On 29 Oct 2017, at 17:14, Jim Brain via cctalk
<cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
In case anyone has a fondness for niche tech...
At VCF-SE this year, the TI folks had a great exhibit, and perusing it I saw an
unfamiliar machine, the TI CC-40 (Compact Computer-40). While I was investigating, the
exhibitor (MillipedeMan aka Mark), told me the machines were frustrating to use, as TI
only supported one communications method on the unit, a proprietary protocol called
HexBus, and produced very low quantities of very few peripherals that work on the bus.
Most frustratingly, they never producing a mass storage device in any appreciable
quantity, and there was no other way to save programs written on the unit.
Mark did note there was an eBay seller liquidating units, so I bought a 2 unit combo from
eBay before I left the show.
Sadly, Summer happened, but I was finally able to get to the unit, and started working on
an SD-based mass storage device for the unit. It was an interesting journey to learn a
new protocol.
The (development in progress) result is HEX-TI-r, the HexBus SD drive:
GitHub source code is here:
https://github.com/go4retro/HEXTIr
Video of unit operating:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LX5ahVCRdvM
I don't have a project page up yet, but will work on that.
Wow! Many years ago I bought a CC-40 on ebay for pennies, boxed NOS. I forgot about it for
over a decade and found it again recently looking for other things, this could be an
excuse to get it out and see if it still works :)
Cheers,
?
Adrian/Witchy
Binary Dinosaurs - Celebrating Computing History from 1972 onwards