kroogur Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 I snagged one of these at an online auction for $5 it looks to be boxed but not sure if all the books are with it but it looks like the adapters and such are there. Did these come with Basic built in? Or will i need to pick up Basic or some other carts to make it useable? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S1500 Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 I snagged one of these at an online auction for $5 it looks to be boxed but not sure if all the books are with it but it looks like the adapters and such are there. Did these come with Basic built in? Or will i need to pick up Basic or some other carts to make it useable? TI BASIC is built-in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroogur Posted May 29, 2009 Author Share Posted May 29, 2009 Good deal! what software would be good to have? Any really standout games or programs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S1500 Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Good deal! what software would be good to have? Any really standout games or programs? Standout software would be Tunnels of Doom, but you need a cassette player & cable to load the game, or, if you're hardcore, a disk drive system. Donkey Kong from Atarisoft is an excellent port. Star Trek is good. Slymoids is not bad. With a disk drive & such, tigameshelf.net would be available to you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroogur Posted May 29, 2009 Author Share Posted May 29, 2009 Sounds good thank you for the replies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darthkur Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 With a disk drive & such, tigameshelf.net would be available to you. Precisely how do you go about transferring the files from the PC to the TI? All they mention on the site is the need of a serial cable and proper communication software. I need a step by step manual. Could you help me and anyone else interested on here out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carmel_andrews Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 I snagged one of these at an online auction for $5 it looks to be boxed but not sure if all the books are with it but it looks like the adapters and such are there. Did these come with Basic built in? Or will i need to pick up Basic or some other carts to make it useable? Didn't mike/parrothead get the same deal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroogur Posted May 29, 2009 Author Share Posted May 29, 2009 I snagged one of these at an online auction for $5 it looks to be boxed but not sure if all the books are with it but it looks like the adapters and such are there. Did these come with Basic built in? Or will i need to pick up Basic or some other carts to make it useable? Didn't mike/parrothead get the same deal Not sure, I got mine from shopgoodwill.com In fact i won it monday night during the Atari chat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Shawn Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Good deal! I have a lot of fun with my TI-99 to this day. I find it one of the easier old computers to program on, you really are gonna need to scope down a cable and cassette recorder for it though, as your gonna want to save your script. Well if that's what you bought it for anyway's. Also the carts are relatively easy to find IMO. Congrats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlightSuit Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 My dad had one of these when I was a kid. He was amazed to see me tear through the entire BASIC programming book the very first time he sat me down in front of the thing. I recall us having to go on long, long drives to find stores that sold games for it, though. And I recall the joysticks being rather crappy. I did enjoy the heck out of Parsec. Never got to play Donkey Kong on the TI, though. Didn't even know DK made it to that platform. Can anybody direct me to some screen shots or a YouTube video? I'd love to know how it compared with the other DK ports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darthkur Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 My dad had one of these when I was a kid. He was amazed to see me tear through the entire BASIC programming book the very first time he sat me down in front of the thing. I recall us having to go on long, long drives to find stores that sold games for it, though. And I recall the joysticks being rather crappy. I did enjoy the heck out of Parsec. Never got to play Donkey Kong on the TI, though. Didn't even know DK made it to that platform. Can anybody direct me to some screen shots or a YouTube video? I'd love to know how it compared with the other DK ports. Here's screenshots from a wide variety of platforms, including the TI: DK screenshots Video as well: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlightSuit Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 Wow, thanks Darthkur! Other than the lack of jumping jacks on the elevator board, that's a surprisingly faithful port! I still think the Atari 8 bit computer version is the best DK port of all time, but they really did do a nice job on the TI version. Say, here's an interesting bit of trivia: Several months ago, I heard Del Tha Funky Homosapien being interviewed on NPR, and they played one of his new tunes, in which he references the game Parsec! During the interview, he explained that he had a 99/4A as a kid, and Parsec was one of his favorite games. In case you don't recall who he is, Del's the guy responsible for the hit song, "Bob Dobolina." