0047 I almost threw out my back moving this thing around!

[@DocNo27]

Aha! I'm glad it got there in one piece! Sorry for the duct tape - but it's original from when I got it from the original owner. They used the duct tape to tape the cable to the top. When I packaged it to ship, I ended up just removing the interface and wrapping it separately - I didn't want that cable to get flexed/compressed in shipping. The whole thing is so ridiculously overbuilt (as you noted) the cable probably would have been fine, but why chance it? Would have been stupid to have it survive this long then get messed up in shipping! I meant to include more backstory but didn't get around to it; not that it's overly exciting. I briefly had a computer store in the early 90's and one of my customers was going to jettison the system and asked if I wanted it - and of course I said yes! And I've had that thing every since and never did anything with it - other than move it across the country and back(!) I hate seeing hardware go unused (hopefully it works!) so you seemed like a way better home for it than it continuing to sit on my shelf. I'm looking forward to you discovering what the cards are. I think I looked up the Triple Tech and it was supposed to be a CPM emulator?!?

[@DocNo27]

Huh! I'll have to see if I can find the extended basic or disk cartridges. If I can find the rest of the TI stuff 😛 EDIT: Well I lucked out and found the box of extra TI stuff - but none of those cartridges :( There is a tan cart with no label, but the other two cartridges I have are just games and I'm pretty sure the extended basic was black. I could have sworn I had more cartridges so I may have some more squirreled away in yet another box; I'll keep digging.

[@reedyd]

@@DocNo27 TIXB cart also came in tan as well as black. That may well be one.

[@DocNo27]

@@reedyd Guess I'll have have to fire up one of my TI's to see then! EDIT: LMAO - I don't have a TV to hook the composite up to. Guess I need that gizmo Adrian has to let me go composite to HDMI if I ever want to fire these things up again.

[@andyb1221]

@@DocNo27 The computer orignally came with a video modulator to output analog video to channel 3 or 4. You could buy a monitor cable to connect to the composite video and audio input connections of a monitor or TV. That would work with most televisions in use now. It makes a better picture than the modulator. I remember I modified an Atari 800 monitor cable to use with my TI computer. Some wires on the DIN connector had to be moved to other pins.

[@DocNo27]

@@andyb1221 Yeah, I found someone who had a reasonably priced pre-made cable and ordered it. Thanks!

[@fumthings]

I know Adrian doesn't beg for stuff but it seems to me that as soon as he points out that he doesn't have something that would allow further testing, one of the generous fans will send it in pretty quickly. and i think most of us are glad that it works this way.

[@TekMeister]

For adhesive removal, I use mineral spirits and a paper towel. Lightly rub keeping towel moist and the adhesive will dissolve. Finish up with Windex to remove gloss. Safe on plastics and paint.

[@johnkemas7344]

Believe it or not, I worked for a K-Mart in the early 1980s as an applaiance dept manager while going to college and they sold these things and their accessories. They couldn't give them away! My store manager put them on a "Blue Light Special" (I got them for less than scrap price!!) and I bought all the stock. I resold the stuff to my computer science friends at college and actually made money. They also sold Commodore VIC 20's and 64's, Timex Sinclaires (Ithink we sold 3 or4) and Atari's computers and video games. The district manager dumped the stuff pretty quickly cause except for the Atari games, we sold very little of the other stuff. Loved those Blue Light Specials!!

[@Caroline_Tyler]

I used to have a TI-99/4A with the speech synth, the big old expansion unit which I put in dual 1/2 height floopy drives and also made myself a centronics adapter to run a daisywheel printer. Result was a useful word processor which actually produced beautiful printed letters with proportional output. It was great! Gutted my late father's roll-top oak desk and it all fitted inside. :)

[@projectartichoke]

I had the speech synth, but I sure wanted all that other stuff back in the 80s! I finally got a C128 with a printer and used that in school for all my papers.

[@PatricKerr]

This was are family computer. I have so many memories. My father ran the local ti99 user group in north east PA on lake erie. He held several large events in the early 80s. There was a card call the monarch i think. Which added some sort of dos like comman prompt it could have been cpm this replaced the ti99 it self and used an xt keyboard. I don't remember much about as I never really used it and my father was only borrowed it from some one. The cart you also want is the ti assembly language cart. That's where all the best games were. I still have our family's orginal system. We had a ti brand serial printer. Ti writer cart was for word processing and typed up many report in school instead of hand written. Also have a 300 baud modem so this was how I first experienced getting online in the early 80. You are correct that there was an after market dual disc drive. Double sided double density. I have that as well my father put the orginal drive in an external case and connected via the back edge connector on the card. So many memories. Thanks to those who read this far to this old man's childhood memories.

[@alsnow3582]

My first computer was the 99/4, chiclet keys and all (predecessor to the 99/4a)! It was really hard to justify the cost at that time in my life but it helped my career get started. I'm about to retire in a few weeks with a lifetime in IT and seeing this sure brought back a lot of memories.

