Jump to content
IGNORED

TI-99/4A USB keyboard conversion kit


Sid1968

Recommended Posts

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.

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
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 by Sid1968
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...