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cbmeeks

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Posts posted by cbmeeks

  1. Posted

    About 15+ years ago, I obtained a FREE (yes free) PEB from someone. It appeared to be in good shape. It was (is) empty. No floppy drives or cards.

     

    So, I never even put power to it. Recently, I obtained a flex cable for it so I thought it was time to see if this thing works. I have read the fan is super loud.

     

    After opening up the case, removing some cobwebs and other small critters, it's alive! I have to admit, it's not as loud as I was thinking it would be. No louder than a typical PC of the time. And I've got the top off. I may upgrade the fan sometime in the future with something quieter.

     

    Anyway, I'm excited about it. I've wanted a PEB since I was a small kid and I finally got mine to power on. This is only phase one of many phases to come.

     

    Time to start looking for cards. :-)

     

     

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    Video Feb 03, 6 24 09 PM.mov

    • Like 3

  2. Posted

    Maybe the original Atari 800 was tougher? Atari’s transformers fail and fry systems though.

     

    The Apple II line was nice and tough too. Apple probably had the best case of the era.

     

    I can speak from personal experience on the Atari 800. Yes, the original 800 (not XL) was built like a tank. That enormous metal shield inside is quite impressive for an 8-bit computer. The keyboard is solid and the plastics are pretty thick. When I received mine, the seller didn't ship it well at all. It was literally wrapped in one THIN piece of bubble wrap (the kind you would wrap a small CD in) and then thrown in a box with no padding. When it arrived, almost all of the keys were off.

     

    However, the keys come off easily and were easily put back on. Not a scratch on it and it worked.

     

    Yes, the Apple II line was (in my opinion), one of the most beautiful lines. Especially the original II. The IIe was a close second (not really a fan of the green "plus" logo). Those are pretty tough too. And you can't beat the easy access to the ports.

     

    And yes...the TI-99/4A (especially the silver model) is rugged as well. It's a very beautiful machine.

     

    Another beautiful machine, IMHO, is the Commodore Plus 4. Always loved that design. Only wished the cursor keys were normal keys in the same layout as PC keyboards.

     

    Who am I kidding...I think all vintage computers are beautiful. LOL

    • Like 4

  4. Posted

    FYI, I found the same listing as someone else pretending to be Polida. Using the exact same pic, same price, but different user.

     

    So either polida2008 has multiple accounts, or someone is faking their account.

     

    I always feel like I'm dabbling in the black market on eBay.... LOL

  6. Posted

    I own several TI-99/4A's. And, fortunately, you can still buy them pretty cheap (just bought one for $12).

     

    However, I want to buy a few TMS9900's for a few reasons. Mostly as backups in case I need them but also I would like to (one day) design a 16-bit computer around one.

     

    When searching on eBay, I see two options.

     

    1) Cheap from China

     

    2) Expensive from USA.

     

     

    We all know the crap you can get from China (no offense to the Chinese...but it's true).

     

    Is there an option 3? One where I can get 2-3 CPU's at *nearly* the Chinese prices with comfort in knowing they are genuine and working?

     

    In my searches, the Chinese ones were in the $3-$8 range, IIRC. The American sellers were asking up to $80! I can buy a whole TI for less than that.

     

    I could take a chance and buy a few from China. Plop them in a known, working TI to test them. But I was hoping for a more reliable (and reasonably priced) source.

     

    I'm not a fan of gutting vintage computers for parts. My only exception would be if the computer is already gutted and/or broken.

     

    Thanks for any suggestions.

  7. Posted

    Actually, that seems to be a JTAG port and not USB. Which means there should be a CPLD/FPGA on there. That might be doing some glue logic. But it's hard to tell from the pics.

     

    What I'm wondering is if the daughter card is a third party card or was it designed by them?

  10. Posted

    Ah thanks. I can't believe I never noticed that over the years. But like I said, I rarely ever had the label.

     

    I wonder if it was a cost saving thing (although I don't see how) or just an upgrade. I'm not sure which one I like better. I guess if I swapped them out a lot, the tray style would be more convenient.

  11. Posted

    My "go to" TI-99/4A is a silver model that I've added the F18A to.

     

    On that model, the slot above the keys (where the keyboard label goes) is slightly angled. Also, the bottom part has a lip that stands up but the top has almost no lip at all.

    In fact, the keyboard labels don't slide in...they are simply placed on the slot.

     

     

    So I get another silver model from eBay this weekend. When I was checking it out, I noticed the slot has a lip on the top too. In fact, you are meant to slide the label in. Now, I always thought they were slid in. I never noticed my go-to TI didn't have that type (as I don't normally use labels).

     

     

    Does anyone know why/when this was changed?

     

    I can post pictures if anyone is interested. How common was one version compared to the other?