[@billesposito3482]

I really appreciate that you share with us tours of hardware like this that I've never heard of before.

[@madcrowmaxwell]

The 99/4A shares a lot of its architecture with TI 990 minicomputer. I'm guessing that the PEB has ancestry in the minicomputer world as well, which could explain it's massive size.

[@herrbonk3635]

10:00 The Z80 was used for all sorts of special or "embedded" purposes, well into the 1990s. Running CP/M would usually be the least probable task if you see a Z80 on a card made after 1979 :)

[@Drew-Dastardly]

CP/M was definitely popular in the early half of the 1980's. It did require 80 column video though.

[@herrbonk3635]

@@Drew-Dastardly Sure, but for every CP/M computer design, there were literally hundreds of embedded designs using the Z80. That was its primary market, from the start, and what it was designed for (according to Faggin, Shima and Ungermann, that started Zilog). The Z80 sat in hard drives as well as in hard disk controllers and network cards. It was used in analog and digital synthesizers, sequencers, drum machines, calculators, flipper games, arcade games, medical equipment, laboratory instrumentation, industrial robots, telephone exchanges, terminal multiplexers, alarm systems, light automation, mobile phones, cameras, music players, and so on.

[@Drew-Dastardly]

@@herrbonk3635 Hey I'm just telling it how it was back then when I was there. All that shit you are going on about didn't exist to an ordinary boy like me, or many thousands of us. Just because the designers fantasized it would be all those things didn't make it so.

[@herrbonk3635]

@@Drew-Dastardly And I'm telling you how it really was, but with a slightly wider and deeper perspective than the "ordinary boy" with a personal computer centric view. I'm talkin actual real products from the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. Even later in a few cases. (Me myself still used the Z80 for new desings in 2005, and the chip is still manufactured today.) If you don't belive me, just look inside an old ST-506 diskdrive, a Prophet 5 synthesizer, a Pacman arcade, etc. Or read up about it.

[@SenileOtaku]

2:45 Yes, there were alternate Dymo disks that could emboss vertical. I looked in my dad's old "deluxe" Dymo kit, and found a disk marked "vertical". Only thing is, I couldn't figure how to swap character disks. I'll need to hunt down a manual for that now.

[@greggv8]

There's a square bit of plastic on the bottom under the letter disk. Pull that down to remove the disk.

[@KenLord]

I learned to program on one of these as a kid, by typing in game code from magazines and looking for my typos, and then the bugs. Had a cassette tape briefcase full of TI game cartridges. Parsec was my favorite. We had the box. My Dad, teaching himself to program, pecking with 2 fingers, made software for calculating gear ratios for different types of gear boxes, made and repaired for the Canadian Navy at CFB Esquimalt. Literal days of iterative hand calculations were replaced by ten or twenty minutes of computer time. It worked so well that in the late 90's after my dad had retired, they were still using his program, and we visited his old tool and die making machine shop at the dockyard and dropped off a couple long since obsolete TI's so they'd have spares.

[@DiverCTH]

I used to work at a repair depot for a retail photofinishing company, so we got unidentified substances and duct tape residue all the time. NEVER use Goo-Gone on ABS (or virtually any plastic). It will melt or dissolve. For tape residue, start with WD-40 and a nylon brush, then move onto Mean Green or 409 general-purpose cleaner. If there are any ink stains, Mötsenbökers will remove them.

[@adriansdigitalbasement2]

Isn't that the similarly named "Goof-Off" what will melt the plastic?

[@DiverCTH]

@@adriansdigitalbasement2 Both will. I forget which chemical it is (probably acetone), but Goof Off has more of it. Leave a puddle of either on a piece of plastic overnight, one will barely eat the texture (unless you rub it) the other leaves a melt/burn mark. Goo Gone makes an automotive version that's advertised as plastic safe.

[@JE-wd4lu]

I've also tried WD-40 on an old PC case that had duct tape residue on it. It did work but, had to give it a couple of passes. IPA should then help to clean the final bit.

[@Drew-Dastardly]

When WD-40 and IPA fail I like to just go old school and dunk my hand with an old rag into a bucket of dimethylmercury and polish the crud away. ;)

[@samuelcolvin4994]

Goo GONE is fine but goof OFF will melt plastic into gross gunk and ruin whatever you sprayed it on. Ditto for PB blaster and oven cleaner (ask me how I know!)

