Ninerpedia - User contributions [en]

Programming languages

2024-03-20T22:36:31Z

Ksarul: /* BASICs */

TI BASIC is the first programming language that you get to know when you start using the TI. Cartridges allow to extend the limited features of the standard console considerably. Probably the first cartridge people tried to get was ''Extended Basic''. Other languages were available to run in assembly or Basic.

With a memory expansion and a floppy drive, programming in assembly language becomes possible. From there on, many further language compilers or interpreters may be created and complement the set of available programming languages:

==BASICs==
* [[TI BASIC]] (built-in)
* [[Myarc Advanced BASIC]] (Geneve only)
Extensions to TI Basic with modules:
* [[Editor/Assembler]] (cartridge, disk), which includes the Editor Assembler dialect of TI BASIC
* [[Mini Memory]] (cartridge, disk or cassette), which includes the Mini Memory dialect of TI BASIC
* [[Terminal Emulator II]] (cartridge), which includes the Terminal Emulator II dialect of TI BASIC
* [[Personal Record Keeping]] and [[Statistics]] (cartridges), which includes the Personal Record Keeping / Statistics dialect of TI BASIC (referred to sometimes as [[Enhanced Basic]])
* [[BASIC Support Module]] (cartridge, disk), which includes the BASIC Support Module dialect of TI BASIC
* [[Advertiser]] (cartridge), which adds 36 specialized commands to TI BASIC
[[Extended BASIC]]s:
* TI [[Extended BASIC]] (cartridge)
* [[Myarc Extended BASIC II]] (TI or Geneve)
* [[Triton Super Extended BASIC]]
* Mechatronics [[Extended BASIC II+]] incorporated the APESOFT Expanded Graphics routines into their version of the cartridge.
* Winfried Winkler included many additional commands in [[Extended BASIC III]] (in extremely limited release by Asgard, but generally only available as a set of files for the HSGPL card)
* [[RXB]] (Rich Gilbertson), which is available as a set of program images for a GROM emulation device.

==Forths==
* [[TI FORTH]],
* TEXFORTH
* [[Wycove FORTH]]
* [[FIG Forth 2.0]] (M. Weiand)
* [[TurboForth]]

==Others==
* 9900 Assembly with [[Editor/Assembler]] (cartridge, disk) and [[Mini Memory]] (cartridge, tape)
* [[TI LOGO I]], several flavors using keywords from English, German, and other languages
* [[TI LOGO II]], several flavors using keywords from English, Dutch, French, German, and other languages
* [[c99]] (disk)
* [[C99 MDOS]]
* [[FORTRAN 9640]] (disk, Geneve)
* APL (Adventure Programming Language, for the classic Scott Adams Adventure)
* GPL (built-in, originally not available to user)
* [[TIC]] (cross-compiler)
* TASM (cross-assembler)
* xdt99 (cross-assembler)
* [[Pascal#Turbo_Pasc'99|Turbo Pasc'99]] (disk)
* [[Pascal#UCSD_Pascal_System|UCSD Pascal]] (cartridge, disk, expansion card)

[[Category:Programming language| ]]

Memory Expansion Cards

2015-06-28T17:25:18Z

Ksarul: /* ICS 32K Memory Interface */

The TI console has only 256 bytes of 16-bit CPU RAM directly connected to the address and data buses. This small amount of RAM provides register space to the CPU and is used to support the GPL interpreter when executing its code from a specialized type of memory called Graphics Read Only Memory (GROM). GROMs are typically 6 KB in size and have their own auto-incrementing address bus. Instructions are placed on the data bus and read by the CPU. Each GROM chip is accessed as a parallel device. User programs - usually BASIC programs - have to be stored in the video RAM. The strategy was as follows:

* For normal BASIC programming, only simple video functions are necessary. So there is a (comparable) lot of free space which can be used for user programs.
* If more complex video functions are necessary, the programs may be stored in GROMs or ROMs in cartridges.
* If people still want to write own programs and have nice video output, they should purchase a memory expansion.

== Original TI Memory Expansion ==

[[Image:MemExp800.jpg|200px|left]]

The picture shows the 32K Memory Expansion card, which placed RAM in memory locations >2000<sup>1</sup> - >3FFF and >A000 - >FFFF. Using this RAM opened up the world of assembly programming on the TI, and from there, other [[Programming languages|languages]] became available over time (like FORTH, PASCAL, C). In addition, independent software authors could finally create complex programs without the need to burn them into cartridges.

<sup>1</sup><small>Hexadecimal notation in the TI world was marked with a greater-than sign, i.e. >2000 is 0x2000.</small>

<div style="clear:both"></div>

== 128K SuperRAM Memory Expansion ==

This card was considered vapor-ware for many years. At least one survived, however, though it was only partially assembled.

== GRAM Card ==

This card was developed at the TI laboratory in Almelo, Holland, apparently as an alternative to the external GROM device developed in the US. It was completely unknown to users until after TI withdrew from the home computer market and served as a proof-of-concept template from which the Mechatronics GRAM Karte was eventually developed. Only four examples of the card survive, all of them rescued from a dumpster by a sharp-eyed TI enthusiast who once worked at the Almelo labs.

The card uses the same GRAM header format as the Mechatronics GRAM Karte. It has a special cartridge board attached to a cable on the card which must be inserted into the computer's cartridge port to make the programs stored in the card available to the computer. They will then appear normally on the menu screen and start when selected. Unlike the Miller's Graphics GRAM Kracker, this card does not simulate GROMs 0, 1, and 2. Only the cartridge port GROMs and ROMs are simulated.

== Atronics 32K Memory Expansion ==

TODO

== Captain's Wheel 32K Memory Expansion ==

This rare card duplicated the functionality of the TI 32K Memory Expansion card. It did not come with a clam shell case. Only a dozen or so of these cards are known to survive.

== CorComp 32K Memory Interface ==

TODO

== CorComp 512K Memory Card ==

TODO

== DataBioTics Grand RAM ==

TODO

== Foundation 32K/128K Memory Card ==

This card duplicated the functionality of the TI 32K Memory Expansion card in its basic configuration, but added a 96K RAM Disk when purchased in the expanded, 128K version. The larger card required a DSR to utilize it to its fullest extent, which was sold initially as an option but was automatically included on later sales. Several utility programs were written to take advantage of the card's additional storage capabilities, including Mass Copy by Steve Lawless.

