8 Jan
2014
8 Jan
'14
6:32 p.m.
Since you and others here are familiar with the TI-59, quick question. I
see cartridges and magnetic strips for sale here and there for the 59. I
was hoping to get some just for the interesting/historic sake but I haven't
seen it clearly stated one way or another. Do you NEED the cartridge to
use those strips or are they all independent? (Ex. the Master Library
Module 1 seems to be packaged with a dozen or so programs but then lots of
folks have one or the other/incomplete sets).
Often the strips that came with the ROM modules were not magnetic cards
atall, just labels
A program loadaed from magnetic card use the top row of keys (A-E) to
run it, and thus the magnetric card had spaces on it to write on the
describtions of each function. After running the card trhogu the reader,
you put it in a slot near the top of the machine so that the labels lined
up with the keys.
Pre-recorded cards had the labels printed on, of course.
Programs in the modules sued the top row of keys in much the smae way, so
they came with strips of labels. You didn't put those through the card
reader, of course. But after selecting a program from the module you put
the approprirate strip in the slot to label the keys.
Thus, the strips are pretty much useless without the module. It's
pssible to use the module without the physical strips if you can find out
what the keys were used for.
-tony