Ti99 goodies, motherboard troubleshooting, a special floppy disk and the worst joysticks ever?

Welcome to Midweek-Mini-Mail-Call #57! On this week's episode, load of Ti99 stuff including the worst joysticks ever made. Also, some Ti99 motherboard quick troubleshooting!
-- Video Links
Never going to give you up (music video)
• Rick Astley - Never Go...
Ti99 Repair:
Part 1: • TI99/4A Motherboard Re...
Part 2: • TI99/4A Motherboard Re...
Part 3: • Ti99/4A Motherboard Re...
Adrian's Digital Basement ][ (Second Channel)
/ @adriansdigitalbasement2
Support the channel on Patreon:
/ adriansdigitalbasement
-- Tools
Deoxit D5:
amzn.to/2VvOKy1
store.caig.com/s.nl/it.A/id.16...
O-Ring Pick Set: (I use these to lift chips off boards)
amzn.to/3a9x54J
Elenco Electronics LP-560 Logic Probe:
amzn.to/2VrT5lW
Hakko FR301 Desoldering Iron:
amzn.to/2ye6xC0
Rigol DS1054Z Four Channel Oscilloscope:
www.rigolna.com/products/digi...
Head Worn Magnifying Goggles / Dual Lens Flip-In Head Magnifier:
amzn.to/3adRbuy
TL866II Plus Chip Tester and EPROM programmer: (The MiniPro)
amzn.to/2wG4tlP
www.aliexpress.com/item/33000...
TS100 Soldering Iron:
amzn.to/2K36dJ5
www.ebay.com/itm/TS100-65W-MI...
EEVBlog 121GW Multimeter:
www.eevblog.com/product/121gw/
DSLogic Basic Logic Analyzer:
amzn.to/2RDSDQw
www.ebay.com/itm/USB-Logic-DS...
Magnetic Screw Holder:
amzn.to/3b8LOhG
www.harborfreight.com/4-inch-...
Universal ZIP sockets: (clones, used on my ZIF-64 test machine)
www.ebay.com/itm/14-16-18-20-...
RetroTink 2X Upconverter: (to hook up something like a C64 to HDMI)
www.retrotink.com/
Plato (Clone) Side Cutters: (order five)
www.ebay.com/itm/1-2-5-10PCS-...
Heat Sinks:
www.aliexpress.com/item/32537...
Little squeezy bottles: (available elsewhere too)
amzn.to/3b8LOOI
--- Links
My GitHub repository:
github.com/misterblack1?tab=r...
Commodore Computer Club / Vancouver, WA - Portland, OR - PDX Commodore Users Group
www.commodorecomputerclub.com/
--- Instructional videos
My video on damage-free chip removal:
• How to remove chips wi...
--- Music
Intro music and other tracks by:
Nathan Divino
@itsnathandivino

[@JessicaFEREM]

Rick Astley has embraced the meme, even sending people who rick roll him gifts like cardboard cutouts of himself, and handwritten letters. He also still uploads to a personal KZbin channel, where he talks sometimes and plays music. He's a really nice guy.

[@absalomdraconis]

Also, he did some sort of follow-on song after Rick-rolling started.

[@TyphinHoofbun]

He also showed up as a surprise on the 2008 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and sang the song, Rickrolling everyone in person.

[@squirlmy]

@Lassi Kinnunen 81 I remember the song coming out in 88, what happened between then, I wonder. Took the internet a while to catch up! YT itself is only 16 years old. Anyways, I once thought my roommate playing that repeatedly was my private personal hell, but I can now share being "Rick-rolled" globally!

[@IvorySoul696]

He may be nice, but he's greedy. He just NFT'ed his meme so no one can use it anywhere without paying for it now.

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@IvorySoul696 that’s not how NFTs work, they don’t confer rights over stuff like that, it’s just a certificate. Like if you bought a certificate saying you owned some painting but you couldn’t take it out the museum. Or those “adopt a tiger cub” things.

[@edmclaughlin4923]

Never mind the length of Digital Basement videos. Always interesting.

[@LauwersFreddy]

Adrian, you know we don’t mind Maxi Midweek Mail Calls at all, so don’t hold back on our behalf 😉. Thank you for making these videos!

