My TI-99/4A story, Jumping back in, and a few questions

[Mitkraft]

Ok, I said I'd post my intro after I finished my taxes so hear goes (If you don't want to read my long winded TI story my questions are separated below) . I started in computers when I was in 3rd or 4th grade and we began using the school computer lab. The computers back then were Commodore 64's with tape drives. We started learning basic and I LOVED it. I would get on a computer every chance I got at friends houses, school or whatever. I begged my parents to get me a computer (I wanted a Commodore). My parents were divorced and my dad was the go-to parent for big gifts and I had the impression he would be buying me one for Christmas. Well imagine my disappointment when I opened this:

 

http://www.digibarn.com/collections/games/science-fair-digital-computer/

 

I was like WTF??? This isn't a computer! (No, I didn't say that, I was a good kid and kept my disappointment to myself) So a year or two later I was very excited when my mom got me a TI 99/4A - my first real computer! My uncle worked for TI here in Houston so he was able get it at the employee store at a considerable discount. The drawback was that since we didn't have much money all I had was the console and a tape interface cable. I did get two games and a pair of joysticks at some point but the joysticks didn't last long. I did however use the system for learning and playing around in Basic which at the time was a lot of fun for me. My uncle however had the full system: Fully loaded PEB, tons of games (both floppy and command module), printer, TI monitor. My cousin and I were best friends so I spent quite a bit if time over at their house and played on their computer quite a bit.

Fast forward many years and I still have my old TI console in the box with all the accessories I ever had for it (few as they were) but I hadn't even taken it out since I was a kid. A few years ago my uncle sent out an email to me and my cousins asking if any of us wanted all the old TI stuff since he'd had it in storage all this time. None of them did and I liked the idea of playing with it again so I took it. I finally got around to tinkering with it a few weeks ago and found out I didn't have his complete system. I just had the PEB, printer, and monitor. So I pulled out my console and connected it up only to find that my console wasn't working That's when I stumbled across the TI forum here (I'd recently joined because I also recently started tinkering with my old Atari 2600). After reading I began to figure that my problem was likely to be the video chip and/or video memory. I grabbed another console from a local game shop for $20 to have as a backup but I went ahead and ordered the F18A upgrade and sure enough it fixed my console! I have to say this is the dead simplest upgrade I've ever done that makes such a HUGE impact on an old system. Going from RF modulated output to VGA is awesome!

So now I've got a working system, possibly working PEB (it powers up and seems to register when the console is turned on) and I just need to start learning how to use it again and acquiring some software. I also need to open up the PEB and see what all is in there. I want to thank everyone on this forum for the TONS of useful information I've already gathered just by browsing the threads on here!

So on to my questions (first off I'm not looking to be a "colector" I just want to find a happy medium between cost, versatility, convenience, and duplicating the original experience):

1. I'd like to put together a system to play all the old games I remember. I'd like to play games like Parsec, Star Trek, Adventure, Hunt the wumpus etc. What's the best way to go about it? Right now I have the original floppy drive in the PEB, I've probably got several PC floppy drives around both 5.25 and 3.5 but I'm still learning what is and isn't compatible and have a hunch I might need to upgrade the drive controller to use them.

2. Would I be able to do something simple (using equipment I have) like load games from a floppy? Or maybe a cassette/mp3 player?

3. I see nearly everything is available for download but much of it is in compilations, made for nanopeb/cf7 or emulators. How do I tell what files are for which and can they be converted for loading via floppy or CS1? Or is a there a particularly complete repository?

4. Will I need to get one of the utility cartridges like Extended basic, E/A or possibly one of the enhanced carts like the "XB v2.7" in order to use any particular software or games? I'm not going to learn assembly language or anything so I don't need a developer setup or anything.

5. Should I maybe get a drive replacement/emulator device like the NanoPeB/CF7 or a lotharek floppy emulator? If so, can something like this be had without spending too much money and/or are any of them still being sold? I do like the convenience of solutions like that so I wouldn't have to fool with floppies and tons of cartridges.