Later users devised a modified DSR to allow it to use the Myarc 128K OS--and Myarc Extended BASIC 2.11. Similar modifications exist to allow the card to be expanded to 512K.

== Horizon Ramdisk 1000/2000/3000/4000 Series ==

TODO

== Horizon P-GRAM Card ==

TODO

== ICS 32K Memory Expansion ==

This rare card duplicated the functionality of the TI 32K Memory Expansion card. It did not come with a clam shell case. Only a dozen or so of these cards are known to survive.

== Mechatronics GRAM Karte ==

TODO

== Morning Star 128K Memory Expansion ==

This card was intended to provide additional memory to the TI-99/4A, in a fashion similar to the 128K Memory Expansion from Foundation. It never lived up to this promise because the DSR for the card was never released. It existed, but the programmer refused to turn it over to Morning Star until he was paid for his work. The card only works as a standard 32K Memory Expansion when inserted into the PEB as a result of the missing DSR. Very few of these cards were sold, with less than 20 known to exist today.

== Myarc 32K/128K/512K Memory Expansion ==

TODO

== SNUG High-Speed GPL (HSGPL) Card ==

Please refer to main article on the [[HSGPL]] card

== SNUG High-Speed RAM Disk-16 (HRD-16) ==
Please refer to [[SNUG#HRD 16 | SNUG High Speed Ram Disk]]

== South-West 99ers SAMS Memory Card ==

The earliest versions of this card were developed for Asgard Software, and were called the Asgard Memory System. Only a small run of the Asgard card was produced, with most of them going to developers in exchange for promises to write software that used the card. The South-West 99ers carried the design much further, increasing the possible memory size from 128K to 256K and eventually up to 1MB. A full suite of development software that uses the capabilities of the card was developed to allow programmers to easily harness it, but it (hardware and software) reached production readiness too late in the life cycle of the TI-99/4A to get widespread support. This is unfortunate, as it is easily one of the ten best expansion items ever developed for the machine. The card is in production again as a kit (summer 2007), giving the possibility of exciting new software for it if it gains sufficient acceptance within the TI community.

[[SuperAMS]]

[[Category:Hardware]]
[[Category:Expansion]]

Memory Expansion Cards

2015-06-28T17:24:56Z

Ksarul: /* Captain's Wheel 32K Memory Interface */

The TI console has only 256 bytes of 16-bit CPU RAM directly connected to the address and data buses. This small amount of RAM provides register space to the CPU and is used to support the GPL interpreter when executing its code from a specialized type of memory called Graphics Read Only Memory (GROM). GROMs are typically 6 KB in size and have their own auto-incrementing address bus. Instructions are placed on the data bus and read by the CPU. Each GROM chip is accessed as a parallel device. User programs - usually BASIC programs - have to be stored in the video RAM. The strategy was as follows:

* For normal BASIC programming, only simple video functions are necessary. So there is a (comparable) lot of free space which can be used for user programs.
* If more complex video functions are necessary, the programs may be stored in GROMs or ROMs in cartridges.
* If people still want to write own programs and have nice video output, they should purchase a memory expansion.

== Original TI Memory Expansion ==

[[Image:MemExp800.jpg|200px|left]]

The picture shows the 32K Memory Expansion card, which placed RAM in memory locations >2000<sup>1</sup> - >3FFF and >A000 - >FFFF. Using this RAM opened up the world of assembly programming on the TI, and from there, other [[Programming languages|languages]] became available over time (like FORTH, PASCAL, C). In addition, independent software authors could finally create complex programs without the need to burn them into cartridges.

<sup>1</sup><small>Hexadecimal notation in the TI world was marked with a greater-than sign, i.e. >2000 is 0x2000.</small>

<div style="clear:both"></div>

== 128K SuperRAM Memory Expansion ==

This card was considered vapor-ware for many years. At least one survived, however, though it was only partially assembled.

== GRAM Card ==

This card was developed at the TI laboratory in Almelo, Holland, apparently as an alternative to the external GROM device developed in the US. It was completely unknown to users until after TI withdrew from the home computer market and served as a proof-of-concept template from which the Mechatronics GRAM Karte was eventually developed. Only four examples of the card survive, all of them rescued from a dumpster by a sharp-eyed TI enthusiast who once worked at the Almelo labs.

The card uses the same GRAM header format as the Mechatronics GRAM Karte. It has a special cartridge board attached to a cable on the card which must be inserted into the computer's cartridge port to make the programs stored in the card available to the computer. They will then appear normally on the menu screen and start when selected. Unlike the Miller's Graphics GRAM Kracker, this card does not simulate GROMs 0, 1, and 2. Only the cartridge port GROMs and ROMs are simulated.

== Atronics 32K Memory Expansion ==

TODO

== Captain's Wheel 32K Memory Expansion ==

This rare card duplicated the functionality of the TI 32K Memory Expansion card. It did not come with a clam shell case. Only a dozen or so of these cards are known to survive.

== CorComp 32K Memory Interface ==

TODO

== CorComp 512K Memory Card ==

TODO

== DataBioTics Grand RAM ==

TODO

== Foundation 32K/128K Memory Card ==

This card duplicated the functionality of the TI 32K Memory Expansion card in its basic configuration, but added a 96K RAM Disk when purchased in the expanded, 128K version. The larger card required a DSR to utilize it to its fullest extent, which was sold initially as an option but was automatically included on later sales. Several utility programs were written to take advantage of the card's additional storage capabilities, including Mass Copy by Steve Lawless.

Later users devised a modified DSR to allow it to use the Myarc 128K OS--and Myarc Extended BASIC 2.11. Similar modifications exist to allow the card to be expanded to 512K.

== Horizon Ramdisk 1000/2000/3000/4000 Series ==

TODO

== Horizon P-GRAM Card ==

TODO

== ICS 32K Memory Interface ==

This rare card duplicated the functionality of the TI 32K Memory Expansion card. It did not come with a clam shell case. Only a dozen or so of these cards are known to survive.