[@tex-hogger4974]

The TI was our first computer in my family. It started my fascination with computers. We got the console for Christmas about 2 years before TI got out of the computer market. My dad got us a loaded PEB when they did. It had a flex interface card (comes with the PEB) in slot 1, 32k card, RS-232 card, TI Disk Controller card in slot 8, and a SS/SD 5 1/4" floppy. Right after that we went to Kmart and got the TI Extended Basic cart. That opened up the world to me on what you can do with the system. I joined a local TI club and met so many great people. I still have my system and all the pieces to it. I know you have been looking on the Net for stuff about this system and like all of the 80s gen computers there are so many resources out there for this system. The Facebook group is very active, and there are still many things being made for this system. It's another rabbit hole, and can be a fun adventure.

[@awilliamwest]

L/I might be a load-interrupt switch. I made one for my console, once, and debounced it by starting my machine-code procedure with a BLWP instruction to change the register area (workspace pointer) so as not to overwrite the return address. (I thought that was a fairly creative software-only method to debounce the switch, if I may say so myself!) Not sure about the 1000 vs 1400 but they might be CRU addresses for one of the PEB slots. The total CPU RAM included with the TI-99 is 128 words, or 256 bytes, located at >8300 to >83FF. (The workspace pointer or "registers" normally points to >83E0, as I recall.) (My father had a PEB, but my sister gave it away when he died. :( ... As well as the MyArc 9640, which is extremely rare, and a couple of ramdisks.) Could Copy/Clear be for copying a cartridge to RAM (typically at >6000), and then for clearing the cartridge RAM area? p.s. I used the load-interrupt switch to reverse-engineer the data created by the Music Maker cartridge. I think I had to load my code into the 32k memory expansion using "Mini Memory"... not sure. I did all that without a PEB, because Dad or I found an aftermarket disk controller and 32KB memory expansion that daisy-chained into the console's side port. (Peter Hoddie appreciated my assembly coding, at the time qomph.com/aaron/MusicMakerCracked_bcsmeeting8905.pdf )

[@more.power.]

Thank you Adrian love your channel.

[@clok1966]

Owned a TI994a myself, went to buy an Atari 400 and they were out, as was the C-64 my second choice, but they had lots of the TI and the salesman told me how much better a machine it was. 14-year-old me believed him and instead of waiting or the others to come into stock I bought one. I won't badmouth this machine, but I will say I bought the others later and used both much more, guess I have to credit it as my first pc and am still doing work I mostly enjoy in that field today. Still have mine and the suitcase-sized addon, and many carts. Can not remember what I had for cards anymore. Great piece of history.

[@jaredwright5917]

There's an interesting PEB board called the Geneve 9640. It turns the PEB into a standalone computer system that also uses an XT keyboard.

[@greggv8]

Yup, PC or PC/XT. Not an AT keyboard unless it has a switch for PC/XT mode.

[@jeromekentz6616]

The TI99-4/A was my very first computer. Taught myself BASIC as a 12 year old. Great memories! I always wanted a PEB with a disk drive, but that was way out of my price range back then. I was stuck with a cassette player. A couple of years later the Commodore 64 came out and I ended up getting one with a disk drive.

[@craigavonvideo]

I was the same (although at 14). Didn't get into computing properly though until the mid 1990s with an old x386 PC and Windows 3.11 😀

[@KAPTKipper]

WD-40 removes duct tape residue. The TI99-4/A PEB now is a single board that plugs into the side. 11:25 It's a CorComp Triple Tech card w 64K printer buffer. The Switches on the front are for it.

[@AndyHullMcPenguin]

Olive oil is also a good residue remover. Has to be olive oil, not sunflower or whatever, but you can use the cheap (non Extra virgin) stuff. Scrub the olive oil or WD40 in with an old toothbrush, let it "melt' the glue for a bit, scrub it off, repeat as necessary, remove the remaining oil with washing up liquid or a wet wipe/kitchen wipe. You can also rub the oil with some kitchen towel, which will fall apart and bind to the glue and make it easier to remove.

[@ct6502c]

I've always just used alcohol to remove sticky residue from labels, tape, etc.

[@ronb6182]

You can use duct tape to remove duct tape residue. I done it at work. Also the Brady printer labels will remove label residue. I done that also. Harsh chemicals like lighter fluid, w d 40 and acid tone would remove the finish from the plastic we used. So the label method and duct tape method worked great. 73

[@racecar_spelled_backwards868]

18:40 There was a "Disk Manager" "command module" (cartridge) that came with the floppy controller. It is pretty much essential for testing the drive and associated floppy media. You CAN access the drive for loading and saving of files from BASIC and Extended BASIC (which was itself a separate command module). The memory expansion also allowed you to use the Logo language software which could also interface with the disk. EDIT: Also this Disk Manager command module had the programme several languages on it.

[@bitdigital8052]

My OCD dislikes those switches and labels, but damn that thing is decked out! Sweet!

