Tetlee

Appreciate the replies guys. I'll go ahead and get the recap inc. power supply as soon as I'm ready. Will probably avoid using it until then just to be safe. Won't bother with any upgrades, I only really want to play the old classics on it anyway I think, just started Cannon Fodder again, love that game as much as I always did.

Thanks @OLD CS1CS1 Most of that terminology flew straight over my head but will look in to the floppy emulator you mention which I assume is something to allow me to use an SD card. I'll go find out. Appreciate the reply.

This is really useful information. Would you say I can do these things you mention above myself, and perhaps check the power supply? Is there a guide for such things? As mentioned I am pretty clueless with tech but I am good at being careful and working with intricate objects so perhaps I can see if it's even necessary to send in for recapping as sounds like that might not be the most essential thing. I did recently but a multimeter recently but I haven't used it yet and have never used one before. Anyway thanks to you both.

Hi all, I'm soon to be sending in my A600 to retropassion to have it recapped. I've owned this system since new and having got back into it of late I thought I really should look into giving it a once over to avoid the risk of causing any damage from neglect(has some sentimental attachment on top of having some great games) and hopefully keep the thing ready for many more years of happy (now retro)gaming. I plan to have the recap(haven't yet decided if I should plump for the premium capacitor option or not) but while it is there are there any other tweaks I should consider to improve the base A600? I can see several drop down options but the fact that most people seem to go straight for the A1200 over the 600 I wonder if doing anything outside of essential maintenance is even worth bothering. Would really appreciate thoughts though as once done I wouldn't want to be sending it in again in future. For reference I'm unlikely to ever code so it's purely a game machine for me. I know a 1200 gives you way more possibilities, but with limited desk space and also limited funds and sentimental attachment I will stick with my old trusty. Thanks in advance.

Hi all, Let me start by saying I'm not a coder(at all) and gaming aside have zero know how regarding computer internals, there that's that out the way. I fairly recently rebought a TI99/4A from France(mainly to get it with the Scart cable which I didn't know at the time about somebody from here making them) and it's my first foray back into the world of 99 since owning one as a kid back in the eighties. The machine works fine but I am finding game carts crash quite often, and FinalGrom especially is very buggy(I can get it to work perfectly but there are plenty game freezes etc.). This together with reading people suggesting testing of power supplies etc. got me thinking. I'm planning on sending my old Amiga A600 in to retropassion for a recap(owned it since the 90's so thought it could be an idea as I would hate to damage it after owning it all these years) and it seems they can also recap the TI99. I'm guessing this would be advisable regardless issues? They said they can also recap the PSU so I'm guessing I should get this done too. Is there any other essential maintenance for the longevity of these computers I should ask about while it's going in, or should that be sufficient? I don't want to pile unnecessary money into it(I've spent alot already as TI99 stuff is way more expensive here in the UK than it is in the US) so just the basics to give me confidence going forward(at the moment I kind of feel I could end up frying the machine at some point if I keep playing it without bothering) I don't see me ever modding the system(as cool as some of these things sound and nice as the new games that require doing so look), just want to give it a service so it should be able to continue on working for years to come. Sorry for the long post, and thanks in advance for any answers.

It looks incredible and would have been ordering now, but didn't realise it was for the 1200 only(wasn't familiar with the AGA term). I have the A600 sadly and no plans to upgrade(my A600 is my original one so like to keep it in use). All praise to the dev though, the whole package is stunning.

Looks amazing. Super Sprint was one of my favourite arcade games, great conversion here. Might even go for the physical release if you do one.

Is this a case of testing the part that plugs into the back of the computer with a multimeter? I think I will have to get one of those and test both my power units if so.

Exactly the same, I'm glad you raised this as I was wondering if I was alone with this or if it's just the norm. I've read about people testing power supplies, I've no idea how to do this? I'm using my original power supply and also have a spare original.

Another I've never played which is cool, seems another interesting one too. My first go with no idea what was going on, thanks to the instructions above I'll have a read and have more idea.

Well even knowing what trying to go this game seems brutal. My best attempt which annoyingly I lost two ships from the off to those meteorites that seem impossible to avoid. Interesting game, but certainly a tough one. 3800. Fair play to jwild and pixelpendant, amazing scores!

I need to have another go at this now I have an idea as to what is about. Will try and have a go tonight.

Well now I have finalgrom I should be able to take part in most of these? This particular one is a game I have never played or even seen before. I have absolutely no idea what the hell is going on. Looked on YouTube but couldn't find much on there. Anyone give me the lowdown? Seems a bonkers game but hopefully a good one if I can make sense of it all. Anyway here is my high score for now...

Can't tell you how impressed I am with your work on this, watched the latest vid a couple of days ago. How about Zaxx99n?

Apologies, certainly didn't mean to offend, I didn't think about emailing. Will do.

Just tried again, these are the options available to me.... Where am I going wrong?

Oh wow that makes a big difference, I must have got something wrong. Thanks for the correction! I'll have another look.

Damn, shame I missed Moon Mine, I'm pretty good at that game. I don't have Superstorm but will keep an eye to see what next Months game is. I'm not that good at many but will be fun to have some scores to compete with again. We used to write down a high scores list for the games back in the day, now that's old school?

It is a shame about the postage, looked it up last night and the postage/handling alone is over $60, so looking at over $100 delivered and then there's the lovely import tax and PO fees to pay so would probably be not far off £100 UK pounds all in. I'll have to make do watching youtube vids of that one? Game sure does look great, love discovering this stuff after all these years. Pretty incredible.

Damn, how does it work then? If it's an unofficial cart release then I'm a bit screwed here in the UK as postage for any of these recent releases is a killer to here, especially when you have import tax and po fees to add.

That looks good, tbh I've been playing loads now and I don't even notice this small detail anymore. I'm pretty stunned tbh how great the picture is with the Scart cable. Rose tinted glasses often hamper memories and almost put me off revisiting things of my youth, certainly not the case with the TI99, looks and plays amazing still. Speaking of which I need to rebuy A-Maze-Ing, loved that game.

As a side note, now you've mentioned Tutankham the finalgrom has become even more essential! Damn I didn't even know about this! Slippery... ....................Slope,!

Ah I got the wrong end of the stick it seems(hehe pun intended). I watched a video where the guy was loading the roms and seem d to suggest the Parker Bros games required the 32k. Glad I'm not going crazy as I did think it odd for me not to remember that ungainly looking add-on. Yes I'm using the original cart. It may have a fault of course by I'll try a change the joysticks over later just incase. Thank you for your help. I will still look into the 32k expansion as I plan to get a finalgrom at some point but less hurry now.

Looks like I'm going to need one of these expansion ports. I assumed my Q*Bert cart was faulty as wouldn't get further than the player select screen, only just discovered it requires the expansion. Have Frogger on the way too and I think that also requires it. The funny thing is I had those games on my original system as a kid, I guess we must have had the official expansion add-on which I certainly didn't remember but definitely played those games to death on the 99. Very long shot as I don't think there are many members here from my neck of the woods, but does anyone know of any sellers within the UK? Also seeing as unlike most on here I have zero soldering experience, do they all have the option of using a USB cable as the power source or is that only fitted by certain makers? I do use the Speech Synth and would prefer not to have to open that up and risk damaging it trying to route the power from it. Thanks all from your resident noobie.

Very well said, tbh I'm thankfully nowhere near the perfectionist I always used to be. I would have obsessed over details like this but I've already accepted this as a quirk now. I'm feeling I could be on a slippery slope already here.