Trying to trace my TI origins...

[+acadiel]

I don’t remember if it was Gemco (South Texas chain) or Toys R Us that my father bought our /4A from, but it was my 2nd grade year, likely late Summer 1982 or Fall 1982 when some sort of price cut took place. I also remember seeing the games in our stand alone Sears that was downtown.  Hooked up with metal cables to the kiosk.  

 

We had a console and a handful of carts to start, not even a cassette cable.  And Dad was the only one that could touch that system, learning how to program it in BASIC.  He has purchased some small paperback book about BASIC programming from my school book faire with green and white stripes on the front and was determined to get some working on the TI.  He had notes written in the book, and being 7, I was not allowed anywhere near the console.  We did have MunchMan and A-maze-ing with joysticks to start.  I could only play supervised.
 

Well, he eventually after a month or two didn’t get into it as much - or something seemed to happen.  I know Dad bought a cassette cable and tried to save programs. At some point, I just started playing with the system and turning it on myself and playing the games and programming it and think I might have passed him up in skill level and he stopped experimenting with it, and he also stopped telling me I had to use it under his supervision. 😆 
 

We bought games like Blasto and Early Learning Fun and eventually Parsec and got a free speech synth. (Early 1983?  Buy so many modules and get a free speech synth.). We owned probably a dozen cartridges at most, the joysticks, speech, console, and a cassette cable.

 

Anyway, we kept the TI around, but it got moved around a bit, first in December 1983 to Louisiana from Texas (self packed move that was probably rather rough) and then again to another Louisiana home later in 1983.  It worked for a bit in 1984 and 1985; then it just stopped working - black screen.

Years go by, and around 1988 or 1989, my father brings home the console one day, and says “Here you go, it’s fixed.”  It was supposedly a wire in the power cord.  So, I take the console and set it up and make it mine.  
 

Then, I start talking to my cousins at school about my fixed console and they said that they knew someone with an “expansion system”  that had upgraded to an Amiga.  I got this gentleman’s name and number, and talked to him about purchasing his TI equipment - he and my parents worked out a deal to pay him in installments, and I got probably the most complete setup ever.  PEB, cartridges in including E/A, mini memory, IUG cassettes and newsletters, old catalogs, countless disks, etc.  This guy, Alvin, taught me some great things through the years, and I can blame him for getting me into modems and BBSing too. 

 

John Phillips, a TI author, wrote me back one day a year or two later (1991?) and sent tons of source code that was preserved.  (I’ve been able to share and upload everything with the community, too - it’s all on Whtech!). It was a treasure trove that I was able to learn from. 

 

There are lots of great people that I have met along the way - Mattie (the President) and Louis Guion (who ran the BBS) from the Dallas TI group.  (I rescued a lot of equipment from Mattie and Louis years later.)
 

All these people probably wondered what this (back then not diagnosed yet) autistic teen was doing racking up his parents long distance bill calling them in Texas to ask all those questions about this computer that was discontinued many years ago.  But, they listened and helped me, and Mattie made friends with my parents and I, and I’m still friends with her today.  

During college, the TI remained in storage until I got married, and started my first permanent full time job, and then took it back out - I got back into the community starting with the Joy Electronics inventory around 2001 in Yahoo Groups.  Worked with all you fine folks on many things including countless archival projects, Chicago TI Faires, Vintage Computer Festival SE, the original 16K Guidry cart board, the 64K cart board, a Pitfall! Cart board partnership, an UberGROM partnership, the TI Books archive, and lastly, the CB Wilson treasure trove of schematics and paperwork.  

It’s been quite a ride, but I’ve met some amazing people along the way.  And you know, as neat as this computer is, the people I’ve met along the way have been the best benefit of working with it.  There are some amazing folks out there.  For all of you that I’ve met in real life or that I only know well virtually, thank you.
 

[Kchula-Rrit]

1 hour ago, acadiel said:

...

We bought games like Blasto and Early Learning Fun and eventually Parsec and got a free speech synth. (Early 1983?  Buy so many modules and get a free speech synth.). We owned probably a dozen cartridges at most, the joysticks, speech, console, and a cassette cable.

...

I remember the free Speech Synthesizer promo, chasing around town trying to find TI cartridges.  I found them surprisingly hard to find in the San Francisco Bay area (nerd central)!

Disappointed that XB could only speak canned phrases.  Terminal Emulator could do text-to-speech, but was otherwise limited to console BASIC.

Haven't used the synthesizer in decades, not sure it even works anymore.

K-R.

[Kchula-Rrit]

1 hour ago, acadiel said:

...

It’s been quite a ride, but I’ve met some amazing people along the way.  And you know, as neat as this computer is, the people I’ve met along the way have been the best benefit of working with it.  There are some amazing folks out there.  For all of you that I’ve met in real life or that I only know well virtually, thank you.
 

I was always the "lone-wolf" type, not necessarily by choice.  All the TI people I've "met" have been through this Web-site, except (briefly) for one disappointed individual who sold me his PE Box setup after he gave up on it.  I'm glad for this site and the people that "inhabit" it.

K-R.

[+acadiel]

On 4/7/2024 at 2:35 AM, Kchula-Rrit said:

I was always the "lone-wolf" type, not necessarily by choice.  All the TI people I've "met" have been through this Web-site, except (briefly) for one disappointed individual who sold me his PE Box setup after he gave up on it.  I'm glad for this site and the people that "inhabit" it.

K-R.

Those people count!  They are the ones I mentioned that are the ones that I've met "virtually".  

[Kchula-Rrit]

I should clarify that the "disappointed guy" was someone who'd posted an ad, back in 1987 or so, to sell his two consoles and loaded PE Box.  He had been hoping to write games for the TI and sell them, but gave up on the whole thing.

Everyone on this Web-site has been great!

K-R.