ti99/4a cassette cable help

[NickH93]

Hey everyone. I decided to pull out my TI99/4A for fun. I decided i wanted to make a cassette cable out of an old 9-pin connector and audio jack.

 

http://pinouts.ru/Storage/cassette_ti_99_4a_pinout.shtml

 

According to this pinout, the only inward signals are 8 and 9, Input from tape 1 and 2, and dito (please explain that dito).

 

If i just want to load tapes, thats it, what other pins would i need? Besides 8 and 9, and what is "dito"?

 

Sorry if I sound like an amateur, but I'm relatively new to making cables...any help?

 

Thanks,

Nick

[NickH93]

Seems like i have it working, other than the fact that the audio levels are very low.

[+OLD CS1]

Seems like i have it working, other than the fact that the audio levels are very low.

 

"Ditto" means "the same," in this context, for instance, pins 1 and 2 are for CS1 motor control, but you see in the comments that pin 2 is the "negative" return.

 

As for audio levels, you will have to experiment with the volume and tone controls on the playback device. They make a HUGE difference.

 

The pinout page is not entirely accurate in that "cassette 1 can't be written to." CS1 can save and load, while CS2 can only save. The 99ers.net pinout page has the exact same information.

[NickH93]

Seems like i have it working, other than the fact that the audio levels are very low.

 

"Ditto" means "the same," in this context, for instance, pins 1 and 2 are for CS1 motor control, but you see in the comments that pin 2 is the "negative" return.

 

As for audio levels, you will have to experiment with the volume and tone controls on the playback device. They make a HUGE difference.

 

The pinout page is not entirely accurate in that "cassette 1 can't be written to." CS1 can save and load, while CS2 can only save. The 99ers.net pinout page has the exact same information.

 

Since I posted that, I fixed it, and had Tunnels of doom load successfully. If you know, could you tell mer what "audio gate" is?

[craftsman1234]

Reviving a bit of an old thread. I was able to pick up a TI-99 4/a this weekend and it runs great. I was able to get a composite cable for it.

 

Now I need to make a tape cable. The pin-out also has me confused.

 

It looks like I need

 

8&9 for input.

 

1 & 2 Motor Control

 

And I have no idea for output to save.

 

Help Thanks.

[jdgabbard]

Now, I've never made a cassette cable for a TI-99/4A, but I have made cables for other computers. It appears that for a single cassette you'll need the following connections: Pins 6&7 are the motor control pins, pin 3 is Mic, pin 8 is the audio in (headphone), and pin 9 is a ground. The ground for Mic and headphone would likely be tied together. I'm not sure what pin 4 does.

 

So if it were me, I would wire my cable like this and test

 

Mic -> 3&9

HPs -> 8&9

Motor -> 6&7

 

But without my TI handy to do some probing, this is a best guess.