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 ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN LIMA
 NEWSLETTER JANUARY 1988

  ^^^^^^EXPANDING YOUR EXPANSION
 SYSTEM CHEAPLY
  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^by Charles Good

     With the abundance of very cheap
 or free software for the TI Home
 Computer, there is a real financial
 incentive to expand your TI rather
 than put it in the closet and
 purchase an IBM clone for home use.
 The sound, graphics, and especially
 speech capabilities of the little old
 TI are usually better than those of
 the IBM clone at the office.  With
 the $25 software package "PC
 Transfer" from Genial Computerware
 and a Myarc or CorComp disk contoller
 you can even take word processing
 ASCII files in IBM format home with
 you on a 5.5 inch disk, convert them
 from IBM format to D/V80 on your TI,
 and continue word processing at home
 with TI Writer or FUNNELWEB.  You can
 then, still at home on your TI,
 convert these D/V80 files back to IBM
 format and take them to the office
 with you the next day.  Sure, you can
 get cheap clones from ads in Computer
 Shopper, but you will spend a fortune
 on software.  Usually for less money
 than the cheapest IBM clone you can
 expand your TI system so that it will
 do most things the big guys do.  What
 follows are my personal
 recommendations for expanding your
 99/4A into a powerful computer system
 for the least amount of money.
 Prices quoted were in effect in
 mid-December 1987.  See also the
 aritcle "Hardware for the TI" by
 J.^Peter Hoddie reprinted in the
 Oct.^87 issue of BB&&P.
     Genial Computerware
     P.O. Box 183
     Grafton MA 01519

     THE FIRST STEP--A DISK SYSTEM:
     If you are still living in the
 dark ages with just a console, tape
 recorder, and maybe a sidecar 32K,
 now is a good time to acquire a good
 used basic disk system.  If you are
 already a serious TI user, now may be
 the time to acquire a backup system.
 I recommend the TI peripheral
 expansion box over the CorComp
 expansion system because the PE box
 really is expandable.  You can't hook
 the Geneve or Horizon Ramdisks to the
 CorComp "expansion" system because
 there are no expansion slots.  I also
 recommend the TI disk controller over
 those by MYARC and CorComp.  The TI
 card is compatable with almost all
 99/4A software (with the important
 exception of the above mentioned "PC
 Transfer") and it is RELIABLE.  I
 have not heard of any TI controllers
 going bad (I am sure that some have,
 I just havn't heard), whereas I do
 know of MYARC and CorComp controllers
 that have been sent back for
 repairs.
     With many former TI users moving
 on to IBM land there are alot of used
 systems available on the market, and
 prices are going DOWN.  My preferred
 basic expansion system (PE box, 32K,
 TI controller, one SSSD drive) could
 be purchased for $275 at the Nov 1987
 Chicago Faire.  Locally, this
 equipment AND a TI RS232 card AND a
 Gemini 10X printer sold for $400 in
 September of 1987.  Check the
 classified ads in Micropendium,
 Computer Shopper, and the newsletters
 for availability of used systems from
 private sales.  Although the cost may
 be higher, there is an advantage to
 purchasing used systems from a
 dealer.  Dealers offer 30 day
 guarantees and check their systems
 out prior to sale.  You can
 reasonably expect to have everything
 in working order if you buy used from
 a dealer.  I recently got a used TI
 system (PE box, 32K, TI controller,
 TI SSSD drive) from Comptetition
 Computer only to find that the drive
 would boot BASIC, but not assembly
 software.  I knew it was the drive
 itself that was causing the problem
 because when I put another drive into
 the PE box everything worked fine.
 "No problem," said Competition
 Computer over the phone, just send
 the defective drive back.  One week
 later I received via UPS an exchange
 used drive.  The only thing I had to
 pay was postage to Competition.  You
 can not expect this kind of service
 with a private sale.  Here is a by no
 mean complete list of dealers who
 will sell you a used TI systems.
 Phone for prices and availability.
     Competition Computer
     2629 W. National Ave.
     Milwaukee  WI 53204

