Alleged-Geek

Hi all, I know that this has been done before but I like to make things for myself ? in the YouTube clip (at the bottom of this message), I built my design of the TI99/4A joystick adapter from start to finish; I even managed to test out my FlashROM99 as well. I have included links to my Github and Thingiverse so that you can download the gerber files for PCB manufacture as well as download my 3D printed housing design for my PCB. When I design PCB's I like to make them as simple as possible and always use through hole components fr ease of soldering. I also like to ensure that the vias have plenty of 'land' round about them again for ease of soldering. I would like to thank OOWReX (a member on this forum)for making his collection of games for the FlashROM99 available to the public... Thanks Shane! One other message of thanks goes out to Charlesd916 on Thingiverse for his amazing FlashROM99 3D printed Housing design. Below is a link to my GitHub for the Gerber files. https://github.com/Alleged-Geek/TI99-4a-Joystick-Adapter and the link below is for my 3D printed design for the housing. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5442911 One last message of thanks goes out to everyone on this forum for being so friendly and offering advice. I hope that some of you will find this useful. Best regards, Steve

Thank you for your kind words. I started my career in college then did an apprenticeship in electrical and electronic engineering but my job has changed considerably over the years and I now teach practical electrical and electronic engineering skills to undergraduate students. I am unsure about the American Education System; is an Associates in Electronics similar to our degree where takes 4 - 5 years whereas a Masters typically take a year? Obviously you will learn more with the longer course but a masters shoud cover all the basics. as for a diode it only conducts electricity in one direction therefore an LED (Light Emitting Diode) will only light up if the current is going in the correct direction. hope that kinda helps. Best regards, Steve

Hi there, thank you very much, I have just had a quick look at your amazing site; it is packed with some really good information! it's pity you are based over the pond! Best regards, Steve

Hi there, thank you for taking the time to message. Everyone is entitled to their opinion on this but I have been in the electronic business for over 30 years and electrolytic capacitors do dry out with age (and these were over 40 years old) when they do fail they can cause a whole lot of damage. To properly test the capacitors they have to be de-soldered from the PCB and as I had most of the capacitors in stock and the others were relativley cheap, I thought that it would be a good idea to replace them anyway. I did test the old capcitors after de-soldering them and although most of them were in quite good condition, I did find 2 which were an accident waiting to happen. Best regards, Steve

Thank you Matthew, everyone here has been so friendly! I will have to take a proper look through that site, it looks fantastic. I have already designed and manufactured a prototype PCB using a simillar schematic and will pop the gerber files and bill of materials on to my github when I complete the mod. I will see what I can do with the alpha-lock mod as far as I can see it involves cutting a trace on the keyboard PCB which is something I am a wee bit reluctant to do as I like to keep my collection to as close to stock as possible. I do have a couple of ideas though Thanks again, Best regards, Steve

Hi all, Just thought I would share with you my latest YouTube clip, a complete re-cap of my TI99/4a. This clip is start to finish with absolutely nothing left out, I replace all the electrolytic capacitors in both the Power Supply and Motherboard PCB’s. I also demonstrate what happens when you miss connect an electrolytic capacitor… exploding stuff! I hope that some of you will find this useful. In my next clip in the series, I am planning to install a FlashRom 99as well as share my design of a joystick adapter to allow play with standard Atari type sticks. Best regards, Steve

Hi Ciro, Thank you for your kind words, your website is amazing and I look forward to learning more about the TI99 and what I could do to it in the future. Your instructions about this modification were clear, detailed and very easy to follow, it made this modification pretty straightforward. Thank you so much for all your hard work, time and effort. Best regards, Steve

My TI99/4a had a reasonable picture on my modern TV using the RF cable; it was quite stable and the colours were pretty good as well. But as I am planning to restore and upgrade this classic computer I decided that I would try my hand at the composite video mod found in the link below. www.ti99iuc.it Many thanks goes out to Sergio Vigano and the TI-99 Italian User Club for making this modification public. Below is a link to my YouTube clip of this mod from start to finsh; I am also in the middle of writing my blog entry which will complement this clip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjoI5aFEo4w In this clip I decided to use a 3.5mm to RCA socket to connect my TI99/4a to a SCART adapter. I hope that some of you will find this useful. Best regards, Steve