Hey!
I put an old 10 MB hard drive case on AuctionWeb last week. Nobody is bidding on
it so if it doesn't sell, it's free. It's just a white case with a fan and power
supply. A really nice guy wrote and offered the drive that goes in it for
shipping only (see bottom of message). Auction ends tomorrow-hurry!
Here's what you do, go to the auction link:
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/itemfast.cgi?item=dkq99203
Bid $1. If nobody outbids you, it's yours for shipping only. Just remind me if I
don't recognize your email address. Shipping should be less than $5. You could do
the whole thing for less than $10. Worth it? I dunno.
? By the way, there's an Imagewriter I that's only up to $3+shipping at:
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/itemfast.cgi?item=qpa201
? And a cool like new thermal printer for laptops (circa 1984) at:
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/itemfast.cgi?item=yrk8174
? And I have a few C-64's and 1541 drives that are dead. Free + shipping if
anyone's interested. Oh and a Okimate 10 printer that's laying around too.
*** The guy with the drive that goes in it is:
> Subject: tandy hd case
> Date: Wed, 11 Jun 97 21:03:20 PDT
> From: "Roger LaPointe" <eldens(a)concentric.net>
> To: gmast(a)oboe.aix.calpoly.edu
>
>
> I've got a 10 meg hd (tandon) that came in one of the cases.
>
> if you can use it, you can have it for the actual ups costs. ($3 or $4 ???)
> it just sits on the shelf, and I hated to throw it away (along with all the
> Seagate ST-225's)
>
> thanx Roger
>
>
Hi all,
I'm looking for a power cable for my Cromemco System 3. It's kind of a
bizarre cable. The recessed male panel jack is a flattened oval, 1" by
1/2", with 3 conductors. The center ground pin is very slightly offset
>from the other two pins.
Any thoughts where I can get one of these?
thanks
Kai
I couldn't resist going into a favorite thrift store today, and boy what
a find I made. First there's the Tandy 1000EX. Cool, but definitely not
as cool as the Burroughs adding machine! I have no idea what year this
thing is from, but it's case is made of a steel frame with glass sides so
you can see the mechanisms inside. I don't know how much it's worth, but
I picked it up for $50. This thing is heavy (about 50-60lbs). I love
it! I'm going to make it the centerpiece of my in-home museum (someday).
Sam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
At 04:25 PM 6/10/97 -0500, you wrote:
>Somewhere in the back of my head I had the idea that a TDP-100
>was a Coco with added serial hardware included so that Radio
>Shack could sell it as a color video terminal. Does anyone
>else remember this, or am I completely out of my mind?
They did sell a "VideoTex" terminal that sure looked like a coco. Sold it
for use with CompuServe, (among others,) as I recall. Perhaps this is what
you're thinking of?
--------------------------------------------------------------------- O-
Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad
sinasohn(a)crl.com that none but madmen know."
Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates
San Francisco, California http://www.crl.com/~sinasohn/
Hi Issac, thanks for volunteering to maintain the list! I think this is
a wonderful idea and one that will help us all.
Marvin Johnston
marvin(a)rain.org
(805) 6897-8881
Santa Barbara, CA
Primary Interest: Early Microcomputers from the 70's and associated
documentation.
Found one! Vetco here in Bellevue had a box of 'em... at the usurious
price of $9.50, but what can ya do?
At least I picked up some interesting 8-bit ISA cards for $1-$4 apiece,
namely:
- Silicon Valley ADP50 (IDE drives in PCs!)
- Kaypro NEC V20 accelerator/Z80 emulator card
- Kraft dual joystick adapter
- Ad Lib sound card
Kai
> ----------
> From: James Willing[SMTP:jimw@agora.rdrop.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 1997 4:48 PM
> To: Kai Kaltenbach
> Cc: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
> Subject: Re: Power cable for Cromemco
>
> On Tue, 10 Jun 1997, Kai Kaltenbach wrote:
>
> > I'm looking for a power cable for my Cromemco System 3. It's kind
> of a
> > bizarre cable. The recessed male panel jack is a flattened oval, 1"
> by
> > 1/2", with 3 conductors. The center ground pin is very slightly
> offset
> > from the other two pins.
> >
> > Any thoughts where I can get one of these?
>
> Actually, not too odd at all. Don't know about currently (as I've not
> looked for a while) but these used to be quite common on office
> equipment.
>
> And... (if you did not see this coming) I think I have a spare or two
> around... (gotta turn over *all* of those rocks!)
>
> Bad ASCII art warning!
>
> /-------------\
> | O O |
> | O |
> \-------------/
>
> Looks something (nothing?) like this? eh?
>
> If you don't turn one up local, let me know and I'll try to find one
> to
> send along with the other stuff...
>
> -jim
> ---
> jimw(a)agora.rdrop.com
> The Computer Garage - http://www.rdrop.com/~jimw
> Computer Garage Fax - (503) 646-0174
>
>Mayhaps, as a parallel to the 'Classic Computer Index", we need to develop
>a 'Classic Computer Collectors Index' so that we know where others are
>when things like this pop up so that we could have some local options.
>Even if a person did not want the particular item, they might be able to
>pick it up while arrangements were made to get it to someone who did want
An excellent idea! Sign me up! Hmm... what info? Name, location,
collecting interests, etc?
Uncle Roger
San Francisco
All computers, especially portables.
<sinasohn(a)ricochet.net> or <sinasohn(a)crl.com>
--------------------------------------------------------------------- O-
Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad
sinasohn(a)crl.com that none but madmen know."
Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates
San Francisco, California http://www.crl.com/~sinasohn/
One more...hope this doesn't get annoying.
Sam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
---------- Forwarded message ----------
I have the following CP/M hardware for sale:
************************* K10 ******************************
Kaypro 10 v1.9E (1983?)
Boots: KAYPRO 60K CP/M Version 2.2H
Occasionally returns BDOS errors when writing to the hard
drive. I suspect it needs to be replaced (but maybe a good
low-level format would help?)
Does not have system disks (I bought it "as-is" with system
installed on the hard drive). I do, however, have a copy of
of the Kaypro Technical manual (the real McCoy, used by the
technicians...) and the padded carrying case. Will sell all
three and ship anywhere in the lower 48 for $70.
