Tursi Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 Hehe. Sadly, the downside of a nomadic lifestyle is you just can't afford to accumulate an attic full of treasures. Trust me, I'd love to have one and I've always been jealous of those who do. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wierd_w Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 Sadly, since both of my parents were hoarders I am rather loathe to hang on to really old tech, and periodically do purges. However, recently one of my co-workers mentioned that he grandmother is in possession of a classic era PC clone with 5.25" diskette drives that she uses to play solitaire. I am thinking it is probably 386 era, given the description, and I find myself wanting it. I told her (my co-worker) that I would construct a modern system for her gran, if I can have the dinosaur. I might have to rethink my decision on not-hoarding when it comes to antiques-- just a little bit. Right now, the oldest things I have in the house (aside from the TI I specifically bought, and its peripherals), is a parallel port external zip100. Next-oldest is an athlon-64 motherboard and processor, just chilling in a drawer. I just worry that if I relax my self-imposed restrictions, I will end up with a problem. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Schmitzi Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 On 4/17/2020 at 10:01 AM, Sid1968 said: If i had an empty TI-99/4A Case i would do it. It took me a very long time to find back to this topic. But here we are 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sid1968 Posted April 30, 2020 Author Share Posted April 30, 2020 (edited) On 4/18/2020 at 3:27 PM, Sid1968 said: The question for me is... must it be RetroPie on my above mentioned idea? I think no. At the moment iam a little bit frustrated that all emulators that i know make it only possible to start cartridges. Iam no expert, but i guess that i would not be able e.g. to program and save the program to a file/virtual disk. This project makes only sense for me if i would have the functions of a real TI-99/4A plus maybe internet and some extras. Summary: We need a solution where we finally have a TI-99/4A case, with NEW hardware in it AND the functions + extras of a real TI-99/4A. Any ideas how to realize that? Danke Schmitzi. Bevor ich da ran gehe sind noch ein paar Sachen zu erledigen, damit das für mich Sinn macht. Edited April 30, 2020 by Sid1968 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+9640News Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 Does anyone have a suggestion where I may find some black sheet plastic I could overlay where the keyboard used to be once the keyboard is removed? I'm thinking about also adding/bolting a small fan to the plastic and tapping into the power for the fan to keep the compuer cooler. Thoughts? Beery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyDean Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 44 minutes ago, BeeryMiller said: Does anyone have a suggestion where I may find some black sheet plastic I could overlay where the keyboard used to be once the keyboard is removed? I'm thinking about also adding/bolting a small fan to the plastic and tapping into the power for the fan to keep the compuer cooler. Thoughts? Beery A craft store, or dept, may have something or a plastic note book from an office supply, the thin flexible type? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+9640News Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 Craft store is a decent idea. I will be in Louisville next week and should be able to find something there. I want something so I can cut it to shape as well as then cut with a Dremel tool for vents once I install the fan. Does anyone recall how RAVE fixed there plate to the area where the keyboard used to be when they had their keyboards? Right now, I am using some cut cardboard over the area with double sided tape. I've got cats, and need to keep the cat hair and paws off the keyboard when I am in the office. Beery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jedimatt42 Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 I recall having nylon screws going down from the Rave99 plate to the pcboard... There are probably pictures that show it... http://www.mainbyte.com/ti99/hardware/rave/keyboard.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+9640News Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 Matt, Thanks for the link to the Rave information. I had forgotten Mainbyte had that information covered. I don't think I ever installed the load interrupt switch on my Rave Keyboard back around 1986. If I read and understood what Greg wrote in his shop for the Arduino device, you were the original designer for the Rave unit? if so, I did not realize it. Great work on the USB setup, and I really enjoyed the Rave unit back in the day. Beery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+arcadeshopper Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 8 minutes ago, BeeryMiller said: Matt, Thanks for the link to the Rave information. I had forgotten Mainbyte had that information covered. I don't think I ever installed the load interrupt switch on my Rave Keyboard back around 1986. If I read and understood what Greg wrote in his shop for the Arduino device, you were the original designer for the Rave unit? if so, I did not realize it. Great work on the USB setup, and I really enjoyed the Rave unit back in the day. Beery no he is the designer of the USB interface.. not the RAVE.. he had a rave as a teenager though so that inspired this new design.. i have updated the text to read better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+9640News Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 15 minutes ago, arcadeshopper said: no he is the designer of the USB interface.. not the RAVE.. he had a rave as a teenager though so that inspired this new design.. i have updated the text to read better OK. I knew he designed the USB interface and the wording had me not so sure one way or the other he designed the Rave. I thought Matt was younger than me since I am 56, and I knew I had the Rave when I was 22. Had he been much younger and did the Rave, he would have been Boy Wonder in the 80's. Beery 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jedimatt42 Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 I built 'a' Rave kit as my first real soldering experience as a kid. -M@ 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sid1968 Posted May 1, 2020 Author Share Posted May 1, 2020 (edited) 15 hours ago, jedimatt42 said: I built 'a' Rave kit as my first real soldering experience as a kid. -M@ I hereby appoint you the solder king. ? Edited May 1, 2020 by Sid1968 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Schmitzi Posted May 1, 2020 Share Posted May 1, 2020 Noo, that´s meeee !! 