Subject: Sidecar carts

From: Owen Brand <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2010 15:05:10 -0400

This is a curiosity question---- I have a Miner 2049er cart--- sidecar.  I know of three others...

*Killer Caterpillar
*Espial
*Arcturus

I'm pretty sure I'll never find any of these randomly... But I am curious how many are known to exist... How many of these are owned by list members?  

Owen Brand

www.firebrandmusic.net
www.opry99er.com

---

From: "Ksarul" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2010 16:47:31 -0400

Espial shows up now and again.  I was at one of the TI Treffs (I think it
was 1988 or 1989) and a dealer was blowing out the last of their stock at
the Treff.  He had about 30 copies of Espial, one of which I bought.  With
that, I know there at least that many of them out there.  I seem to remember
that they came packed 10 to a box as shipped from TigerVision, so any dealer
that ever did stock them probably had at least a case of 10 of them.  I
figure at least 300-500 copies of the cart exist, though a lot of those may
have disappeared into landfills in the interim.  This one is an attainable
wish by that reckoning, though it might take a few years to win one.

Arcturus would be your next best bet.  They were sold by Unisource for a
while before the company folded.  They didn't sell well due to the price (a
problem with Miner and Espial as well), and someone quickly figured out how
to get a copy on disk, which spread like wildfire and further killed sales.
I figure that maybe 100 of these ever existed, tops.  It is a lot less now.
I seem to remember that someone was talking to one of the original
developers for Killer Caterpillar-and he said there were only a few copies
of that one made-more than two but less than 10.

Jim

  _____  

From: [email-masked] [mailto:[email-masked]] On Behalf Of
Owen Brand
Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2010 3:05 PM
To: [email-masked]
Subject: [TI994A] Sidecar carts

This is a curiosity question---- I have a Miner 2049er cart--- sidecar. I
know of three others...

*Killer Caterpillar
*Espial
*Arcturus

I'm pretty sure I'll never find any of these randomly... But I am curious
how many are known to exist... How many of these are owned by list members? 

Owen Brand

www.firebrandmusic.net
www.opry99er.com

---

From: Owen Brand <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2010 17:09:25 -0400

Interesting....  Espial it is then... I have had my eye out for a long time but haven't seen a single one pop up.  It's no big deal, I probably wouldn't have the insane amount of money it would take to get one anyway.  I am just enamored with rare cartridges... I don't own any real rare ones, but I always look wherever I am. I try to hit flea markets twice a month and look for TI stuff, but I've never found so much as a Parsec cartridge.  If I get lucky I'll see some Atari 2600 carts which give me a bit of hope to find some TI gear, but it hasn't happened yet.  

I have recently acquired an XBII+ cart and of course my Miner 2049er cart.... Two ROMOX carts (Hen Pecked and Rotor Raiders--boxed and sealed).  I have all the Funware carts originally released (St Nick, Video Vegas, Rabbit Trail, Ambulance, Henhouse)... But in my search for rarity, I have always come up a bit short.  I have considered selling ALL my carts (except for XB, DMII, and EA) just so I could afford a SCSI setup, but I always look at the pretty labels and think "nah... I'll keep the collection for now".  :) 

If I ever find an Espial, I'll be happy enough with my collection to document the whole thing and put up a section of my website for my cart collection.  I'm missing a really rare piece... I have some rare-ish stuff, but no centerpiece to my collection.

Owen Brand

www.firebrandmusic.net
www.opry99er.com

On Oct 31, 2010, at 4:47 PM, "Ksarul" <[email-masked]> wrote:

> Espial shows up now and again.  I was at one of the TI Treffs (I think it was 1988 or 1989) and a dealer was blowing out the last of their stock at the Treff.  He had about 30 copies of Espial, one of which I bought.  With that, I know there at least that many of them out there.  I seem to remember that they came packed 10 to a box as shipped from TigerVision, so any dealer that ever did stock them probably had at least a case of 10 of them.  I figure at least 300-500 copies of the cart exist, though a lot of those may have disappeared into landfills in the interim.  This one is an attainable wish by that reckoning, though it might take a few years to win one.
> 
>  
> 
> Arcturus would be your next best bet.  They were sold by Unisource for a while before the company folded.  They didn’t sell well due to the price (a problem with Miner and Espial as well), and someone quickly figured out how to get a copy on disk, which spread like wildfire and further killed sales.  I figure that maybe 100 of these ever existed, tops.  It is a lot less now.  I seem to remember that someone was talking to one of the original developers for Killer Caterpillar—and he said there were only a few copies of that one made—more than two but less than 10.
> 
>  
> 
> Jim
> 
>  
> 
> From: [email-masked] [mailto:[email-masked]] On Behalf Of Owen Brand

