horizon2374 Posted December 27, 2020 Share Posted December 27, 2020 Hello everyone! I scored a QI TI-99 on eBay recently - serial number 51336805, LTA 0584. As the market continues to evolve, these are becoming harder to find - took me nearly a year to find one! I have luckily found the copyright 1981 version (unlike the V2.2 1983 version with the 3rd party lockout). In addition, I have both beige cassette/joystick ports, and the orange power switch. As another member mentioned in a previous post, it appears only the last models to leave the factory have the orange power button - this includes the Control Data re-badged production run. Improvements include: 1) Power Supply Improvement - Virtually silent! A standard 99/4A will exhibit a buzzing noise if you put your ear up to the power supply board area; on a QI, you hear nothing! In addition, the power supply runs much cooler - will increase efficiency and longevity - no more hand warmer! 2) Audio Output Improvement - due to the updated power supply, very little interference is introduced into the audio signal. No more whine or interference, which makes for a more pleasurable computing experience, especially at higher volume levels. 3) Alpha Lock Key Fixed - no longer do you have to have the release the alpha lock key up in order to get upward movement on the joysticks. Nice! 4) Motherboard Improvements - the number of integrated circuits (IC's) goes from 42 to 35. The design is made to be efficient and save costs. 5) Keyboard Metal Frame Mount - to keep dust/humidity away from the internal key connectors. Overall a great machine and in my opinion, the BEST 99/4A's that left the factory! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ksarul Posted December 27, 2020 Share Posted December 27, 2020 Do note that there are differences in the pins fed to the cartridge port--and that a few cartridge port devices (like the FinalGROM) won't work properly because of the differences. I was not aware that the mother board had an integrated alpha lock fix--it may have been modified by a previous user. . . 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horizon2374 Posted December 27, 2020 Author Share Posted December 27, 2020 Yes you are correct Ksarul about the differences with the cartridge port. I try to be a TI 'purist' and not use any 3rd party cartridges ?. I think Donkey Kong was one of the best Atarisoft ports, and games from Parker Brothers were good too! All QI models have integrated the fix with alpha lock key, they were produced this way from the factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tursi Posted December 27, 2020 Share Posted December 27, 2020 Hehe, AtariSoft and Parker Brothers were both third party publishers without TI authorization. (Actually I'm not certain on PB, except that they apparently used their own GROM knock off and not TI's, so probably!) This is the first I've heard that QIs have the alpha lock fix though... I don't think I still have any QI consoles to check! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+arcadeshopper Posted December 27, 2020 Share Posted December 27, 2020 Hehe, AtariSoft and Parker Brothers were both third party publishers without TI authorization. [emoji6] (Actually I'm not certain on PB, except that they apparently used their own GROM knock off and not TI's, so probably!) This is the first I've heard that QIs have the alpha lock fix though... I don't think I still have any QI consoles to check! I'll check mineSent from my LM-V600 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mizapf Posted December 27, 2020 Share Posted December 27, 2020 They actually changed something, as you can see in the schematics. They added amplifiers on the outputs (marked blue). The problem with Alpha Lock was that a depressed Alpha Lock and a high P5 line raised the level on the INT7 input so strongly that the resistance in the cable and the contacts in the Joystick were not able to lower the level deeply enough to be detected as a 0. The drivers may be a solution to this, but only you who have such a QI console will be able to verify this. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tursi Posted December 27, 2020 Share Posted December 27, 2020 I tried simulating the new circuit at Falstad, but my laptop isn't really up to the task and it was crawling by the end. I may have missed something or screwed up the op-amps, probably need to verify the type, as the results were not what I expected. Might be fun to simulate old and new side by side though... Anyway, for those curious, this crazy link loads the circuit (also saving it for later ) https://www.falstad.com/circuit/circuitjs.html?ctz=CQAgjCAMB0l3BWcMBMcUHYMGZIA4UA2ATmIxAUgosgCgBzcFPEbBFJl7PAFiiloAlECgSERGDqPEoUfKlR5UkCqNAS0ATiLESputhyph4dAM6dW7EfitHwIAGYBDADZmAprQDuNrtek7AV9Aw1ZIPjC6AA8QHnFsbGJwSlYeDj45EFJIMAAdMwBaAoAFDW12FmJxSvAMcWNTIQpmbJrWnhZVJWpVGA0AYzi8Y3rhqll5NVMIHmhsHmwUMEISBAwETZxp3IZxkSzOid0FWgslUfEeTrqGhxd3L0YL27i4P346X2uWMDGj15ffZ-dq-MZA2ogihjKExViEX6EbCsYh8FZXER8ACuAActCAMBFwMQOITMpJ+CZzHElvCWLVsAjKU43J5aLF0lxqhRGSjkpk+G4cQALZwFVwAewGAGsfEFCLYXgqunLcHxlfLbEDMBwNWqQBq6Ix9YQDESEV0BEMTbYTScdnAIGBoGA8FgMH98NxRK6GrBdsIwgzrADuspPmpykFg7qtch4OzwEiKMQIMw+AhUXFMSBcQB6NwFTQeAAuWM0ADtaAB5PQG2xoFiG4ItLhM9YJJkQsaM+ljQ1yjv1lhKrVysl1icD3xT2xD6fQmRzsY6ltD1eELKroGbviLDj6-ctw+0-XceT43fhDMK6+UhPaK8min6xpwPZiKj6z+sNCfZqEC+5oUtu-A9ConzqHKV5Hk+RI7lkJpbhSdBKMkZ5MkevYODA4iFDASwIGAYBKDwRGUDgWQwJAKDYFSpgMegAhoYuxKkkSYAkjh0B4QRdFkcQeAIkQNFKBA1G0fRjGmEYezYS88krP+jCED0kwGmp9p0IGTKJJ2XDwWB4Z9FBwiqcYt7mZYYa9JBGgSiITZTGAsjEIo0CokkyxyLReDrLkDrieAtBAA 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lumpy Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 Just tried this with my QI console with the 1981 start screen and also with my QI V2.2 and in both cases the joystick up works with the Alpha lock on. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOME AUTOMATION Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 14 hours ago, mizapf said: They added amplifiers on the outputs (marked blue). These amps/buffers don't look like they will allow much power to the port... This would be an issue for devices like mine here... IR Remote Control - Post #5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KG7PFS Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 Please excuse my inexcuseable ignorance, but what is th QI version? