TI Items - Photo Archival Thread

[Mad Hatter]

On 12/3/2020 at 9:51 AM, iliketurtles said:

Speaking of the Video Controller, here's some pictures of the sidecar version.

Were you able to locate the cabling required to connect this to one of the compatible tape or disc players?  It would be neat to get one up and running and some point.  Mine works, and the controller’s BASIC program recognizes it, but there is nothing to do with it beyond that. 

[+Ksarul]

Look in the documentation thread for the documents we're scanning from the CB Wilson collection. One of the recent posts includes all of the data needed to roll your own cables for the Sony and Panasonic VCRs and also for the Pioneer Laser Disk. The connectors are pretty standard. . .and as long as you follow their instructions for the wiring, you should be good. Original cables are seriously hard to find (I think I have a set of the Panasonic cables somewhere, but that's it).

[+Ksarul]

Here's one most of you have probably never seen. It is the Security Module for the p-System Word Processor and the p-System Spreadsheet programs. It even has a GROM in it. . .

[+retroclouds]

15 hours ago, Ksarul said:

Here's one most of you have probably never seen. It is the Security Module for the p-System Word Processor and the p-System Spreadsheet programs. It even has a GROM in it. . .

I think I saw one on Ebay recently. Thought how cool is that, a dongle for the TI-99/4a. Do you know how it works? 

[JB]

3 hours ago, retroclouds said:

I think I saw one on Ebay recently. Thought how cool is that, a dongle for the TI-99/4a. Do you know how it works? 

I don't know, but I really hope the GROM just has "OKAY" in ASCII.

[+mizapf]

If it's a GROM, it should be readable in the console. This is also interesting for emulation.

[+Ksarul]

This was the one on eBay. I already had the program disks that require it (and variants of those programs were released into the wild as part of the software dump TI sent to users groups when they left the market). The programs need the dongle to actually print to the printer types identified on the label and may be needed for other software functions. I've never loaded the disks before that, as I knew they needed the dongle to work.

 

I do plan to read out the GROM soon.

[+Ksarul]

I did a short test this morning just to see what would happen--the cartridge does not show up on the cartridge menu screen (I pretty much expected this). I'll have to look later to see if the cartridge-reading software properly detects the GROM to read it out (once I dig that disk out again).

[+pixelpedant]

Some great pictures of CIB Hen Pecked from an Ebay auction:

 

[+pixelpedant]

Further to that:

 

Rotor Raiders (Romox) and Typo II (Romox)

 

 

[+Ksarul]

Of course, the prices in those auctions are high enough to choke on. . .that is nearly ten times what they're worth.

[+pixelpedant]

Naturally.  I'm just happy they took good pictures.  Since that didn't cost me anything

[RickyDean]

Here are a few of the cards I have. These are the ones that I have built from bare board, or tore down to bare board and rebuilt, or have just repaired, or in the repair process in the last 1.5 to 2 years.

Edited February 17 by RickyDean
added photo.

[GDMike]

6 hours ago, RickyDean said:

Here are a few of the cards I have. These are the ones that I have built from bare board, or tore down to bare board and rebuilt, or have just repaired, or in the repair process in the last 1.5 to 2 years.

That's gotta be the motherload

[RickyDean]

1 hour ago, GDMike said:

That's gotta be the motherload

This is about a third of the cards I have. I also have known good cards and known bad cards awaiting repair. And some proto boards and bareboard Ide's waiting to be built..

Edited February 17 by RickyDean
added content.

[GDMike]

My jaw just dropped.

Unbelievable. I've never seen so many in one place.

You've got to be the #1 holder of Geneves. You definitely need the award.

We need to get all of them working!!!

Stay on top of it. I only know 2 people that can work on these, and that could be diminishing.

[+Ksarul]

On 4/29/2020 at 2:15 PM, Andrewmacattack said:

@INVISIBLE not sure what information you would like on the Texas Video card PHP1290, I do have manuals that came with it.

The gentleman I brought it off, his uncle was part of the development team at Texas Instruments for this card.

It would be really nice to have crisp scans of all of these manuals (and the TI letter under the Video Controller card). There are scans of later photocopies out there, but direct scans of an original would be an excellent resource. Did your source provide you the switch box that connects to the back of the card? It wouldn't be too difficult to build one if not (I put the schematic for it up in the schematics thread), as you can't do anything with the PEB version without it. I've been looking for the PEB card for a long time, as it is one of a very small number of TI produced PEB cards that I don't have (I do have the sidecar version though, so all is not lost there).  Thanks for the pictures--they are most helpful, especially since your card actually has an original label on it, as most of them don't.

[Andrewmacattack]

On 4/18/2021 at 4:28 PM, Ksarul said:

It would be really nice to have crisp scans of all of these manuals (and the TI letter under the Video Controller card). There are scans of later photocopies out there, but direct scans of an original would be an excellent resource. Did your source provide you the switch box that connects to the back of the card? It wouldn't be too difficult to build one if not (I put the schematic for it up in the schematics thread), as you can't do anything with the PEB version without it. I've been looking for the PEB card for a long time, as it is one of a very small number of TI produced PEB cards that I don't have (I do have the sidecar version though, so all is not lost there).  Thanks for the pictures--they are most helpful, especially since your card actually has an original label on it, as most of them don't.

I'll try and scan those books over the weekend or early next week 👍. I've got a busy week ahead of me in work, so it's going to be long hours, time I get in, I'm totally drained. 

[+arcadeshopper]

[Andrewmacattack]

Video controller course designer/Authorising package booklet. 

Will download others probably over the weekend. @Ksarul

Adobe Scan 22 Apr 2021.pdf

[+Ksarul]

Many thanks for doing this. These copies are much clearer than the old ones.

[Andrewmacattack]

Video Controller Card users guide booklet. @Ksarul

Adobe Scan 26 Apr 2021.pdf

 

[Andrewmacattack]

Video Controller Card letter and instructions leaflet. 

Adobe Scan 26 Apr 2021 (1).pdf

[+pixelpedant]

RAVE 99 Keyboard pic from recent Ebay auction:

 

 

 

[RickyDean]

Wow, wish I had that to go with my Rave 99 system, I didn't know that they made those at the time.