---

From: "Ksarul" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2010 17:48:27 -0400

I know what you mean about hunting down that really rare piece.  I hunted
for a copy of the TI Calc module for almost 20 years before I finally
tracked one down.

If you want really bizarre though-try to find one of the Logo or Logo II
carts in another language.  I have Logo II in Dutch, and I've seen copies of
it in French and Italian, though I don't have either of those.  I also have
a copy of the German Logo I module-and a set of GRAM files for the German
Logo II, though I've never seen that one as a physical module.

For games, another Holy Grail is the original release of the Midnight Mason
cartridge.  Software Specialties did a few of them up with really nice
full-color manuals and high-quality labels on the cart.  I bought one of the
three known to still exist about 10 years ago-these never made it into the
sales channel, as the three I know about were from the production test copy
run.  They never went past that point for their own production.

Similar modules exist for the three cartridges that MicroPal later sold on
disk-Computer War, Submarine Battle, and the third one whose name escapes me
at the moment.  There were apparently carts from proto runs for all three of
them, but most of them never made it into user hands (Charles LaFara may
have had one set, and I know of no others).

Jim

  _____  

From: [email-masked] [mailto:[email-masked]] On Behalf Of
Owen Brand
Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2010 5:09 PM
To: [email-masked]
Subject: Re: [TI994A] Sidecar carts

Interesting....  Espial it is then... I have had my eye out for a long time
but haven't seen a single one pop up.  It's no big deal, I probably wouldn't
have the insane amount of money it would take to get one anyway.  I am just
enamored with rare cartridges... I don't own any real rare ones, but I
always look wherever I am. I try to hit flea markets twice a month and look
for TI stuff, but I've never found so much as a Parsec cartridge.  If I get
lucky I'll see some Atari 2600 carts which give me a bit of hope to find
some TI gear, but it hasn't happened yet.  

I have recently acquired an XBII+ cart and of course my Miner 2049er
cart.... Two ROMOX carts (Hen Pecked and Rotor Raiders--boxed and sealed).
I have all the Funware carts originally released (St Nick, Video Vegas,
Rabbit Trail, Ambulance, Henhouse)... But in my search for rarity, I have
always come up a bit short.  I have considered selling ALL my carts (except
for XB, DMII, and EA) just so I could afford a SCSI setup, but I always look
at the pretty labels and think "nah... I'll keep the collection for now".
:) 

If I ever find an Espial, I'll be happy enough with my collection to
document the whole thing and put up a section of my website for my cart
collection.  I'm missing a really rare piece... I have some rare-ish stuff,
but no centerpiece to my collection.

Owen Brand

www.firebrandmusic.net

www.opry99er.com

Jim

  _____  

From:  <mailto:[email-masked]> [email-masked]
[mailto:[email-masked]] On Behalf Of Owen Brand
Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2010 3:05 PM
To: [email-masked]
Subject: [TI994A] Sidecar carts

*Killer Caterpillar
*Espial
*Arcturus

Owen Brand

 <http://www.firebrandmusic.net> www.firebrandmusic.net
 <http://www.opry99er.com> www.opry99er.com

---

From: Bryan Roppolo Boulder <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2010 17:36:53 -0400

Hehe. I have a BOXED copy of Espial with instructions in my collection :)

-----Original Message-----

*Killer Caterpillar
*Espial
*Arcturus

Owen Brand

www.firebrandmusic.net
www.opry99er.com

------------------------------------

Yahoo! Groups Links

---

From: Bryan Roppolo Boulder <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2010 17:43:12 -0400

I can send you pics of 2/3  Thorn-EMI carts if you haven't seen them. Those
are sidecar cartridges as well. I can send you pictures with their manuals
and boxes, though you might already have seen these cartridges. They are
River Rescue and Submarine Commander. 

