Subject: Flaky beige keyboard?

From: "themachead" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2010 21:00:34 -0000

Hi,
New to the group, first post, been enjoying reading the message archives and seeing what people are doing with these computers these days. I was one of those kids who got a beige 99/4A for Christmas in 1983. I'd been begging my parents for a computer for years, and suddenly they found one available for $99 at JCPenney. They also got me a tape recorder, joysticks and three or four clearance cartridges. It was my first computer, and I spent the next three years programming the heck out of TI Basic. I lived in the middle of nowhere, and didn't know anyone else with a 99/4A, so it was just me, the green/yellow book and the blue book, and lots of trial and error. It's one of the things I can look back, point to, and say "that changed my life" without a trace of irony.

I still have my original 99/4A, but a couple of the keys got broken along the way (I probably typed 'em off, actually), the solder's loose on the power connector, and so on. I've played with emulators a few times since, but I got a bug recently to show my kids the real thing. So, I bought one from eBay a few weeks back, and it seems really sweet. It was a late beige model, just like mine. The box was a little rough, but still sealed. All contents in as new condition, still in original plastic/styro, etc., and I paid a fraction of what my parents paid for mine nearly thirty years ago. :)

So far, so good - I plug it in, it fires up, tight connectors, screen and sound, woo-hoo! It's Christmas 1983 all over again. I go to hit "1" for TI Basic, and...nothing. To make this already-too-long story short, some keys work fine, and some not so much. I "worked" the 1 key a while and it eventually started working; same with the L and A keys. E works but almost always gives me double or triple EEEs. The thing that is the most confusing is that FCTN works fine if the CAPS LOCK is off, but NEVER works if CAPS LOCK is on. It's been too long for me to remember if that is expected behavior or not.

So here are my questions for those of you who have dealt with this before:

1) Some of this feels like it could just be "rusty" keyboard hardware; just because this was new-in-box doesn't rule out the possibility that oxidation happened and that the keyboard just needs some sort of cleaning. If that's the case, do y'all have any recommended techniques/substances for cleaning beige keyboard contacts? Are there different models that require different care?

2) The FCTN thing seems like NOT "rusty" keyboard hardware. If it works with the CAPS LOCK off, it should work with the CAPS LOCK on -- unless it's like the "up" function of the joystick; _that_ crazy thing I remember. ;) If this is _not_ expected behavior, do I need to be concerned about something deeper than the keyboard with this machine? It really looks brand spankin' new; I'm convinced that it's never been out of the box. Are there internal components (capacitors, etc) that are commonly subject to failure through complete disuse over the course of a few decades, and if so, which ones should I check first?

Thanks in advance for any help that you can offer. I look forward to more participation in these discussions, and I'm excited about the promise of the nanoPEB and some of the other stuff I've been reading about in this forum.

Greetings to you all!
Troy

---

From: mark wills <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2010 21:16:25 +0000 (GMT)

Hi Troy

Tex*InTreaseures has a new keyboard (for beige models) for sale. It is $4.95!!! 
WOW! What a bargain!

Try this link:

http://texintreasures.com/shop/index.php?cPath=23&osCsid=5e58c8e2c17258abfab3cdeb99beefd5

Also, since it looks so nice, any chance of some nice hi-res photo's?

Finally, can I say "WELCOME" to the group! It's a pretty cool place to hang out!

Ok, *finally*: Get yourself a silver console. The beige consoles are the 
equivalent of flared trousers, gold medallions, and chest hair. For beige 
console, think "Saturday night fever". See what I mean?

In fact, beige 99/4A consoles have been rendered illegal here in the UK by the 
fashion police. Anyone caught in possession of said beige naffness is subject to 
a hefty fine and possibly a prison sentence, which entails 'forced' training 
lessons on a Vic-20.

Imagine that!