[@arthurhazboun2992]

Thanks for the video, still have the PEB, bunch of cartridges, speech synthesizer, even the TI tape recorder, speech syntheszer module, manuals, all brought me years of educational, fun, and learning experience in my "younger" days. I started and ran the first TI 99/4A BBS bulletin board as a sysop (system operator) for the gen Z viewers reading this, which I named TEXSUBIN which stood for: TEX = Texas S= system U= users B= Bulletin board system In = Instruments for years and years. The switches on the front of the case are NOT ORIGINAL but someone must have added those on for whatever reason later. To remove the duct tape residue try Isopropyl alcohol, WD 40, or goof off (or similar) Keep those old memories of legacy computer products coming and thanks again. P.S. You tuber Tony359 from Germany had a recent video on the TI/994a

[@racecar_spelled_backwards868]

6:15 Back in the early 80's they were between $350 and $600 new, depending on how they were configured. They were VERY robust and a lot better than the typical TI-99/4A "sidecar" expansion method. The big data bus cable plugged into the very end of the sidecar daisy chain.

[@johndododoe1411]

And in my country, the only peripheral available without this monstrosity was the speech synth, which made any expansion beyond the speech module essentially unaffordable.

[@desktorp]

We had a TI99 when I was a kid and I think my parents sold it at a garage sale.. still breaks my heart a bit. It has such a perfect aesthetic.

[@BEdmonson85]

Goo-Gone or Zippo Lighter Fluid usually works incredibly well on those stubborn glue residues that isopropyl alcohol won't cut.

[@pragmax]

+1 for Goo-Gone. I think it is citrus based which makes it safe to use around plastics.

[@pipschannel1222]

@@pragmax Yeah, Goo-Gone contains orange terpenes and it smells like oranges. I use it all the time to get old glue residue off of old machines. It's safe around plastics and paint and it always gets the job done.. I guess that thick black ribbon cable should be able to handle it as well as it looks like it was built to survive a nuclear war 🙂 As long as you don't use acetone or thinner you're totally fine 👍

[@SpiritualHearts1]

WD40 works well too but doesn't have that nice citrusy smell

[@PixelPipes]

If you've never used Goo Gone, your life will change afterwards. Sooo many sticky things you could never quite clean off are finally conquerable!

[@tropicalretro]

If you have access to lab chemicals, ethyl or methyl ether are great for removing adesive goo.

[@AttemptingAstro]

Love the ribbon cable/fire hose, for when you need to keep the expansion box across the room...or something?

[@adriansdigitalbasement2]

HAHAH!!!!!!!!! Basically -- I have no idea why it's so long. It's super unwieldy too. Clearly heavily shielded....

[@annareismith6843]

IPA or Goo Be Gone would work. I would like to see more on this as the TI99/4A was the first computer I own personally. I learned how to program basics on it. I remember the first time I saw one was at the old Sears building in Bremerton, WA. I played Missle command on it. Then I found one at a garage sale later that was like new in the box with games and expansion units. I always wanted the Peripheral Expansion Box. I could not afford or find it used at the time. I know and talk with one of the design engineers of the TI99/4A online on a forum. He told me a lot about it. And things they planned that never happened.

[@GregoryLindsey1979]

Seconding Goo-Gone. Let it stand for a while, rub it off with a soft cloth, repeat until it’s all gone 🙂

[@Renville80]

Soak a shop towel with IPA and cover the adhesive with it and leave it for a few minutes. That should soften the glue enough to make it easier to clean off.

[@solomongrundysfoot]

Plus a good IPA while cleaning makes cleaning more fun 😋

[@EinGamer22]

IPA will help. I had to clean up a decayed sticky tape once. Was not nice. After that my hands where sticking on everything. IPA helped me getting rid of the glue.

[@andyjdhurley]

Yeah, I use IPA to get rid of duct tape glue - can take a bit of work but it does remove it. Didn't work so well on capet tape on a white board though.

[@adamboggs4745]

I've used IPA (or goo gone) and flour to get gooey stuff off. Sometimes just the solvent doesn't work and just pushed it around. The flour will cause it to ball up and you can rub it off. Loved the TI 99/4A. It was also my first computer that I learned to program on in elementary school before I got an Apple //c.

[@jwhite5008]

perhaps baking soda would also work. Sometimes you need to let it soak for a few minutes and/or do multiple rounds

[@adamboggs4745]

It could help break down the glue maybe but baking soda is soluble in water and may not provide the "balling" feature that flour does to help get the glue off the surface.

[@RomeoG39]

I can't wait to see more videos with this equipment. This is one of the most fascinating vintage setups. I had the beige 99/4a, speech synth, and cassette cable, but never any of the advanced stuff. I always wanted a PEB back in the day.

[@W4TRI_Ronny]

13:45 Amateur Radio operators worldwide wasted Z80s in most of the Packet radio controllers of the time. It's a great CPU when you have one job. I have 2 such TNCs still and they both work great! Feed them a new CR2032 every few years and clean them.

[@Darxide23]

Goo Gone. Always the answer for sticker/tape residue.