== Mechatronics GRAM Karte ==

TODO

== Morning Star 128K Memory Expansion ==

This card was intended to provide additional memory to the TI-99/4A, in a fashion similar to the 128K Memory Expansion from Foundation. It never lived up to this promise because the DSR for the card was never released. It existed, but the programmer refused to turn it over to Morning Star until he was paid for his work. The card only works as a standard 32K Memory Expansion when inserted into the PEB as a result of the missing DSR. Very few of these cards were sold, with less than 20 known to exist today.

== Myarc 32K/128K/512K Memory Expansion ==

TODO

== SNUG High-Speed GPL (HSGPL) Card ==

Please refer to main article on the [[HSGPL]] card

== SNUG High-Speed RAM Disk-16 (HRD-16) ==
Please refer to [[SNUG#HRD 16 | SNUG High Speed Ram Disk]]

== South-West 99ers SAMS Memory Card ==

The earliest versions of this card were developed for Asgard Software, and were called the Asgard Memory System. Only a small run of the Asgard card was produced, with most of them going to developers in exchange for promises to write software that used the card. The South-West 99ers carried the design much further, increasing the possible memory size from 128K to 256K and eventually up to 1MB. A full suite of development software that uses the capabilities of the card was developed to allow programmers to easily harness it, but it (hardware and software) reached production readiness too late in the life cycle of the TI-99/4A to get widespread support. This is unfortunate, as it is easily one of the ten best expansion items ever developed for the machine. The card is in production again as a kit (summer 2007), giving the possibility of exciting new software for it if it gains sufficient acceptance within the TI community.

[[SuperAMS]]

[[Category:Hardware]]
[[Category:Expansion]]

Memory Expansion Cards

2015-06-28T17:23:48Z

Ksarul:

The TI console has only 256 bytes of 16-bit CPU RAM directly connected to the address and data buses. This small amount of RAM provides register space to the CPU and is used to support the GPL interpreter when executing its code from a specialized type of memory called Graphics Read Only Memory (GROM). GROMs are typically 6 KB in size and have their own auto-incrementing address bus. Instructions are placed on the data bus and read by the CPU. Each GROM chip is accessed as a parallel device. User programs - usually BASIC programs - have to be stored in the video RAM. The strategy was as follows:

* For normal BASIC programming, only simple video functions are necessary. So there is a (comparable) lot of free space which can be used for user programs.
* If more complex video functions are necessary, the programs may be stored in GROMs or ROMs in cartridges.
* If people still want to write own programs and have nice video output, they should purchase a memory expansion.

== Original TI Memory Expansion ==

[[Image:MemExp800.jpg|200px|left]]

The picture shows the 32K Memory Expansion card, which placed RAM in memory locations >2000<sup>1</sup> - >3FFF and >A000 - >FFFF. Using this RAM opened up the world of assembly programming on the TI, and from there, other [[Programming languages|languages]] became available over time (like FORTH, PASCAL, C). In addition, independent software authors could finally create complex programs without the need to burn them into cartridges.

<sup>1</sup><small>Hexadecimal notation in the TI world was marked with a greater-than sign, i.e. >2000 is 0x2000.</small>

<div style="clear:both"></div>

== 128K SuperRAM Memory Expansion ==

This card was considered vapor-ware for many years. At least one survived, however, though it was only partially assembled.

== GRAM Card ==

This card was developed at the TI laboratory in Almelo, Holland, apparently as an alternative to the external GROM device developed in the US. It was completely unknown to users until after TI withdrew from the home computer market and served as a proof-of-concept template from which the Mechatronics GRAM Karte was eventually developed. Only four examples of the card survive, all of them rescued from a dumpster by a sharp-eyed TI enthusiast who once worked at the Almelo labs.

The card uses the same GRAM header format as the Mechatronics GRAM Karte. It has a special cartridge board attached to a cable on the card which must be inserted into the computer's cartridge port to make the programs stored in the card available to the computer. They will then appear normally on the menu screen and start when selected. Unlike the Miller's Graphics GRAM Kracker, this card does not simulate GROMs 0, 1, and 2. Only the cartridge port GROMs and ROMs are simulated.

== Atronics 32K Memory Expansion ==

TODO

== Captain's Wheel 32K Memory Interface ==

This rare card duplicated the functionality of the TI 32K Memory Expansion card. It did not come with a clam shell case. Only a dozen or so of these cards are known to survive.

== CorComp 32K Memory Interface ==

TODO

== CorComp 512K Memory Card ==

TODO

== DataBioTics Grand RAM ==

TODO

== Foundation 32K/128K Memory Card ==

This card duplicated the functionality of the TI 32K Memory Expansion card in its basic configuration, but added a 96K RAM Disk when purchased in the expanded, 128K version. The larger card required a DSR to utilize it to its fullest extent, which was sold initially as an option but was automatically included on later sales. Several utility programs were written to take advantage of the card's additional storage capabilities, including Mass Copy by Steve Lawless.

Later users devised a modified DSR to allow it to use the Myarc 128K OS--and Myarc Extended BASIC 2.11. Similar modifications exist to allow the card to be expanded to 512K.

== Horizon Ramdisk 1000/2000/3000/4000 Series ==

TODO

== Horizon P-GRAM Card ==

TODO

== ICS 32K Memory Interface ==

This rare card duplicated the functionality of the TI 32K Memory Expansion card. It did not come with a clam shell case. Only a dozen or so of these cards are known to survive.

== Mechatronics GRAM Karte ==

TODO

== Morning Star 128K Memory Expansion ==

This card was intended to provide additional memory to the TI-99/4A, in a fashion similar to the 128K Memory Expansion from Foundation. It never lived up to this promise because the DSR for the card was never released. It existed, but the programmer refused to turn it over to Morning Star until he was paid for his work. The card only works as a standard 32K Memory Expansion when inserted into the PEB as a result of the missing DSR. Very few of these cards were sold, with less than 20 known to exist today.