[@ChristopherBushman]

Honestly Adrian, there's no need to apologize for your content. Everything you're doing is very enjoyable and it's great that the community is generous enough to reward you for that. The hobby is about sharing, exploring, and expressing love for this cool tech. Embrace the fact that you make cool content and that you are not an imposter. Keep up the good work and thanks again for the great and inspiring vids

[@avro683lancaster7]

Ti-99 Joystick: all Stick, no Joy

[@ellutrixkringe.4186]

ik

[@Gadgetman1989]

99% stick, 1% joy

[@CptJistuce]

They are, objectively, pretty bad controllers. But joy is subjective, and as a child who had a 4a as his only game machine for many years, those wretched little things contain quite a lot of joy.

[@squirlmy]

@@CptJistuce there's too many jokes with sexual innuendo that can be made with "joystick"!

[@39Kohm]

lol I just scrolled down to type that

[@DavePoo2]

18:00 - the Rick on the computer and the Rick on the mini screen on the left started at exactly the same time

[@moloch5801]

Nooo, that RF shield belonged in a museum!

[@samsungtelevision695]

You just inspired me to not throw out a TI 99 4a rf shield. Thank you

[@dhirendrapsingh6758]

Informative. Useful. Calming. Inspiring. Life-changing. Enjoyable. Heart-warming. Other.

[@infinitecanadian]

You shouldn't cut the cord off of the joysticks. That's vintage equipment right there. You can get adapters.

[@voneschenbachmusic]

Love the repairathons - it warms the heart to know machines are being fixed

[@An_Onion]

Holy cow that white ceramic chip looks nice. That one'd be going in my collection if it was me!

[@ArreglandoCosas]

Adrian: i will try to.make it mini Me: watching the lenght of the video going to 36 min haha Dont hold back adrian! Let it flow we love it

[@kins749]

Looking forward to the TI Repair--a-thon, one of my fave computers

[@Coderjo.]

I knew that was going to be a rickroll... That's Foone for you...

[@Coderjo.]

On the "I bet he doesn't mind" comment... There is that time he rickrolled the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Pretty sure he doesn't mind.

[@alexdhall]

Yep. Never change Foone! 😹

[@jeffnorris5735]

We need more Adrian! No need to apologize!

[@Walczyk]

0:42 i have a dirty mind lol, that had me stop for a second

[@EngineeringVignettes]

When finding the orientation of through-hole DIP parts, look on the PCB itself. Pad-1 is usually square and all others are a circular pad. Handy when a silkscreen layer was not used on the PCB... This is the typical PCB "footprint" pattern for systems of this era. Cheers,

[@bruwin]

It looks like TI did all circular pads on the 4a. I haven't seen a square pin 1 on any photo.

[@parrottm76262]

I love repairathons! Never stop, as long as you enjoy them yourself.

[@pyrotempestwing]

Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” is a legit good song.

[@organiccold]

Indeed it is, and 993 milion views proof in it

[@theannoyedmrfloyd3998]

Never going to give you up Never going to let you down Never going to run around And desert you

[@MrWaalkman]

I personally don't mind getting Rickrolled from time to time.

[@absalomdraconis]

@@MrWaalkman : I remember the alternative to Rick-rolling when it first started, I'll take Rick-rolling any time of day.

[@MrWaalkman]

​@@absalomdraconis Oh yeah, I had forgotten about that. It was everywhere on /. back in the day. Uggh.

[@Lethaltail]

hehe. "From Foone" 100% made my ears perk up

[@my3dprintedlife]

That intro music always gets me!

[@neddreadmaynard]

Hi Adrian, great vid!. Unfortunately Rick Astley does not make good money from that song. He was only the performer of the song. It has been calculated he made $12 from the You Tube incidents, I don't know if that's accurate but as an ex musician myself I know that performance rights are always worth peanuts (or Haribos ;) But as another of your viewers commented he is a nice guy who took it all in good faith.

[@RavenWolfRetroTech]

Another great mail call. A basic wire wrap tool is awesome for straightening pins. I know mine is around here somewhere, I just had it not 25 years ago!!!

[@DerekWitt]

lol! Getting rickrolled! I do like the song too. I remember when he himself rickrolled the entire country during a Thanksgiving Day Parade years ago! 😂

[@jasejj]

The Dragon 32 analogue joysticks definitely give the TI ones a run for their money in the crapness stakes!