  _____  

From: [email-masked] [mailto:[email-masked]] On Behalf Of
Ksarul
Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2010 5:48 PM
To: [email-masked]
Subject: RE: [TI994A] Sidecar carts

Jim

  _____  

  

Owen Brand

www.firebrandmusic.net

www.opry99er.com

Jim

  _____  

  

*Killer Caterpillar
*Espial
*Arcturus

Owen Brand

---

From: Owen Brand <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2010 17:49:33 -0400

I have a Computer War cart... It's a MicroPal cartridge... I didn't think it was all that rare, though.  The DP rarity guide has it as an R7 I think...  I also have a /4a Flyer cart, but I'm pretty sure it's not that rare... Saw one on eBay a few months ago...

Thanks for the info, Jim.  You're a fantastic resource for all my TI needs.  :). Now if you could just find me an extea Espial cart laying around.  :) hehehe---

Owen Brand

www.firebrandmusic.net
www.opry99er.com

On Oct 31, 2010, at 5:48 PM, "Ksarul" <[email-masked]> wrote:

> I know what you mean about hunting down that really rare piece.  I hunted for a copy of the TI Calc module for almost 20 years before I finally tracked one down.
> 
>  
> 
> If you want really bizarre though—try to find one of the Logo or Logo II carts in another language.  I have Logo II in Dutch, and I’ve seen copies of it in French and Italian, though I don’t have either of those.  I also have a copy of the German Logo I module—and a set of GRAM files for the German Logo II, though I’ve never seen that one as a physical module.
> 
>  
> 
> For games, another Holy Grail is the original release of the Midnight Mason cartridge.  Software Specialties did a few of them up with really nice full-color manuals and high-quality labels on the cart.  I bought one of the three known to still exist about 10 years ago—these never made it into the sales channel, as the three I know about were from the production test copy run.  They never went past that point for their own production.
> 
>  
> 
> Similar modules exist for the three cartridges that MicroPal later sold on disk—Computer War, Submarine Battle, and the third one whose name escapes me at the moment.  There were apparently carts from proto runs for all three of them, but most of them never made it into user hands (Charles LaFara may have had one set, and I know of no others).
> 
>  
> 
> Jim
> 
>  
>

---

From: Owen Brand <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2010 18:05:57 -0400

I'd love to see pix!!  Sure, man. I'm interested in finding any and all sidecar carts and learning their origins and rarity.  I'll keep my eye out for these things, but I still love to see other people's collections.  Gives me something to aspire to.  :)

Owen Brand

www.firebrandmusic.net
www.opry99er.com

On Oct 31, 2010, at 5:43 PM, Bryan Roppolo Boulder <[email-masked]> wrote:

> I can send you pics of 2/3  Thorn-EMI carts if you haven’t seen them. Those are sidecar cartridges as well. I can send you pictures with their manuals and boxes, though you might already have seen these cartridges. They are River Rescue and Submarine Commander.
> 
>  
> 
> From: [email-masked] [mailto:[email-masked]] On Behalf Of Ksarul

---

From: Owen Brand <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2010 18:12:40 -0400

Wow man!!  Those are beautiful pictures!!!  How rare are THOSE carts?!

Owen Brand

www.firebrandmusic.net
www.opry99er.com

---

From: Bryan Roppolo Boulder <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2010 18:16:27 -0400

You don't want to know :-)

  _____  

From: [email-masked] [mailto:[email-masked]] On Behalf Of
Owen Brand
Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2010 6:13 PM
To: [email-masked]
Subject: Re: [TI994A] Sidecar carts

Owen Brand

www.firebrandmusic.net

www.opry99er.com

On Oct 31, 2010, at 5:43 PM, Bryan Roppolo Boulder <[email-masked]>
wrote:

  _____  

[mailto:[email-masked]] On Behalf Of Ksarul

Jim

  _____  

  

Owen Brand

 

On Oct 31, 2010, at 4:47 PM, "Ksarul" < <mailto:[email-masked]>
[email-masked]> wrote:

Jim

  _____  

From:  <mailto:[email-masked]> [email-masked] [mailto:
<mailto:[email-masked]> [email-masked]] On Behalf Of Owen
Brand
Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2010 3:05 PM
To:  <mailto:[email-masked]> [email-masked]
Subject: [TI994A] Sidecar carts

*Killer Caterpillar
*Espial
*Arcturus

Owen Brand

 <http://www.firebrandmusic.net>  <http://www.firebrandmusic.net>
www.firebrandmusic.net
 <http://www.opry99er.com>  <http://www.opry99er.com> www.opry99er.com

---

From: Owen Brand <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2010 18:26:17 -0400

One of a kinds?  :) I assume you've played them...  They any good?