== Myarc 32K/128K/512K Memory Expansion ==

TODO

== SNUG High-Speed GPL (HSGPL) Card ==

Please refer to main article on the [[HSGPL]] card

== SNUG High-Speed RAM Disk-16 (HRD-16) ==
Please refer to [[SNUG#HRD 16 | SNUG High Speed Ram Disk]]

== South-West 99ers SAMS Memory Card ==

The earliest versions of this card were developed for Asgard Software, and were called the Asgard Memory System. Only a small run of the Asgard card was produced, with most of them going to developers in exchange for promises to write software that used the card. The South-West 99ers carried the design much further, increasing the possible memory size from 128K to 256K and eventually up to 1MB. A full suite of development software that uses the capabilities of the card was developed to allow programmers to easily harness it, but it (hardware and software) reached production readiness too late in the life cycle of the TI-99/4A to get widespread support. This is unfortunate, as it is easily one of the ten best expansion items ever developed for the machine. The card is in production again as a kit (summer 2007), giving the possibility of exciting new software for it if it gains sufficient acceptance within the TI community.

[[SuperAMS]]

[[Category:Hardware]]
[[Category:Expansion]]

Memory Expansion Cards

2015-06-28T17:11:08Z

Ksarul: /* Foundation 32K/128K Memory Card */

The TI console has only 256 bytes of 16-bit CPU RAM directly connected to the address and data buses. This small amount of RAM provides register space to the CPU and is used to support the GPL interpreter when executing its code from a specialized type of memory called Graphics Read Only Memory (GROM). GROMs are typically 6 KB in size and have their own auto-incrementing address bus. Instructions are placed on the data bus and read by the CPU. Each GROM chip is accessed as a parallel device. User programs - usually BASIC programs - have to be stored in the video RAM. The strategy was as follows:

* For normal BASIC programming, only simple video functions are necessary. So there is a (comparable) lot of free space which can be used for user programs.
* If more complex video functions are necessary, the programs may be stored in GROMs or ROMs in cartridges.
* If people still want to write own programs and have nice video output, they should purchase a memory expansion.

== Original TI Memory Expansion ==

[[Image:MemExp800.jpg|200px|left]]

The picture shows the 32K Memory Expansion card, which placed RAM in memory locations >2000<sup>1</sup> - >3FFF and >A000 - >FFFF. Using this RAM opened up the world of assembly programming on the TI, and from there, other [[Programming languages|languages]] became available over time (like FORTH, PASCAL, C). In addition, independent software authors could finally create complex programs without the need to burn them into cartridges.

<sup>1</sup><small>Hexadecimal notation in the TI world was marked with a greater-than sign, i.e. >2000 is 0x2000.</small>

<div style="clear:both"></div>

== 128K SuperRAM Memory Expansion ==

This card was considered vapor-ware for many years. At least one survived, however, though it was only partially assembled.

== GRAM Card ==

This card was developed at the TI laboratory in Almelo, Holland, apparently as an alternative to the external GROM device developed in the US. It was completely unknown to users until after TI withdrew from the home computer market and served as a proof-of-concept template from which the Mechatronics GRAM Karte was eventually developed. Only four examples of the card survive, all of them rescued from a dumpster by a sharp-eyed TI enthusiast who once worked at the Almelo labs.

The card uses the same GRAM header format as the Mechatronics GRAM Karte. It has a special cartridge board attached to a cable on the card which must be inserted into the computer's cartridge port to make the programs stored in the card available to the computer. They will then appear normally on the menu screen and start when selected. Unlike the Miller's Graphics GRAM Kracker, this card does not simulate GROMs 0, 1, and 2. Only the cartridge port GROMs and ROMs are simulated.

== Atronics 32K Memory Expansion ==

TODO

== CorComp 32K Memory Interface ==

TODO

== CorComp 512K Memory Card ==

TODO

== DataBioTics Grand RAM ==

TODO

== Foundation 32K/128K Memory Card ==

This card duplicated the functionality of the TI 32K Memory Expansion card in its basic configuration, but added a 96K RAM Disk when purchased in the expanded, 128K version. The larger card required a DSR to utilize it to its fullest extent, which was sold initially as an option but was automatically included on later sales. Several utility programs were written to take advantage of the card's additional storage capabilities, including Mass Copy by Steve Lawless.

Later users devised a modified DSR to allow it to use the Myarc 128K OS--and Myarc Extended BASIC 2.11. Similar modifications exist to allow the card to be expanded to 512K.

== Horizon Ramdisk 1000/2000/3000/4000 Series ==

TODO

== Horizon P-GRAM Card ==

TODO

== Mechatronics GRAM Karte ==

TODO

== Morning Star 128K Memory Expansion ==

This card was intended to provide additional memory to the TI-99/4A, in a fashion similar to the 128K Memory Expansion from Foundation. It never lived up to this promise because the DSR for the card was never released. It existed, but the programmer refused to turn it over to Morning Star until he was paid for his work. The card only works as a standard 32K Memory Expansion when inserted into the PEB as a result of the missing DSR. Very few of these cards were sold, with less than 20 known to exist today.

== Myarc 32K/128K/512K Memory Expansion ==

TODO

== SNUG High-Speed GPL (HSGPL) Card ==

Please refer to main article on the [[HSGPL]] card

== SNUG High-Speed RAM Disk-16 (HRD-16) ==
Please refer to [[SNUG#HRD 16 | SNUG High Speed Ram Disk]]

== South-West 99ers SAMS Memory Card ==

The earliest versions of this card were developed for Asgard Software, and were called the Asgard Memory System. Only a small run of the Asgard card was produced, with most of them going to developers in exchange for promises to write software that used the card. The South-West 99ers carried the design much further, increasing the possible memory size from 128K to 256K and eventually up to 1MB. A full suite of development software that uses the capabilities of the card was developed to allow programmers to easily harness it, but it (hardware and software) reached production readiness too late in the life cycle of the TI-99/4A to get widespread support. This is unfortunate, as it is easily one of the ten best expansion items ever developed for the machine. The card is in production again as a kit (summer 2007), giving the possibility of exciting new software for it if it gains sufficient acceptance within the TI community.

