TI-99/4A USB keyboard conversion kit

[Sid1968]

Does anyone uses the "TI-99/4A USB keyboard conversion kit" thats offered here?

https://www.tindie.com/products/tynemouthsw/ti-994a-usb-keyboard-conversion-kit/

 

With this kid you can connect the TI-Keyboard to USB... like a Raspberry Pi.

 

 

Your experience reports would be interesting.

 

Cheers

Sid 🙂

Edited March 30, 2020 by Sid1968

[GDMike]

For sure, I was also interested in IF I should do this too.

[Sid1968]

Hi folks,

 

i know that everyone of you loves the Commodore C 64 best! You all like that machine so much that if i show you this video, some of you will probably get a motivation to modify a TI-99/4A too. 💥💨

As you can see, this C64 gets modded a little bit more elegant as the TI-99/4A in the first video above... so maybe would it be possible to modify a TI-99/4A more elegant too?!?

 

 

Cheers

Sid

Edited April 16, 2020 by Sid1968

[Ed in SoDak]

Make your Raspi TI99 look like a C64, fool your friends!

[JB]

2 hours ago, Sid1968 said:

Hi folks,

 

i know that everyone of you loves the Commodore C 64 best! You all like that machine so much that if i show you this video, some of you will probably get a motivation to modify a TI-99/4A too. 💥💨

As you can see, this C64 gets modded a little bit more elegant as the TI-99/4A in the first video above... so maybe would it be possible to modify a TI-99/4A more elegant too?!?

 

 

Cheers

Sid

You know what would really make that C64 Pi mod shine?

If he'd installed a 99/4a emulator instead of a C64 one. Be a nice upgrade. Then he'd just be stuck with that ugly brown case that looks like someone sat on a loaf of bread.

 

 

In seriousness, I've seen a 4a-Pi mod that was cleaner than the one above. But the C64 has an advantage in that there's a lot of custom parts to do this readily available, because of the much larger fanbase. With the TI you're making things up as you go, and you won't get a super-clean install if you aren't focused on that from the start.

[Omega-TI]

Interesting, the << powerblock >> for the RPi mentioned in the above video.  Too bad it's not simply plug & play.  Otherwise something like this would be nice for the TIPI on those rare occasions you need to shut it down.  I guess I'll do it the old fashioned way.

[Sid1968]

8 hours ago, JB said:

You know what would really make that C64 Pi mod shine?

If he'd installed a 99/4a emulator instead of a C64 one. Be a nice upgrade. Then he'd just be stuck with that ugly brown case that looks like someone sat on a loaf of bread.

You see at 12:49 in the video that he installed RetroPie. Here everyone certainly can install ti99sim to emulate the TI-99/4A. Very interesting on that solution is that he uses keyrah, so you can use retropie not only with your original keyboard but with your original ataricompatible mouse / joystick too.... isnt that a nice solution? Wouldnt it be great to have the same on a TI-99/4 Case?

 

Keyrah: https://icomp.de/shop-icomp/de/shop/product/keyrah-v2.html

 

8 hours ago, JB said:

In seriousness, I've seen a 4a-Pi mod that was cleaner than the one above.

Seeing is believing.

 

If i had an empty TI-99/4A Case i would do it. My idea would be to use "TI-99/4A USB keyboard conversion kit" for connecting the TI-Keyboard to the Raspberry Pi, and the "keyrah" to connect an ataricompatible mouse/joystick to the Raspberry Pi.... Then i would use Video, Power and Soundadapters at the outside of the case that are plugged with cables to the Raspberry Pi. To fix all parts inside i would probably use hot glue if i would not find a better solution.

 

Better or other ideas? Share them with us and start the discussion.

 

 

Edited April 17, 2020 by Sid1968

[+Schmitzi]

1 hour ago, Sid1968 said:

 

If i had an empty TI-99/4A Case i would do it. My idea would be to use "TI-99/4A USB keyboard conversion kit" for connecting the TI-Keyboard to the Raspberry Pi, and the "keyrah" to connect an ataricompatible mouse/joystick to the Raspberry Pi.... Then i would use Video, Power and Soundadapters at the outside of the case that are plugged with cables to the Raspberry Pi. To fix all parts inside i would probably use hot glue if i would not find a better solution.