Any and all help is appreciated and I will continue to keep plugging along and reading old threads to seek out this information on my own as well. I'll be sure and post a pic of my setup as well as make a thread for the monitor I'm planing to customize to look like it really belongs with this system. I hope to take a 19" CRT PC monitor, marry it with a TV housing that closely resembles the original 10" TI monitor and then paint and/or modify it to complete the look. Should be fun!

Edited April 16, 2015 by Mitkraft

[Opry99er]

Again, welcome.

 

So many of us have similar stories from the 80s and how we reconnected with the TI over the years. Glad youre here with us.

 

I will address a couple of your questions here.

 

If you have a working floppy controller in your PEB and a working 32k, you have access to 90% of the software available to the TI with the XB2.7 cart. Unlatch the clips on the top of the PEB, lift up the lid and see what cards youve got.

 

Youll want XB, at a minimum.

 

Cart lots can be had on eBay, sometimes really cheap... I picked up 30 or so carts a couple years ago for $20 that had an XB, Parsec, Hunt the Wumpus, and a ton of other stuff.

 

If you find a compilation of programs for download, a couple small steps can be taken to break those out to individual programs. TI99Dir and DiskImage Tool are PC apps that do a ton of heavy lifting.

 

Then comes the question of "how do I get this program over to my TI once downloaded??

 

You have several options, some you already mentioned. Another is the HDX interface for use with your rs232 card (assuming you have one), a straight serial XMODEM transfer (assuming you have rs232) and then the nanoPEB, Lotharek options as well.

 

I suggest first getting XB2.7, as it has just about all the stuff youll need to get going.

 

Good.luck, and please ask if you have any questions going forward.

[+Ksarul]

Having what you do, it is actually pretty easy to get a LOT of the old cartridge games using the 2048K Games compilation and the Games 5 and 6 cartridges (these last two are 512K cartridges--Games 1-4 are in the 2M cartridge). The Xb 2.7 cartridge is a definite good idea, as it gives you a bunch of useful utilities as well. I build all of these cartridges (see more on them on the cartridge threads).

 

We're definitely glad to have you here--the more TI people out there, the better!

[Omega-TI]

Mitkraft,

Both Ksarul and Opry99er are both highly respected members of the TI-Community, and both gave you some EXCELLENT advice on the XB2.7s cartridge. No matter what a persons knowledge level, newbie, intermediate or advanced and no matter what your systems configuration, XB2.7s will serve you now and in the future. For a while he was not selling them, but I think I read recently that he has a few for sale again. You could always give him a PM << HERE >> and ask him if he has any for sale. There is no better cartridge IMHO.

 

The Lotharek HxC is indeed easy to order and they are ALWAYS available. If your PC has an SD slot on it, it is indeed an easy way to get programs to your TI, especially if you find no RS-232 in your P-Box once you open it up! If you go this route you will also need a few extra items. One excellent thread on installing HxC's and half-height drives is by wyerd << HERE >>.

 

Now if you can locate an HDX it's also a fast way to load things onto your TI and can it can even share files between Classic99 which comes in handy for programming & testing... and you can even print to your modern printer. Below is a screen shot from my PC showing the HDX programs on the PC and the printout from the TI of the same exact program running that' also running under Classic99.

 

[Mitkraft]

So I did finally get a chance to open up the PEB and see what I had. Looks like I got the standard setup: 32k mem, RS232, and TI FDC. I like the sound of the HDX upgrade. Now that I kinda get what that is and what it does I'm going to have to go learn what's involved, the best way to mod mine or buy one and see if that might be an answer. I've already ordered the XB 2.7 and snagged a Speech Module off eBay for a good price so I'm rolling along nicely!

[Opry99er]

Excellent!

 

Welcome to true insanity! Youre not alone, friend...