[[SuperAMS]]

[[Category:Hardware]]
[[Category:Expansion]]

Floppy Disk and Hard Disk Controller Cards

2015-02-14T21:06:07Z

Ksarul: Added Read-Only reference for the HFDC's third hard disk drive.

Texas Instruments designed the peripheral expansion system to utilize industry hardware, so it was merely necessary to provide a disk controller card while the disk drive could be selected from a broad selection of third-party drives.

The disk controller was arguably the first expansion card of every user, since it allowed to switch from [[cassette]] file handling to the much more comfortable disk system. Moreover, [[TI BASIC]] and [[Extended BASIC]] are well prepared for disk usage, so this was a wise investment.

Some cartridges like Editor/Assembler not only required a memory expansion but also a disk drive since the Editor and the Assembler were only available on disk,

== Single-Density Floppy Disk Controller Card ==

[[Image:diskctrl800.jpg|250px|right]]
The original floppy disk controller from TI allows to attach up to three double-sided floppy disk drives.

The controller card is based on the FD1771 Floppy Disk Controller chip, the first chip from the WD17xx family of Western Digital. This chip is capable of controlling 40-track drives with FM recording (single density), single- or double-sided, so we get 90 KiB storage space on SSSD (single-sided, single density) and 180 KiB on DSSD disks.

Later third-party modifications allow use of 80-track disk drives, which increase total possible storage to 360K per disk.

<div style="clear:both"></div>

== Double-Density Floppy Disk Controller Card ==

The TI Double-Density Floppy Disk Controller Card was released as a build-it-yourself kit to the members of the engineering department at Dallas (and possibly at other locations). It was never sold commercially. The card was designed to use a 765 floppy controller chip. Almost all known examples exhibit stability problems due to overheating of the voltage regulator chip unless a high-quality heat sink is installed (this was not included in the original design or the parts kit). Between 10 and 30 examples of this card are known to exist within the TI community.

This card allowed several different formatting options using the Disk Manager 3 cartridge. It had two Single-Density and two Double-Density formatting modes.

It would format in Single-Sided, Single-Density (SSSD) by dividing one side of the disk into 40 tracks of 9 sectors each, for a total of 90K per disk. This system could be extended to be used to format Double-Sided, Single-Density (DSSD) disks. The disks would then have 40 tracks of 9 sectors each on each side of the disk, for a total of 180K per disk. Data was written to the disk using the FM method to separate data and timing signals, placing the timing data between the data sectors.

It would also format in Single-Sided, Double-Density (SSDD) mode. This followed the Texas Instruments specifications for Double-Density, a standard that was ignored for all third-party controllers except the ones from Myarc. The disk was again divided into 40 tracks, but now it had 16 sectors per track, for a total of 160K. Once again, the controller could extend this scheme to use it with a Double-Sided, Double-Density (DSDD) disk. Each side of the disk has 40 tracks of 16 sectors for a total of 320K. Disks formatted in either of the 16-sector double-density formats can not be read by CorComp, Atronic, or BwG double-density disk controller cards, but can be read by the Myarc controllers or when using any manufacturer's DSDD controller with a [[Geneve 9640]].

== Atronic Double-Density Floppy Disk Controller ==

This card came with a disk manager program on disk, which it would auto-load during the boot process if it was in DSK1. The disk manager was in Assembly and required a 32K Memory Expansion to be present to load. Many programs testing for Floppy Disk Controllers will misidentify this one as a CorComp product. The two cards use the same Disk Controller chip. Between 50 and 100 examples of this card were sold.

== CorComp Double-Density Floppy Disk Controller ==

This card was one of the most popular third-party expansion cards for the TI-99/4A. Several different revisions are known. The earliest examples have a WD2793 disk controller chip, but most of them were built around the WD1773 disk controller chip. The earliest cards came in a gray aluminum shell, which soon gave way to the most common version with a black aluminum shell. The later versions eliminated the shell completely as a cost-cutting measure.

== Myarc Personality Card ==

This was the first hard disk controller for the TI-99/4A. The Personality Card allowed the computer to interface with external SASI hard disks, of between 5 and 15 Megabytes. Most systems were sold with 10 Megabyte disk drives. Very few examples of this card were sold, as the list price for one of the 10 Megabyte systems was in the vicinity of $2,500. It was possible to set the card at different CRU addresses and put multiple examples into a single PEB. This was rarely done.

== Myarc Double-Density Controller Card ==

[[Image:ddcc_pcb.jpg|250px|right]]

Myarc's Double-Density Controller Card (DDCC) features a WD1770 controller chip. In contrast to the lowered package number compared to the WD1771, this chip contains an internal data separator and write precompensator, and allows for using double density (see also the descriptions on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WD1771 WD1771] in Wikipedia). Unlike the much more complex HFDC, the DDCC is a comparably robust disk controller which works flawlessly with 5,25" and 3,5" drives with up to 80 tracks and MFM recording. Thus, this controller handles disks with up to 720 KiB. The most frequently used format was DSDD40.

<div style="clear:both"></div>

== Myarc Hard and Floppy Disk Controller ==

[[Image:hfdc_pcb.jpg|250px|right]]

The Myarc HFDC was one of the most sophisticated controllers built for the TI computer family. It allows to control up to four floppy disk drives and up to three MFM hard disk drives; moreover, the controller was prepared to control one tape drive. Note that it was not possible to write to the third hard disk drive due to a missing control line on the connector, making that drive read-only.

Some versions of the HFDC shipped as "HDCC-1 Winchester Card / Hard Disk Controller Card with Floppy Disk Option". The picture shows the PCB of such a controller.

===Controller chip===
The controller makes use of the HDC9234 controller from the SMC92x4 controller family.

===Supported drives===
The HFDC can support up to (3) MFM hard drives with capacities up to 134mb each, type ST506. The card can also support up to (4) floppy drives that are either 40 or 80 tracks and either single or double density. This includes both 5.25" drives and 3.5" drives.

====Hard Drives====

The HFDC can use any MFM drive that is ST506/412 compatible and it can be up to 134mb in size. You CANNOT use RLL drives.