 

Better or other ideas? Share them with us and start the discussion.

 

 

 

I am pretty sure I have an empty case to share... (but have to search first)

 

 

 

Edited April 17, 2020 by Schmitzi

[Sid1968]

2 hours ago, Schmitzi said:

 

I am pretty sure I have an empty case to share... (but have to search first)

 

 

 

Immer her damit. ;-)

[mizapf]

Maybe you already saw my work on that topic, some years ago already:

 

[Tursi]

I dabbled in that years ago too - well before the Raspberry PI craze I made a nano-ATX TI. Actually, I made two - the second one had the keyboard working as PS/2. I got a weirdly sick thrill out of navigating a PC BIOS with the FCTN arrow keys.

 

The first one had a CDROM, though, and I actually used it as a travel PC for a year or so, instead of a laptop. The second one was based on a Cyberman "all-in-one" PC motherboard and mysteriously died after a year or so.

 

[Sid1968]

Thanx you both for sharing your informations. Like other RetroCommunities we should talk about running TI-99/4A Software on alternative Hardware... (no iam not talking about emulators on windows 10). Our old hardware wont last forever.

Edited April 17, 2020 by Sid1968

[Sid1968]

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?

 

Edited April 18, 2020 by Sid1968

[Omega-TI]

24 minutes ago, 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?

 

 

I think you may find that out of 30 people, you could get as many as 40 different opinions on this.

 

Emulation has is purposes, in this situation I prefer Classic 99 for a myriad of reasons.  With Classic 99 you CAN program and save to virtual disk(s).  Now when it comes to the TI-99/4A's case, IMHO, it MUST have a TI motherboard inside of it (even if it has other stuff hooked up to it).   I'd never dream of putting a PC in a vintage MAC case, or vice versa.

[Tursi]

13 hours ago, Sid1968 said:

At the moment iam a little bit frustrated that all emulators that i know make it only possible to start cartridges

Strange thing to be frustrated by since Classic99 can auto-start any program. It even has an application mode to make a dedicated application to your program of choice.

 

[Sid1968]

6 hours ago, Tursi said:

Strange thing to be frustrated by since Classic99 can auto-start any program. It even has an application mode to make a dedicated application to your program of choice.

 

Thx Tursi for that advice. But the question is how to get Classic99 work on hardware that fits in a TI-99/4A Case. If we would have a linux version of Classic99 it could be run on Raspbian Buster for Raspberry Pi.

Maybe you change your opinion about a linux version of Classic99. I personally changed my opinion about some things in the past too, e.g. when my wife showed me a heavy iron frypan before...

 

 

 

Edited April 19, 2020 by Sid1968

[Tursi]

14 hours ago, Sid1968 said:

Thx Tursi for that advice. But the question is how to get Classic99 work on hardware that fits in a TI-99/4A Case.

And the two examples above don't count, right?  

 

 

[Tursi]

15 hours ago, Sid1968 said:

I personally changed my opinion about some things in the past too, e.g. when my wife showed me a heavy iron frypan before...

Maybe I can convince you, then...

 

Seriously, dude, the problem is time, not interest. You provide the income, I'll do whatever retro crap you want.

 

 

[Tursi]

(That TI looks really photoshopped, but I promise that pose is entirely practical effects )

[+OLD CS1]

12 hours ago, Tursi said:

(That TI looks really photoshopped, but I promise that pose is entirely practical effects )

Indeed.  Like scales, the keyboard keys will shear off, absorbing the impact of a blow and allowing for a return attack with the frying pan.  If it is a Mitsumi keyboard, they can take a massive beating without coming off and after the battle the keyboard will work exactly the same as before... not at all!

[Sid1968]

7 hours ago, Tursi said:

Maybe I can convince you, then...

 

Seriously, dude, the problem is time, not interest. You provide the income, I'll do whatever retro crap you want.