[@trancedude330]

You can use eucalyptus oil to remove glue residue. Almost just wipes off with minimal rubbing. Oil residue can then be cleaned off with isopropyl or soapy water.

[@SuperVorticon]

The switches on the front are connected under the backplane to the triple tech card slot directly.

[@papafrank7094]

To remove the sticky ick that was left by duct tape, get makeup remover wipes. Grab a travel sized container of them and go to town. This also removes the sticky exterior of rubberized items.

[@iggysfriend4431]

This really shows how far things have come.

[@BreakingPintMedia]

The TI-99/4a is what I began my computing journey in. Fond memories. Ours was the later beige/plastic case model, but I always loved the OG black and silver units. My childhood one is long gone but I got another beige one off eBay some years ago that has either bad memory or some other chip as it will occasionally display a bunch of random characters on screen. I may get around to fixing it some time. Your videos definitely inspire giving vintage tech a second life.

[@james_lockman]

My grandparents ran the TI user group in Sarasota, Florida back in the 80s. I remember him calling this the "P Box"

[@richardtwyning]

It's heavy because TI made things how they should be made. Quality construction and proper RF screening. The metal cases also serve as heat sinks. Everything was all properly engineered. I was lucky to have a fully expanded system in 1983 and it was a rare beast in the UK.

[@pauldunecat]

So the 32kb expansion in the PEB gives the same as the sidecar version, max is 32k of expansions, can't double up. There was an article I think in 99er magazine where it showed you could stack memory chips right on the main board for the 32k expansion as well. I have a PEB, Speech Synth and potentially the side car 32k in a box. Also have a Myarc 490k RAM disk which has its own external power supply to keep the ram state, which allowed me to copy every single floppy I had onto it. Dsk99 for that card. The TI RS232 also had the cast case for the PEB, I used with an Okidata serial printer back in the day, though I should have bought an epson, they were much more compatible. Another fun thing was going onto BBS's where they were all 80 column, when you would connect (name of the software is escaping me right now), you had to toggle right by 20 cols with a FCTN number key to see the rest of the screen. You got used to it after a while, so I would be flipping so fast other people couldn't read over my shoulder. lmao. Yes, you need a TI extended basic cart and manual, it's pretty useless without one. :-)

[@badboybruno547]

One thing I found that works well for the residue is eucalyptus oil on a rag. Leaves the room smelling great after too. Just be careful, sniffing it for too long, you will become a bit loopy 🙂

[@Inadvisablescience]

Wow! I had no idea that existed until now. Thank you for sharing! ♥ ♥

[@frankowalker4662]

It's so cool. It also looks better with the black floppy drive. :)

[@lindoran]

Adrian, so first great find! 2nd ... the z80 print buffer. running CPM. Here's a list of challenges (not saying its impossible) but looking at that card and what it has access to. 1) needs a new bios / Bdos minimum. (to support the display and keyboard.) interestingly enough. the cartridge slot for the speech module means at the very minimum there's access to the system via that path. 2) some way to load CPM to the memory on the Z80 card (disk controller possibly?) the expansion bay is a system on an island with a arbitration bus that operates over that cable, I suppose that's possible but would depend on what signals are available all the way to the CPU. 3) it might almost be better to have a stand alone single board computer, that interfaces with the system (as apposed to the the print buffer). I think its a really great Idea, just in looking through the challenges it might be a large rabbit hole towards accessing 40Col CPM... which will limit the software you could run, you'd almost be better trying to hook a remote terminal to the serial port and ruining CPM that way (after again jumping all the hurdles previously discussed )

[@RealNonsonic]

I still have a couple of TI-99 systems, I actually bought one setup from the original owner who had the Texas Instruments TV / Monitor which I think it’s pretty rare. I ended up donating it to a computer museum but should have kept it with the systems. One day I’ll pick up an expander. Quite neat.

[@Potts1966]

You need the extended Basic cartridge or the Disk Manager cartridge and definitely a quieter fan :) I do like these longer videos with an in-depth look at things I've never had the chance to play with, but lusted after back in the early 80's

[@StaffordGreen]

I too lusted for her in the 1980s. That and Farrah Fawcett

[@ovalwingnut]

That is one "muscle bound" TI-99.... I'd take a closer look but I don't want sand kicked in my face! Thanks for the walk-through.

[@RyeOnHam]

To get duct tape off, spray it with WD-40 and then let it sit. Rubbing will usually dissolve all of the adhesive. You can follow that up with windex or just regular cleaners to get the WD-40 off.

[@Leightym]

A common hack to the PEB in the 90's was to replace the linear supply (which is a lot of the weight and noise) with an off the shelf AT supply. All you needed to do was bypass the voltage regulators on the cards and bam - a much better power supply.

[@greggv8]

Don't need to bypass or remove the card regulators! If the incoming voltage is at the voltage they output (5V and 12V) they simply do nothing.