<Shudder>

Mark

----- Original Message ----
> From: themachead <[email-masked]>
> To: [email-masked]
> Sent: Thu, 30 September, 2010 22:00:34
> Subject: [TI994A] Flaky beige keyboard?
> 
> Hi,
> New to the group, first post, been enjoying reading the message archives  and 
>seeing what people are doing with these computers these days. I was one of  
>those kids who got a beige 99/4A for Christmas in 1983. I'd been begging my  
>parents for a computer for years, and suddenly they found one available for $99  
>at JCPenney. They also got me a tape recorder, joysticks and three or four  
>clearance cartridges. It was my first computer, and I spent the next three years  
>programming the heck out of TI Basic. I lived in the middle of nowhere, and  
>didn't know anyone else with a 99/4A, so it was just me, the green/yellow book  
>and the blue book, and lots of trial and error. It's one of the things I can  
>look back, point to, and say "that changed my life" without a trace of  irony.
> 
> I still have my original 99/4A, but a couple of the keys got  broken along the 
>way (I probably typed 'em off, actually), the solder's loose on  the power 
>connector, and so on. I've played with emulators a few times since,  but I got a 
>bug recently to show my kids the real thing. So, I bought one from  eBay a few 
>weeks back, and it seems really sweet. It was a late beige model,  just like 
>mine. The box was a little rough, but still sealed. All contents in as  new 
>condition, still in original plastic/styro, etc., and I paid a fraction of  what 
>my parents paid for mine nearly thirty years ago. :)
> 
> So far, so good  - I plug it in, it fires up, tight connectors, screen and 
>sound, woo-hoo! It's  Christmas 1983 all over again. I go to hit "1" for TI 
>Basic, and...nothing. To  make this already-too-long story short, some keys work 
>fine, and some not so  much. I "worked" the 1 key a while and it eventually 
>started working; same with  the L and A keys. E works but almost always gives me 
>double or triple EEEs. The  thing that is the most confusing is that FCTN works 
>fine if the CAPS LOCK is  off, but NEVER works if CAPS LOCK is on. It's been too 
>long for me to remember  if that is expected behavior or not.
> 
> 1) Some of this feels like it  could just be "rusty" keyboard hardware; just 
>because this was new-in-box  doesn't rule out the possibility that oxidation 
>happened and that the keyboard  just needs some sort of cleaning. If that's the 
>case, do y'all have any  recommended techniques/substances for cleaning beige 
>keyboard contacts? Are  there different models that require different care?
> 
> 2) The FCTN thing  seems like NOT "rusty" keyboard hardware. If it works with 
>the CAPS LOCK off, it  should work with the CAPS LOCK on -- unless it's like the 
>"up" function of the  joystick; _that_ crazy thing I remember. ;) If this is 
>_not_ expected behavior,  do I need to be concerned about something deeper than 
>the keyboard with this  machine? It really looks brand spankin' new; I'm 
>convinced that it's never been  out of the box. Are there internal components 
>(capacitors, etc) that are  commonly subject to failure through complete disuse 
>over the course of a few  decades, and if so, which ones should I check first?
> 
> Thanks in advance  for any help that you can offer. I look forward to more 
>participation in these  discussions, and I'm excited about the promise of the 
>nanoPEB and some of the  other stuff I've been reading about in this forum.
> 
> Greetings to you  all!
> Troy
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------
> 
> Yahoo!  Groups Links
> 
> 
> 
>

---

From: "Raphaela Gabriela Sarsaparilla" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 03 Oct 2010 19:48:43 -0000

> 2) The FCTN thing seems like NOT "rusty" keyboard hardware. If it works with the CAPS LOCK off, it should work with the CAPS LOCK on -- unless it's like the "up" function of the joystick; _that_ cr…

I second Marc's suggestion -- replace the keyboard.  They're readily available at Tex*In Treasures, or on eBay.  While the "stuck keys" could just be a symptom of the keyboard needing to be cleaned (even if the console was never used, the conditions under which it was stored may have allowed dust and/or humidity to mess with the contacts inside the machine), the FCTN key should work whether Alpha Lock is on or off.

I had the original black-and-silver console when I was a kid (and have one now, in beautiful ((used)) condition), and a beige console in the late 80's.  I've bought (and later sold) several consoles on eBay, as well.  Admittedly, all of those were the "classic" housing, but in all cases, as long as the console was working properly, the FCTN key worked regardless of the state of the Alpha Lock key.

-- 
"Sometimes when we take 'em all on the bus, people really raise a fuss.  They start shoutin' out a lot of pronouns at us, like 'WHO brought that rhinoceros on this bus,' and 'WHAT made that horrible noise,' and 'WHICH one of you is gettin' off first?'"
   -- Jack Sheldon, "Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla" (from "Schoolhouse Rock")

---

From: "Dan O'Quinn" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 4 Oct 2010 07:34:48 -0400

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200527079920
TI-99/4a CompactFlash Drive/RS232 Port - RS-232!

---

From: "themachead" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 21:48:07 -0000

Thanks to Marc and... Rhea? Raphaela? (Pronouns, you are REALLY friends!) for your replies.

I ended up winning another eBay auction with a bunch of misc TI hardware, including a sealed beige keyboard. The replacement did indeed make a marked difference, and my like-new beige console is now much more like-new than it was. Thanks again for the good advice!

On another note, I have read many of the reasons why the beige consoles are so reviled (much more cheaply constructed than the silvers, something about GROMs being more locked-down, beige is ugly, and so on). I don't disagree with any of that; my only response is that...well, it was my baby, man. Beige console may be everyone else's ugly duckling, but for 15-year-old-me, it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen on a Christmas morning. It's clear from my reading that lots of very talented folks in this group are making these computers sing and dance in amazing new ways, but for me this isn't likely to ever be about performance computing. It's just a hobby, motivated primarily by nostalgia and a desire to show my kids what computers were like when I was a kid. I want to load up my old tapes of basic and x-basic programs that I wrote and laugh at the naive spaghetti code, I want to play a few games of Tunnels of Doom, and I want to get a nanoPEB and see what it would have been like to have something other than cassette storage to work with. If I really get on a roll, I'd like to take a crack at writing some new x-basic code with my (hopefully) more advanced/experienced head for programming. The advice is well-taken, and sincerely appreciated, but I'm quite pleased with what I've got. :)

Cheers,
TVB

---

From: Gregory McGill <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 15:10:25 -0700

The issue isn't beige vs silver. It's the rev on the title screen that makes
the difference if it's locked down. All the newer ver does is prevent ROM
based carts from running from the console cartridge port.