=====ST504 or ST506 (ST416 or ST412)=====
The ST504 and ST506 are interfaces created by Seagate and used as standards for MFM drives and controllers. The HFDC was designed to work with ST504 interface but works with ST506 drives with less than 8 heads. Here is some background information for both of the interfaces.

ST504 • Equivalent to the ST416 interface. • Earliest interface for IBM XT. • Supported 5/10 MB drives. • Drive control on the interface card. • Very slow response. • Very spastic. • Mostly used MFM data encoding. • Separate cables for control and data.

ST506 • Equivalent to the ST412 interface.. • Standard interface used on XT and AT drives and controllers. • Originally developed by Seagate Technologies to support their ST506 (5 MB) and ST412 (10 MB) drives. • The entire controller mechanism is located on a controller card and communications between the drive and controller flow over 2 ribbon cables - one for drive control and one for data.

====Larger Hard Drives====
Micropendium December 1991 issue page 36 carried an article on modifying the card to use larger hard drives, affecting the cards compatibility with ST504 drives but not ST506 drives.

====Floppy Drives====
The HFDC will control 720k, 3.5" floppy drives. There is a 36 sector per track option for the HFDC that if installed will allow the card to control 1.44mb 3.5" drives. If you install another FDC along with the Myarc you can control up to (8) floppy drives. The additional FDC would control drives 1-4, the HFDC would control drives 5-8.

The HFDC was known to show some reliability issues with floppy disks, so in some cases people used the controller just to access the hard drives, next to another floppy disk controller like the Myarc DDCC.

Use of 1.44MB (high density) disks is possible and reliable, under three conditions:

# The data separator is the 9216B version, not the commonly installed 9216 version. Some 9216s are capable of the faster transfer rate but are not rated for it. The FDC9216 chip is overclocked to 8mhz and will support DSDD drives.
# The memory must be upgraded from 8k to 32k (The standard HFDC comes with 8K of memory, the 6264 chip. You can upgrade this chip to the full 32K by replacing it with a 62256)
# The card must be used with a Geneve.

====Tape Drives====
While the manual states that there is a capability of handling tape drives, there is no known application of a tape drive for this controller.

===Quirks and Upgrades===
AM26L32PC chip is buggy and can cause 'quirky' system problems. If you have one of these chips it is suggested to replace it with a AM26LS32AC.

The part of the HFDC that sticks out the back of the PEB has control lines that run from the AM26LS32x chip to the hard drive connectors. This can be scraped and cause shorts- a bit of insulation tape will keep problems down.

There is a a 45 second delay on the HFDC while it waits for the HD to activate its ready line.

<div style="clear:both"></div>

== Nouspikel IDE Interface ==
see article [[IDE Project Card]]

== Nouspikel Smart Media/USB Interface ==

TODO

== SNUG ASCSI Card ==
See article [[SNUG#ASCSI | SNUG Advanced SCSI Card]]

== SNUG BwG DSDD Disk Controller Card ==
Refer to article [[SNUG#BwG | SNUG BwG DSDD Disk Controller Card]]

== Western Horizon Technologies (WHTech) SCSI Controller ==

TODO

[[Category:Hardware]]
[[Category:Expansion]]

TI-99/8 Peripherals

2011-12-26T03:34:43Z

Ksarul: Added the 512K card (I have one of the four made for the CES)

== TI-99/8 Peripheral Expansion Cards ==

Very few peripheral cards were desgned specifically for the TI-99/8. All of them are much more difficult to find than the TI-99/8 consoles.

=== 128K Memory Expansion ===

The 128K Memory Expansion adds 128K of CPU memory to the TI-99/8. This additional memory can be utilized by programs written in Extended BASIC II or using the UCSD P-System. It is possible to place multiple memory expansion cards into the PEB to further increase available memory. Each card has a set of four straps on an extension tab extending out the back of the PEB, three of which are used to set the base address for the card. On some cards the straps are resistors, though they may also be set up using micro-switches. This card cannot be placed into a PEB connected to a [[TI-99/4A]], as it will damage the system.

=== 256K Memory Expansion ===

The 256K Memory Expansion adds 256K of CPU memory to the TI-99/8. This additional memory can be utilized by programs written in Extended BASIC II or using the UCSD P-System. It is possible to place multiple memory expansion cards in the PEB to further increase available memory. Each card has a set of four straps on an extension tab extending out the back of the PEB which are used to set the base address for the card. This card cannot be placed in a PEB connected to a [[TI-99/4A]]. This card is much harder to find than the 128K Memory Expansion.

=== 512K Memory Expansion ===

The 512K Memory Expansion adds 512K of CPU memory to the TI-99/8. This additional memory can be utilized by programs written in Extended BASIC II or using the UCSD P-System. It is possible to place multiple memory expansion cards in the PEB to further increase available memory. Each card has a set of four straps on an extension tab extending out the back of the PEB which are used to set the base address for the card. This card cannot be placed in a PEB connected to a [[TI-99/4A]]. This card is much harder to find than the 128K Memory Expansion, as only four of them were produced to use in a Consumer Electronics Show display to showcase the TI-99/8 using a large memory space (as noted by Mike Bunyard). He mentioned that the memory chips to populate them arrived from Japan only a few days before the show, and that there was a rush to get the boards populated and tested before the show started.

=== Armadillo Interface (Round Cable) ===

This card connects the TI-99/8 with a Revision 1 motherboard to the PEB. It contains no specialized chips and could be easily reproduced using a TI prototyping board. The cable between it and the 50-pin Centronics interface on the console is one-for-one straight through, connecting all pins. The pin-out for this connector is very different from the pin-out for the Flat Cable Interface, although it uses the same signals. It is possible to build an [[adapter]] to use this Interface with a Revision 2 motherboard.

Two different versions of this card exist: an early developmental prototype with an extremely complicated chip set and a lot of wiring modifications and a preproduction version with an optimized component set. A small number of the preproduction version are known to survive (10-30 examples), while only one of the prototype version is known to exist. Schematics for the developmental version surfaced in December 2007 and provided significant additional information. The additional chips on the board (empty sockets on the one known prototype) were to hold a 99/8 DRAM Controller Chip (Pollo), three PALs, and 32K of memory. It is probable that the 32K of memory is present on this version of the card to allow modules such as the TI Editor Assembler and TI Logo II to work properly with the TI-99/8. The chips and components on the remainder of the board are identical to the standard Flat and Round Cable Armadillo Interfaces.

