Triton Turbo XT

[Tempest]

Can someone explain to me exactly what the Turbo XT was supposed to do?

 

http://www.mainbyte.com/ti99/hardware/trit...urbo/turbo.html

 

I've seen this and several other pages on it, and all I can gather is that it allowed you to use your TI-99 as a keyboard for a cheap PC clone. Why would anyone pay $500 to do this? There must be something else I'm missing here.

 

Tempest

[y-bot]

Can someone explain to me exactly what the Turbo XT was supposed to do?

 

http://www.mainbyte.com/ti99/hardware/trit...urbo/turbo.html

 

I've seen this and several other pages on it, and all I can gather is that it allowed you to use your TI-99 as a keyboard for a cheap PC clone. Why would anyone pay $500 to do this? There must be something else I'm missing here.

 

Tempest

 

Isn't that cheaper than you could get a pc clone for in 1987? My parents bought some Radio Shack piece of crap around then and I'm sure it was way more than $500.

 

y-bot

[Tempest]

Can someone explain to me exactly what the Turbo XT was supposed to do?

 

http://www.mainbyte.com/ti99/hardware/trit...urbo/turbo.html

 

I've seen this and several other pages on it, and all I can gather is that it allowed you to use your TI-99 as a keyboard for a cheap PC clone. Why would anyone pay $500 to do this? There must be something else I'm missing here.

 

Tempest

 

Isn't that cheaper than you could get a pc clone for in 1987? My parents bought some Radio Shack piece of crap around then and I'm sure it was way more than $500.

 

y-bot

 

Yeah but I don't think the $500 included the PC. I think it was only for the switch box thing.

 

Tempest

[y-bot]

Can someone explain to me exactly what the Turbo XT was supposed to do?

 

http://www.mainbyte.com/ti99/hardware/trit...urbo/turbo.html

 

I've seen this and several other pages on it, and all I can gather is that it allowed you to use your TI-99 as a keyboard for a cheap PC clone. Why would anyone pay $500 to do this? There must be something else I'm missing here.

 

Tempest

 

Isn't that cheaper than you could get a pc clone for in 1987? My parents bought some Radio Shack piece of crap around then and I'm sure it was way more than $500.

 

y-bot

 

Yeah but I don't think the $500 included the PC. I think it was only for the switch box thing.

 

Tempest

 

Well I don't know anything about that device besides what I read in the ad and it is confusing but it seems like it turns your TI-99 into a pc clone. Maybe there is more to it than what is pictured. I'm sure someone else knows the answer. Where are the TI-99 experts?

 

y-bot

[+remowilliams]

Yeah but I don't think the $500 included the PC. I think it was only for the switch box thing.

According to that web page you got the computer and the switch box for $499 "The XT supplied, contained an Intel 8088-2, running at 8 and 4.77 MHZ, and came with 256K RAM. The computer and bridge box sold for $499.00 in early 1987."

 

Well I don't know anything about that device besides what I read in the ad and it is confusing but it seems like it turns your TI-99 into a pc clone.

It's a weird ass piece of equipment for sure. It doesn't turn the TI into a PC clone, it turns the TI into a keyboard for the PC clone that sits behind it.

[Tempest]

Yeah but I don't think the $500 included the PC. I think it was only for the switch box thing.

According to that web page you got the computer and the switch box for $499 "The XT supplied, contained an Intel 8088-2, running at 8 and 4.77 MHZ, and came with 256K RAM. The computer and bridge box sold for $499.00 in early 1987."

 

Well I don't know anything about that device besides what I read in the ad and it is confusing but it seems like it turns your TI-99 into a pc clone.

It's a weird ass piece of equipment for sure. It doesn't turn the TI into a PC clone, it turns the TI into a keyboard for the PC clone that sits behind it.

 

I guess $500 isn't too bad then if they throw in the computer. But how much were IBM XT's at that point? Unless the TI was expected to do some of the processing or provide some memory or something like that, there was no reason for the switch box. Basically it sounds like all the TI was used for was a keyboard, and IIRC keyboard weren't that expensive back then so why bother with the switchbox thing? The whole thing just doesn't make sense.

 

Tempest

[Atariman]

It is still an interesting piece of hardware I guess (IMO) - it sort of makes sense for a TI-99 user that wanted to upgrade to a PC but still use their old software - when it's in "TI-99" mode, it looks like it uses the XT's monitor, when in "IBM" mode, it uses the TI-99 as a keyboard. The user could save a lot of space (don't have to have two separate setups) and a little (very little) bit of money as well. Kinda nifty.

[Prodos8]

Using the TI-99/4a as an IBM XT keyboard would seemingly be annoying. I assume you could just by-pass the "bridge box" and plug a real keyboard into the XT clone. How could it save any space as it looks as though you'd still need two monitors and where would the big ol' TI-PEB go with this thing in the way?

 

Looks like just a sales gimmick so people would think they were upgrading their orphaned TI computers instead of replacing them.

[Atariman]

Hmm... I was under the assumption that only one monitor was needed.

[Prodos8]

There's no way a TI-99 could use a CGA monitor without some additional hardware. So, you could have one monitor if you went composite for both the TI and the IBM, but I think you'd have to physically disconnect the computers to switch between them. Still, why would you want to use a TI-99/4a as a keyboard for an IBM? As thats all this thing seems to accomplish.

[Starhopper]

I had one of these, I'm sorry to say. The processor was actually an 8086 that ran normally at 4+ Mhz, but could be clocked at 8 Mhz in 'turbo' mode. It was a total pain in the ass to switch between function modes on the keyboard (to make up for the lack of the 108-key keyboard), and, since you were going through the XT's CGA card, you had to have a monitor (which was NOT included for the $500).

 

I used it for all of two days, then went to the local computer store and dished out $75.00 for a keyboard (the going rate at the time), and boxed my TI. I ran with the XT for quite a number of years, as working on it taught me basic system workings/repair, but I'm sure I could have gotten off cheaper just buying the actual computer off the shelf. In fact, I never got the 8087 math coprocessor.

 

Since it was my first 'real' computer, though, it has always held a warm, fuzzy space in the geek center of my heart. In fact, I took a dremel tool to the case not that long ago and dropped current tech into it. (As I said in an earlier 2600 post, I don't like to make things easy for myself)