     L.L. Conner Enterprise
     1521 Ferry St.
     Lafayette IN 47904
     317-742-8146

     Queen Anne Computer Shoppe
     6102 Roosevelt Way NE
     Seattle WA 98115
     206-522-6558

     Armadillo Bytes
     Box 1816622
     Dallas TX 76218
     214-328-9257

     PRINTER AND PRINTER INTERFACE:
     Once you get your disk system you
 automatically become a serious TI
 user.  Your next peripheral should be
 a printer and  printer interface.
 You can get a printer interface with
 built in cable from Tenex for $45
 that plugs into the side of the
 console.  This is by far the cheapest
 printer interface, but I don't
 personally recommend it.  You can use
 the PE box with this device, but it
 adds to the width of your console and
 will not accept a modem.  A PE box
 RS232 card is more expensive but
 preferable because it looks neater,
 and because it allows you to hook up
 both a printer and a modem. Tenex
 will sell you a MYARC or CorComp
 RS232 card for $80, a very good
 price.
     Back in 1983 the STAR GEMINI 10X
 printer became the defacto standard
 printer for the 99/4A.  This was
 because it was sold for less money
 than the TI impact printer and
 offered more features. I remember
 paying $310 for mine and thinking
 what a bargain it was.  Many TI users
 still depend on this printer,
 including famous TI names like Jim
 Peterson.  Almost all good TI
 software was, and still is, written
 to be compatable with the Gemini 10X.
 This includes graphics, word
 processing, and screen dump software.
     In selecting a printer, it is
 important to choose a dot matrix
 model that uses the same control
 codes as the Gemini 10X so that the
 printer is compatable with our
 software.  Daisy wheel printers are
 not compatable with any of our
 graphics software.  The very
 important question to ask when
 purchasing a printer is "Is the
 printer EPSON compatable?" This EPSON
 compatability standard is what was
 used in the now out of production
 Gemini 10X.  I believe all EPSON and
 STAR dot matrix printers still have
 this compatability, as do some
 printers of other manufacturers.
 Printers designed for use with the
 Commodore 64/128 or IBM computers DO
 NOT have this Gemini 10X
 compatability.
     Based upon my own experience with
 STAR printers, and what I have seen
 at the recent Chicago TI Faire,  the
 STAR NX10 looks like it deserves very
 serious consideration.  It is totally
 compatable with Gemini 10X control
 codes and will also print a supurb
 Near Letter Quality type face that is
 good enough most business use.  You
 need a good magnifying glass to prove
 that this NLQ was done with a dot
 matrix printer.  With the NX10 you
 can select NLQ or other type fonts
 from buttons on the front panel.  On
 many other printers you need to send
 software codes or manipulate tiny out
 of the way dip switches to do the
 same thing.  Tenex sells the NX10 for
 $190 and the required cable (between
 the RS232 card and printer) for $25
 (5 foot) or $35 (10 foot).
 Triton the 5 foot cable for $17.  You
 need such a cable no matter where you
 buy your printer, unless you are
 using the above described $45 "plugs
 into the side of the console"
 interface with built in cable.
 Midwest Miro-Peripherals will sell
 you a STAR NX10 for $160.  I have
 personally dealt with this dealer and
 was very impressed.  Midwest is an
 authorized STAR service center.  I
 know from personal experience that
 they will fix any STAR printer in or
 out of warranty, usually in just a
 few days.  With many printers if they
 break you have to send them to the
 factory (in Japan?) for repair, and
 wait and wait and wait.  If you do
 buy a printer from Midwest, you still
 need to get a parallel printer cable
 from a TI dealer such as Tenex or
 Competition.
     Tenex Computer Express
     P.O. Box 6578
     South Bend IN  46660
     219-259-7051

     Triton
     P.O. Box 8123
     San Francisco CA  94128
     800-227-6900

     MidWest Micro-Peripherals
     6910 US Route 36 East
     Fletcher OH 45326
     800-321-7731 (in Ohio)
     800-423-8215 (outside Ohio)

