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The Compact Computer 40 (CC40)


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MillipedeMan,

 

Sounds like the same place. They had a lot of around 35 of them for sale at a Buy It Now Price of $40 and change, including shipping, so I figured, why not? I figured someone will eventually figure out a way to store stuff for this thing (or should I say hope?).

 

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I only recently realized I had a Tandy Model 102 which I bought in the early 90s at an auction but never knew what it was. I think it was included in a box lot of computers which included a C64. When I looked online to see if there was any info available on it, I found out that some years back there was a pretty dedicated following for it. So instead of being ahead of the game with the CC-40, it looks like I missed the boat on a storage solution for it since the Model 100 website looks to have given up the ghost with no updates in nearly 5 years. I posted a message on the Tandy Computer forum here, but so far, no response.

The Tandy 100/102 was pretty much everything the CC40 wasn't. Hopefully you will get some response. I have a 102 and that reminds me I need to make sure the battery inside isn't leaking! That storage box (REX) is exactly the kind of thing we need for the CC40. I also missed the boat on getting one.

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The Tandy 100/102 was pretty much everything the CC40 wasn't. Hopefully you will get some response. I have a 102 and that reminds me I need to make sure the battery inside isn't leaking! That storage box (REX) is exactly the kind of thing we need for the CC40. I also missed the boat on getting one.

 

I got the REX box for my T100 and it is awesome. If we could get something similar for the CC40 that would be Nirvana... The thing with REX though is that it also requires an add-on ROM in the T100 to work, but the CC40 has no such facility. The best bet still remains with a Hexbus interface connected to a Rpi in a small package.

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I was wondering if the plug in module slot would be an option for some homebrew cart that had SD storage? Not sure what data lines go there.

 

Yes, that's what I was alluding to in a previous post. Scroll down near the bottom of this page for the memory carts I mentioned earlier.

 

http://hexbus.com/TI-99_4A_Home_Computer_Page/Compact_Computer_40.html

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I talked to Jim Brain about this at VCF-SE. He goes by "Brain" on here. If we can get him the hex bus specs and some of the example DSRs from the Hexbus interface, Hexbus floppy, etc, he might be able to help us make a FPGA storage device.

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I know what you mean Omega. I received it and in the closet it went after I took it out and had a look at it (and the mandatory TI addendum sheets). Will wait for a storage device for it before I'm likely to take it out again, sad to say, although I'm not sorry I bought it. Kinda cool to have a device that old in brand new condition.

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Yes mine sits in its box on the shelf. Looks nice and all but there needs to be some storage solution before its worth spending time on. I love the 'wafertape not available' sticker on the back, just next to the nice photo of one.

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Only two left, I'm sure they will sell, but for me, honestly, I have no clue what I would do with it.

One left!

 

Add one more to the collection of things that I will never use!!! Hopefully that will not be the case forever..........

Edited by Diecrusher
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  • 1 month later...

I am guessing that if it was possible, it would have been done by now, but does anyone think that the RS-232 port on the CC-40 could be used to load and save data, much the same way it can be with the TRS-80 Model 100/102/200 line? I recently was able to get my Model 102 up and running with this type of setup using a terminal program on my PC and a USB Serial to RS-232 connection. Since I've had very little experience with the CC-40, perhaps it's just wishful thinking that what can work on one machine (and a completely different brand at that) might work on another. I can see from the CC-40 user guide that the CALL IO command might be useful in getting this to work. It states that the RS232 peripheral is device 20 but has almost no additional info on how the command works. CALL IO(20,1), the example in the guide, states that it "is an attempt to end access to the RS232 peripheral." I'm guessing it's a matter of where the incoming data goes and if there is any way to place programs into memory when using the RS-232 port.

 

Figured it was at least worth a mention.

Edited by majestyx
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I have a TI-74, which is similar to the CC-40, but also works as a scientific calculator. It's a more convenient package. That one I've used a bit, but not the CC-40 I also have. (Yes, I have a problem too. But I actually got the CC-40 as a gift from a well known person in the TI community.)

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I have a TI-74, which is similar to the CC-40, but also works as a scientific calculator. It's a more convenient package. That one I've used a bit, but not the CC-40 I also have. (Yes, I have a problem too. But I actually got the CC-40 as a gift from a well known person in the TI community.)

My dad had a TI-74 too when i was a kid- i seem to remember that maybe it had tiny modules/cartridges or something.

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Indeed it has. Mine has a memory module, with 8 K RAM. The unit itself has 8 K RAM too. You can combine them to get 16 K RAM in the machine, you you can use the memory as two independent memory banks. Then you can write one program in internal memory and swap that with the module's memory. Thus you can have two different 8 K RAM setups at the same time. The module also has a battery of its own, so you can have a library of modules, that you have programmed yourself.

I also have a cassette player interface for it, so I can save and retreive data. The cassette player interface hooks up to the hexbus port at the back.

The calculator has two different modes. One is as a ten data memory scientific calculator with statistic functions, the other as a BASIC computer. You can't share data between the two. It's like two completely different devices, just packaged in the same shell.

 

It still works perfectly. My CC-40 is missing a segment in the LCD, but apart from that, it works too. I only have the base CC-40 unit.

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  • 3 months later...

Not sure if I can put a new message in this topic, but here goes:

 

I know it's been a bit, but I grabbed a few of the cc-40s, and am now back to working on projects. I have fired up the cc-40, wired up the Hex-Bus connector, and am looking at the protocol now.

 

First attempt is a call io(5,1), which sends the following on the wire:

 

05 01 00 00 00 00 08 00 00

 

If someone can help me with decoding some of the protocol, and what commands would be needed to access the disk drive, it looks like I can implement the protocol in a small uC, and might be able to cobble up a rudimentary disk drive replacement without too much trouble.

 

I have the technical guide already, but any prior digested research would help. I understand the HW protocol, as it's a lot like the IEC bus on the C64, but the higher level protocol is what I am lacking

 

Jim

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