 

 

This frying pan looks good on you. I feel like at home.

Edited April 20, 2020 by Sid1968

[Sid1968]

On 4/17/2020 at 1:36 PM, Tursi said:

I dabbled in that years ago too - well before the Raspberry PI craze I made a nano-ATX TI. Actually, I made two - the second one had the keyboard working as PS/2. I got a weirdly sick thrill out of navigating a PC BIOS with the FCTN arrow keys.

 

The first one had a CDROM, though, and I actually used it as a travel PC for a year or so, instead of a laptop. The second one was based on a Cyberman "all-in-one" PC motherboard and mysteriously died after a year or so.

 

 

 

 

If you would use this modded TI-99/4A with the "TI-99/4A USB keyboard conversion kit" you dont need an external keyboard anymore. Please tell and show us more from the inside and what hardware you used.

For me solution would be perfect if it boot directly in the TI-99/4A emulator.

Edited April 20, 2020 by Sid1968

[Tursi]

5 hours ago, OLD CS1 said:

Indeed.  Like scales, the keyboard keys will shear off, absorbing the impact of a blow and allowing for a return attack with the frying pan.  If the it is a Mitsumi keyboard, they can take a massive beating without coming off and after the battle the keyboard will work exactly the same as before... not at all!

And you'll notice that Alpha Lock is down, because this ain't no game!

 

Actually, that would be an amusing game to build...

 

[Tursi]

On 4/17/2020 at 4:36 AM, Tursi said:

 

 

1 hour ago, Sid1968 said:

 

If you would use this modded TI-99/4A with the "TI-99/4A USB keyboard conversion kit" you dont need an external keyboard anymore. Please tell and show us more from the inside and what hardware you used.

For me solution would be perfect if it boot directly in the TI-99/4A emulator.

I don't have to, because 8 years before the USB kit was released I built the above machine with a fully functional PS/2 TI keyboard installed.  It was in the same post as the one you quoted - you need to read more carefully.

 

Since it boots Windows (although it didn't have to, being a full x86 PC), it can start whatever emulator you want.

 

Build pictures attached.

 

So I've already done it - now it's your turn!

 

Started with a dead system - even the keyboard was pretty much done in.

 

Cyberman All-in-One PC was a near-perfect fit - even the angled RAM slots /just/ cleared the keyboard, something the Mini-ATX motherboard in my previous build couldn't manage. However, the larger PCB did mean no CDROM in this build.

 

PS/2 keyboard was managed by a "Keywarrior", which was a pre-made, programmable keyboard interface that was fairly easy to put together. These days I'd probably just roll my own, as it was not cheap (about the same as the USB interface). I created a mapping that allowed all the important Windows keys to work with the TI layout.

 

Just enough room inside the top of the shell for a laptop harddrive. It's secured here with marine epoxy and has an IDE adapter for the full-size cable.

 

Just visible here - I wired a soft-keyswitch so that the sliding power button could trigger it, thus allowing the machine to be powered on and off with the normal TI switch. The power LED is likewise routed to the normal TI place.

 

If I were to do it again today, there are smaller full PC boards that can do it. But even I admit the PI is appealing - if you have the software for it.

 

 

 

[Sid1968]

On 4/20/2020 at 2:44 AM, Tursi said:

Seriously, dude, the problem is time, not interest. You provide the income, I'll do whatever retro crap you want.

 

 

Hello Tursi,
I had to think all night about the Linux version of Classic99 and how you could quickly get a lot of money to pay the development costs. Then I had a brilliant idea.

Quite often you have hidden in your attic "treasures" that you always thought were completely worthless, but could still bring in a chunk of money.

Do you remember this 50kg gold nugget that you should bring to the attic because it always stood in the way of your wife cleaning? Or your collection of old socks that you once wanted to take to the grave. Finally, please think of your mother-in-law. All this old stuff might bring you a lot of money, so there would be enough to develop a Linux version of Classic99 for.

I myself could immediately send you 7 cheese sandwiches with tomatoes. They would be with you in about 10 days.

Your buddy
Sid 😁