This page contains details of the TI pinouts, some hidden program features and a review of a TI theme for Windows 98
Web article Ten
Pin diagrams
By: Andy Frueh Lima, Ohio UG
I guess this article falls under the subject of "useless technical
information unless you are going to mess with your computers guts" (Whew!)
These are pin diagrams I found. All I copied down was the diagrams. I don't
know where I got these from, but for the sake of common-interest, here they
are. There is NO guarantee on any of these diagrams! I accept no
responsibility for the consequences in using these to modify a console, or
whaterver else you do with these!
PIN ASSIGNMENTS FOR SERIAL/PARALLEL CABLES
If you bought a printer cable not made the TI, here is a guide to help you make sure the pin assignments are right.
Serial Parallel
////////////// //////////////
TI Printer TI Printer
1-9 1-9 1 1
10 11 2 2
16 16 3 3
P-Box 17 5 5
grnd 6 6
7 7
8 8
20 11
CASSETTE/JOYSTICK PIN ASSIGNMENTS
These run left-right with 1 thru 5 on the top and 6 thru 9 on the bottom.
Cassette
///////////////////////////////
1-CS1 motor + 6-CS2 motor +
2-CS1 motor - 7-CS2 motor -
3-Ground 8-Audio In
4-Not used 9-Audio Ground
5-Record Out
Joystick
///////////////////////////
1-Not used 6-Not used
2-Joystick 2 7-Joystick 1
3-Up 8-Down
4-Fire 9-Right
5-Left
These two are a pair that usually don't get modified, but here they are.
Power
(1) o o (2)
(3) o o (4)
1-Not used
2-8 Volt AC
3-16 Volt AC
4-Ground
DIN (Video) (USA Models)
//////////
^ (Notch)
(5)o o(1)
(4)o o(2)
(3)o
1-12 Volt +
2-Video Out
3-Shield
4-Ground
5-Sound Out
The following are supplied by TI.
1-reset 7-d5 13-d2
2-grnd 8-a15 14-a11
3-d7 9-d4 15-d1
4-cru clk 10-a13 16-a10
5-d6 11-d3 17-d0
6-cru in 12-a12 18-a9
19-+5 volt 25-dbin/mi 31-grom ready
20-a8 26-a6 32-we
21-GROM sel 27-GROM clk 33-GROM ground
22-a7 28-a5 34-ROM ground
23-a13/mo 29--5 volt 35-ground
24-a3 30-a4 36-ground
I/O PERIPHERAL PORT (P-Box)
These are also from TI.
1-+5 volt 9-dbin 17-a7
2-spch sel 10-a3 18-a9
3-reset 11-a12 19-a15
4-ext int 12-ready 20-a2
5-a5 13-load 21-ground
6-a10 14-a8 22-cru clk
7-a4 15-a13 23-ground
8-a11 16-a14 24-0 3
25-ground 33-cru in 41-hold/iaq
26-we 34-d7 42-d3
27-ground 35-d4 43--5 volt
28-mbe 36-d6 44-speech
29-a6 37-d0
30-a1 38-d5
31-a0 39-d2
32-memen 40-d1
If you decide to use these for whatever, let me know what you come up
with! I hope I helped someone out in someway. Maybe these could help to
create new hard/soft ware, although I think these are probably published in
many technical books. Oh well! Happy probing!
OLD TRICKS FOR NEW (and not so new) USERS
by Joseph Cohen Lima Ohio User Group
Although many of us tend to ignore most of the cartridge software for our computer, with the exception of TI Extended Basic and, possibly, Multiplan, Logo II, Editor/Assembler, and TE-2 (for speech), many of the cartridfges are very enjoyable. In order to give you an excuse for searching your vlosets and basements looking for those hidden modules, I'd like to point out that many of them have undocumented features ranging from useful to interesting to amusing. Here are a few examples.
Many are probably familiar with "The Secret of Personal
Record Keeping: Implementing DISPLAY AT and ACCEPT AT
without Extended BASIC", published way back in 99'er
magazine and reprinted in The Best of 99er, p. 76. Briefly,
TI BASIC with the PRK module contains the commands CALL D()
and CALL A() (similar to DISPLAY AT and ACCEPT AT).
This also works with the Statistics module.
Now to a few game cartridges. Moonmine, Alpiner, Munchman, Munchmobile, and Hooper have a test mode, where you can select the starting level. So if you wanted to see what it is like to play at those levels you could never reach, here is a good reason to plug those cartirdges into your 99/4A!
The test mode is obrained by pressing SHIFT/8 3 8 at the game title screen (SHIFT/8 only, for Hopper). and on Burgertime, pressing SHIFT/8 gives a message: "code modifications by John M. Phillips".
Have you always played
Parsec as a one player game? Here is something different,
for a two player team. If the fire buttons on both
joysticks are pressed simultaneously, Spaceship Parsec will
not overheat. Horizontal lines will appear on the screen,
but they do not disturb the game and would allow, in fact,
one to see the Bynites when they turn invisible.
by Charles Good
TI SPLASH SCREENS and THEME by Addatex software
As you are working on your Windows 95 or 98 computer do you miss your good old TI99/4A? Do you mess the good old TI title screen, those familiar beep and uhoh warning sounds, and that good old cursor always flashing on the lower left of your monitor? Well I have just the cure for what ails you, and you can download it for free from the internet.
Addatex software has created two software packages they refer to as funware (translate
as freeware or free) which give the look and feel of a 99/4A to Windows 95 and 95.
The first of these is called Splash Screens. When installed, this software will replace all
the normal Microsoft Windows white cloud pictures with a graphic of the 99/4A color
bar title screen.
