TIPI + 32k for the TI-99/4A: Raspberry Pi Expansion in a Speech Synthesizer for the TI99 computer!

[@UltimateTechHub]

Man the speech synthesizer was incredible back in the 80s. I always think of War Games. That is one cool kit. I want a free kit!!!! Oh I still need to get a TI/99 4A on ebay...haha. Good job explaining complex tasks and making it easy to understand. Such a cool MOD.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Thank you Sir & thank you for watching! Yeah, pretty amazing after all these years we're seeing the TI-99/4A doing some pretty awesome stuff thanks to some very talented folks.

[@PixelMaker04]

Been looking at getting a TIPI to go with my 32K sidecar. This looks like a very cool alternative.

[@kneehighspy]

built myself a finalgrom99, 32kmem expansion and tipi, all go along very well 🙂

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Agree, FinalGROM99 + TIPI/32K is an awesome solution!

[@willhe5564]

Your music always brings me to the peace & serenity I need in my life. 😂👍 Very much appreciate your videos and your work so far, I wish my RG350 worked, something's wrong with the screen that I can't figure out, but I always learn something new, in the most applicable ways possible, thanks to your channel. Keep up the great work!! I won't call myself a "Dummie", but it's awesome the way you present and explain everything, a lot more coherent than some tutorials that run blazing speed and jump cut past the important bits of information. Many thanks, and cheers to happy gaming / nerdism!! 😁

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Your comment makes me so happy, I will reply to you in the morning and we'll see what we can do about your RG350 display situation. Thank you so much.

[@willhe5564]

@@WagnersTechTalk 😳😎 Much gratitude to you, as well! Yeah, I thought maybe it was a problem with the ribbon cable, maybe it is a defective screen itself, I'm not quite sure the longterm / byproducts of overclocking... I'd tried Rogue CFW on it, and somehow or another, when I reverted back installing the stock firmware, I have flushed out screen quality, and white lines throughout. It looks like maybe it is a defective screen, though being I ordered mine before Christmas of last year, from TomTop, I'm not quite sure what my options are. I don't know if it is a problem with the board, an "early release" (this was before the clear shell RG350s and before the 350M was put on market), the ribbon cable looks slightly crimped (there's only but so much room in the handheld to begin with, I'm not sure if it was the battery pressing on it, or again, just a defective screen)... I realize I'm good at sending long messages, feel free to respond whenever you can, and thanks in advance for all your help, I was shocked to see such a reply, but further garnering great support back from me! You're very kind for offering help, though this shows a lot of character, not only following a passion, but filled with compassion, for the "noobs" or "dummies" like me. 😂😊 Joking aside, all your videos are well informative, so even small modification tutorials are worth their weight, whether replacing screens, buttons, batteries, or what have you. I'd given up on my RG350 from fear of really breaking it, though it could be user error... There's a few similar experiences I've seen, white lines / ribbon cable issues, however I'm not sure what to chalk it up to. Again, thank you for your help, and making for easier navigation through community developed tech, I've meant to make my own Gmenu2x skins, or delve deeper, just rockier trails the past few months. My new project is the Odroid Go Advance Black Edition, finding the best setup for that, but much like learning / riding a bike. SSH, FTP, SFTP... Another day, another video lol I'll cut my comment here, but looking forward to more talks! Have a good day!!

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Thank you for your detailed reply! I'm going to go out on a limb and guess it's either the connector going to the display has come loose or it's a defective screen. I had one viewer send me his unit earlier this year with a defective screen. I did a quick test using one of my working RG-350's and plugged in that display into his and it worked. So, at that point I knew the screen was indeed defective. I ordered another off of ebay but it took around 3-4 months for it to finally arrive (about a week ago). I am hoping to make a video on how to replace the screen, but I've currently got 3 videos I've got to get done before I can work on it (some cool new devices that have arrived). So, I'm probably about 4 weeks out from a video on replacing the RG-350 display. What I'd recommend is to remove the 4 screws, try unplugging (gently) the ribbon cable. There is a latch, I "think" you slide it out and then the connector should slide out as well. I can't recall exactly what it looks like. But I'd pop it out, then pop it back in and power on to see if that fixes the issue. Could be that the cable moved around when you opened it up. If that doesn't correct it, my "guess" would be the display itself is defective. I've heard that getting warranty repairs through Anbernic are next to impossible. I've not personally had any hardware issues myself. Though, I definitely sympathize with those that are experiencing issues. Give the ribbon cable re-seating a try to see if that helps (sure can't hurt -right?) If that doesn't help, I'll see what I can do to help with that screen replacement video. It will take me about 4 weeks though - guesstimate.