Owen Brand

www.firebrandmusic.net
www.opry99er.com

On Oct 31, 2010, at 6:16 PM, Bryan Roppolo Boulder <[email-masked]> wrote:

> You don’t want to know J

---

From: Bryan Roppolo Boulder <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2010 18:28:21 -0400

Of course they are good :-) I especially liked River Patrol. You can play
these as ROMs exist on-line or via a Gram Kracker, or even XB.

  _____  

From: [email-masked] [mailto:[email-masked]] On Behalf Of
Owen Brand
Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2010 6:26 PM
To: [email-masked]
Subject: Re: [TI994A] Sidecar carts

Owen Brand

www.firebrandmusic.net

www.opry99er.com

On Oct 31, 2010, at 6:16 PM, Bryan Roppolo Boulder <[email-masked]>
wrote:

  _____  

Owen Brand

 

On Oct 31, 2010, at 5:43 PM, Bryan Roppolo Boulder <
<mailto:[email-masked]> [email-masked]> wrote:

  _____  

<mailto:[email-masked]> [email-masked]] On Behalf Of Ksarul

Jim

  _____  

  

Owen Brand

 

On Oct 31, 2010, at 4:47 PM, "Ksarul" < <mailto:[email-masked]>
<mailto:[email-masked]> [email-masked]> wrote:

Jim

  _____  

From:  <mailto:[email-masked]> [email-masked] [mailto:
<mailto:[email-masked]>  <mailto:[email-masked]>
[email-masked]] On Behalf Of Owen Brand
Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2010 3:05 PM
To:  <mailto:[email-masked]>  <mailto:[email-masked]>
[email-masked]
Subject: [TI994A] Sidecar carts

*Killer Caterpillar
*Espial
*Arcturus

Owen Brand

 <http://www.firebrandmusic.net>  <http://www.firebrandmusic.net>
<http://www.firebrandmusic.net> www.firebrandmusic.net
 <http://www.opry99er.com>  <http://www.opry99er.com>
<http://www.opry99er.com> www.opry99er.com

---

From: Owen Brand <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2010 18:33:56 -0400

Thanks for the info, buddy.  One day I hope to have something equally as cool to show.  :) 

I need to visit VGH again... Been too long.

Owen Brand

www.firebrandmusic.net
www.opry99er.com

On Oct 31, 2010, at 6:28 PM, Bryan Roppolo Boulder <[email-masked]> wrote:

> Of course they are good J I especially liked River Patrol. You can play these as ROMs exist on-line or via a Gram Kracker, or even XB.
> 
>  
>

---

From: "epergrem" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2010 22:39:11 -0000

Owen,
I had one from the estate listed on eBay in June.  It went for $72.00.  That really isn't all that much compared to some carts.

Ernie

--- In [email-masked], Owen Brand <owenbrand@...> wrote:
>
> Interesting....  Espial it is then... I have had my eye out for a long time but haven't seen a single one pop up.  It's no big deal, I probably wouldn't have the insane amount of money it would take to

---

From: Owen Brand <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2010 18:41:57 -0400

Damn!!!  How did I miss it?!?  That seems like a steal....

Owen Brand

www.firebrandmusic.net
www.opry99er.com

---

From: Owen Brand <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2010 20:23:57 -0400

I'm pretty upset with myself for missing that auction.. Wow, I was expecting the price to be in the $150-$200 range--- but I guess its all about market demand... 

I would like to ask a favor from the list... If you become aware of any of these sidecar carts for sale, let me know.  :) I am kicking myself right now repeatedly.... Can you hear it?  :)

Owen Brand

www.firebrandmusic.net
www.opry99er.com