************************** K4 ******************************
Kaypro 4 (semi-cannabalized)
System was plugged in when a lighting strike hit power lines
System no longer sees the keyboard -- the keyboard is good
and worked on another Kaypro. As I recall, the following
subsystems are still good: keyboard, monitor, 2 half-height
diskette drives, and most of the motherboard. (no pwr supply)
Will sell and ship anywhere in the lower 48 for $35.
Send email to: 72530.1626(a)compuserve.com
If you're conveniently located in the Southeast Michigan area
or Northwest Ohio (or willing to drive there), we can set up
a local pickup and dispense with the hassle and expense of
shipping.
Thank you.
From: David Venzke
Compuserve: 72530,1626
Internet: 72530.1626(a)compuserve.com
--
Sam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
I would be happy to help in this collection, I am in Lawrence KS, USA
----------
> From: e.tedeschi <e.tedeschi(a)ndirect.co.uk>
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
> Subject: Re: (fwd) PDP 11/34...more info (fwd)
> Date: Wednesday, June 11, 1997 1:23 PM
>
> Isaac Davis wrote:
> >
> > At 09:24 AM 6/11/97 -0700, Sam wrote:
> > >On Wed, 11 Jun 1997, James Willing wrote:
> > >
> > >> Mayhaps, as a parallel to the 'Classic Computer Index", we need to
develop
> > >> a 'Classic Computer Collectors Index' so that we know where others
are
> > >> when things like this pop up so that we could have some local
options.
> > >> Even if a person did not want the particular item, they might be
able to
> > >> pick it up while arrangements were made to get it to someone who did
want
> > >> it.
> > >>
> > >> Or am I just dreaming out loud?
> > >
> > >Not at all. This is a terrific idea! I nominate Bill Whitson to
> > >formulate this list :)
> > >
> > >
> > >Sam
> >
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
> > >Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete,
Writer, Jackass
> > >
> > I agree completely. I would be willing to go pick up stuff headed for
the
> > dump and hold it till someone could make space for it. My house only
has
> > room for a small select few computers, but I could make room in storage
> > until shipping could be arranged. We ought to make this like a Mr. (or
Ms.)
> > Rescue for classics. When the list is started, put me down for the
Austin,
> > TX area.
> > Isaac Davis
> > idavis(a)comland.com
> > indavis(a)juno.com
>
> OK, put me down for southern England (UK)
>
> enrico
> --
> ================================================================
> Enrico Tedeschi, 54, Easthill Drive, BRIGHTON BN41 2FD, U.K.
> tel/fax +(0)1273 701650 (24 hours) or 0850 104725 mobile
> website <http://www.ndirect.co.uk/~e.tedeschi>
> ================================================================
> visit Brighton: <http://www.brighton.co.uk/tourist/welcome.htm>
Isaac Davis wrote:
>
> At 09:24 AM 6/11/97 -0700, Sam wrote:
> >On Wed, 11 Jun 1997, James Willing wrote:
> >
> >> Mayhaps, as a parallel to the 'Classic Computer Index", we need to develop
> >> a 'Classic Computer Collectors Index' so that we know where others are
> >> when things like this pop up so that we could have some local options.
> >> Even if a person did not want the particular item, they might be able to
> >> pick it up while arrangements were made to get it to someone who did want
> >> it.
> >>
> >> Or am I just dreaming out loud?
> >
> >Not at all. This is a terrific idea! I nominate Bill Whitson to
> >formulate this list :)
> >
> >
> >Sam
> >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
> >
> I agree completely. I would be willing to go pick up stuff headed for the
> dump and hold it till someone could make space for it. My house only has
> room for a small select few computers, but I could make room in storage
> until shipping could be arranged. We ought to make this like a Mr. (or Ms.)
> Rescue for classics. When the list is started, put me down for the Austin,
> TX area.
> Isaac Davis
> idavis(a)comland.com
> indavis(a)juno.com
OK, put me down for southern England (UK)
enrico
--
================================================================
Enrico Tedeschi, 54, Easthill Drive, BRIGHTON BN41 2FD, U.K.
tel/fax +(0)1273 701650 (24 hours) or 0850 104725 mobile
website <http://www.ndirect.co.uk/~e.tedeschi>
================================================================
visit Brighton: <http://www.brighton.co.uk/tourist/welcome.htm>
I personally would like a printer for every machine in my system if one was
made for it and it works.
Sinclair1500, Atari, 400,800xl, 1200xl, C64, TandyColor/2 Tandy Model4, and
almost every apple made.
----------
> From: Marvin <marvin(a)rain.org>
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
> Subject: Printers
> Date: Wednesday, June 11, 1997 12:36 PM
>
> Along the lines of saving stuff, does anyone collect the old printers?
> I have several including the SWTP 40 column printer, the usual
> assortment of Tandy and CBM printers, a couple of DecWriters (LA36), an
> early Centronics, a number of daisy wheel printers, and my newest
> addition, an ASR 33. But I also run into quite a few (usually free)
> that I don't have the room or inclination to store. I would guess that
> most of the older printers will head for the dump with few people
> caring, but then again ...
I know where you can get a BioRythm, but not if you want to pull the
chip out...
Kai
> ----------
> From: Marvin[SMTP:marvin@rain.org]
> Reply To: classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu
> Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 1997 4:49 PM
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
> Subject: Re: 4004
>
> e.tedeschi wrote:
> >
> > Please have a look at my collection at:
> >
> > <http://www.ndirect.co.uk/~e.tedeschi/homecomp.htm>
> >
>
> I just took a look ... VERY nice! How long has the museum been in
> existence and how long have you been collecting?
>
> > I am looking for a 4004 microprocessor. Also for an 8008. Does
> anybody
> > know of one going for sale? I will pay cash or have many British
> > computers for trade/swap.
> >
>
> One of the early arcade "games", a unit called BioRhythm" used the
> 4004
> as the processor. Wish I hadn't gotten rid of them all now! I don't
> know if they were exported your way or not.