[@willhe5564]

@@WagnersTechTalk Thanks a million for the tips, I'm thinking I'll have to find a replacement screen, or buy a whole new unit. Our options are better now, as there's the 350M, the original seems a bit cheaper (averaging $80), so still a decent price for a great device. I've reinstalled the ribbon cable before, tried cleaning with IPA (not local brew 😂), but no avail. I wasn't sure if drivers from CFW could burn a screen out, if reverting to an older firmware, that's all above my (lots left to be desired) expertise. I'm not sure if the ribbon itself got crimped/cramped past it's allowance, where it's unable to process the display correctly, it boots - gets white streaks - and fades whiter with each scroll. My unit I bought among the first round, so whatever case, I think it was the combination of batch and maybe user error, though I was careful when taking the unit apart. All things considered, do you have a preferred style of the 350? From the original, the 350M, and now this 280M version which is a tad smaller...? The PlayGo/PocketGo v2 is a beautiful lil thing too, I've one that replaced my 350 when it went on life support, but I'm not sure what I'll do yet with my original 350. Only time will tell, but I'd like to thank you again for your time and consideration here too, you've come out with a lot of great videos and tutorials about the RG350, so I'll look forward to getting it fixed / getting a new one. Keep up the awesome work!!

[@privatehand]

I gave away my PEB a long time ago but kept a pair of consoles and all the floppy disks containing all my software. This may be an economical way to bring them back to life.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Hi Mike, like you I sold my Corcomp 9900 micro expansion system (w 32k, disk controller, rs-232 and x2 360k floppy drives). I wish I had kept that, the cc9900 system is highly sought after these days. Transferring your original floppies will be tricky as you would need a 5.25" drive connected to your PC to put them in a format that can be used with this system. Otherwise, yes this is a more economical way to expand your original consoles. Another thing you may want to look at is the FinalGrom99 which will let you run most all original TI- cartridges from a single cart with an SD card. I've got a video on that too if it sounds interesting (on this page wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing/ ).

[@eebuckeye]

Excellent video! Thanks!

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Most welcome, glad you enjoyed it!

[@chotalamechupa7266]

NICE!!

[@AugustusTitus]

Can you fire up TEII and put in the BASIC for speech and feed it a whole line of each letter of the alphabet? It'd make a good demo of the speech capabilites with an easter egg.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Yes, actually the 1 basic program that I show while using the web manager was used with TEII for that main reason. You can enter that code and give it a try, should say most anything you give it (when loaded in TI-BASIC with the TEII cart installed).

[@gregsnarke610]

I had one growing up TI 4A computer I had fun with mine in 1981 it was my first computer when I used my 8’th grade computer skills on I loved ❤️ it back in the day I still love ❤️ computers still from this day one of my favorite games was TI 99 4A hunt the wampus I even had all the learning games and all bunch of my favorite 🤩 like Parsac that space game.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

The TI was my first computer too, loved it! Oh yeah, I still have a couple copies of Parsec here. It was one of the most impressive games for the TI back then (especially with the speech synthesizer). If you want to see some additional impressive stuff for the TI created in the past 4 years, check out Dragon's Lair and the FinalGROM 99 here: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing . Dragon's Lair is sure to impress.

[@cathrynm]

Tipi looks pretty good, maybe better than Fujinet on Atari some ways.

[@gregthompson7793]

Can you use the Pi Zero 2 W with this?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

I think you can.

[@gregthompson7793]

@@WagnersTechTalk Ok well I got me 2 regular Pi zero W's now.