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 What's the deal with so many home ports missing the springs from the elevator level? Without the springs there's really no point to it. You'd think they could have at least tried to implement them or put some sort of alternative in there. Otherwise it's just dodge two fire foxes and don't be stupid and fall off the girders. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathanallan Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 This thread and lushgirl80 made me want to hook up my TI 99/4-a and it turns out I need a couple of keyboards for both of my units. Now seems to be a better time to get them, since prices have gone up a bit (rather than replace the unit, I'll fix these). I have two, and on one some keys don't work, while the other repeats letters. A while back I bought a box of games for it and the 2600 joystick adapter (must have!!) so anything that does NOT need a keyboard is great on it. I need to get Donkey Kong for it! Nathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlightSuit Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 I picked up one of the later, restyled TI 99/4As at a flea market a while ago. Sadly, it wouldn't power on. It was interesting to learn about though, as I hadn't even been aware of the grey/white revision that the system went through. In my mind, the classic, silver and black model is really the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youki Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 My dad had one of these when I was a kid. He was amazed to see me tear through the entire BASIC programming book the very first time he sat me down in front of the thing. I recall us having to go on long, long drives to find stores that sold games for it, though. And I recall the joysticks being rather crappy. I did enjoy the heck out of Parsec. Never got to play Donkey Kong on the TI, though. Didn't even know DK made it to that platform. Can anybody direct me to some screen shots or a YouTube video? I'd love to know how it compared with the other DK ports. Here's screenshots from a wide variety of platforms, including the TI: DK screenshots Video as well: That's interresting to see how TI , Coleco and MSX version are very different despite the fact that use the Same Video Chip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroogur Posted June 4, 2009 Author Share Posted June 4, 2009 *update* So far things are not going well, I have the unit hooked up and it powers on and the start screen comes up with a "Press any key to start" message. After pressing the aforementioned key i get a "Press 1 to start TI Basic" which I do then it either goes back to the start screen or a "TI Basic is ready" message at the bottom of the screen at which point the system freezes. I have no peripherals connected just the console itself, is this thing toast or am I doing something wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroogur Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 I tore down the system and cleaned and re-seated everything that could be cleaned and re-seated and still nothing although the start screens colors do seem sharper and less blurry. Did these things have issues with the keyboards maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darthkur Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 I tore down the system and cleaned and re-seated everything that could be cleaned and re-seated and still nothing although the start screens colors do seem sharper and less blurry. Did these things have issues with the keyboards maybe? I've had a few keyboards for the TI computers that had issues with either the keys not registering correctly unless hit repeatedly or hard or the key sticking and having that specific character repeat ad infinitum. Others have just not worked at all. So yes there are keyboard problems with them. I'm not certain that is the situation with your though with the symptoms you describe. The system obviously shouldn't lock up upon the start-up of basic. Unfortunately my technical expertise is quite limited. I'm betting someone of the Vintage Computer forums in the TI section would be more of assistance: http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/fo...isplay.php?f=62 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuckoBrand Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 I was born 2009. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbmeeks Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 (edited) I'm so old....lol When I was born, Nixson was still president. :-) Edited February 4, 2019 by cbmeeks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOME AUTOMATION Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 Mine *update*So far things are not going well, I have the unit hooked up and it powers on and the start screen comes up with a "Press any key to start" message. After pressing the aforementioned key i get a "Press 1 to start TI Basic" which I do then it either goes back to the start screen or a "TI Basic is ready" message at the bottom of the screen at which point the system freezes.I have no peripherals connected just the console itself, is this thing toast or am I doing something wrong? I'm guessing; VDP RAM is the culprit... many of mine are failing fast. TI BASIC can be most adversely affected! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ksarul Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 I'm just a relic from the age of Ike. . .and I'm pretty sure there are a few others here that hark all the way back to Truman. Hmmmmmmm, maybe that's where the Truman part of Truman-U-Goat came from. . . LOLOL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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