[@williamchow1624]

I use Ronson Lighter fluid. Does not damage plastic and is fairly gentle.

[@DanBowkley]

For duct tape residue, anything with d-limonene will make it disappear pretty quickly. Bonus points if you can find pure limonene without any of the petroleum distillates that are found in products like goof off or goo gone. There used to be a typewriter platen cleaner product that was straight limonene as well as a cleaner and restorer for car weatherstripping which I believe was the pure stuff.

[@soteful9949]

I am a type one diabetic, and I think I am experiencing frozen shoulder too. My right arm has half the range than my left. Hopefully it will eventually go away. I learned of this from you. I could not figure out when I hurt myself.

[@markpitts5194]

Hope you get it sorted :)

[@CheshireNoir]

As someone who has had it in both shoulders, if you can afford it, go see a licensed Physiotherapist. They'll help you cut down the time it takes to recover, and make sure you get back most, if not all your mobility. It's a really horrible thing but you can get through it.

[@fogvarious2478]

i've had FS in *BOTH* shoulders for well over a year, it's getting less now, but at it's peak it was worse.. it will go eventually, but maybe also affect your mobility . so though painful better to keep doing excerises to keep it from locking up too much

[@soteful9949]

@@CheshireNoir appreciated

[@soteful9949]

@@fogvarious2478 appreciated and I'm still working out in spite of it.

[@techman2012]

My grandfather worked for TI for nearly thirty years. I still have a few 99/4a's that he gave me and a lot of command modules including the Extended Basic, and Disk Manager 2. When I was younger I loved playing the Connect Four and Yahtzee games, along with Parsec and "TI Invaders".

[@brianlhughes]

I think it's time you setup a crane on ceiling tracks in your basement! My dad bought the peb a couple months after the 994a, I had fun with them for sure. The assembler cartridge was my favorite, I had a blast figuring out hexadecimal and boolean ops. I had a 60 x 40 or so version of Conway's Life cycling about once every 1/2 second. I ended up getting job programming assembler on a Honeywell Main Frame a couple years later all because of the TI. Oh, did you try mineral oil to remove the residue?

[@ecybernard-com]

I have one of these units, and I upgraded it to the Geneve 9640 without the separate TI. I even hooked up 2 half height double density floppies. The RAM if present either works or it doesn't automatically. The orginal PEB did not have switches aside from the power switch.

[@robertlock5501]

That's looking like a 3/4 height drive there, you were right, two 1/2 height drives will fit in there. I'm highly intrigued by the CorComp card without the "clamshell" - my RS232 is also from CorComp, and that smaller bottom connection is parallel (PIO), and the serial port can be "doubled" with a Y serial splitter.

[@Funkb0y]

Had one of these when I was a kid! Have a TI still but I think my dad has the expansion box. I would love to play with it again!

[@craigavonvideo]

For removing duct tape (in broadcasting its called Gaffer Tape) residue if it's still sticky (and not hard baked on) just use some fresh sticky gaffer tape to lift the glue off the cables. Keep repeatedly going over the area with fresh bits of tape and the old glue residue will lift off very cleanly.

[@reedyd]

I'm a new Patreon and this is the first ][chan video I've been able to see. I have a PEB, a box of "consoles" (both white and aluminum) and a ton of carts somewhere in the basement. I actually stored the PEB in a custom case I had made to house my expensive LinnDrum LM2 (80s drum machine used by Prince, etc) so I know where to look. I'll see if I have dupes.

[@racecar_spelled_backwards868]

24:53 Again, IIRC, once the 32K card was installed with the PEB on, it was available for use by any programme that was designed to be able to use it. No special driver or additional software was required.

[@stuartcastle2814]

The scary thing is, someone implemented pretty much all the functionality of multiple PEB cards into one Raspberry Pi. The project, called TiPi is a circuit board that connects your PEB to a Pi, which then emulates the cards.

[@SchwaAlien]

We had one of those!!! My grandfather was really into them and got us one, we went to swap meets to get dual floppies, it was pretty cool for a non-pc to kind of compete with expansion friendly early PCs.

[@SchwaAlien]

Ours did not have little switches on the front unfortunately. My grandfather had some pretty sweet expansions like a RAM disk that had a big array of AA nicads to keep it alive while it was off, I didn’t keep any of it when he passed away - I would have enjoyed it but really had no space in my small place to keep it all.

[@racecar_spelled_backwards868]

27:30 the PEB turned a rather inexpensive home "starter" computer and made it quite a powerful machine for the day (16-bit, no less!). It was a good way for TI to get their "foot in the door" of a lot of homes and people who wanted more wouldn't switch platforms. (sorry for so many comments... that's what I get for commenting in "linear" mode.)

