Omega-TI Posted March 25, 2018 Author Share Posted March 25, 2018 136 years into the future and the spirit of the TI-99/4A lives on! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 I am saddened. My good old tape deck has started eating tapes. It started gradually, not at all at first thankfully, the pinch roller guides the tape off the path enough it crinkles and even twists the tape. Cleaned it up nice and good, including the capstan, but no joy and there is no way to adjust them. This increases the importance of fixing my Program Recorder. *sigh* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Vorticon Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 I am saddened. My good old tape deck has started eating tapes. It started gradually, not at all at first thankfully, the pinch roller guides the tape off the path enough it crinkles and even twists the tape. Cleaned it up nice and good, including the capstan, but no joy and there is no way to adjust them. This increases the importance of fixing my Program Recorder. *sigh* I thought one could replace the rubber rollers fairly easily. The rubber degrades over time and becomes sticky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 I thought one could replace the rubber rollers fairly easily. The rubber degrades over time and becomes sticky. It is actually nice and supple, now. It can be replaced if I can find the correct roller or a donor unit, but it will cost less in money and time just to replace the entire unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 Yo... Big Al..... I got one if you need one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 Yo... Big Al..... I got one if you need one. AHAHA! I appreciate it but, no. You got that working one from me fair-and-square, I just had no idea that mine which was working five years ago no longer worked. I will fix my Program Recorder and find a suitable replacement deck for my Optimus and all will be well in the world. I was at least able to get enough work done for the VCF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed in SoDak Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 (edited) One trick is to lightly drop the tape from a few inches to help settle the winding. Fast forward or rewind it. Flip and repeat without stopping till the tape is done. If it was mostly used to record and re-record the same small stretch of tape, then reversed, then rinse and repeat, the windings get spread out from a nice, flat pack. Using a differerent machine than the one that it was settled into may cause a different slight wobble in how the tape lays on the reels. So you may want to acclimate it to the new deck's fit. The clue is how the tape pack lays when you insert it and how it winds after it's played a bit. If the layers shift up or down enough you easily spot it, winding the tape fully "around the clock" might help. I've used various methods to roughen the pinch roller a bit. You don't want to change the roundness, just get rid of the gloss and residue. A libation of alcohol for both technician and device is highly recommended. Use and abuse of the deck can bend the cams and levers that do the mechanical work of engaging the rollers, braking pads or slip discs. Spindles get slightly bent. Most often when about the fifth or sixth time, it don't work, so I slam the tape in and stab the play lever extra hard so it gets my point. My Canadian TI buddy Ian uses a hi-fi type deck with good results. I think he combined the two stereo channels to feed the TI. I once "archived" some of my computer tapes to reel-to-reel. Just sayin' it don't have to be some rinky-dink mono battery portable. Have you tried tweaking head alignment? The heads sometimes have tape guides bonded to their side. If it's kinda off, compared to tape travel, it can cause a wrinkle in the tape. Something's mechanically off, dragging or bent, to cause that sort of torsion or stress. I have some experience in this: Back in my bachelor days, we'd take a cheapy cassette recorder, tape down the buttons to keep them in the Record position, then heave it to one of our buddies. Who would "try" to catch it, pick it up and shake it around whilst saying clever witticisms. Then we'd play it back, laugh, and "fix" the recorder as needed. I don't think that tape deck would "fly" around my house any more, let alone any gathering of mature males that would concoct such an absurd idea. -Ed Edited March 27, 2018 by Ed in SoDak 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 I appreciate the guidance. I found similar advice at a forum where you audiophile phreaks* hang out and I did a good bit of troubleshooting the other night to get to my sad conclusion (and sacrificing four tapes in the process.) If I only allow the pinch roller to slightly engage on the capstan the tape stays in alignment on the path. Once the roller fully engages the tape starts to travel "up" the capstan and the tape guide on the head which, if it does not crunch up the edge of the tape, rolls the tape which then travels more freely toward a full twisting of the tape. I have some CaiKleen RBR on the way to see if that helps revitalize the pinch roller. It no longer feels glazed and it is "springy," but that does not mean as much as one would hope as I learned a long time ago with my scanner's ADF. This Optimus is a cheap disposable RadioShack unit and lacks proper adjustments. I think I paid $29.99 for it around 1994, maybe $39.99. We shall see. I have eyes on a few potential replacements. The problem I see with some of the "professional" decks is the lack of microphone level inputs. * said in admiration (to clear up any misinterpretations) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted March 28, 2018 Share Posted March 28, 2018 30 minutes ago, outside my house, my mom caught the biggest fish of her life. . Just a shade under 20 pounds... picture doesnt do it justice... this fish was thick!!! 