     EXPANDING BEYOND JUST ONE SSSD
 DRIVE:
     You can do alot more with two
 drives than with just one and I
 recommend upgrading to a second drive
 as the next step in your system
 expansion after the printer.  With
 two drives disk copying is automatic.
 You don't have to switch disks back
 and forth.  When doing serious word
 processing or data base work you can
 leave your system disk in drive one
 and put a data disk in drive two.
 With FUNNELWEB, 2 drives allow you
 fast menu access to lots of user
 programs.  Double sided is also nice.
 You can have immediate access to all
 the data on both sides of the disk
 (720 sectors in DSSD format) and you
 won't have to make any more flippies
 in order to use the back side of the
 disk.  Flippies for the TI are a real
 pain to make because you have to
 punch out the index hole in addition
 to the write protect hole.  For
 Apples and Commodores all you need
 for a flippy is a second write
 protect hole! You can almost always
 get away with using cheap SSSD rated
 disks with a double sided drive and
 the TI controller.  This is because
 the TI controller only puts 90K of
 data on each disk side (IBM squeezes
 360K) and is thus much more tolerant
 of disk imperfections.
     The fanciest way to expand, and
 the most expensive, is to install two
 half height double sided double
 density (DSDD) drives in the PE box.
 Lots of dealers will sell you half
 height drives, but it is important to
 also get the necessary cables for
 installation in the PE box.  C && G
 Drives will sell you the drives and
 all needed cables to install in the
 PE box for about $240.  TexComp has
 the same goodies for $190, the best
 price than I have seen anywhere .
     The cheap way to expand is to
 purchase a bare full height DSDD
 drive and slide it right into the PE
 box in place of your original TI SSSD
 drive.  Its easy!  No additional
 cables or modificatons are needed,
 but make sure the dealer configures
 your drive as DSK1.  Such drives can
 be had for $75 from L.L.  Conner or
 from C && G Drives, and for $60 from
 L && M Systems.  Then buy an external
 drive power supply box AND A CABLE to
 connect this power supply to the edge
 connector of your disk controller.
 CorComp controllers require a
 different cable than the one that is
 used for TI and MYARC controllers.
 Power supply boxes are $40 from
 TexComp.  Competition Computer has
 the cable for $20.  TexComp and C &&
 G Drives also probably sell this
 cable.  Slide your original TI SSSD
 drive into the power supply (its
 easy!), and plug your cable to the
 back of the disk controller in your
 PE box.  Another way to go is to
 purchase a stand alone DSDD drive
 with cables.  TexComp has them for
 $119. The disadangage here is that it
 is more convenient to have your DS
 drive as drive 1 rather than drive 2,
 and you have to modify your original
 drive to make it work properly with a
 second drive.  You now have, for an
 investment of about $120 plus
 shipping, a two drive system with one
 of these drives double sided.
     C && G Drives
     1241 Landwehr Rd.
     Northbrook IL 60062
     312-272-0468

     Tex Comp
     P.O. Box 33064
     Granada Hills CA 91344
     818-366-6631

     L && M Systems
     2330 East Ave. J-8 #173
     Lancaster CA 93535
     805-948-1587