>
>Mayhaps, as a parallel to the 'Classic Computer Index", we need to >develop a 'Classic Computer Collectors Index' so that we know where >others are when things like this pop up so that we could have some local >options. Even if a person did not want the particular item, they might be >able to pick it up while arrangements were made to get it to someone >who did want it.
This seems like an excellent suggestion. Put me down for Dallas/Fort Worth, TX. USA.
Regards,
Bob
> > RS published a technical manual for the color computer; I have a copy of
> > somewhere. HOWEVER I found there's an app note from Motorola with schema
> > that almost exactly match those in the RS technical manual. I don't reca
> > whether it was a 6809 app note or a 6847 app note though. If you can fin
> > set of old Motorola data books you may be able to find it.
>
> It's probably a 6883 (SAM) app note, isn't it?
I don't have the app note but I do have the data book and it has a partial
of what the coco1 might have been.
Allison
At 03:05 AM 6/11/97 +0000, you wrote:
>Hi, The grey/beige HP terminal with heavy keyboard that have
>black and white "squashed" monitor shaped does have this 8008 chip
>in one of its "card". Accessible by tripping two catches between the
If you're speaking of the venerable HP2645 terminal, I know it had a Z80 in
it. (And some people did rig it up as a crude CP/M machine.) Dunno about
the 8008 though...
--------------------------------------------------------------------- O-
Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad
sinasohn(a)crl.com that none but madmen know."
Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates
San Francisco, California http://www.crl.com/~sinasohn/
At 11:17 PM 6/10/97 -0700, you wrote:
>One more...hope this doesn't get annoying.
Nope, just frustrating -- none of them are near me! 8^(
--------------------------------------------------------------------- O-
Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad
sinasohn(a)crl.com that none but madmen know."
Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates
San Francisco, California http://www.crl.com/~sinasohn/
At 09:24 AM 6/11/97 -0700, Sam wrote:
>On Wed, 11 Jun 1997, James Willing wrote:
>
>> Mayhaps, as a parallel to the 'Classic Computer Index", we need to develop
>> a 'Classic Computer Collectors Index' so that we know where others are
>> when things like this pop up so that we could have some local options.
>> Even if a person did not want the particular item, they might be able to
>> pick it up while arrangements were made to get it to someone who did want
>> it.
>>
>> Or am I just dreaming out loud?
>
>Not at all. This is a terrific idea! I nominate Bill Whitson to
>formulate this list :)
>
>
>Sam
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
>
I agree completely. I would be willing to go pick up stuff headed for the
dump and hold it till someone could make space for it. My house only has
room for a small select few computers, but I could make room in storage
until shipping could be arranged. We ought to make this like a Mr. (or Ms.)
Rescue for classics. When the list is started, put me down for the Austin,
TX area.
Isaac Davis
idavis(a)comland.com
indavis(a)juno.com
At 01:59 PM 6/10/97 -0700, you wrote:
>> << EVERYONE knows that MY COMMODORE 64 is WAY better than YOUR APPLE! >>
>
>It's hard to have holy wars like the old days when you now own all the
>machines you used to make fun of.
Actually, it's easier! You can argue with yourself! (Hint: don't do this
on the bus; people look at you funny.)
--------------------------------------------------------------------- O-
Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad
sinasohn(a)crl.com that none but madmen know."
Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates
San Francisco, California http://www.crl.com/~sinasohn/
At 01:31 PM 6/10/97 -0700, you wrote:
>
>This is a reminder for those in the San Francisco Bay area that
>on June 14 in Mountain View, there will be an junk/electronics sale.
Thanks for the reminder! I've missed the last one (or two?) and would have
missed this one otherwise.
>There will likely be a small get together (two people so far). Anyone who
>is interested in the get together let me know. There is a pretty good
As of right now, the only thing on my calendar for Saturday is Flag day (and
I don't own a flag.) If I can keep that open, and convince my girlfriend
and/or my dad they'd enjoy it, I'll be there. (hmmm... Add to Friday's to
do list: Rob Bank) Let me know details... Thanks!
--------------------------------------------------------------------- O-
Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad
sinasohn(a)crl.com that none but madmen know."
Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates
San Francisco, California http://www.crl.com/~sinasohn/
>Date: Mon, 9 Jun 1997 23:47:56 -0700 (PDT)
>From: Sam Ismail <dastar(a)crl.com>
>Subject: C64 thingy
>I picked up a Commodore 64 a while ago that had this special board
>inside. It was inserted between the keyboard and the motherboard. IE.
>it had a connector that plugged into the keyboard rolex connector on the
>motherboard and then the keyboard ribbon cable plugged into it. Then it
>had a 9-pin male D-type connector than came out the back of the C64. My
>guess is that it was for a numeric keypad or something. I forgot what
>was stamped on the circuit board. Any ideas?
Sounds like a keypad connector to me, I think it may be a Cardco
keypad (there I think was an option to plug it into the joystick port
and interface it via software.
I have some other brand which uses a DIP connector (like old apple
paddle/joysticks), unfortunately I do not have the 64 with the interface
board though.
Larry Anderson
--
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Visit our web page at: http://www.goldrush.com/~foxnhare
Call our BBS (Silicon Realms BBS 300-2400 baud) at: (209) 754-1363
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
> The smaller is the TRS80 color computer with real keys on the keyboard.
> I have two of these one the case was wiped out, board is ok.
>
>Lacking docs I presume these have rom Basic. What expansion is possible
>(there is a port) and how hard. Do they run any real OSs or some TRShack?
RS sold OS/9 for the color computer. I don't know what models are required
to run it.
>What's the odds of finding DOCS especially schematics?
RS published a technical manual for the color computer; I have a copy of it
somewhere. HOWEVER I found there's an app note from Motorola with schematics
that almost exactly match those in the RS technical manual. I don't recall
whether it was a 6809 app note or a 6847 app note though. If you can find a
set of old Motorola data books you may be able to find it.
Roger Ivie
ivie(a)cc.usu.edu
Please have a look at my collection at:
<http://www.ndirect.co.uk/~e.tedeschi/homecomp.htm>
I am looking for a 4004 microprocessor. Also for an 8008. Does anybody
know of one going for sale? I will pay cash or have many British
computers for trade/swap.
