+Atari2600PAL Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 Hi. I've recently picked up an NTSC 99er (mainly for spares and it's box etc.) but am intrigued to check if it works So I was wondering if anyone could confirm if the pin out and voltages of the US/UK PSU's are the same at the point where they are connected to the 99 please? (It came with a US PSU but that's 115v of course). Don't want to blow my UK PSU! Also, and sorry for all the questions, is there a guide anywhere to swapping the chrome on the units please? Many thanks Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jedimatt42 Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 The aluminum layer can be removed. If you take the screws out of the bottom, and then remove the boards from the top half of the housing, you will see the aluminum tabs holding it on. Slowly straighten all of the tabs. If it resists coming free of the plastic, check that you didn't miss a tab. I don't recall any adhesive. There wasn't any on the 2 consoles I have picked up on ebay. Both had partially ripped out tabs that I corrected after full removal and gentle straightening. But be cautious not to bend the aluminum. Folds leave a dent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Atari2600PAL Posted March 23, 2023 Author Share Posted March 23, 2023 14 minutes ago, jedimatt42 said: The aluminum layer can be removed. If you take the screws out of the bottom, and then remove the boards from the top half of the housing, you will see the aluminum tabs holding it on. Slowly straighten all of the tabs. If it resists coming free of the plastic, check that you didn't miss a tab. I don't recall any adhesive. There wasn't any on the 2 consoles I have picked up on ebay. Both had partially ripped out tabs that I corrected after full removal and gentle straightening. But be cautious not to bend the aluminum. Folds leave a dent. Thanks. Will try to dismantle the NTSC unit first and then decide whether to risk it on my main PAL unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Atari2600PAL Posted March 23, 2023 Author Share Posted March 23, 2023 Once I started dismantling them I realised it was safer/easier to just swap the whole top cases This had the added advantage that my PAL machine now has the solid state badge (there was no place for one on the existing case) and it has the slide in rails for the key labels (the existing case had a different design just at the top of the keyboard for just laying the labels on and the previous owner had glued the main key label on). Now the machine looks much better and is far more like the machine I remember having back in the good old days (though my memory isn't the best, as proven in another thread) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mister35mm Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 The USA version of the TI-99/4a CAN be connected to TV with scart. The video output for the UK version of the TI-99 is NOT the same as UK/European version. The USA version has an extra pin and the video output is different. The Ti-99/4a power brick has the same voltaqe outputs for both UK and USA versions. So, yes, you can use a UK PSU to power a USA TI-99/4a. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Atari2600PAL Posted March 24, 2023 Author Share Posted March 24, 2023 8 hours ago, mister35mm said: The USA version of the TI-99/4a CAN be connected to TV with scart. The video output for the UK version of the TI-99 is NOT the same as UK/European version. The USA version has an extra pin and the video output is different. The Ti-99/4a power brick has the same voltaqe outputs for both UK and USA versions. So, yes, you can use a UK PSU to power a USA TI-99/4a. Thanks. I have a composite cable for the NTSC unit so will give it a go with the UK PSU Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Atari2600PAL Posted March 24, 2023 Author Share Posted March 24, 2023 While swapping the cases of the units I noticed the motherboard shielding on the PAL unit was showing it's age (discoloured and rough), but the shielding on the NTSC unit looked like it had come out of the factory yesterday (absolutely immaculate). So may try swapping the shielding (visually looked identical) and just keep the NTSC components in a box for spares rather than put that back together again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Atari2600PAL Posted March 24, 2023 Author Share Posted March 24, 2023 Connected it all up and got the boot screen ok But it wouldn’t respond to any keyboard presses and there was an electrical buzzing sound coming from the unit Have now broken it up for spares Swapping the shielding will be a job for another day Thanks for the various info/advise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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