[@KenKeenan1973]

Yes, they were horrible. One of my friends had a Dragon when we were kids and those joysticks made playing games on it a misery. The fact that they didn't return to the centre when you let go of the stick was particularly frustrating

[@Dukefazon]

18:05 - nice timing on the Tivoo! :D I bought one not long ago but if I have it on the whole day it drains pretty fast and while I'm working it's pretty distracting. But I like the feeling of it. And of course I bought it because I saw it on your shelf :) 26:50 - check the schematics/pins of the chip and find the GND then look at the socket where the GND leg is, you can do the same with voltages.

[@PaulinesPastimes]

You sure that isn't the motherboard out of the secret spy code version of the TI99? 😄. ❤ for the tee shirt.

[@williamsquires3070]

Adrian, use some 3M-brand spray adhesive; that’ll get the label to stick to the disk. You should be able to get it at any home improvement store. However, the “surprise” might be malware disguised as an 8-bit dance party. 🥺

[@absalomdraconis]

Better than malware disguised as a goat. Enough of that goat has been seen.

[@artstrutzenberg7197]

What would have been epic---if that rick roll video was converted into something that would need to be read/played from a TI-99 :D

[@Stefan_Payne]

I'd see the ATX Spec as what you should orient yourself on in terms of Voltages: +/- 5% for positive rails (that makes 4,75-5,25V OK and 11,4-12,6V) +/- 10% for negative rails

[@nickpalance3622]

First off I liked my Atari 5200 joysticks back in the day. Although that didn’t stop me from getting the Wico 5200 analog joystick replacement. The Coleco was .. just tolerable. My bid of worst joystick would be the Commodore proprietary DIN connector joysticks for the C16 and “Minus/4”. Even if they had the common 9-pin connector they would still be hell. Have you seen or felt one? I got two from Goodwill. Giving them money for these was -literally- “good will”.

[@UpLateGeek]

Classic foone! Definitely a foone thing to send a floppy with never gonna give you up on it! I didn't realise the previous TI stuff was also sent in by foone, I guess I wasn't paying attention to that part of the video. I'm a huge foone fan on twitter, so it's cool to see that they're also a fan of ADB! Anyway, I love a good repair-a-thon, so I can't wait to see either the TI or Commodore one.

[@magicknight8412]

The TI-99 I got a while back came with two of those joysticks, yes they were bloody awful, BUT they came with an extra. As they are not stable and fall over, the previous owner resolved this by hammering three SHARP nails through the base no doubt to fix them to a desk/piece of wood! So of course I cut and scratched myself handling them.

[@ulerhond]

You got Rick Rolled by a classic TI! :D Legendary! :D

[@Jody_VE5SAR]

The scrambled character display reminds me of Enigma... the TI99 Enigma machine!

[@frankowalker4662]

Hi Adrian, Great video, (if a bit short), a close second to those joysticks is the SJS1 that came with the ZX Spectrum +2.They were cheap as hell and very unresponsive. Looking forward to the TI 99 repair-a-thon. P.S. Ha ha, You got Rick-Rolled.

[@Ralph-yn3gr]

I'm convinced TI joysticks are actually one solid piece of plastic that you just bend in different directions. Thank god mine came with a Wico Atari adapter.

[@tjtarget2690]

Love your channel, very inspiring and informative! :D

[@Stjaernljus]

Foone floppies and rickrolls is kind of their brand

[@HunterZBNS]

As soon as Adrian read the disk label, I had a *really* good idea what it was going to be lol

[@guessundheit6494]

TI99-4/A: great keyboard, decent "advanced basic" and voice synthesizer, absolute garbage everywhere else (software library, peripherals, etc.). 34:50 - The Intellivision controller wasn't a joystick, but what a disaster. The t-shirt is a pleasant surprise.

[@stevencarlson5422]

You must do a video on those controllers on the second channel of you playing through a game, love to see that !!!

[@FPVphilly]

awesome, another amazing video from Adrian!