Thanks
enrico
--
================================================================
Enrico Tedeschi, 54, Easthill Drive, BRIGHTON BN41 2FD, U.K.
tel/fax +(0)1273 701650 (24 hours) or 0850 104725 mobile
website <http://www.ndirect.co.uk/~e.tedeschi>
================================================================
visit Brighton: <http://www.brighton.co.uk/tourist/welcome.htm>
HI,
In my non-op list of equipment I have three cocos apparently operational.
They are of two different styles.
The smaller is the TRS80 color computer with real keys on the keyboard.
I have two of these one the case was wiped out, board is ok.
The larger is TDP-100 personal color computer with chiclet keys.
Lacking docs I presume these have rom Basic. What expansion is possible
(there is a port) and how hard. Do they run any real OSs or some TRShack?
What's the odds of finding DOCS especially schematics?
I have a xt class machine with an Intel Inboard386...(works too!) what's the
odds of finding schemtics or expansion ram for it? The 1meg of ram is tight
for somne stuff. Currently I use it as a 10x faster xt.
Allison
>>DigCam: + Easy to use, convenient
>> - Expensive to buy, somewhat limited capacity,
>> no hard copy of images (except printer output)
>
>>Photo/Scanner: + Hard Copy, can be used for other stuff too
>> - Film and Developing can be expensive, takes time
>
>>Camcorder: + Easy to use, Allows for selecting the right image
>> from several views
>> - Video capture hardware/software isn't cheap
>
Well, I guess it's time to put my two cents in. I own a Kodak DC20 digital
camera, and a handheld color scanner.
The digital camera is the basic model, no frills. It holds 8 hi res
pics, and 16 low res pics. As far as quality goes, it really depends on the
lighting conditions and the distance that you are going to be shooting at.
It can get some incredible pictures, but it does have it share of bad ones.
As far as taking pictures of our computers, it is great for taking good
desriptive pictures (here's my pdp 11...) If you wanted to take a picture of
a circuit board and be able to make out the chip numbers and wiring, forget
it. It has decent resolution, but nothing like a scanner and a 35mm photo,
and the light has to be right with this camera, since there is no flash
(yet). I usually save the pictures in jpeg format, and each hi-res picture
is about 25-35k. Not too bad on the storage side.
My handheld color scanner is absolutely great. Unfortunately, I am
always wanting to scan something in 1" wider than the scanner, which makes
it a real pain even with great picture editing software. I would really
recommend a flatbed scanner, but you might as well grab another hard drive
while you are at it. Those color hi-res pictures take up more space than it
took to put a man on the moon. Also, as a side note, it takes about 55
seconds to warm up the bulb on the color scanner. It's not a major gripe,
just an inconvenience.
Bottom line: My suggestion is - If you are looking to take pictures
of your collection (for personal or insurance reasons) and store them in a
safe, and take a buch of cheap pictures of your kids, go with the digital
camera. If you are looking to scan in boards and pieces of equipment, and
are looking for extreme detail, I would go with the scanner. I find that
having both is really convenient, and I can pretty much get the results that
I am looking for and not be dissappointed with either. If I only owned one
of them, I could definitely see times when I would not be happy with the
results. As for the Camcorder products, those are next on my list.
Isaac Davis
idavis(a)comland.com
indavis(a)juno.com
> Color Computer 2: White, 4K-64K
One is definatly a coco2 with 64k. no question.
> Color Computer 3: White, 64K-128K
I suspect the board I have is one of these with 128k (four 41464s) and
a lot of the logic is on an ASIC.
> I've never heard of a TDP-100. The Color Computers had ROM BASIC and
TDP is TANDY DATA PRODUCTS when tandy was trying to seperate from the
Radiocrap idea in the early 80s.
TDP-100 It's coco 6809, cart port and configureable for 16 or 64k. This one
has 64k I suspect it's the COCO-1 but case color is white and black and
keyboard is chicklet style. Has all the joystick connectors and the like.
It's design is lots of chips compared to the other two I suspect early
design. Also it's serial number 0000038! It also has lots of mods.
The inboard386/pc and inboard386/at are similar save for one is designed to
replace the 8088 and is 8-bit ISA and the other the 286 with 16bit ISA.
The /PC version has 1mb of ram but with more (4mb) I could use it as a slow
(it's 16mhz) linux box. A schematic of the connector for the ram expansion
would be useful, I can hack my own board. The PC version cannot use the
motherboard ram as far as I can see in the book and even if it could I need
more.
Allison
To clarify some statements that have already been made on the TI-99/4A, I'd
like to comment:
<< True, that's bizarre... they appear to be especially common in the
northwest. But just try to find a PEB! >>
There were approximately 1+ million consoles manufactured by Texas
Instruments from 1981 through early 1984. There were also approximately
250,000 Peripheral Expansion Systems also manufactured. So, while it's true
there were more consoles, PEB's are not hard to find.
<< What I need is the Speech Editor cartridge! >>
To Jeff Hellige - these are little rare to find, but are still available. I
got mine for around $20 from someone in California. But, you can call up any
vendor and get them from around $25-30, due to their rarity.
<< Personally, my opinion of the TI-99/4a varies from stupid piece of shit
to semi-decent machine. Today I feel like stupid piece of shit. It was
almost completely closed, it's BASIC sucked and was slow, it's keyboard
sucked, and if it wasn't for the hordes of TI-99 faithfuls it would've
been just a footnote. I don't understand what the big attraction was,
but then, I came from the world of Apple ][, to which nothing could
compare (uh oh, here come the holy wars). >>
To Sam -- The TI-99/4A, in my opinion, is at the very least a semi-decent
machine. The BASIC interpreter is what slowed things down a bit, but you
have to look at it from a different perspective - no PEEKs or POKEs just to
program graphics and/or sound, like some other machines (no, I'm good enough
not to mention any names). The keyboard did "suck" compared to that of a PC,
but it was very simple - especially suited towards children. From my own
experience, I found the keyboard easy to use compared to a Commodore 64 - the
touch response was better. The big attraction came from the fact that it was
16-bit, had full color, sprites (smoothly-moving objects), excellent speech
synthesis, easy to use cartridges, and expandability. Some of the games were
amazing (like Parsec and Alpiner) - way ahead of its time. And you can do
word processing and spreadsheets with it as well.