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+9640News Posted May 1, 2020 Share Posted May 1, 2020 All I know is it is NOT ME! I used to have decent soldering skills. Nowadays, I have to use magnification. Probably could use a different soldering gun as well. Beery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mizapf Posted May 1, 2020 Share Posted May 1, 2020 The moment when you're in the drugstore, sifting through the stand of cheap reading glasses ... I know. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+9640News Posted May 1, 2020 Share Posted May 1, 2020 40 minutes ago, mizapf said: The moment when you're in the drugstore, sifting through the stand of cheap reading glasses ... I know. Already wearing prescription glasses, but need to get eyes checked again for a new prescription. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+arcadeshopper Posted May 1, 2020 Share Posted May 1, 2020 2 hours ago, Sid1968 said: I hereby appoint you the solder king. ? he can solder any thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ksarul Posted May 1, 2020 Share Posted May 1, 2020 24 minutes ago, arcadeshopper said: he can solder any thing! But make sure you have your fire extinguisher handy, as he is a real fan of the welder school of soldering. . . 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jedimatt42 Posted May 1, 2020 Share Posted May 1, 2020 Quarantine does things to people, I guess... I was just trying to highlight the difference between 'built a' and 'designed the'... However, regarding glasses, I am fortunate, for maybe the last year in my life, that I can just take my glasses off and see detail better at about 8 inches... Next year the doc promised I would need bifocals... Luckily surface mount soldering is not about precision... It is entirely about physics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+9640News Posted May 1, 2020 Share Posted May 1, 2020 11 minutes ago, jedimatt42 said: Quarantine does things to people, I guess... I was just trying to highlight the difference between 'built a' and 'designed the'... Next year the doc promised I would need bifocals... Already at the bifocals, progressive bifocals actually. With what I now know, the "built a" and "designed the" is very descriptive and to the point in this situation. Not even sure at this point in time how Greg worded it as it now says inspired by the Rave keyboard you had as a youth. I've worked with quite a few chemical and process engineers over the years and learned I have had to dissect their statements because what they think they are describing doesn't match up with what the actual description of what they did, the event, or what they are actually needing to know. One has to dig into details with confirmation along the way. I've been down too many rabbit holes over the years where I have been asked what happens when A reacts with B. That is generally a simple enough question, however they neglect to indicate that C which leads to D is also present in the system that can lead to a catastrophe if B is introduced. Part of Process Hazard Analysis (PHA's) when evaluating inadvertent mixing of chemicals. What I did not realize was that either Rave sold an empty board/kit, or someone made their own board from scratch. Kudo's to you either way on your accomplishment if you had a kit or etched your own board and laid out chips. And at home, I am sure I irritate the wife a bit as she comes to me numerous times asking about this or that great product she saw on TV or got an email. Only then, I look into the specifics of what they put in actual writing and give her the low down and tell her no way this product can do what they claim. She takes Marketing as gospel way too many times. I just returned a lithium battery the size of an iPhone that was supposed to be able to jump start a car and had car battery cables connectors she bought. It was also supposed to be a quick charger for her phone. Well, let's just say she didn't believe me and when it was fully charged, it would barely charge her phone even after leaving it connected for an hour. Not saying there aren't some good quick chargers out there, but not something that is going to throw out that many cold cranking amps to turn over a dead battery on a car for more than one quick hit of the key if it can even do that. Then there was this buddy of mine years ago that bough a jump start cable setup that plugs into cigarette lighters on both ends. I patiently sat there for about 10 minutes to prove to him it wouldn't work in any reasonable time as it had more of a trickle charger behavior, then I hooked up regular jumper cables and jumped his SUV. There was no way the fuse to the cigarette lighter would allow that many amps to pass on either end nor would the thin wire handle that many amps passing through it without melting down. I digress. Anyways, back to the subject of your USB Keyboard adapter Greg is selling. I definitely recommend it to anyone considering one. Very nice to have a full size keyboard to type from these days. Beery 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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