Any pictures or info on the TI-994?

[Frozone212]

I've searched the entire net, no luck on the predecessor. How about here? any luck?

[+Torrax]

Some information here:

 

https://www.howtogeek.com/731558/a-successful-failure-the-ti-994a-turns-40/

 

http://oldcomputers.net/ti994.html

 

Edited December 16, 2021 by Torrax

[+jedimatt42]

Really no luck? A simple google image search is sick with pictures... 

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=google+images+TI-99/4&rlz=1C1ONGR_enUS979US979&sxsrf=AOaemvLq1DtRJ3btTNaCnw5Cnppm5aYcVg:1639635016152&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=W-tWKCBMVKN4LM%2Ci0otstB2UVQm2M%2C_%3BSHhkQYpIV5vw6M%2CRhp9Yg0NfiZJUM%2C_%3B3frMRVe5rCrrLM%2CGLp-YNgenb8ieM%2C_%3Bjy-JOMOWWyufqM%2CGLp-YNgenb8ieM%2C_%3BpY1NVHVLlWUJ9M%2C7bx92vlvDz1nNM%2C_%3BFEiPh5NgTPdFWM%2CGLp-YNgenb8ieM%2C_%3Bw2ls34-xHVM8VM%2CtSckDaxTPxADaM%2C_%3BBsPkhaVFfes76M%2CfRVCtQo_zFr4xM%2C_%3BbZdivVpkXLoI9M%2CGLp-YNgenb8ieM%2C_%3BiAzRQmFYC7UyoM%2CKqcLeUaR77qJ9M%2C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kRfry-ELDwZ8Godwxqtut7tO1tEYw&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjynsu11Of0AhW5FTQIHadxBJcQ9QF6BAgCEAE#imgrc=w2ls34-xHVM8VM

 

https://www.ninerpedia.org/wiki/TI99/4_and_4a_differences

 

 

 

 

[pixelpedant]

Definitely lots out there on the 99/4, though admittedly not as much as on the 4A, just given there is almost no real practical justification for using the 99/4, in a world where the 4A is much more abundant and much cheaper.  And with 99/4 software being almost (but not quite) inherently 100% compatible with the 4A.  And so "TI-99" becomes somewhat naturally synonymous with "TI-99/4A", much of the time, outside the circles where we do obsess over every minor difference. 

 

That all being said, I fairly recently did a 18 minute overview of the 99/4, its time, and what makes it distinct from the 4A:

 

 

 

 

Also, here is the TI-99/4 User Reference Guide, should you wish to peruse it:

 

TI994_User_Guide.pdf

 

 

Here are some of TI's advertisements for the TI-99/4:

 

 

Some of us here do have 99/4s, if you  have questions.

 

[ti99iuc]

Here my gallery of the USA version of the TI-99/4 that I have. 

https://www.ti99iuc.it/web/index.php?pageid=168&pagina=gall_Hardware&data=hardware&album=TI994

 

I still have to do the pictures of the TI-99/4 EU version that is different in some of the details. 

 

I also suggest to read this nice page of the friend @fabrice montupet, it is in French, but maybe you can translate it

http://www.ti99.com/ti/index.php?article5/home-computer-ti-99-4

[Retrospect]

I was curiously searching the net for images of the /4 with the infra-red attachment, and I got one ... 

 

This was of course, a "Texas Instruments Dimension-4" before they stuck with their regular calculator naming convention; and it was apparently on sale at Ebay for $20,000  (if I was inclined to pay 20 grand for one and had the money, I would at least want the aluminium case. As you can see it's conspicious in it's absence here)

 

The Dimension-4 was to be an all-singing, all dancing 8-bit system (before they realised their 8-bit was no good) and it had infrared joysticks, I did read somewhere that there was going to be an infrared keyboard too.  TI, during the last moments of preparing the TI99/4, cancelled the infrared thing, their idea being the market wasn't ready for it.  And here I was thinking new inventions and innovations are ALWAYS something that the market may not be ready for, you just go with it and do it, right?  Otherwise nothing new happens.  

 

[+Schmitzi]

1 hour ago, Retrospect said:

I was curiously searching the net for images of the /4 with the infra-red attachment, and I got one ... 