[@InsanePsychoRabbit]

I fell asleep while watching this and woke up to a lo-fi Rickroll. Actually, funny story about rickrolls, I was at a gem and mineral show and partway through I noticed that "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley was playing over the PA. So whoever was running the audio system Rickrolled EVERYONE attending the show. Problem is, most of the people there were fossils and probably didn't know what Rickrolling is.

[@jeromekentz6616]

The Ti99-4/A was my first computer back in 1981! I taught myself BASIC on it. I remember typing in my programs in every time I wanted to run it until I finally got a cassette adapter cable. I dreamed of getting a PEB with more memory and a disk drive, but that was impossible for 12 year old me. I also remember the metal chrome trim on the unit would often shock the crap out of me on many occasions! I later moved to by beloved Commodore 64 soon after.

[@REX-dc4dt]

I had a TI-99 and - after spending a fortune (for a teenager) - I snapped in half over my knee! I spent $50 to get the TI Tech Ref guide and found out how it had a bit-shift serial rom system on the base system - 8 clocks to read a byte from ROM - Never have seen a processor so crippled by its motherboard before or since.

[@atkelar]

I did have a similar "missing silk screen on the board" pin 1 issue with an EPROM in the video test signal generator... it got nice and toasty but surprisingly still worked, even after I singed my finger on it.

[@dmaifred]

I had Ti994a as my first computer. We would type in the games from a magazine , debug over the week and save on tape.

[@dsnein]

The term “minmax” comes to mind

[@AureliusR]

I'm sure someone has already commented on this, but that thing attached to the TI-99 power supply was put there as a result of a voluntary recall that TI did. They notified the FTC that there was a small chance of user shock in some very specific edge cases, so they added that thing to all new supplies, and you could send yours back for free to TI to have that added. Or maybe it was a fire hazard? Either shock or fire hazard, but I remember they said they had only been able to get it to happen under lab conditions, but just to be on the safe side I guess they wanted to avoid lawsuits.

[@tad2021]

In the early years of Rickrolling (2008), Rick Astley actually appeared as a surprise in the Macy's Day Parade to Rickroll everybody. So yes, he is every much in on it. lol

[@williampz]

I love repair-a-thons

[@ScottGrammer]

My first computer was a TI99/4A. I still remember the "Yacht-Z" game cartridge!

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

TI Video Chip was also used in the MEMOTECH MTX512

[@jeffreyphipps1507]

LOVE repairathons!!!

[@jeromethiel4323]

The real challenge would be to open up those joysticks and re-engineer them to be awesome! Keep the look, just make them functional. Should be doable. IIRC i think i saw some atari joysticks that looked exactly like atari joysticks, but had actual bucking spring switches, for a much improved experience. But they looked authentic. May not be enough space in those super thin cases, but it might be doable.

[@jeffreyphipps1507]

I believe the 256 bytes is for the processor stack. Minicomputers still exist. They are tasked differently. They can be used for cloud computing. They can also be used to build units for scalable parallel computers. Because of their construction, you can make the word size larger (requires microcode reprogramming for efficiently). The AS/400 had the ability to support a word size of 1024 bits.

[@JamesPotts]

That odd power cord reminds me of when Microsoft sent out GFCI power cords for the original Xboxes, to get around needing to recall all of them.

[@JamesPotts]

I'm guessing foxconn covered the costs. "Oh, you wanted a power supply that _doesn't_ shock your customers? You should have told us that."

[@nickwallette6201]

Wasn’t the problem actually the AC inlet legs? IIRC, the solder joint on the PCB would fail and cause arcing, leading to a potential fire. Later models have short wires between the inlet and PCB.

[@hardlyworgen71]

The green doohickey on your TI power supply was to address a recall for shock hazard. My PSU recall thingie was just a solid object about 3 inches long with plug on one end and holes on the other to plug in the power supply.