When you turn on your PC you will briefly see the 99/4A title screen until
your desktop appears.
When your desktop appears, you will have the good old 99/4A title
screen as wallpaper with all your normal Windows icons easily visible. When you shut
down your computer (Start, then Shut Down) you will first see the 99/4A title screen
with the words Wait for shutdown just above the lower colorbar. Then, after your
computer closes all of its files, if your computer is not one of those that automatically shuts
itself off you will see the 99/4A title screen with the words Please shut down the
computer.
The Splash Screens software creates a program window (click on Start, then Programs, then TI99) and one of the options in this window is to turn on and off all these TI title screen graphics. If you turn them off you revert back to the Windows cloud pictures, but the TI graphics are still on your hard drive and you can turn them on again by clicking the appropriate icon in the TI99 program window.
Another thing you can do from the TI99 program window is open an MSDOS window and
have it look just like a session of TI BASIC in your choice of either 40 or 80 column
display. The effect is very realistic! You see * TI READY * and a flashing rectangular
cursor below in the lower left side of the screen with black TI letters on a light blue
background. The 40 column display looks just like a real 99/4A in TI BASIC command
mode.
The 80 column display resembles a Geneve running MDOS or a 99/4A with an 80
column display. When you type, the font you see is identical to the 99/4A's with lower
case letters that look like small upper case letters. From this simulated TI Basic MSDOS
window you can execute any DOS commands such as cd, dir, and copy. When you are
finished just enter exit to return to Windows.
The second Addatex software product adds 99/4A sounds and icons to Windows. This is
a 99/4A THEME and requires Microsoft PLUS in order to run (W95 requires PLUS to add
themes). PLUS is an extra cost
addition to Windows 95 that adds a bunch of cosmetic features, has a great pinball
game, and for Windows 95 users includes a greatly enhanced disk compression utility.
Once you purchase and load PLUS then you can load up your free Addatex 99/4A theme.
The theme adds 14 different 99/4A sounds that sound off during various windows
operations. There is the famous Parsec alert, an uhoh if something goes wrong, the TI
beep, and other familiar and not so familiar sounds. Most of these sounds are from TI
game cartridges but not necessarily from well known cartridges. I think one sound is from
the Manacala cartridge which very few folks have.
The 99/4A theme also gives you lots of icons. For mouse pointers you get an animated
(yes moving) TI title screen for the working in background symbol and an animated
Parsec fighter ship for the busy indicator. You also get the Donkey Kong monkey for the
recycle bin icon. He has a smile on his face and a fat stomach if there is something in the
recycle bin and is thin with a frown if there is nothing in the recycle bin. Network
neighborhood also has a new graphic.
The My computer icon is a very cute green ball
with a face that comes from the Jaw Breaker cartridge game. Within My computer you get
your choice of any of three types of hard drive icons. The default is Munchman, with jaws
about to close on a graphic of a hard drive. You can also switch to Robopod drive icons,
which are based on an Addatex game that is free for the downloading from the Addatex
web site. You can also chose Lettered icons in which each hard drive is indicated with
a letter that comes from the 99/4A character set.
Using the TI99 program window or using
PLUS, the various icons and sounds can be switched in or out at will, alternating with the
default windows equivalents or with others available from the PLUS software.
In addition to sounds and icons, the TI99/4A Theme changes the overall appearance of
your desktop. Theme gives you a 99/4A wallpaper on your desktop. The default
background color is light blue, just like TI Basic command mode, and this background
color caries over into many windows applications. The top command bar and the up/down
left/right cursor arrow bars are usually green as in TI Basic run mode. A lot of command
bar text is either white on green or green on white and some of the text is rather blocky and
resembles TI Basic ascii characters.
The effect of all this, the icons the sounds and the
windows bar displays, is that no matter which windows applications you run you can
almost always hear and see on screen aspects of the 99/4A. You will never forget your
99/4A computing roots when you run this addatex software on a modern windows capable
computer.
Both Splash Screens and 99/4A Theme require Windows 95 or higher. They won�t run on Windows 3.11. Splash Screens does not require additional software, so all 99/4A enthusiasts should set this software up on your windows PC. Theme requires 95+PLUS/98, which can be purchased at most stores where Windows 98 and other Microsoft software is sold. I recommend PLUS users download and install both Splash Screens and Theme. The only overlap in the two products is that they both give you a 99/4A title screen desktop wallpaper.
Both TI Splash Screens and Theme can be downloaded for free from the Addatex web site
located at
addatex.
Click on download
freebies and then download the second and third freebie listed.
To install the addatex software properly:
First install Winzip on your hard drive.
Second,
click one or both of the addatex zip files which will start the process of Winzip unpacking
the files to a subdirectory under c:\unpacked and will open window to this subdirectory on
your monitor.
Third, leaving the c:\unpacked\... subdirectory window open go to my
computer and click on the c drive icon to open the root directory window of the c drive.
Fourth, find the 9-t-9 file folder in the open c:\unpacked\... window and drag this file
folder to the root directory of the c drive. If you have downloaded and unpacked both
Splash Screens and Theme then there will be two 9-t-9 folders in different subdirectories
of c:\unzipped. Drag them both to the c root directory window and put one 9-t-9 folder on
top of the other, having the second 9-t-9 directory overwrite the first as needed.
These 9-t- 9 folders with all the addatex software will only work properly if placed in the root directory of drive c and named 9-t-9. You are now ready to go! Click on start then programs then ti99 and begin to enjoy your new modern pentium powered super fast PC-TI hybrid.
Access:
Addatex software
On the web at
addatex
end of article
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