Hi, Guest
Hey Folks,
New here, so I apologise if I'm off base at all.
I have some hardware questions, but first a little background :-)
I'm a "general" collector of 8 and 16 bit retro systems, triggered by a friend of mine giving me an Amiga CD32 about 8 years back. (Up until then, I'd been a fan of retro emulation). I'd been slowly growing my collection of "core" systems to cover the majority of 8 and 16 bit systems to the point where I was really only missing two main systems, that being the TRS-80 Model 1 and the TI-99/4A.
Then the past weekend, while going through, cleaning up a "trashpile" of old systems, I managed to find a Dick Smith System 80, which is a clone of the TRS-80 Model 1, as well as a pair of TI-99/4As! (One beige and one silver)
So now I have a collection that spans the majority of mainstream 8 and 16 bit systems :-)
(I have [deep breath], an Acorn BBC Micro B, BBC Master, Master Compact, Electron and Archimedes 440, an Amstrad CPC 464, an Apple 2 europlus, 2e, 2gs, Mac se/30 and Quadra 950, an Applied Technology Microbee 16, Microbee PC85, Microbee 128k and Microbee 128k premium, An Atari 800xl, STfm and STe, A Commodore PET 4032, VIC 20, C64, 128D, Amiga 1000, 500, 600, 1200 and 2000, Sinclair Spectrum 48k, Tandy Color Computer 2, VTech CreatiVision and a clone MSX 2 I assembled myself :-) )
Back to the TI-99/4A, neither system came with modulator or power supply.
I've been looking into my options for getting power in and picture out, but until I know the units are actually working, I don't want to put too much money into them. I'm also in Australia (PAL region) so ordering stuff from Ebay tends to mean I pay twice what the goods are worth in shipping, so DIY is my preferred option.
On the power front, I was thinking of getting a suitable MeanWell and use it to bypass the internal regulator entirely... It'll work in my initial testing. The other alternative I have is I can get a transformer locally that's rated for 2A that has a 18V outer and 9V center tap I could possibly use? Is the extra 0.5v on the smaller winding going to be an issue?
On the video front, well, that's more of an issue. I know PAL units do a "component" out. What are the chances I can feed that (Possibly with suitable resistors) into a Component capable monitor? (I have an old LCD TV I use for a lot of my systems)
Anyway, great to enter the 99er club, even if my systems don't yet work :-)
Cheers!
John
New here, so I apologise if I'm off base at all.
I have some hardware questions, but first a little background :-)
I'm a "general" collector of 8 and 16 bit retro systems, triggered by a friend of mine giving me an Amiga CD32 about 8 years back. (Up until then, I'd been a fan of retro emulation). I'd been slowly growing my collection of "core" systems to cover the majority of 8 and 16 bit systems to the point where I was really only missing two main systems, that being the TRS-80 Model 1 and the TI-99/4A.
Then the past weekend, while going through, cleaning up a "trashpile" of old systems, I managed to find a Dick Smith System 80, which is a clone of the TRS-80 Model 1, as well as a pair of TI-99/4As! (One beige and one silver)
So now I have a collection that spans the majority of mainstream 8 and 16 bit systems :-)
(I have [deep breath], an Acorn BBC Micro B, BBC Master, Master Compact, Electron and Archimedes 440, an Amstrad CPC 464, an Apple 2 europlus, 2e, 2gs, Mac se/30 and Quadra 950, an Applied Technology Microbee 16, Microbee PC85, Microbee 128k and Microbee 128k premium, An Atari 800xl, STfm and STe, A Commodore PET 4032, VIC 20, C64, 128D, Amiga 1000, 500, 600, 1200 and 2000, Sinclair Spectrum 48k, Tandy Color Computer 2, VTech CreatiVision and a clone MSX 2 I assembled myself :-) )
Back to the TI-99/4A, neither system came with modulator or power supply.
I've been looking into my options for getting power in and picture out, but until I know the units are actually working, I don't want to put too much money into them. I'm also in Australia (PAL region) so ordering stuff from Ebay tends to mean I pay twice what the goods are worth in shipping, so DIY is my preferred option.
On the power front, I was thinking of getting a suitable MeanWell and use it to bypass the internal regulator entirely... It'll work in my initial testing. The other alternative I have is I can get a transformer locally that's rated for 2A that has a 18V outer and 9V center tap I could possibly use? Is the extra 0.5v on the smaller winding going to be an issue?
On the video front, well, that's more of an issue. I know PAL units do a "component" out. What are the chances I can feed that (Possibly with suitable resistors) into a Component capable monitor? (I have an old LCD TV I use for a lot of my systems)
Anyway, great to enter the 99er club, even if my systems don't yet work :-)
Cheers!
John