Opry99er Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Are these unreleased prototypes or something?? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+acadiel Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Qualification units. They made a group of modules to test before they released them. They had handwritten labels on them. Most likely, the cart inside is a standard board for those games. I have a Plato module like this. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+InsaneMultitasker Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 I am suddenly inspired to look through my old files for some old labels. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ksarul Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Almost all TI prototype cartridges in the wild are actually qualification units (equivalent to lab loaners and review copies for other systems). The board inside will be a production board, and the cases can be all kinds of crazy oddities (two-color, single color in a color never used in production, single color of a type only used rarely (like the blue, yellow-orange, or red cases used for some Scott Foressman titles), or standard release cases). Labels will often be handwritten, but some will be typed, and an even smaller group will have production labels on two-tone cases. Look carefully at the color of the Car Wars case above (I have that one). Notice how bright that white is. I have only ever seen it used for qualification units. One other note on the initial rarity of qulification units: between 150 and 175 if each cartridge would be produced in a qualification run. The purpose was to verify that the line could assemble them properly and that everything ran smoothly. Most of them never made it into the wild. In all the years I've been watching cartridges, I've never seen more than about half a dozen survivors of any given title as qualification units. One note here: there ARE TI prototypes as well. Thesse will have EPROMs on an EGROM circuit card. I have several bare EGROM boards and half a dozen cartridges built on assembled EGROM boards (one of which is a copy of Parsec in a red case that I found in a Maryland thrift store back in 1995 for the princely sum of $1.49, along with a mutant black text on white background label Star Trek cartridge). Sometimes, you just have a lucky day, and that was one of mine. I bought my first Tomy Tutor there too. . .that was more expensive though, as they wanted $29.99 for it. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted February 13, 2018 Author Share Posted February 13, 2018 Wow!!! I need to make a trip out your way some time, Jim..... I hope I dont melt when I gaze upon the glory. ((Vision of Raiders of the Lost Ark)) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+acadiel Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Wow!!! I need to make a trip out your way some time, Jim..... I hope I dont melt when I gaze upon the glory. ((Vision of Raiders of the Lost Ark)) We should host a poll about what to name Jim’s basement. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrax27407 Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 I just want to see the place first-hand. It has becomes a stop on my "bucket list" - Jim Fetzner's Grotto. It would be sort of like a trip to Lourdes! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 I think more like a "TI Louvre" with all the works of art it contains. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sixersfan105 Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 On 2/12/2018 at 11:23 PM, Ksarul said: One note here: there ARE TI prototypes as well. Thesse will have EPROMs on an EGROM circuit card. I have several bare EGROM boards and half a dozen cartridges built on assembled EGROM boards (one of which is a copy of Parsec in a red case that I found in a Maryland thrift store back in 1995 for the princely sum of $1.49, along with a mutant black text on white background label Star Trek cartridge). I just scored a "mutant black text on white background label Star Trek cartridge" the other day! I'm excited to receive it. Any idea how many of these prototypes are out there? How far along in development does the proto cart seem to be? Your post two years ago is the only online reference to such a prototype I could find! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ksarul Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 (edited) The one you're receiving would be the second confirmed Star Trek cartridge with this label type. I don't think it's a prototype. Triton Products had the rights to manufacture TI cartridges using leftover parts received from TI when they purchased the distribution rights for all remaining TI hardware and software stock. It looks like this run of cartridges was complete with the exception of the labels, so they made the black text on white background as a replacement label. TI may have made the labels (as they had the artwork for them) or Triton may have done so. The cartridges do have a 1984 date stamp (check yours when you receive it). Note also that I do know that some of the Educational cartridges were batch manufactured as late as 1985. . .I have three different cartridges made then. Edited February 2, 2020 by Ksarul 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sixersfan105 Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Oh interesting! Thanks for the information, @Ksarul. Great to know. @Toucan's 99er.net site also confirms your hypothesis that this Star Trek cart was of Triton's creation: "Triton re-released some cartridges produced by TI in a Triton casing with a white label. A picture of one of these cartridges can be found on Bill Gaskill's web site in the "Star Trek" entry. If anybody has a cartridge that matches the one on Bill Gaskill's site, please inform me since it would help the rarity list become more complete." It is listed on 99er.net as UR for "Unbelievably Rare - A cartridge thought to never have existed, but has been found and proven it does exist." I couldn't come across Bill Gaskill's website, but if someone could point me to it, that would be great. Further, this is my way of informing Toucan that I have one of these cartridges, too. Exciting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ksarul Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 Bill took his Website down about ten years ago, which is why you can't find it now. You may be able to find an archived copy of it on the Wayback Machine though. . .. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toucan Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 (edited) On 2/3/2020 at 12:00 AM, sixersfan105 said: Oh interesting! Thanks for the information, @Ksarul. Great to know. @Toucan's 99er.net site also confirms your hypothesis that this Star Trek cart was of Triton's creation: "Triton re-released some cartridges produced by TI in a Triton casing with a white label. A picture of one of these cartridges can be found on Bill Gaskill's web site in the "Star Trek" entry. If anybody has a cartridge that matches the one on Bill Gaskill's site, please inform me since it would help the rarity list become more complete." It is listed on 99er.net as UR for "Unbelievably Rare - A cartridge thought to never have existed, but has been found and proven it does exist." I couldn't come across Bill Gaskill's website, but if someone could point me to it, that would be great. Further, this is my way of informing Toucan that I have one of these cartridges, too. Exciting! I believe that listing for the UR Star Trek is not the Triton one, but a 3rd party Sega one. A manual (actually an unfolded box) by Sega can be found on the July 1983 Enthusiast 99 Magazine on the front cover. Oh, I see it now. There is a Triton entry as well with the same rarity rating. Edited February 4, 2020 by Toucan 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sixersfan105 Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 Here's the white label Star Trek. Note no date stamp on the back, common for Triton releases. @Ksarul, you mentioned yours has an '84 stamp, though, so obviously at least some of them had a date listed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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