[@a4000t]

the ti was inexpensive,the PEB was crazy expensive back in the day, most people with ti's didn't have a Peb then. I picked mine up quite a bit later used.

[@dr.rotwang]

Lighter fluid removes just about any kind of sticky residue really well. I use it all the time to remove sticky leftovers from tape, stickers, labels, etc. If there is any residue from the lighter fluid then IPA takes care of that.

[@irinotecanhcl]

That heavy duty shielding reminds me of the tank-like cases of the Atari 400/800. I wonder if this thing was built around the same time, pre-FCC relaxing their RFI shielding requirements for home computers and peripherals?

[@troyquigg4411]

This was my thinking too... Over engineered RFI shielding.

[@dminalba]

Before TI pulled out of the computer market in 1983 they were planning the TI99/4A’s replacement the TI99/8A with the TI speech synthesiser built in 64k memory and TI Extended Basic II as standard, I think that would’ve been healthy competition against Commodore, Atari & Apple

[@MrJozza65]

I always had trouble using those proprietary glue/label removers, so recently I tried Olive Oil. Didn't expect it to work, but a couple drops on a particularly stubborn label, left to soak for a few minutes, and it worked a treat, the glue just lifted off with a quick wipe using a cotton rag and left the surface clean. Not sure if it would work on Duct Tape glue residue, but it could be worth a try and it's very gentle so good for older equipment, and it is very inexpensive too.

[@williamjohnson2105]

Many adhesives that are not water soluble are oil soluble. You could apply a bit of vegetable oil, rub it in a bit, let it set for a day, then wash it off with warm soapy water. It may need a few treatments, with how thick the residue is.

[@shawnrhyme5831]

That goes back more than a few years. I remember when my electronics instructor told me about the advent of half inch video tape and what went into putting 2 hours of video on a tape of that small size. And now 100 2 hour videos can be put on a micro SD card is mind boggling.

[@RudysRetroIntel]

Hello sir! I've used WD40 and then Windex to clean up the oil. Work great on my Kaypro II. Thanks for sharing!

[@coldstone6134]

Ding ding ding, I second this WD-40 should make quick work of it, and shine it up with the windex.

[@AxidentalDM]

Yeah for some TI love!!! It was our family's first computer.

[@HippoXXL]

Hi Adrian! For that glue I'd use resin cleaner for sawblades. That stuff kills almost all sticky stuff and doesn't harm the isolation of the cables. Greetings from germany, Marcus

[@treyfixes884]

I know you don’t like rough chemicals, but I work with them a lot. Very stout chemicals like lacquer thinner and xylene things like that. But one I recommend is naphtha. Naphtha very rarely will even irritate your skin (wear gloves still though, duh) Naphtha is really good at removing duct tape glue without damaging the surface beneath. Generally it will not damage or discolor plastic what so ever. It can damage paint if exposed for several minutes. I would imagine the old paint on a computer case would be impossible to hurt with naphtha honestly. Get naphtha and try it, fumes arent even bad. It’s the same stuff as the yellow bottle of zippo lighter fluid. This is my experience, your mileage may vary, as is no warranty.

[@craiggilchrist4223]

Try using goo gone to get rid of the tape residue. You could also use a Humbrol paint pen on the scratches and scuffs.

[@SebastianXpander]

GooGone is good for removing that sort of glue, but you might need to spray it on and let it sit for a while first. WD-40 can be used, but it can be corrosive to some plastics. The same goes for IPA 99% which can strip some paints. My friend's dad has an amazing setup including one of these, and I am hoping to help them restore it to working condition. Ti-99 are great little systems, but the 4A versions that came with the membrane Mitsumi el cheapo keyboards are a bit of a nightmare to repair. I used a silver conductive trace pen to fix some damaged key contacts. Thanks for the great video!

[@BG101UK]

I've just now removed a piece of dried-on duct tape residue using a small amount of lighter fluid and a small amount of scratching-off with a fingernail (a plastic edge should do the job if you're a nail-biter like I always was). Let it soak in for a bit and it might be even easier (I was impatient). It did take a second attempt for me and a wipe with a piece of tissue to get it all off. Hope this is of some help. ☺

[@joysticksnjukeboxes]

There was a Lutheran high school in my city that had a computer lab with at least half a dozen of these, all decked out, back in the day. The computers, the boxes, the monitors, and a shared printer.

[@ronb6182]

Those strange cards are probably from Triton I remember that city you mentioned but Dak industry was also from there as well. Just remember TI did not make junk. They shielded their cards well. Even the side car expansion was well shielded . I only part that was not shielded was the speech module. I sure miss my PEB box. 73

[@sa3270]

My friend's dad in the 80s worked at TI so they had the TI 99/4a with the Expansion System, speech synthesizer, acoustical modem, and a lot of cartridges, not to mention several Speak & Spells, Speak & Reads, and Speak & Maths, and that was just their TI stuff.