     SUPER MEMORY EXPANSION:
     After upgrading to multiple
 drives, I next recommend obtaining
 more PE box memory for program and
 file storage.  A disk system is
 required to use the various super
 memory cards.
     The way TI designed our computer,
 the largest memory expansion that is
 DIRECTLY accessable to the computer
 via the right side expansion port is
 32K.  Playing lots of tricks, this
 directly accessable memory can be
 stretched to 64K, but this requires
 hardware modifications.  For most
 practical purposes, no software can
 access more than 32K of CPU RAM
 outside of the console.  So what
 about the various 256K, 512K and even
 1Meg memory expansions you have read
 about? These devices DO NOT expand
 your TI's RAM to the size of a fully
 expanded IBM PC.  No matter what the
 size of your memory expansion, the
 99/4A will not handle software larger
 than what it can handle with the
 plain old 32K memory expansion, and
 your TI cannot be made to utilize
 huge software of a size usable by an
 IBM clone.  Large memory expansion
 devices for the TI allow you to use
 the extra memory as a RAM disk and/or
 as a print spooler.  As RAM disks,
 these devices function somewhat like
 hard disks, only faster, allowing you
 to move software and data very
 rapidly into and out of the TI's
 rather limited active memory.  With
 FUNNELWEB on a ramdisk, you can
 almost instantaneously boot
 FUNNELWEB, shift from a central menu
 to the editor, then edit and save
 your text to the ramdisk, load the
 formatter and print your text.  Each
 time you move a block of memory takes
 only 1 or 2 seconds.  This isn't
 quite as good as having the editor,
 formatter, and text buffer all in CPU
 RAM at the same time as you do with
 the GENEVE, but you will hardly
 notice the difference.  The
 difference between instantaneous and
 1 or 2 seconds isn't much.
     CorComp and MYARC both make 512K
 expansion cards that can be used as
 32K CPU RAM with the rest (480K)
 available as ramdisk and/or print
 spooler.  These are currently $240 at
 Tenex.  Both require an AC adapter,
 similar to a pocket calculator AC
 adapter, if you want to keep data in
 the card after the computer is shut
 down.  The CorComp card needs such an
 adapter to work even while the
 computer and PE box are turned on.
 If the mains power is interrupted, or
 if the adapter jack slips out of the
 back of the card or out of the AC
 wall outlet, you lose all your data.
 This dependency on mains power to
 keep data after the rest of the
 system is shut down is the main
 limitation of these two cards.  You
 cannot count on them safely holding
 data or programs for a long time.
     I strongly recommend the Horizon
 Ramdisk in one of its several
 configurations.  Horizon cards act
 EXACTLY like a floppy drive, but with
 lightning speed, and are backed up
 with rechargable batteries what
 automatically charge every time the
 PE box is turned on.  With power off
 your data is safe for months and is
 not affected by a mains power
 failure.  You can pull a Horizon card
 out of your PE box, put it in another
 PE box, and the data will still be
 there.  Horizon cards are available
 as kits or already built in sizes
 ranging from 192K (emulating a DSSD
 drve) up to 1Meg.  An assembled
 guaranteed 192K Horizon costs $195
 from Horizon Computer.  An assembled
 one megabyte card costs $450 from
 Midwest Engineering.  Complete kits
 are available from Bud Mills
 Services.  You can fill every vacant
 slot in your PE box with a Horizon
 card, giving you the potential of
 several Megs RAM program and data
 storage.  With v7.1 of the
 Johnson-Ballman RAM based Horizon
 operating system (public domain,
 available from Miami User Group) a
 single Horizon card can emulate
 several floppy drives.  With this
 operating system you can also get a
 menu, ON POWERUP, that will load
 programs from your ramdisk at the
 touch of a key.  A similar, more
 secure Horizon ramdisk operating
 system is available as a ROM chip
 from Genial Computerware, and was
 reviewed in the Nov. 87 issue of
 BB&&P.  More than any other single
 hardware device, the Horizon ramdisk
 can turn your 99/4A into a real power
 machine capable of doing anything you
 want at powerup without messing with
 floppy disks.  I have FUNNELWEB and
 15 frequently used programs on my
 Horizon ramdisks.  I load and save my
 word processing text and financial
 data files directly to and from the
 Horizon cards quick as a wink.  I
 back up my Horizon files to disk
 every couple of weeks, just to be
 sure, but have great confidence in
 the ability of my Horizon ramdisks to
 securely hold my programs and data
 files.
     Other products apparently similar
 to the Horizon ramdisk have been
 advertised by DataBioTics (the
 GrandRam) and Rave 99.  As far as I
 know, neither of these products has
 been released.  Neither was at the
 Chicago Faire.  Horizon ramdisks have
 a proven track record of two years.
 I have not seen any bad newsletter
 comments about this product, and it
 exists NOW.
     Bud Mills Services
     166 Dartmouth Dr.
     Toledo OH 43614
     419-385-5846