 

This was of course, a "Texas Instruments Dimension-4" before they stuck with their regular calculator naming convention; and it was apparently on sale at Ebay for $20,000  (if I was inclined to pay 20 grand for one and had the money, I would at least want the aluminium case. As you can see it's conspicious in it's absence here)

 

The Dimension-4 was to be an all-singing, all dancing 8-bit system (before they realised their 8-bit was no good) and it had infrared joysticks, I did read somewhere that there was going to be an infrared keyboard too.  TI, during the last moments of preparing the TI99/4, cancelled the infrared thing, their idea being the market wasn't ready for it.  And here I was thinking new inventions and innovations are ALWAYS something that the market may not be ready for, you just go with it and do it, right?  Otherwise nothing new happens.  

 

 

 

hmmm, I am somehow sure I have this Speechsynthie....  ?

I´ll search for it and take some pics next days

 

 

[HOME AUTOMATION]

3 hours ago, Retrospect said:

TI, during the last moments of preparing the TI99/4, cancelled the infrared thing, their idea being the market wasn't ready for it.  And here I was thinking new inventions and innovations are ALWAYS something that the market may not be ready for, you just go with it and do it, right?  Otherwise nothing new happens. 

One thing that jumps out at me, concerning the InfraRed receiver, is that it's positioning doesn't appear to align properly with regard to user expectation. To function well, a player would have to hold the controller up higher than the edge of whatever surface the console would be sitting on.

 

Also, missing shots during passionate gaming, could result in damage to the computer!

[+Ksarul]

5 hours ago, Retrospect said:

I was curiously searching the net for images of the /4 with the infra-red attachment, and I got one ... 

 

This was of course, a "Texas Instruments Dimension-4" before they stuck with their regular calculator naming convention; and it was apparently on sale at Ebay for $20,000  (if I was inclined to pay 20 grand for one and had the money, I would at least want the aluminium case. As you can see it's conspicious in it's absence here)

 

The Dimension-4 was to be an all-singing, all dancing 8-bit system (before they realised their 8-bit was no good) and it had infrared joysticks, I did read somewhere that there was going to be an infrared keyboard too.  TI, during the last moments of preparing the TI99/4, cancelled the infrared thing, their idea being the market wasn't ready for it.  And here I was thinking new inventions and innovations are ALWAYS something that the market may not be ready for, you just go with it and do it, right?  Otherwise nothing new happens.  

 

I had some long conversations with the seller of this particular system before it was sold. He wondered what the handset was for--and I identified it and the need for the IR box plugged into the top of the console to make it work. He realized that he also had one of those in the box of TI stuff he bought from a retired TI engineer for a pittance and decided he had major gold in his hands. I made a reasonable offer for the pair--and I was ignored.

 

That was when he put the machine and the IR set up for sale for the crazy price. I let him know that the machine wasn't a Dimension 4, told him what it really was, and provided a link to the other auction going on at the same time to allow him to compare them. I also made a reasonable offer for the set--using the price I had paid for the complete Dimension 4 in my collection as a reference, since it was purchased at open auction and was of similar rarity. He ignored that offer too. He did sell it in the end, but he failed to change the listing, so the buyer didn't get the Dimension 4 they thought they did. He also sold it for considerably less than his initial 20K demand, as he later lowered the price to 10K and then took someone's best offer for it. I don't think it ended up within the community either, which is unfortunate.

 

The most important takeaway here though is that the machine in this picture is NOT a Dimension 4, it is one of the 1,000 or so 99/4 test units (prototypes) TI built before releasing it. Another of these test units sold for $1,500 or so at about the same time this machine was sold. That machine still had the brushed aluminum trim and the test certification documents matching its serial number (719, IIRC). This one with the damaged case does still have the serial number sticker (739, IIRC), and based on the data gleaned from the earlier one's paperwork, this one would have been built in the late summer of 1979 (July/August).The case for the 99/4 has the cutout to insert the IR unit, but the connector that would be on the underside of the cutout is only present on the Dimension 4, so it is pretty much useless when plugged into a 99/4 except as a non-functional display item.