To quote the Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TI-99/4A

Early models (the TI-99/4, identified by its keyboard and "(C)1979 TEXAS
INSTRUMENTS" on the title page) included a built-in equation calculator, but
in the 99/4A ("(C)1981 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS") this feature was discontinued.
All consoles included TI
BASIC<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TI_BASIC_(TI_99/4A)>,
a strict ANSI-compliant BASIC <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BASIC> programming
language interpreter which was largely incompatible with the more
popular Microsoft
BASIC <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_BASIC>. Later consoles,
identified by "(C)1983 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS V2.2" on the title page, also
removed the ability for the system to execute unlicensed
ROM<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Read-only_memory>-based
cartridges, locking out third-party manufacturers such as
Atarisoft<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atarisoft>
.

There are beige consoles with the 1981 groms, and beige consoles with the
1983 ones. I have one of the former, the other change in the beige consoles
other than the sometimes "nicer" keyboard is the console power supplies tend
to be a little cooler. There is no benefit to the 1983 groms other than
"having one for posterity" imho..  And they can be defeated by using a Gram
device.

Greg

On Mon, Oct 11, 2010 at 2:48 PM, themachead <[email-masked]> wrote:

> I ended up winning another eBay auction with a bunch of misc TI hardware,
> including a sealed beige keyboard. The replacement did indeed make a marked
> difference, and my like-new beige console is now much more like-new than it
> was. Thanks again for the good advice!
>
> On another note, I have read many of the reasons why the beige consoles are
> so reviled (much more cheaply constructed than the silvers, something about
> GROMs being more locked-down, beige is ugly, and so on). I don't disagree
> with any of that; my only response is that...well, it was my baby, man.
> Beige console may be everyone else's ugly duckling, but for 15-year-old-me,
> it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen on a Christmas morning. It's
> clear from my reading that lots of very talented folks in this group are
> making these computers sing and dance in amazing new ways, but for me this
> isn't likely to ever be about performance computing. It's just a hobby,
> motivated primarily by nostalgia and a desire to show my kids what computers
> were like when I was a kid. I want to load up my old tapes of basic and
> x-basic programs that I wrote and laugh at the naive spaghetti code, I want
> to play a few games of Tunnels of Doom, and I want to get a nanoPEB and see
> what it would have been like to have something other than cassette storage
> to work with. If I really get on a roll, I'd like to take a crack at writing
> some new x-basic code with my (hopefully) more advanced/experienced head for
> programming. The advice is well-taken, and sincerely appreciated, but I'm
> quite pleased with what I've got. :)
>
> Cheers,
> TVB
>
>  
>

---

From: mark wills <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 2010 09:03:12 +0100 (BST)

Lovely email.

And you know what they say: Even ugly babies are beautiful in the eyes of their 
parents!

(Ergo, there are no ugly babies!)

;-)

Nice to have you on the mailing list.

Mark

----- Original Message ----
> Sent: Mon, 11 October, 2010 22:48:07
> Subject: [TI994A] Re: Flaky beige keyboard?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On another note, I have read many of the reasons why the beige  consoles are so 
>reviled (much more cheaply constructed than the silvers,  something about GROMs 
>being more locked-down, beige is ugly, and so on). I don't  disagree with any of 
>that; my only response is that...well, it was my baby, man.  Beige console may 
>be everyone else's ugly duckling, but for 15-year-old-me, it  was the most 
>beautiful thing I'd ever seen on a Christmas morning. It's clear  from my 
>reading that lots of very talented folks in this group are making these  
>computers sing and dance in amazing new ways, but for me this isn't likely to  
>ever be about performance computing. It's just a hobby, motivated primarily by  
>nostalgia and a desire to show my kids what computers were like when I was a  
>kid. I want to load up my old tapes of basic and x-basic programs that I wrote  
>and laugh at the naive spaghetti code, I want to play a few games of Tunnels of  
>Doom, and I want to get a nanoPEB and see what it would have been like to have  
>something other than cassette storage to work with. If I really get on a roll,  
>I'd like to take a crack at writing some new x-basic code with my (hopefully)  
>more advanced/experienced head for programming. The advice is well-taken, and  
>sincerely appreciated, but I'm quite pleased with what I've got.  :)
> 
> Cheers,
> TVB
> 
> 
>