[@craftsman123456]

Is there a nice terminal program that will work with this for accessing BBSs

[@WagnersTechTalk]

You can likely add another, but the built-in Telnet is pretty decent. If you have the F18A board, I think it can take advantage of 80 cols. But, I don't own one of those (on the wait list)

[@rafaelmmartinez9170]

Is your TIPI website still up?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Yes, should be able to find it here: wagnerstechtalk.com/ti99/index.htm or here wagnerstechtalk.com/ti99/z.htm

[@rafaelmmartinez9170]

@@WagnersTechTalk I'm getting 308 permanent redirect error.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Try the 2nd link above, shouldn't be a redirect there.

[@rafaelmmartinez9170]

Tried both with same error

[@MarkW17]

where did you get your soldering skills?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

For some reason, they wouldn't re-certify me. Must be all the darn solder balls, dunno.

[@travisdent7009]

In 2023 found this a few years too late. Looks like no parts are available. Anyone willing to sell a used TIPI?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Best place to check would be here: forums.atariage.com/forum/164-ti-994a-computers . This is where I first learned of it.

[@enjoythepig]

I have a PEB, will it still work?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

You can use one or the other. There is a TIPI version of the card for the PEB which would likely make the most sense if you want to use the PEB. While currently showing sold-out, you might ask them if they are expecting any new stock: www.arcadeshopper.com/wp/store/#!/TIPI-PEB-Raspberry-PI-interface-board-*Peripheral-Expansion-Box-REQUIRED*/p/112613135/category=16275021

[@richardlamer3910]

Does anyone sell one all ready to work in a speach synth??

[@WagnersTechTalk]

You might check with Gregory at Arcadeshopper.com, he might have an option for you.

[@LanceHall]

Off topic but I wonder how much of the TI could be upgraded with vintage chips (or faster versions) and some rewiring. I wonder if it's possible to get around that 8/16 multiplex bottleneck or whatever and create a true 16 bit system. It would be great to see what COULD have been. I would think it would require a total redesign with a new motherboard. If someone can recreate a C64 board then a TI should be doable also. I wish I had the knowledge and skills.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Something like that would require a major re-design of the architecture, perhaps using an FPGA implementation. Though backwards compatibility would likely be a big challenge. Definitely an interesting idea though!

[@BCassidy2]

*There

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

There must be a way to get 512KB of RAM into the TIPI.

[@WagnersTechTalk]

The RAM is on a separate PCB on the TIPI 32k. The TI has a limit on how much it can directly address (48k maybe, can't recall exactly). However, there may be some "magic" that may be possible. Never thought I'd see Dragon's Lair playing on the TI-99/4A either, but it is here: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing/#Dragons_Lair_for_the_TI-994A_Home_Computer-_NEW_in_2019_FULL_Play-through_in_practice_mode

[@warpedweirdo]

Uh.... Why do this? You get some storage, which is good. This project would be nerdy-cool were the ancient TI itself doing the internet browsing, running a mouse, blah blah blah, but it isn't; the Raspberry PI is. The TI is just acting as a dumb terminal to the Raspberry PI. Why is that cool? Utility-wise, a cheap monitor, keyboard, and mouse hooked up to a PI will provide superior ergonomics, UI, performance, and capability. Can somebody explain what I'm missing?

[@WagnersTechTalk]

You may be missing that the 32k Memory Expansion is included on this board (allowing you to run some programs/applications you couldn't do on a stock machine), it also allows you to easily use Telnet over WiFi to many BBS's (TI or otherwise). You also have a web interface for uploading new disks from your computer to the Pi which can be accessed directly on the TI. This eliminates the need for RS-232 connections between the TI's PEB and a PC. This makes it very easy to try out disks/games that you may not have on 5.25" floppies (getting harder to find in good working condition). Speaking of which, if you do have an original PEB there is a version of the TIPI that works with that as well. Your point is accurate, in some cases, the TI does become a client to the Pi but it's the same as if you were using a modem to do the same thing. Only in this case, instead of a modem the Pi is handling the TCP communications for you. However, it's really so much more than that. Stuart's browser could also be used with a Modem, but this is much easier and utilizes the resources of the Pi to open new communication capabilities to this nearly 40 year old machine, including on-line gaming, community chatting, etc. I personally think it's awesome and hope you found some of this reply helpful.

[@warpedweirdo]

@@WagnersTechTalk I did. Thank you very much for your response!