=== Armadillo Interface (Flat Cable) ===

This card connects the TI-99/8 with a Revision 2 motherboard to the PEB. The pin-out for this connector is very different from the pin-out for the Round Cable Interface, although it uses the same signals. It is possible to build an [[adapter]] to use this Interface with a Revision 1 motherboard.

In December 2007 schematics for this version of the Armadillo Interface surfaced. The card is effectively identical to the round cable version, with the exception of the connector pin-out. The pins do not allow straight-through wiring of the cable, as they are not in the same order as the pins at the console end of the cable.

=== New Armadillo Interface (Flat Cable) 2008 ===

This card is a functional clone of the original Flat Cable Armadillo Interface. The connector pin-out at the card has been altered to allow use of a ribbon cable. A total of 10 copies of this board were produced in January 2008. Below are pictures of the card and another of the console side connector. The side connector will fit into a standard Radio Shack kit box to increase connection stability.

[[Image:New_Flat_Armadillo.JPG|700px]]

[[Image:New_Flat_Armadillo_Side.jpg|300px]]

=== RS-232 Serial Interface Card ===

This card is actually a standard RS-232 Serial Interface card for a [[TI-99/4A]] using an updated Device Support Routine (DSR) to make it compatible with the TI-99/8. The Source Code for the DSR is available, so any TI RS-232 Card could easily be modified for use with the TI-99/8. Very few examples of this modified card exist.

== Hex-Bus Peripherals ==

Texas Instruments designed the Hex-Bus peripherals to work using a standardized serial interface operationally similar to the system later used by the Universal Serial Bus (USB) on PCs. Several TI computers could take advantage of this interface: the TI-99/8, the [[TI-99/4A]] (with the Hex-Bus Interface), and the CC-40. Several of the Hex-Bus peripherals only exist in prototype form, and those that did make it to market were only produced for a short time before TI withdrew from the home computer market.

Peripherals connected through the HexBus port may operate more slowly than their counterparts in the PEB, as the data transfer rate on the peripheral bus is higher than HexBus allows. This minor limitation is most noticeable with the Floppy Drive/Controller.

The complete Interface Specifications for all of the known Hex-Bus peripherals are located on the WHTech FTP site.

=== 80-Column Printer ===

TODO

=== Double-Sided, Double-Density Hex-Bus 5.25 Inch Floppy Drive/Controller ===

This controller formatted disks to the standard TI single-density formats (90K per side for 40-track disks) and could be used to format them in double density using 16 sectors per track (160K per side for 40-track disks). The manual for this peripheral also indicates that the hardware could be used with 77-track disks, but that the current disk manager and DSR software did not yet implement this capability. This manual is also located on the WHTech site.

[[Image:HexBus Floppy.jpg|300px]]<span style="margin-left:2em"> </span>

=== Four-Color Printer-Plotter ===

TODO

=== Modem ===

TODO

=== RS-232 Serial Interface ===

The RS-232 Interface is one of the most common HexBus peripherals. It allows connection of a serial printer to the rear connector. It also has a parallel port, however accessing the connector requires the case to be opened so that the cable can be threaded into the device. The manual is available on WHTech.

=== Wafertape Drive ===

The Wafertape drives were a good idea gone bad. The plan was to make a high-speed tape storage device that would be less expensive than a disk drive. It worked too--but there were extreme reliability problems. Tapes could rarely be read in a drive other than the one they were originally written in, and even then reading or writing data to a tape was highly error-prone. The drives themselves were prone to rapid breakdown. Between 100 and 150 prototypes of the Wafertape drives were built--though very few surviving examples are functional. This problem was not unique to TI. The Sinclair Spectrum, Coleco Adam, and the Schneider CPC64/CPC128 also used Wafertape systems (also known as Stringy Floppies) for a while, and Mechatronics attempted to build a version to interface with the TI-99/4A. They were not popular in any implementation that actually made it to market.

TI-99/8 Peripherals

2008-03-08T06:15:00Z

Ksarul: /* 128K Memory Expansion */

== TI-99/8 Peripheral Expansion Cards ==

Very few peripheral cards were desgned specifically for the TI-99/8. All of them are much more difficult to find than the TI-99/8 consoles.

=== 128K Memory Expansion ===

The 128K Memory Expansion adds 128K of CPU memory to the TI-99/8. This additional memory can be utilized by programs written in Extended BASIC II or using the UCSD P-System. It is possible to place multiple memory expansion cards into the PEB to further increase available memory. Each card has a set of four straps on an extension tab extending out the back of the PEB, three of which are used to set the base address for the card. On some cards the straps are resistors, though they may also be set up using micro-switches. This card cannot be placed into a PEB connected to a [[TI-99/4A]], as it will damage the system.

=== 256K Memory Expansion ===

The 256K Memory Expansion adds 256K of CPU memory to the TI-99/8. This additional memory can be utilized by programs written in Extended BASIC II or using the UCSD P-System. It is possible to place multiple memory expansion cards in the PEB to further increase available memory. Each card has a set of four straps on an extension tab extending out the back of the PEB which are used to set the base address for the card. This card cannot be placed in a PEB connected to a [[TI-99/4A]]. This card is much harder to find than the 128K Memory Expansion.

=== Armadillo Interface (Round Cable) ===

This card connects the TI-99/8 with a Revision 1 motherboard to the PEB. It contains no specialized chips and could be easily reproduced using a TI prototyping board. The cable between it and the 50-pin Centronics interface on the console is one-for-one straight through, connecting all pins. The pin-out for this connector is very different from the pin-out for the Flat Cable Interface, although it uses the same signals. It is possible to build an [[adapter]] to use this Interface with a Revision 2 motherboard.