<< Even the original PC was really bad, mostly closed design. They
were all noteable as it told marketers what would fly and what had to be
there. Amusingly the ti has what every P5 box has today, graphics, sound,
games so they weren't that far off <in a perverse sort of way>. >>
Allison -- I couldn't agree with you more. The TI-99/4A was an amazing
machine when you look back at all the components and features it had. It's
still easier than my P120 I'm using to type this message - as there's no
icons to click, no finagling around to get where you need to go or to do
this. Just press 2 keys and you're in the program with the TI. Now that I
call ease-of-use!
<< EVERYONE knows that MY COMMODORE 64 is WAY better than YOUR APPLE! >>
To Les -- Yes, the Commodore 64 IS better than the Apple - I must admit!
---------------------
And to Bill and others -- So you can begin to see with all these replies that
people at least knew about the TI-99/4A and its positives/negatives. But
that's to go with any machine. It's about what you learned on, and what you
grew up with. In my case, this is the computer I learned on, and I'll stick
with it forever because once you get used to one thing, it's hard to change
sometimes. Same goes I'm sure for everyone else on this list server.
The TI-99/4A was one of the most popular computers ever made back in the
early 80's. Again, 1 million consoles gives you a hint. And, I'll tell you
why they're like roaches sitting around -- most people bought them for around
$50-100 when TI was going out of business (late 1983 into early 1984), played
a few games on them, and then said, "I'm done!". Instead of throwing them in
the garbage, they thought they were worth something, and now you see them all
around in thrift stores. I even went to a local fair around town last year
and picked one up for $5! But remember, for these people, that's all they
wanted to do with this computer. But for those that were serious, you could
do much, much more with it!
Bryan Nicalek
bnicalek(a)aol.com
jpero(a)mail.cgo.wave.ca writes:
> Hi, The grey/beige HP terminal with heavy keyboard that have
> black and white "squashed" monitor shaped does have this 8008 chip
> in one of its "card". Accessible by tripping two catches between the
> shells to hinge up the monitor to reveal the cards in bottom case
> part.
What you're writing about is the HP 264X line of terminals. They
don't all use 8008 CPUs. The 2640s do, but I'm sure the 2645s use
8080s (and think the 2641, 2644, 2648A do too), and the 2647F uses some
proprietary HP CPU. Not sure about 2642, 2647A, or the 2649s which
are customized for specific applications, e.g. there was a flavor of
2649 used as the system console for HP 3000/33 minis.
Fun terminals. I could go on for a while about them.
The 2640s and 2641/4/5s have a facility allowing the downloading of
code from the host. Somewhere around here I have a Space Invaders
game and a Pac-Man game that run in the 2645s, and have heard of a
driving game. Also have heard that some folks in the Gaithersburg, MD
area turned a 2645 into some sort of BBS some years ago.
The "two catches" are hidden. Look on the case left and right sides,
you will see horizontal slots between the base and the CRT housing.
Inside those horizontal slots, a couple of inches back from the front,
are vertical slots. The object is to stick a "terminal key"
(basically a thin flat piece of metal, but a stiff paperclip can be
made to serve) into those slots to push open the catches that are at
the top of the slots. While pushing, lift the CRT housing. If like
most of us you have no more than two hands (and only one key) you may
find it convenient to do one side at a time, which is OK.
-Frank McConnell
I want your old microcomputers from the 70s and 80s. I do NOT want any
common PC clone. I am looking mainly for stuff that doesn't exist in
any way shape or form today. I am looking for rarer models, as I already
own most of the more common micros of the early micro-revolution.
Please e-mail me at dastar(a)crl.com with what you got and we can work out
a deal. Thanks.
---END USENET MESSAGE---
So this guy, Gary, responds and tells me he has an IMSAI 8080 and a Victor
9000 he wouldn't mind getting rid of. SCORE! So anyway, he used to be an
attendee of the Homebrew Computer Club, which if you don't know was a
bunch of hackers and geeks (including of course Jobs and Wozniak) who got
together every week or month in (I believe) either Mountain View or
Sunnyvale, to show off the computers they were building. Read Steven
Levy's _Hackers_ for the complete (and very entertaining) story. He was
telling me all these cool stories. One was about how a Lawrence Livermore
National Lab employee made a bunch of paper-tape copies of Gates' BASIC
when it first came out and brought them to a meeting of the HCC, claiming
that on his way over, a box of stuff dropped from a bus, and when he went
to go check it out he found all these weird paper tapes in it (40 or so)
and that everyone was welcome to have them, whereby he began tossing them
out into the audience. Gary of course got one of them, and invited me to
look at and touch it under the condition that I didn't drool on it and
muss it up. It was in perfect condition! The neatest thing about it is
that it had "Z80 BASIC COPYRIGHT MICROSOFT" punched into it (that isn't
the actual message, I've forgotten what it said already). He said the
week after, Bill himself showed up and whined to the crowd, asking "How
am I supposed to make any money off this if you guys are pirating my
stuff?" I'm sure, in hindsight, Bill certainly doesn't mind the fact
that the Microsoft BASIC standard created by the piracy of his original
BASIC has made him a $32 billion man today.
He went on to tell me the stories about how he built his IMSAI and applied
fixes and patches for flaws in the design, and showed me the schematics
and took me through some of the documentation. He's a really neat guy.
We're going to be staying in touch. He's moving soon and he says when he
cleans his garage out and figures what else he has he will probably let me
have some of it, including his full run of Byte magazine starting from
issue 4. He also has a CompuPro 8/16 that he wanted to hang onto, as well
as a Heathkit H19 terminal that he built from the kit, but he says he
might not want to take them with him.
So anyway, that's what a day of tooling around the bay area got me. I also
met Paul Coad at a parking lot sale and we ran into Doug Coward (you may
have checked out his Web museum page, I forget the URL).
It was a good day.
Sam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
Sam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
Another one, hope someone gets lucky.
Sam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Z100 free
Conditions:
YOU PICK UP.