[@REX-dc4dt]

- RF Used to have a plastic part that turn off the RF modulator when in pass-thru (Antenna) mode. So it threw both internal switches through that plastic external switch "handle"

[@slaur42]

Bad joysticks? My vote is the joysticks that came with the Philips Videopac G7000 console. Really long travel with no feeling. You might think that with a long travel like that, it's analog like old Apple II and PC joysticks, but no, it's just digital. No click on the button either. I'd assume the joysticks on the American version, Magnavox Odyssey 2, are the same. Also it's a rather bulky rectangular case, no points for ergonomics there. But I never managed to break one, so maybe that's a plus. Good thing, they were hardwired to the console, so the abomination couldn't be used elsewhere. Bad thing, they were hardwired, so they couldn't be switched for something better... Second place goes to the VIC-1311, the later model VIC-20 joystick with the triangular stick. Ugh. Just... no. Also, the switches were the cheapest possible domes on a PCB. Both the stick and the fire button had thin plastic parts that pushed on these domes, and it didn't take much force for them to snap, even a 10-year old could do it (sniff).

[@TheJeremyHolloway]

Even Toys R Us back-in-the-day sold "Atari" cable adapters so the TI-99 4A owners could use the "standard" joysticks of that era instead of TI's joystick abominations.

[@justinv433]

Rick Astley actually makes almost nothing from Rick rolling. The songwriter gets it all due to the way his contract works.

[@artstrutzenberg7197]

Hmmm the TI-99 joystick conversion...perhaps a good candidate for Channel 2?

[@BrendaEM]

I recognized your computer desktop background. Good-times! LOL! (answer below...) (answer below...) (answer below...) (answer below...) (answer below...) It's a nuclear weapon re-entry module test. It it weren't only a test, it would be the last thing someone would ever see.

[@jasongrimes9305]

Hi Adrian, my TI99-4a has the same ceramic processor as yours. The date codes on mine are early 1981, so the first runs of the system. Mine does not have the extra thick cable, the vias are open and don't even have solder in them. It would be interesting if you could let us know what the date codes are on the chips on your board date to. You can't go by the serial number on the case to date these systems. Although I have heard that there is a date code on the inside of the case somewhere. I haven't looked at mine to see if that is the case or not.

[@jasongrimes9305]

Another really bad joystick was the white Commodore one. I purchased one back in the day and was very disappointed by it. :)

[@CLS2086]

A bit different to the french model, whose output Y-U-V signal, converted to RGB for Scart in a dedicaded box.

[@DaveMcAnulty]

Note the big sharpie "X" on that power supply board!

[@m7hacke]

Mini computers still exist. The IBM AS/400 is a mini or midrange computer. I used to develop on it at a job for 8 years. They are common for ATMs and other kiosks.

[@adventurebloc]

I wish you’d demonstrate the error logging in the ram path for ascii character letter issues you ruminated on near the end of this video. Could you illustrate the process?

[@gmcoelho]

I used to have the same wallpaper (the Peacekeeper test)...

[@organiccold]

Another not so short amazing Mail Call. We love it Adrian. About the music..damm 993 milion views wow

[@SidebandSamurai]

@7:00 The term you are looking for is Balun not converter. it changes the resistance between one type of media to another.

[@stonent]

Video started on your Tivoo the instant it started from the floppy as well.

[@davefiddes]

@Foone is all about the floppies and all about the Rick-rolls. Excellent follow on Twitter for vintage computer stuff...and awesome rants.

[@ray30k]

Vintage computer stuff, awesome rants, and a whole lot of very experimental keyboards.

[@markevans2294]

In terms of the TI994a internal PSU the +12 and -5 rails use 7812 and 7905 linear regulators. The +5 rail is rather more complex making use of a UA723C (U3) and a TL331 (U4). I'd guess the component with the heatsink is Q2. The characters are 8 lower than they should be. Thus it would imply that bit 3 is stuck low. This would correspond to U105. Possibly the trace between U100 pin 29 and U105 pin 14 is damaged. But that would need the TMS9918A inputs to float low, rather than high. The colour bars on the startup screen also look wrong, likely for the same reason.

[@theannoyedmrfloyd3998]

I once had an adapter box which plugged into the TI controller port and let you plug 2 Atari joysticks into it. I wish I still had my TI 99/4A stuff. 😢

[@brianv2871]

I have one of those original splitter cables.. plus they also sell this board that can attach and split them off as well. I don't like the board, it looks a bit ghetto, but the oem cable is nice..

[@xKynOx]

American RF connectors are weird in the UK you just put the wire in a connector then into the tv, no screws or little fork things needed.

