost error free code to the fact that in the calculator division, they had to get it right the first time and do lots with very little resources hardware resources.

I would bet he would be one of the few guys that might get you started.

A quick google came up with:

https://www.arlut.utexas.edu/lab/cqr/people/ott.html