YOU TAKE ALL SOFTWARE AND MANUALS
I live in Northeastern Maryland. Close to an I95 exit. If interested
email me at ltelets(a)tec1.apg.army.mil
It has two 5 and a quarter floppies amd a detached monochrome monitor.
It runs but could make a fine boat anchor *8^)
--
Sam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
Hope someone can take advantage of this.
Sam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
---------- Forwarded message ----------
TeleVideo TS802 computer uupdated with 20 meg hard drive (partitioned
10/10).
Its free.
Machine has several upgrades; CPU speed 5 mhz, faster memory chips,
Zsystem operating system. User friendly ZCPR plus auto loading function
keys and a whole bunch of other upgrades I forget.
Has Wordstar ver. 4.0, dBase ll loaded and configured on the hard drive.
Machine has original manual and shipping carton.
It's located in Edmonton, AB, Canada
you can contact me: peterc(a)freenet.edmonton.ab.ca
Peter
--
Sam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
>Date: Fri, 6 Jun 1997 09:54:59 -0700
>From: Uncle Roger <sinasohn(a)crl.com>
>Subject: Digital Imaging (was: Re: Chisolm)
>I have been trying to decide the best way to get images into digital form.
>Naturally, a digital camera is one way, but not the only. There's also the
>photo/scanner method, camcorder/video capture, and probably others. As I
>see it, the pros/cons are:
>DigCam: + Easy to use, convenient
> - Expensive to buy, somewhat limited capacity,
> no hard copy of images (except printer output)
>Photo/Scanner: + Hard Copy, can be used for other stuff too
> - Film and Developing can be expensive, takes time
>Camcorder: + Easy to use, Allows for selecting the right image
> from several views
> - Video capture hardware/software isn't cheap
>So, does anyone have thoughts on which is best? I'd like a scanner for
>other things, but they're expensive too. There's also the question of 35mm
>vs. polaroid and type of scanner. (Not to mention where the heck would I
>put it!) I've got a camcorder and my girlfriend's mac supposedly can do
>video capture as is, but I've got to find software and figure it out.
----------->
I myself went with the scanner, mainly because I want to do some OCR
with it as well as scanning, flat bed is better than a ahndheld, and you
would not believe the prices nowadays. You can get a new Microtek E3
for under $200! (for IBM or Mac!) Check your local discount mail-order
firm.
- - - - - - - -
BTW (and to keep on-topic), anyone know of some decent OCR software that
can reliably convert dot-matrix hard copy? The Omnipage LE (shipped
with the scanner) can't make heads or tails out of most of it (and
barely works with the dot-matrix stuff it can. :/ (I have a couple
issues of the Commodore Gazzette (pre-COMPUTE!) and alot of it is dot
matrix.)
Larry Anderson
--
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Visit our web page at: http://www.goldrush.com/~foxnhare/
Call our BBS (Silicon Realms BBS 300-2400 baud) at: (209) 754-1363
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
At 02:01 PM 6/10/97 -0400, you wrote:
>(there is a port) and how hard. Do they run any real OSs or some TRShack?
I am told that OS-9 is a pretty good OS, but I don't have any real
experience with it. I'm sure there are OS-9 resources out on the net
somewhere...
--------------------------------------------------------------------- O-
Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad
sinasohn(a)crl.com that none but madmen know."
Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates
San Francisco, California http://www.crl.com/~sinasohn/
>
> After the collapse of the market for the TI 99/4a, Radio Shack sold many
> of the parts (including the keyboard, the internal switching power supply
The TI99/4a is not a switcher. I have both the RS powersupply board and
two TI99/4a (a black one and a grey one) and neither use a switcher!
Now the original ti99/4 with the chicklet keyboard (scarce) did use the
switcher.
Allison
> Somewhere in the back of my head I had the idea that a TDP-100
> was a Coco with added serial hardware included so that Radio
> Shack could sell it as a color video terminal. Does anyone
> else remember this, or am I completely out of my mind?
Looking at the board and my moto data book says no serial devices (6850
or the like).
Allison
Im not rich, Don't have one. Do I want one? Help me out here? what is it?
----------
> From: Kevan Heydon <kevan(a)motiv.co.uk>
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
> Subject: Sage IV...
> Date: Tuesday, June 10, 1997 11:08 AM
>
>
> Hi all,
>
> I have just recieved this email offering me a Sage IV. I am not
> interested as I already have one so the cost of shipping to here in the
> UK isn't worth it. So if someone wants it contact him directly.
>
> Kevan
>
> ------- Forwarded Message
>
> To: collector(a)heydon.org
> Subject: sage IV
>
> Hello, I own a Sage IV computer and have some word processing software
> and spreadsheet software for the computer. I also own two amber
> monitors for the Sage IV. If you are interested in purchasing these, or
> know a source in the United States that is interested in this computer
> equipment, please leave me a note on the web, or at CompuServe 76627,224
> Jim Krasno (my wife is Nancy Nelson)
> Jim
>
> ------- End of Forwarded Message
>
>
>
>
Hi,
I should qualify myself as comming from when personal computer meant you
owned a computer be it a minuteman-1 missle guidence computer(all
transistor), mark-8 or a PDP-8!
The TI99/4a was 81 technology and should be compared to that not a P1000000!
This seems to occur often.
It compared to the PCjr with the chicklet keyboard or COCO1 with same at
a time when the osborne-1 totable was new and neat. Apple/III had bombed on
the market.
It compared to z80 based system at 4mhz and a few emerging at 6mhz or the
other non-IBM-PC 8088/6 based s100 systems. There were even 68000 based
system but 8mhz were fast ones.
It was color! At a time when that capability was uncommon.
It didn't require an engineer to hook it up or make it do
something/anything. At that time S100 systems, apples, and the like were
rarely packaged systems. The trs80 and others started something with ready
to run boxes that were also slow and cranky.
Can I say it better as...back then a lot of things were starting to shake
out, emerge and outright happen. The TI99/4a was one of those and it was
far cheaper than a PC even at it introduction price. 1980 to 1984 was an
interesting time. Who knows, if IBM and intel didn't hook up we could be
running unix on a fifth generation z8000.
