The Classic TI-99/4A Computer

[@kai990]

Who would have thought that watching TV wasn't the meaning of life, but rather a placeholder for PCs to arrive?

[@mattelder1971]

I got one of these computers for Christmas just a few months before they were discontinued. It was my first computer and how I learned to program in BASIC.

[@pikadroo]

My cousin had one of these and he wrote a program using sprites. It was just a car that drove across a land scape with a right to left scroll. I could have watched it forever. Be interesting to see something like that be programmed on one of these.

[@PCRetroTech]

Sounds like an interesting project.

[@johneygd]

You got interesting stuff there.

[@ian_b]

How to take a really good CPU and cripple it. What were the designers thinking?

[@galier2]

Your description at 8:00 is actually wrong. The DE-9 you illuminate with the torch is the cassette interface not a joystick port. The DIN socket above the power is not an original thing and was added by a previous owner. What it is is impossible to know from here, maybe just an alternative plug for the cassette but more likely something else.

[@PCRetroTech]

That's possible. However, I believe there were also some differences in a European version. It does bear looking into more carefully though.

[@galier2]

@@PCRetroTech the only difference between US and Euro version is the video out socket. DIN 6 pins components on Euro and DIN 5 pins composite on the US version. You have an Euro version. Btw, the official SCART interface of TI is the same size as the PAL modulator you have.

[@PCRetroTech]

@@galier2 Ok, thanks for the information!

[@RobertLock1978]

25:23 - there are two stages to "kicking": an aim and the actual kick. When the "aim" mode is on, opponents cannot steal the ball.

[@davidcoviello3093]

For Blasto (the tank game) you can shoot the blue "mines" but not when you are next to them The goal is to clear them by the time limit. Parsec is totally playable and fun. It does get hard

[@mthecritic6795]

Exactly! (re: Blasto) The goal is to blow up all the mines, green is an obstacle.

[@divarin1]

You may have already figured this out but the video/audio output from the computer is actually composite and the giant thing on the end of the cable is the RF modulator that means you can get a clear picture if you chuck that cable and use the same composite video cable that you'd use on a C64 and connect it to the video and audio inputs on any TV that accepts composite input. I have a setup where I swap between a C64 and a 99/4a and I just use the same video cable for both.

[@PCRetroTech]

I actually tried this when I first got the machine. But the Commodore cable doesn't fit into the TI-99/4A that I have. And unfortunately I don't have another cable that does fit. In fact, it uses the same DIN connectors as the Commodore uses for its serial port, not the one that it uses for its video output.

[@Mike-B-Jackson]

You completely missed the point on Hunt the Wumpus. It’s a logic puzzle. Certain tiles give you clues (like half and full red circles) as to what’s in adjacent rooms, not entirely unlike minesweeper but with pits and bats and traps, as well as the Wumpus himself. The goal is not to be eaten by the Wumpus as you have but instead so determine which room he’s in and shoot him. I don’t recall which key is “shoot” or how many shots you get though. Good times.

[@RobertLock1978]

Not really a fan of the avatar - but to each his own..... It is "Q" that you need to press to "prime" the arrow, and the the arrow key in the direction desired to "shoot".

[@elektron2kim666]

Interesting. I must have seen this as I was planning to get a Basic machine and settled on a ZX-Spectrum. Some local shops displayed many so it's hard to remember. My "tests" were mostly about writing Basic. Working as a teenager I could afford expensive magazines from the UK to decide. All the "investments" came back to me early on.

[@gregorymalchuk272]

There are really old vacuum tube frequency converter boxes that could beat down channel 36 to channel 3 or 4.

[@SeltsamerAttraktor]

26:18 Sogo | hyperworm | one armed bandit | shooting clay pidgeons | king | hearing test | RCL circuit (series) | linguistic talent | flight simulaton You are welcome :3 Also, get an MSX

[@PCRetroTech]

Cool, thanks!

[@StevenQ74]

The issues you had with the games are because of your TV card, we used to have one of these at home and me and my sister played Parsec and Munchman a lot, they were very playable and also had sound

[@PCRetroTech]

Yes, that's correct. I am sorry now that I made the video before sorting that out. I had no idea the video would be so popular. I will certainly have to remake it again one day.

[@stephenkennedy6358]

sorry the 8088 is a 16 bit computer it used a 8 bit external bus to be compatible with existing standards and save money, also the ti is not a full 16bit either.

[@2crude2crudeofficialband3]

Why did you go through ten TV cards to connect the computer? It has an RF connection. All you needed was an $8 RF to coaxial adapter. You plug it into your tv’s cable input, problem solved. I’ve done this with several vintage machines. If your tv doesn’t have a coax input then just get a cheap coaxial to HDMI input (~$20). No need to spend endless hours rifling through a bin full of ancient PC video cards, not to mention hours and hours of research.

[@PCRetroTech]

Sure, but I wasn't sure if it would even solve my problem, so why waste money when I had a drawer full of potential solutions. When making videos on a timeline you sometimes really don't have time to wait for Ebay to deliver!

[@oddkristensen]

On the back... "Joystick" port is the Cassette port! The one on the top... I don't think it is original! Power port and at the end is for sound and picture. Joystick port on the side is for 2 in 1 joystick. Special for TI.

[@PCRetroTech]

Oh cool! Thanks for that info! I really must do a better video on the TI some time.

[@oddkristensen]

@@PCRetroTech Well it is an old antique, and specially interested people know of this strange thing. My first Computer! I still love it! To get a better "picture" of it, you can download the Classic99 emulator of it. I use it now when I play around with Basic and Ex Basic. Still trying to learn. I am also taking a game from 1984 or something (Paratrooper) and trying to make it "better". Use more of the power of the TI. Classic99 - v399.30 - "harmlesslion.com/software/classic99" (Being updated 3-5 times a year) TI 99/4A Forum - atariage.com/forums/forum/119-ti-994a-development/ If there is anything you need to know... Ask them... Collectedly... they know it all and they are pushing the possibility of the TI forward. - Raycaster is a game that is doing COOL stuff. Really pushing what the TI can do! Looking at the games and stuff they do for the TI, it is to bad that Texas Instruments tried to keep a "sort" of monopoly. Because looking at what they are doing today... With more openness the TI could have had a totally different future.

[@PCRetroTech]

@@oddkristensen Wow yeah, I wasn't aware of any of that. The development groups especially is really interesting to hear about. Thanks for the info!

[@oddkristensen]

PS! With Audacity you can save the files from the cassettes and then save them as WAV files, then Use C99 to test the WAV and see if you can get the programs off the cassettes. And then save the files in the C99. That is a workaround to get to the files on the cassettes, BUT... it is important to get the volume right. In order for the WAV file to be correctly received by C99 or the real TI for that sake. (In the manual on C99 this is explained)