     

     

     

  12. Posted

    Gold TI cart with this game would be the greatest thing since sliced bread.

     

    Oh, don't forget the secret name in Zelda.

     

    In Zelda, if you type your name as "LINK", you play the game in a much harder setting. You should do something similar like "TI" or "994A".

    • Like 1

  16. Posted

    I may have found a bug.

     

    I was playing (I believe) the newest version. It has the title screen and moving enemies.

     

    When I played it in Classic99, everything seemed normal. But playing on my real hardware I noticed that going into a cave (or underworld) didn't work. In fact, the screen was mostly empty and black and the enemies from the previous screen were inside.

     

    I can post screenshots if you like.

  19. Posted

    Definitely do this!! I'm a huge fan of ST:TNG and the TI is the perfect platform for it (then again, it's the perfect platform for many things...) :-)

     

    Will this be a game? Slide show?

     

    I've wanted to make a ST game for a long time (among others). What would be awesome is a view of the bridge looking out the view window into space. Sort of like a simulation where you go on missions to different planets.

     

    But there would be a lot of cut screens (using what you've done). Also, would be cool to show the LCARS display on command so that the player could program the Enterprise, etc.

  20. Posted

    Likely the existing PS is fine.. fan will be SUPER LOUD just warning you.. its loud.. I took out the ancient fan and put in a quiet box fan on mine.. http://www.mainbyte.com/ti99/peb/peb_box_project.html

     

    only people that i know swap it out are looking for more juice for hard disks or something or blow the fuse in the xformer.. there's 2 fuses. one internal one xternal

     

    There are instructions for swapping in an ATX type supply, the voltages are wrong, couple ways to go there.. ymmv I don't see the need myself even with a full pbox i have enough power with my dual half height floppy drives.

     

    drives are 360k DS/SD with the TI controller.. what controller will you have? you can get DSDD on corcomp, myarc and bwg controllers.. most likely you'll have a TI one though

     

    You can use 3.5" drives in 40 track mode with that controller, or mod it to go 80 track.. i sell that stuff on arcadeshopper.com to do that.. I also have drive cables, mounting kits etc..

     

    speech side port, yes and the black cable into that.. they daisy chain.. you can also get a splitter (on my store)

     

     

    Thanks for the tips.

     

    I pulled the PEB out of storage last night and it's a little dirty and a tad banged up but nothing major. Should clean up nicely. I did notice some debris inside the fan grill. So I will take that apart to make sure it's clean and no critters are inside. Also, it appears the original owner removed the floppy drive but didn't replace the cover. So the right side plate is missing. Which is fine because I eventually plan on putting a drive back in.

     

    As far as floppies and controllers.... My goal is 5.25" floppy. 3.5" and 80 tracks are nice but I want a stock drive as much as possible. Even if I don't really use it that much. When I was a kid, I saw a picture of the PEB with a 5.25" drive (back when I only had cassette) and was blown away. I couldn't believe such equipment existed! (I was 9-10 at the time) So I basically want now what I wanted then. If that makes sense. lol

     

    We will definitely be doing some business when I save up some more blow money. The following are items on my list:

     

    1) 32K RAM for PEB

     

    2) SAMS (???) RAM for PEB (not sure how useful this one is...)

     

    3) RS-232 and/or parallel printer card (I have a parallel dot-matrix printer I'd like to use with it)

     

    4) TIPI for PEB

     

    5) Disk controller with 5.25" drive

     

    6) Prototyping card (I want to make a sound card)

     

     

    Those are in no particular order. But the 32K RAM for the PEB might be the smartest next move as I already own a FR99 and I have a FG99 on the way.

     

    Thanks!

  22. Posted

    So, I just bought a flex cable off eBay. I already own the PEB box but it's empty other than a PSU.

     

    I have never put power to the PEB so I have no idea of the PSU is good. I couldn't wait for my flex cable to get here before I asked some questions. :-D

     

    1) Assuming the PSU is totally shot, can they be replaced with modern ATX PSU's? I don't remember the form factor of it (need to get it out of storage). I could always recap the board but I like modern PSU's whenever I can.

     

    2) Does the speech synthesizer connect to the side of the TI and the flex cable into the side of it? Or can the two be used together?

     

    3) What kind of floppy drives can I use with the PEB/TI? I want to get a TIPI but I like actual drives too.

     

    Thanks!

     

     

  25. Posted

     

    Personally if it were me, I'd get the interface cable to go with your P-Box and then put a TIPI/RPi in the box. It would give you the most flexibility and a the most avenues for future expansion in the future, if/when you choose to upgrade any further. A Nano-PEB kind of restricts any further expansion plans.

     

    Yes, that is what I'd like to do. However, I can't seem to find an interface cable. I didn't see one on ArcadeShopper or eBay.

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