     Horizon Computer Ltd.
     P.O. Box 554
     Walbridge OH  43465
     419-666-6911

     Midwest Engineering Consultants
     203 Arcadia Dr.
     Vernon Hills IL 60061

     AND ON AND ON AND ON:
     Other hardware upgrades are
 available for our computer, but for
 the most part they seem to me to be
 quite expensive for what you get.
 The exception is modems.  Some are
 cheap, and some are expensive.  You
 probably get what you pay for.  Since
 I am not into telecommunications I
 can't comment personally except to
 say that they plug into your PE box
 RS232 serial port.  Check out
 Micropendium and the newsletters for
 comments on modem features and
 quality.
     An IBM style keyboard is
 available from RAVE 99 for $200
 complete.  This keyboard allows
 single key entry of TI-Writer and
 Multiplan commands.
     How about an 80 column display
 with TI-Writer and Multiplan?  The
 Mechatronic 80 column "card" (it
 plugs into the side of the console,
 no into the PE box) available from
 Tenex, or the DIGIT Systems AVPC PE
 box card will both do this for "only"
 $220.  You need either a monochrome
 monitor ($100, maybe less) or an
 analog (not an IBM compatable TTL)
 RGB color monitor ($345 at L && M
 Systems) in order to see this 80
 column display.  A TV or  composite
 color monitor just don't have the
 necessary resolution.
     Because of cost, I can't
 recommend the fancy keyboard or 80
 column cards.  Together with a new
 monitor their combined cost is at
 least $520.  You can get an IBM clone
 complete with monochrome monitor,
 fancy keyboard, 80 column display,
 and 256K CPU memory for less than
 this from several dealers advertising
 in Computer Shopper.  If you must
 have 80 columns and a fancy keyboard
 than go with a clone, but be prepared
 to pay big bucks for the software.
     Double density controllers by
 MYARC or CorComp are available from
 Tenex or L && M Systems for $150.
 These allow you to store twice as
 much data on a double sided disk as
 the old reliable TI controller and
 are needed to transfer IBM ASCII
 files to TI D/V80 format.  A MYARC
 quadrouple density controller costs
 $190 from L && M, and requires
 special 80 track drives to work in
 quad density.  I still prefer the old
 TI controller.
     How about a built in clock
 accessable with software.  The
 CorComp Triple Tech card (provides
 calendar/clock, 64K printer buffer,
 speech synthesizer in the box
 connecter) costs $138 and the CorComp
 stand alone clock goes for $80, both
 at Tenex.  If you have a Horizon
 Ramdisk, the MENU operating system
 can access these clocks with a single
 keypress from the BOOT menu. It's too
 bad there is no automatic way of
 dating files as they are saved to
 disk.  Personally, I find that my $3
 KMART cheapo quartz wrist watch is
 good enough for me.  I just can't see
 paying $80 for a computer clock.
     Rave 99
     112 Rambling Road
     Vernon CT 06066
     203-871-7824

     DIGIT Systems
     4345 Hortensia St.
     San Diego CA 92103
     619-295-3301

     SUMMARY-MY PREFERRED EXPANSION
 HARDWARE:
     Console, extended basic, tape
 recorder--I assume you
     ^^^^already have these items.
     Used PE box, 32K, TI controller,
 SSSD drive-----$275
 RS232 card for PE box, new------------
 ---------$ 80
     Star NX10 printer, new------------
 -------------$160
     Double sided drive and box for
 second drive-----$120
     Assembled 192K (=DSSD drive)
 Horizon ramdisk----$195
    TOTAL EXPANSION COST--------------
 -------------$840 plus any tax and
 postage.
  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^**DONE**
     .PL 1