Two different versions of this card exist: an early developmental prototype with an extremely complicated chip set and a lot of wiring modifications and a preproduction version with an optimized component set. A small number of the preproduction version are known to survive (10-30 examples), while only one of the prototype version is known to exist. Schematics for the developmental version surfaced in December 2007 and provided significant additional information. The additional chips on the board (empty sockets on the one known prototype) were to hold a 99/8 DRAM Controller Chip (Pollo), three PALs, and 32K of memory. It is probable that the 32K of memory is present on this version of the card to allow modules such as the TI Editor Assembler and TI Logo II to work properly with the TI-99/8. The chips and components on the remainder of the board are identical to the standard Flat and Round Cable Armadillo Interfaces.

=== Armadillo Interface (Flat Cable) ===

This card connects the TI-99/8 with a Revision 2 motherboard to the PEB. The pin-out for this connector is very different from the pin-out for the Round Cable Interface, although it uses the same signals. It is possible to build an [[adapter]] to use this Interface with a Revision 1 motherboard.

In December 2007 schematics for this version of the Armadillo Interface surfaced. The card is effectively identical to the round cable version, with the exception of the connector pin-out. The pins do not allow straight-through wiring of the cable, as they are not in the same order as the pins at the console end of the cable.

=== New Armadillo Interface (Flat Cable) 2008 ===

This card is a functional clone of the original Flat Cable Armadillo Interface. The connector pin-out at the card has been altered to allow use of a ribbon cable. A total of 10 copies of this board were produced in January 2008. Below are pictures of the card and another of the console side connector. The side connector will fit into a standard Radio Shack kit box to increase connection stability.

[[Image:New_Flat_Armadillo.JPG|700px]]

[[Image:New_Flat_Armadillo_Side.jpg|300px]]

=== RS-232 Serial Interface Card ===

This card is actually a standard RS-232 Serial Interface card for a [[TI-99/4A]] using an updated Device Support Routine (DSR) to make it compatible with the TI-99/8. The Source Code for the DSR is available, so any TI RS-232 Card could easily be modified for use with the TI-99/8. Very few examples of this modified card exist.

== Hex-Bus Peripherals ==

Texas Instruments designed the Hex-Bus peripherals to work using a standardized serial interface operationally similar to the system later used by the Universal Serial Bus (USB) on PCs. Several TI computers could take advantage of this interface: the TI-99/8, the [[TI-99/4A]] (with the Hex-Bus Interface), and the CC-40. Several of the Hex-Bus peripherals only exist in prototype form, and those that did make it to market were only produced for a short time before TI withdrew from the home computer market.

Peripherals connected through the HexBus port may operate more slowly than their counterparts in the PEB, as the data transfer rate on the peripheral bus is higher than HexBus allows. This minor limitation is most noticeable with the Floppy Drive/Controller.

The complete Interface Specifications for all of the known Hex-Bus peripherals are located on the WHTech FTP site.

=== 80-Column Printer ===

TODO

=== Double-Sided, Double-Density Hex-Bus 5.25 Inch Floppy Drive/Controller ===

This controller formatted disks to the standard TI single-density formats (90K per side for 40-track disks) and could be used to format them in double density using 16 sectors per track (160K per side for 40-track disks). The manual for this peripheral also indicates that the hardware could be used with 77-track disks, but that the current disk manager and DSR software did not yet implement this capability. This manual is also located on the WHTech site.

[[Image:HexBus Floppy.jpg|300px]]<span style="margin-left:2em"> </span>

=== Four-Color Printer-Plotter ===

TODO

=== Modem ===

TODO

=== RS-232 Serial Interface ===

The RS-232 Interface is one of the most common HexBus peripherals. It allows connection of a serial printer to the rear connector. It also has a parallel port, however accessing the connector requires the case to be opened so that the cable can be threaded into the device. The manual is available on WHTech.

=== Wafertape Drive ===

The Wafertape drives were a good idea gone bad. The plan was to make a high-speed tape storage device that would be less expensive than a disk drive. It worked too--but there were extreme reliability problems. Tapes could rarely be read in a drive other than the one they were originally written in, and even then reading or writing data to a tape was highly error-prone. The drives themselves were prone to rapid breakdown. Between 100 and 150 prototypes of the Wafertape drives were built--though very few surviving examples are functional. This problem was not unique to TI. The Sinclair Spectrum, Coleco Adam, and the Schneider CPC64/CPC128 also used Wafertape systems (also known as Stringy Floppies) for a while, and Mechatronics attempted to build a version to interface with the TI-99/4A. They were not popular in any implementation that actually made it to market.

File:New Flat Armadillo Side.jpg

2008-02-10T19:36:49Z

Ksarul: This is the console side connector board for the 2008 Flat Cable Armadillo Interface/

This is the console side connector board for the 2008 Flat Cable Armadillo Interface/

File:New Flat Armadillo.JPG

2008-02-10T19:35:01Z

Ksarul: This is a picture of the 2008 edition of the Flat Cable Armadillo Interface

This is a picture of the 2008 edition of the Flat Cable Armadillo Interface

Community

2007-09-23T00:15:49Z

Ksarul:

== The Community ==

The TI Community still exists at large, even though over time its members have moved on to other machines that still make their lives easier.

A number of websites still exist that cater to the TI community, both for users and programmers alike.

The one common thread that all TI users share is that we love this computer, whether we were a user or a programmer.

One of the main online resources for this computer family is the FTP site at WHTech: ftp://ftp.whtech.com/ It contains documentation and programming resources gathered from all corners of the TI community and provides a non-commercial repository for much information that might otherwise be lost to the community forever.

Programming languages

2007-07-06T22:36:35Z

Ksarul:

Adapter

2007-06-14T18:43:37Z

Ksarul:

=== Revision 2 Motherboard to Round-Cable Armadillo Interface Adapter ===

Using the diagram below, it is possible to design an adapter to connect either version of the motherboard to either version of the Armadillo Interface. As shown, this diagram is optimized for the Revision 2 Motherboard to Round-Cable Armadillo Interface.

[[Image:99-8 Rev2 I O Connector Adapter.JPG]]

This pin-out has been tested with TI-99/8 Revision 2 Motherboard, serial number 80.