Allison
> I have a question for you folks. I have a basic TI 99/4a.... that's it. N
> cables, no peripherals, no nothing with it. I am wanting to get this
Minimally you need the power brick that was 18Vac and 8.5vac, and also the
video cable that took compossite color to channel 3/4 or the other that
allowed direct hookup to the TI color monitor.
FYI sams photofact had a print set for the machine and it was set CC2,
TI99/4a model PHC004a. There was also a 66 page technical manual from TI
on the console and expansion box.
Allison
Actually the Tandy 600 was a 1989 concoction. It looks like an early
Toshiba laptop, with flip-up narrow LCD display. It has Multiplan, a
subset of MS Word, a built-in modem, 360K 3.5" drive, 80x16 display, and
sold for $999. I passed up one of these at a swap meet a few weeks ago.
Kai
> ----------
> From: Marvin[SMTP:marvin@rain.org]
> Reply To: classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu
> Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 1997 10:21 AM
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
> Subject: Tandy 600
>
> In checking through the master computer lists, I found a Tandy 600
> computer that is not listed. In checking through the docs, I can't
> find
> any reference to what the CPU is and I would prefer not to take it
> apart
> to find out:). Anyone know what CPU it uses? The manual was
> copyright
> 1985 but I don't know when the machine was actually released although
> I
> would *assume* 1985. It operates with MS-DOS style files and with all
> software residing in ROM. It appears that the basic machine comes
> with
> 32K of RAM expandable to 128K or 224K with special 96K upgrade kits.
> It
> is classified as a "lap-size" or "handheld" computer; this with the
> dimensions being 11 1/2" x 12 1/2" x 2 1/2" and weighing about 9 1/2
> pounds. It comes with a 16 line x 80 character LCD screen, 3 1/2"
> drive
> and a build-in modem. Built in software includes MS Works V1.2 with
> Word, Calendar, File, Telecom, and Multiplan.
>
This is a reminder for those in the San Francisco Bay area that
on June 14 in Mountain View, there will be an junk/electronics sale.
The location will be at Haltek (1062 Linda Vista Ave (Shoreline exit off
101)). I believe that this sale will have stuff from 7 different stores.
The sale should run from 9am to 3pm. The stores participating are:
Alltronics
Campbell Techinical
Excess Solutions
Halted Specialities
Haltek
Test Labs
Weirdstuff
Directions:
Take Highway 101 to Shoreline Blvd. West
Turn Left on Terra Bella
Turn left on Linda vista.
Haltek is at the end of the road on the left.
There will likely be a small get together (two people so far). Anyone who
is interested in the get together let me know. There is a pretty good
(if slightly expensive) Mexican food place nearby. Within a few miles
>from Haltek just about any kind of food can be found.
I'm not associated with any of the participants, I just a customer.
--pec
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
> RS published a technical manual for the color computer; I have a copy of i
> somewhere. HOWEVER I found there's an app note from Motorola with schemati
> that almost exactly match those in the RS technical manual. I don't recal
> whether it was a 6809 app note or a 6847 app note though. If you can find
> set of old Motorola data books you may be able to find it.
Since I have three distinctly different generation boards I suspect the moto
prints would hold to the oldest.
Allison
Due to massive amounts of caffeine & sleep deprivation, Doug Spence said:
>...and a BIZARRE
>piece of IBM equipment: an external 5-1/4" floppy drive, model 4869.
Actually, if one worked in an IBM shop, they were quite commonplace...
especially when the PS/2's came out. The PS/2's had *no* way to hook an
internal 5.25" floppy (due to size of case... and IBM's wanting to create a
new standard...) so you had to go external if you wanted/needed to share
data with other machines with 5.25" drives.
>Now, on the subject of that weirdo IBM 4869 disk drive... what does this
>plug into? The guy I bought it from said it was for an old PC. It has a
>37-pin connector on the end of its cable. It's LARGER in two dimensions
>than even a Commodore 1541 drive. Its power switch is very high quality.
>:) Would this be a 160K drive? I haven't ripped it apart (yet) to see
>how many heads the thing has.
The size of the drive is mainly because of the PS & case (the case is
*very* well RFI shielded)... the drive itself is a standard 1/2 height 360K
40TKDSDD 48TPI drive, with a standard 34-pin edge connector. I have one
sitting on my desk at home, modified to use a standard cable (read: hole
cut with dremel tool in top of case to fit cable) so I can use it with
either my PC or with my Tandy CoCo3. *Very* nice drive. Trying to find a
few more, so I can floppyize my CoCo2 and CoCo1.
If you (or anyone) needs more info on this drive, lemme know. But I can
tell you, that just taking it apart is *fun*, if you have 3-4 hours to get
it apart and back together. I've had mine disassembled 3-4 times now, to
figure where to cut holes & stuff for my cable mods.
Enjoy!
Roger "Merch" Merchberger
--
Roger Merchberger | If at first you don't succeed,
Programmer, NorthernWay | nuclear warhead disarmament should
zmerch(a)northernway.net | *not* be your first career choice.
I have one of these and I believe it is based on the Intel 8086.
Bob
----------
From: Marvin
Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 1997 1:21 PM
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
Subject: Tandy 600
In checking through the master computer lists, I found a Tandy 600
computer that is not listed. In checking through the docs, I can't find
any reference to what the CPU is and I would prefer not to take it apart
to find out:). Anyone know what CPU it uses? The manual was copyright
1985 but I don't know when the machine was actually released although I
would *assume* 1985. It operates with MS-DOS style files and with all
software residing in ROM. It appears that the basic machine comes with
32K of RAM expandable to 128K or 224K with special 96K upgrade kits. It
is classified as a "lap-size" or "handheld" computer; this with the
dimensions being 11 1/2" x 12 1/2" x 2 1/2" and weighing about 9 1/2
pounds. It comes with a 16 line x 80 character LCD screen, 3 1/2" drive
and a build-in modem. Built in software includes MS Works V1.2 with
Word, Calendar, File, Telecom, and Multiplan.