[@mikeuk666]

Sometimes I honestly think America just try to be different

[@brianv2871]

I'm not sure if America was just trying to be different in this particular case.. both countries were building out their own standards at roughly the same time, so there wasn't really a standard to adopt.

[@8_Bit]

Never Gonna Give You Up is very nearly at a billion views! Amazing :)

[@eiv-gaming]

Your lab desktop is breaking my brain :D I powered through for the excellent content though :D

[@An_Onion]

Right click on desktop -> View -> uncheck Show Desktop icons! Problem solved!

[@alakani]

If desktop icons are giving you the thing I got from car thieves trying to beat me to death with a golf club then I dunno what to tell ya

[@eiv-gaming]

@@alakani Apologies, wasn't making light of anyone with actual PTSD. I'll get it changed :)

[@a4000t]

Although the TI was my first computer and i still have and are fond of it, it wasn't hard to see it was a exercise in how you shouldn't build a computer. They just kicked the poor machine so many times.

[@TheGreatAtario]

Which was the better troll move: Rickrolling Adrian via floppy, or mailing him an RF shield?

[@fcastellanos]

Adrian, please... Show us during the repair-thon how to adapt the Ti99's Joystick cables to Atari Joysticks.

[@Charlesb88]

The add-on tail of the power supply is indeed a fuse box added on simply by gluing the add-on to the original plug and you can pry the two parts apart with a knife and the power supply will Work just fine without the fuse add-on though how safe that I don’t know.

[@osgeld]

I got a set of TI joysticks brand new in its original insert packaging for 10 bucks at habitat for humanity re-store, that tells you how much they suck. Someone bought a TI back in the day and never bothered to remove them. Even with new HD foam its like pressing on a mushroom

[@willierants5880]

Mini, well.... LOL You know what. It's on demand video. We can watch what we want, pause or stop or skip when or how we want. Just do your thing.

[@ericblenner-hassett3945]

Around 4 minuit mark.... Option 2: open the joysticks and make a case over the ends so you keep the full length of the cables.

[@nysaea]

More repairathons incoming yay! :D

[@Lokalaskurar]

Adrian, Rick Astley does not make money on the constant Rick Rolling - his contract for the song only covers a performer's share. He has to stand there and sing it to cash in.

[@daemoncan2364]

Internal modulator switch: FM trap?

[@Antireality]

The worst joystick ever was probably the cheetah Annihilator that went out with late Commodore 64s and the C64GS. Not the worst to use (although pretty bad), by finding an example of said joystick that still works to prove this is difficult because they have a life expectancy of around 3 days from new. Shame really because the second button is wired up differently to give two distinct buttons (Button 2 went to one of the paddle pots), but because this was the only joystick that does this it was ignored.

[@juunidesu12]

i hated the Tandy joysticks that came with the CoCo and early 1000 series ... without the autocenter, they were a nightmare to use.

[@rager1969]

The CoCo standard joystick and Atari 5200 controller are pretty bad, as well. I also never liked the limited throw of the Atari 2600 joystick. Oh, the RF modulator needing power explains why they put 12V on one of the pins of the video connector. I couldn't understand why they had 12V, now I know.

[@retrogamer33]

I've seen the Sega Master System running Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up. Pretty good quality considering the hardware in question.

[@jeromethiel4323]

TTL logic isn't all that sensitive to supply voltage level. I've seen 74LS series logic running at 6v without issue. Obviously better to be 5V, but 5.1 or 5.2V is not an issue at all. The worse that will happen with higher than designed voltages, is extra heat generation and power consumption.

[@pauledwards2817]

The white VIC 20 joysticks were rough. Built like Atari ones but even more painful. Gotta love the TI. So many design goofs in one machine. I would probably made a good cart games console though with carts attached direct to the CPU bus and the tiny ram could have been enough.

[@TheJeremyHolloway]

If you're referring to the original VIC-20 controllers, yes, Commodore sold white joysticks and paddles that were complete copies of Atari's designs. Atari sued them over it too.

[@williamsquires3070]

Random (blue) floppy disk. Lol! 🤣

[@misterhat5823]

That power supply part is probably a bodged on filter to meet RFI compliance.

[@Schule04]

Ashens has a video about old terrible joysticks

[@prozacgod]

"keep it mini" .... 35 minutes.... I mean... it's minier than normal... ;)