 

If you look carefully at the joystick, you will note that it has a lot of buttons--20 of them. A complete pair of them would thus have 40 keys. TI made a metal frame to snap the joysticks into, making the whole thing into a 40-key remote keyboard (and there was an overlay for that too to identify the uses of those keys). The pair of devices in this picture is apparently the only set of them that ever escaped TI or a museum.

 

The Dimension 4 was also built in at least two variants. One with the internal speaker and a slider volume control and one with an audio out jack instead. I have a complete Dimension 4 without the volume slider, and a complete Dimension 4 circuit board set for the volume slider version. The GROMs are identical to the ones used in the 99/4. I still have to read out the ROMs to see where the differences are, if any. As far as I know, I have the only Dimension 4s outside of a museum. I would be pleasantly surprised by the appearance of another one if one is out there, just for the opportunity to compare the different builds and preserve that information for the community. @acadiel and I were able to acquire a set of Dimension 4 schematics (he posted them in the C. B. Wilson thread, IIRC), so a lot of the technical information is out there now too.

[Retrospect]

5 hours ago, Ksarul said:

the machine in this picture is NOT a Dimension 4

Thankyou Ksarul, I'd not realized this .... what a scalper!  

So the Dimension-4 consoles you have, these you say have identical GROMs to the 99/4, so do they also have the same copyright year, 1979? 

[Retrospect]

7 hours ago, HOME AUTOMATION said:

To function well, a player would have to hold the controller up higher than the edge of whatever surface the console would be sitting on

Makes me wonder if the old "the market wasn't ready for it" thing was really true or if TI realized there were issues with the IR units and didn't go ahead with them in the 99/4 consoles.  

[+Ksarul]

Some of the display data for the first screen may be in the ROM, which is what I have to check to be able to answer the copyright date question. As the GROMs are socketed, it is also remotely possible that the GROMs were placed into it at a later date. My board set machine was made in very late 1978 or very early 1979, based on the date codes of all of the installed components, so a 1979 copyright date is actually plausible. The GROM to manufacturing list from C.B. Wilson also didn't appear to include a console GROM set older than early 1979 either.

[Airshack]

That much money and the guy can't clean it up even slightly before taking pictures. 

[+Ksarul]

On 12/28/2021 at 11:51 PM, Airshack said:

That much money and the guy can't clean it up even slightly before taking pictures. 

But vintage is "supposed" to look grungy. Cleaning it up would reduce the value, as that vintage dust is worth a lot of extra money. . . LOLOLOL

[+OLD CS1]

3 hours ago, Ksarul said:

But vintage is "supposed" to look grungy. Cleaning it up would reduce the value, as that vintage dust is worth a lot of extra money. . . LOLOLOL

 

[+Ksarul]

True statement for a lot of things there, @OLD CS1. Never try cleaning up old coins, porcelain, banknotes, or even books. The results will not be what you desired. . .on the other hand, gently cleaning up the dust on an old appliance with a damp cloth won't damage the patina, but it will clean up the crusty dusties.

[SkyPilot]

[+acadiel]

That’s the IUG office in Bethany, OK?

 

Regardless, it’s funny that the thermal printer is waaay over there. [emoji23]

[+Ksarul]

2 hours ago, acadiel said:

That’s the IUG office in Bethany, OK?

 

Regardless, it’s funny that the thermal printer is waaay over there.

Notice the long flat cable connecting it to the console. That is probably the earliest documentation of a sideport extension cable I have ever seen. Makes sense to use one on that desk too.

[GDMike]

8 hours ago, acadiel said:

That’s the IUG office in Bethany, OK?

 

Regardless, it’s funny that the thermal printer is waaay over there.

Aghhhgg!! Facing the wall.... yuk, what a life

[HOME AUTOMATION]

...ANY BETTER?

[tater1337]

I like how no one talks bout how much noise must have come from having the data recorder that near the TV 

[GDMike]

7 minutes ago, tater1337 said:

I like how no one talks bout how much noise must have come from having the data recorder that near the TV 

They can turn the volume down on the tv I believe.

 

[HOME AUTOMATION]

LF electromagnetic fields from the monitor's deflection coils induce noise in the cassette recorders circuitry!?

[GDMike]

Ohh.. interference noise, I ain't afraid of no TV..