[@kins749]

Love the TI99, and love the PEB even more, can't wait to see it all set up and working

[@stevehorne5536]

I've used Everbuild PVCu cleaner (solvent cleaner for PVC window and door frames, garden furniture etc, probably the same thing as many other PVC cleaner brands) to remove glue/tape residue and other gunk from lots of plastic items (not necessarily PVC). Not quite as good for lungs as it is for plastics, though, based on the warnings.

[@itzcaseykc]

Haven't heard the name WordStar in a LOOONG time. Used it briefly while in SoCal at a medical R/D company for infusion units.

[@robertgoodale7204]

I actually had one of those new back in the day. I doubt too many of those where sold. That massive cable was very awkward, it could come out easily. I had a generous number of cartridges, a speech synthesizer module, yet another external floppy drive, an an Epson dot matrix printer. I got it all cheap second hand although it was only about a year old so it was in nearly new shape. I left it behind when I left home to go to school. I remember seeing it once when visiting but haven't seen it since, I think my parents sent it to Goodwill.

[@projectartichoke]

Bestine, is the best thing for tape residue. It's what gaffers use. It's the perfect thing for the most grody cables.

[@Duewester]

Johnson s Baby oil. First, use another piece of tape to grab the adhesive. I retired from 3M Tape Manufacturing and our sister plant made the media for magnetic tape and floppies. GOO Gone will work for final cleanup.

[@hypnotised-clover]

You can use lighter fluid to get the tape glue off without damaging anything. It even works on paper and cardboard, so it's great for old boxes with tape on them.

[@nasko8605]

For the type resedue - there is a spray for label removal... works great. Otherwise - some disel fuel will do the job.

[@The1RandomFool]

Looking forward to seeing more content on this computer. Haven't seen one of these before.

[@johndododoe1411]

There's a nerdy alternative to extended basic. It's the "Mini Memory" cartridge, which puts a few K of battery backed RAM in the cartridge address range and comes with the PEEK and POKE extensions for the built in BASIC. With neither of those 2 cartridges, the built in BASIC intentionally lacks any commands for reading the contents of game ROMs, which combines with the forced reset upon card insertion to provide a pretty neat copy protection. The Mini Memory included a tape with fun examples like an assembler program that put the video chip in full bitmap mode, and a code editor that ran in 40 column mode.

[@racecar_spelled_backwards868]

18:05 IIRC its name was the "data bus" cable. At least that's the name the local TI dealer used for it back in the day.

[@jasonknight1085]

Two-thirds height drive actually. On my Model 3 back in the early '80's I cut out the place where the badge goes between the two drives, bent some copper plate for a custom mount, and was able to squeeze three of them in the space of the two half-height. The ones I had were 80 track single sided double density, around 320k usable space once LDOS formatted them. Had a full height normal 40 track for a model 1 on the external connector.... or was that a 35? I lose track. They were never very common, but Jameco carried them for a few years. And for the duct tape residue? Pine sol. You might have to soak a few minutes, but it tends to dissolve glue and paint without touching rubber or plastic.

[@devnull73]

The TI-994A was the first machine I used, a friend's father bought one early on. A little while ago I thought Id pick one up, but then I saw the pricing :)

[@MrBrianms]

Tape residue is no problem with a mild solvent like paraffin and an old duster. An interesting hardware update. Thanks.

[@peterkuti95]

I had a friend in College who had a TI-99/4a with the speech synthesis module. If you typed random words, it was pretty standard speech synthesis. If you typed in "Texas Instruments TI-99/4a Home Computer", however, it would play an obviously recorded mans voice saying the phrase.

[@kynetx]

For adhesive residue, I will start with soaking in high-purity isopropyl alcohol. If that doesn't work, the next step is naphtha. Naphtha won't dissolve paint or plastic like Goof-Off tends to do, unless you can find the orange oil based remover.

[@juweinert]

4:40 Try oil, any kind might help, depending on composition

[@ilovethe70s]

I've always wanted one, but I had no idea they were so heavy.

[@UnbornApple]

Always happy to see TI-99/4a content. It was my first computer growing up. My parents picked it up after TI slashed the prices and I think we had darn near every educational title. I knew even then that it wasn't nearly as cool as the Apple IIes at school, or the Commodore 64 my uncle had, but nevertheless I typed all those darn BASIC programs from the books we had and loved it. The PEB looks like an absolutely unit.

[@janneaalto3956]

Duct tape seems to have a couple different formulations of glue. Usually the residue comes off with WD-40, but sometimes acetone or freezing+pumice scrub will do better.

[@Stjaernljus]

To get sticker and tape residue off things i use skin lotion as it does not cloud or melt plastics but softens up the sticker/tape residue making it easy to wipe off. It works similarly to how WD-40 does the same but solvents in WD-40 risk clouding/melting plastic.