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 4 minutes ago, KG7PFS said: Please excuse my inexcuseable ignorance, but what is th QI version? It normally stands for "Quality Ignored". He was lucky to get one with a decent keyboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KG7PFS Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 2 minutes ago, Omega-TI said: It normally stands for "Quality Ignored". He was lucky to get one with a decent keyboard. How do I make sure the 99/4a I get is NOT the QI version? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+arcadeshopper Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 How do I make sure the 99/4a I get is NOT the QI version? Check the FAQ in the pinned post here for that infoSent from my LM-V600 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 3 hours ago, KG7PFS said: Please excuse my inexcuseable ignorance, but what is th QI version? A cost-reduced version of the system board with fewer components and a compatibility issue or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrhodes Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 (edited) Unless the Finalgrom is somehow revised or updated to work on the QI, i would avoid it. I have no use of real hardware (TI or otherwise) that does not support modern storage / game playback solutions. Sure, better heat performance from the power supply is a plus, but a full power supply replacement for the TI is already being worked on i believe. I can live with the buzzing feedback in the audio, and i'm certain someone could find a modification to reduce this on non-QI systems. Alphalock fix is already doable by anyone who knows their way around a soldering iron. So really, the only thing the QI has over the non-QI these days is a metal keyboard mounting. Sorry, not enough to justify it for me. Edited December 31, 2020 by jrhodes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 4 hours ago, KG7PFS said: How do I make sure the 99/4a I get is NOT the QI version? For starters, if you don't want to do a lot of hunting and waiting, look for a Black & Silver model model and insure you can see the green PCB of the keyboard and the solder connections. Also the key should have the more "rounded" look to them and not the "squarish" looking keys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDMike Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 And the less scratches on the top cover along with no streaks on the runway, kinda says not too used. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 28 minutes ago, GDMike said: And the less scratches on the top cover along with no streaks on the runway, kinda says not too used. For sure! Modern TI users lucked out in that respect. Many people bought $50.00 TI's in blow-out sales back in the day, and many more given away. Many people used them once or twice, then summarily tossed them into a closet where they languished for decades waiting for their owners to die and an estate sale so they could see the light of day once again. Now we "older gents" can snap them up on eBay, sometimes for a good price, sometimes not. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDMike Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 I grabbed 3 of the silver backs, and they all have worked great for me, two sit in the closet waiting for the owner t...."" Yep. They work great and costed me$50 each at that time. I can't remember the shipping, if it were added in or not. But I'm not paying$20 for shipping for one, unless that box was really nice. Btw, my three computers were complete in original half descent origibal boxes. But packaging made me believe the console was never used. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Zayas Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 New on TI here. My beige TI-99/4A has 1981 ROM and silver expansion port, so I guess I have a QI. FinalGROM99 doesn't work, but Atari Defender module works. Will FlashROM or TIPI work too? I desperately need to expand the posibilities of my TI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 6 minutes ago, Carlos Zayas said: New on TI here. My beige TI-99/4A has 1981 ROM and silver expansion port, so I guess I have a QI. FinalGROM99 doesn't work, but Atari Defender module works. Will FlashROM or TIPI work too? I desperately need to expand the posibilities of my TI. The fingers in the expansion port give it away: that is a QI board. No, the FG99 will not work with it, but the FR99 (FlashROM) will. No idea on the TIPI as I do not have one, but I have not seen anyone report that it does not work with the QI board. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+arcadeshopper Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 New on TI here. My beige TI-99/4A has 1981 ROM and silver expansion port, so I guess I have a QI. FinalGROM99 doesn't work, but Atari Defender module works. Will FlashROM or TIPI work too? I desperately need to expand the posibilities of my TI.Yes TIPI works fine on all models I am pretty sure the flashrom works fine too it's just the FinalGrom99 that's missing a signal on a qi boardGregSent from my LM-V600 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+FALCOR4 Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 On 12/27/2020 at 7:52 AM, mizapf said: They actually changed something, as you can see in the schematics. They added amplifiers on the outputs (marked blue). The problem with Alpha Lock was that a depressed Alpha Lock and a high P5 line raised the level on the INT7 input so strongly that the resistance in the cable and the contacts in the Joystick were not able to lower the level deeply enough to be detected as a 0. The drivers may be a solution to this, but only you who have such a QI console will be able to verify this. Yes, I just verified it with KeyBits. The joystick "up" works on the QI regardless of the alpha lock position. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff White Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 The best way to determine if a console is QI or not is to open it up and look at the motherboard. On the QI, much of the glue logic has been put into a single chip. Additionally, IIRC, the cartridge port is missing the ability to control the CRU. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+FALCOR4 Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 16 hours ago, Jeff White said: The best way to determine if a console is QI or not is to open it up and look at the motherboard. On the QI, much of the glue logic has been put into a single chip. Additionally, IIRC, the cartridge port is missing the ability to control the CRU. Also, the QI I/O port has silver grounding fingers. Useful for a quick check. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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