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc.hull Posted March 28, 2018 Share Posted March 28, 2018 Did she carp her pants ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opry99er Posted March 29, 2018 Share Posted March 29, 2018 Indeed she did..... Well played Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc.hull Posted March 29, 2018 Share Posted March 29, 2018 Pressure cooker on high and skim the scales. Steak of the mud from what I hear. Tell your mom she done good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Vorticon Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 Saw this and promptly installed Windows XP under Virtualbox just because... https://youtu.be/AVXY8OEZAEQ 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted April 1, 2018 Author Share Posted April 1, 2018 In case anyone was unaware, there is a new version of the RPI 3... the B+ model. Raspberry Pi 3B+ specifications SoC: Broadcom BCM2837B0 quad-core A53 (ARMv8) 64-bit @ 1.4GHz GPU: Broadcom Videocore-IV RAM: 1GB LPDDR2 SDRAM Networking: Gigabit Ethernet (via USB channel), 2.4GHz and 5GHz 802.11b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.2, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Storage: Micro-SD GPIO: 40-pin GPIO header, populated Ports: HDMI, 3.5mm analogue audio-video jack, 4x USB 2.0, Ethernet, Camera Serial Interface (CSI), Display Serial Interface (DSI) Dimensions: 82mm x 56mm x 19.5mm, 50g If you want more information and comparison data << CLICK HERE >> 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digdugnate Posted April 2, 2018 Share Posted April 2, 2018 In case anyone was unaware, there is a new version of the RPI 3... the B+ model. Raspberry Pi 3B+ specifications SoC: Broadcom BCM2837B0 quad-core A53 (ARMv8) 64-bit @ 1.4GHz GPU: Broadcom Videocore-IV RAM: 1GB LPDDR2 SDRAM Networking: Gigabit Ethernet (via USB channel), 2.4GHz and 5GHz 802.11b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.2, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Storage: Micro-SD GPIO: 40-pin GPIO header, populated Ports: HDMI, 3.5mm analogue audio-video jack, 4x USB 2.0, Ethernet, Camera Serial Interface (CSI), Display Serial Interface (DSI) Dimensions: 82mm x 56mm x 19.5mm, 50g If you want more information and comparison data << CLICK HERE >> awesome! i've been looking for a pi3, actually, anyway. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digdugnate Posted April 2, 2018 Share Posted April 2, 2018 so my sob story is that my 2016 Dodge Dart is in the shop now due to a transmission fault- fortunately, it has factory warranty left so it is all covered. the dealer loaned me a very nice soccer-mobile 2018 Dodge Grand Caravan, though I reallllly wish i had my car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted April 2, 2018 Author Share Posted April 2, 2018 awesome! i've been looking for a pi3, actually, anyway. Yeah, we gotta have a Pi for our TIPI's! Thanks to Matt, I, and many of you gonna have a lot of fun! I was able to pull the trigger on another Pi because of a wonderful surprise. With all the stuff the TIPI has ALREADY going for it, it's limitless capacity for growth and change is a huge one! Unlike Nano-PEB's that lock one into a stagnate growth path, the TIPI will give their users years of excitement and growth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Schmitzi Posted April 2, 2018 Share Posted April 2, 2018 .. . 21+22. April 2018: > Computer Museum Of America < #vintage #computer #festival 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted April 3, 2018 Author Share Posted April 3, 2018 I know... port of entry, regional distribution center, then off to smaller destination hubs and then the final destination. It's all supposed to be very efficient... but when you're tracking a package and see it going further way.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted April 3, 2018 Share Posted April 3, 2018 I have had packages misdirected on a few occasions, even bounced between two Post Offices for a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+InsaneMultitasker Posted April 3, 2018 Share Posted April 3, 2018 My favorite is the 'out for delivery' catch all status, followed by an arrival at a post office, followed by more 'out for delivery' statuses. I even had one package show as 'delivered' before it arrived for distribution. I eventually stopped checking the status for postal service packages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitkraft Posted April 3, 2018 Share Posted April 3, 2018 I must have an unusually good local post office and UPS guy. Ive had very good luck with them. Now Fedex and DHl is a whole other story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted April 4, 2018 Author Share Posted April 4, 2018 Woo Hoo! Now it's even further away... on the OPPOSITE CORNER OF THE COUNTRY. Well now... what can I say.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted April 5, 2018 Author Share Posted April 5, 2018 Here's a neat video if you're into science fiction, and cool space stories. I really enjoyed it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIUIh7dxlnI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 Woo Hoo! Now it's even further away... on the OPPOSITE CORNER OF THE COUNTRY. Well now... what can I say.... On its way to me, obviously. Just a small sample of my powers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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