Subject: Re: Seattle Computer CPU Module
> The 8080 is a 40-pin package. The Z-80 is a 48-pin package. If I
> remember correctly (my life in computers started with the Z-80, really,
Whn I got up off the floor laughing... The z80, 8085, 8080 are all 40 pin
packages and the z80 in any varient was never in a 48 pin package. The z180
aka 64180 was a 64 pin package or 68pin plcc.
> since my friend with the Altair when I was in the USAF didn't let me at
> the hardware, he knew my [inclined to injure myself] soldering skills).
> This generally means that an adapter was needed to plug a Z-80 into a
> board designed for a 8080. But I started my real computer career when
Not true. there were z80 based boards to replace the 8080 board. For a
while due to costs there where boards that carried z80s that would plug into
an 8080 socket to upgrade the machine to z80 perfomance...
> computers showed up where you didn't have to count the pins on the CPU,
> specifically the TRS-80 (later renamed the Model One). I remember the
> first time I looked down into a Model 16 and saw the MC68000 and wondered
> why the hell that thing wasn't climbing up the side of the Empire State
> Building.
What you missed was the ti9900 chip that was 3 years older and also 64 pins.
FYI the ti9900 chips was a 16bit cpu!
Allison
--LAA09304.865785477/europe.std.com--
Hi all,
I have just recieved this email offering me a Sage IV. I am not
interested as I already have one so the cost of shipping to here in the
UK isn't worth it. So if someone wants it contact him directly.
Kevan
------- Forwarded Message
To: collector(a)heydon.org
Subject: sage IV
Hello, I own a Sage IV computer and have some word processing software
and spreadsheet software for the computer. I also own two amber
monitors for the Sage IV. If you are interested in purchasing these, or
know a source in the United States that is interested in this computer
equipment, please leave me a note on the web, or at CompuServe 76627,224
Jim Krasno (my wife is Nancy Nelson)
Jim
------- End of Forwarded Message
At 07:23 PM 6/9/97 -0700, Jeff wrote:
>written specifically for the Bit-3 or not? Also, could someone tell me
>the power requirements for an Atari 850 interface, as I also picked up
>one of those but it didn't have the PSU. Thanks.
>
> Jeff jeffh(a)unix.aardvarkol.com
>--
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
>Collector of Classic Computers: Amiga 1000, Apple II+, Atari 800,
>800XL, MegaST-2, XE System, Coleco Adam, Commodore 128D, 16, Plus/4,
>VIC-20, IBM 5155, Kaypro 2X, Mattel Aquarius, Osbourne Executive,
>Radofin Aquarius, TI-99/4A, Sinclair ZX-81, Timex-Sinclair 1000, TRS-80
>Color Computer 3, Model 4, and Model 4P. Also Odyssey2, Atari SuperPong
>and Atari 2600VCS game consoles
>
I have been using the same power supply for my 850 as my 800. Come to think
of it, just about everything I have hooked to my atari is using the exact
same power supplies, except for the 1027 printer which has a different sized
connector. I will double check the 850 manual when I get home, but I know I
just grabbed a regular old atari 800 power supply and started using it. If
it turns out to be different, I will post the requirements.
Isaac Davis
idavis(a)comland.com
indavis(a)juno.com
Although I currently have a decent QBUS-to-SCSI adapter (Sigma Information
Systems model RQD11), it does not appear to be capable of handling, or
booting from, a CD-ROM drive with its current revision of firmware.
Despite this, it does appear to work quite well (recognized by the
MicroVAX it's plugged into, sees devices on the SCSI bus). Since I need to
boot from CD, though, the board is of little use to me in its current state.
Anyone on here interested in maybe trading me an Emulex or Dilog SCSI card
for this one? I do have the original manual (and if you think that was easy
to find...) ;-)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bruce Lane, Sysop, The Dragon's Cave BBS (Fidonet 1:343/272)
(Hamateur: WD6EOS) (E-mail: kyrrin(a)wizards.net)
http://www.wizards.net/technoid
"Our science can only describe an object, event, or living thing in our own
human terms. It cannot, in any way, define any of them..."
> Personally, my opinion of the TI-99/4a varies from stupid piece of shit
> to semi-decent machine. Today I feel like stupid piece of shit. It was
> almost completely closed, it's BASIC sucked and was slow, it's keyboard
I have two of the beasts and a expansion box with floppy, ram, aftermarket
ram and rs232 and ever the little talker thing and a box of games.
It is slow. The manuals for the cpu and expansion were available, I got
them. It's a compilation of the things you can do to a good cpu to make it
run slow and try to do everything.
> but then, I came from the world of Apple ][, to which nothing could
> compare (uh oh, here come the holy wars).
It's attraction? One it was cheaper than an apple with disks! When TI had
the great sell off the console was $50, expansion $50, and modules $25-100.
That made it appealingly cheap for what it was. I got my during the fire
sale so they have been with me since new and work great. Parsec is still
a favorite game. Since I have the editor, assember and other packages
I also use it for assembly of TI9900 code for the technico board.
An aside: The ti994a was an attempt at the time of emerging PCs to deliver
the home computing applance. Everyone had an idea and generally the all
were poor. Even the original PC was really bad, mostly closed design. They
were all noteable as it told marketers what would fly and what had to be
there. Amusingly the ti has what every P5 box has today, graphics, sound,
games so they weren't that far off <in a perverse sort of way>.
Allison
Greetings!
I will be going to the US next week and would naturally like to take the
chance to find some classic stuff. It presently looks like I will be
moving around the states Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota.
Unfortunately, airline baggage regulations will not allow me to purchase
any considerable amounts of hardware, so I will be mostly interested in
software.
Does anyone have any information about shops or other places in those
states where I may purchase classic software (or hardware)? I mostly
collect Commodore, but anything is of potential interest.
/Fredrik
I picked up a Commodore 64 a while ago that had this special board
inside. It was inserted between the keyboard and the motherboard. IE.
it had a connector that plugged into the keyboard rolex connector on the
motherboard and then the keyboard ribbon cable plugged into it. Then it
had a 9-pin male D-type connector than came out the back of the C64. My
guess is that it was for a numeric keypad or something. I forgot what
was stamped on the circuit board. Any ideas?
Sam
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass