More TGX16 Dreams from days of lore

TGX16 · 03/21/2010, 08:08 AM

Sparkys thread made me do some remembering of how it was back then!
So I did some checking in the catalog and magazine collection!
The following came up pretty fast!!
The first image shows the ad from an English magazine ("The Games machine")
and thats the ad that made me the PC Engine addict I am to day!

And this I got from the horse mouth (TTI them self) After that I just needed a DUO...

Now I've got 3!

A letter recived prior to the DUO's realese in the US

Another little something that came with the letter A Periphial that never saw the light of day (Thank god!!)

At one time I was concidering importing PC Engine stuff from Hong Kong, This company was one of the most interessting sources of PC Engine stuff at the time!
http://i915.photobucket.com/albums/ac360/HobbyData/Pic7.jpg

OH!!!!!!!!those realy were the days of big dreams..........Dreams we now realize with the dough we have now but not then!

esteban · 03/21/2010, 08:50 AM

Dude, this stuff is gold!

I love the Intelligent Link flyer!

To clarify on this flyer: who was making this "unbelievable" offer? It certainly seems that they were trying to get rid of the "Animals!" CD-ROM title (either because it was cheap, or thousands of copies were sitting in their storeroom) by offering the Link for "free".

REQUEST: Surely you want me to put your awesome scans on my site.

Higher res scans/larger size images possible?

300 dpi gets you this: https://archives.tg-16.com/EGM/EGM_1992_04_001.jpg (and I reduce it to 1300 X ~1700 for the web). I'm working to update all my scans to be very nice like this.

Sparky · 03/21/2010, 09:35 AM

hells ya... that is dreamland stuff!!! that intel link is sweet and the animals? that game never came to be either or am i just new

. enjoyed looking at that stuff TX16

I have to start visiting esteban site more... damn good stuff there. <<huggles>>

EDIT: OOOoooOOOo I got it, its a computer game

hey did not even have my first coffee in me so dont judge!!!

Joe Redifer · 03/21/2010, 09:49 AM

Damn d00d, the PC blows away the Mac when connected to a TurboDuo. This is about the time the PC started to pull ahead of the Mac in popularity as well. Now we know why... it was faster with a Duo.

Could that intelligent link be connected to a TG-CD as well? or does it use the built in RAM of the Duo that is not present in the TG-CD?

esteban · 03/21/2010, 09:59 AM

Quote from: Joe Redifer on 03/21/2010, 09:49 AMDamn d00d, the PC blows away the Mac when connected to a TurboDuo. This is about the time the PC started to pull ahead of the Mac in popularity as well. Now we know why... it was faster with a Duo.

Could that intelligent link be connected to a TG-CD as well? or does it use the built in RAM of the Duo that is not present in the TG-CD?

The Intelligent Link ~~could be used with the TG-CD~~... you can watch the prototype being used on the PBS show (Computer Chronicles), and they demo an education game (Discis reading software, I forget the title of the children's book)...

I haven't watched the episode in years, but it's good

It has Johnny Turbo (Brandstetter) in it!

Intelligent Link Prototype (TurboForce September 1992)

TTi gets "scuzzy" (SCSI) at COMDEX '92 (TurboForce January 1993)

RoyVegas · 03/21/2010, 10:30 AM

Quote from: guest on 03/21/2010, 09:35 AMthe animals? that game never came to be either or am i just new .
EDIT: OOOoooOOOo I got it, its a computer game hey did not even have my first coffee in me so dont judge!!!

Not sure what else it was released for but I do know it was released on the 3DO.

TheClash603 · 03/21/2010, 10:59 AM

Very nice scans! Keep posting more!

TGX16 · 03/21/2010, 04:41 PM

Quote from: RoyVegas on 03/21/2010, 10:30 AM
Quote from: guest on 03/21/2010, 09:35 AMthe animals? that game never came to be either or am i just new .
EDIT: OOOoooOOOo I got it, its a computer game hey did not even have my first coffee in me so dont judge!!!
Not sure what else it was released for but I do know it was released on the 3DO.

I've got it for Sega CD (EU version)

TGX16 · 03/21/2010, 04:50 PM

Quote from: esteban on 03/21/2010, 08:50 AMDude, this stuff is gold!

I love the Intelligent Link flyer!

To clarify on this flyer: who was making this "unbelievable" offer? It certainly seems that they were trying to get rid of the "Animals!" CD-ROM title (either because it was cheap, or thousands of copies were sitting in their storeroom) by offering the Link for "free".

REQUEST: Surely you want me to put your awesome scans on my site.

Higher res scans/larger size images possible?

300 dpi gets you this: https://archives.tg-16.com/EGM/EGM_1992_04_001.jpg (and I reduce it to 1300 X ~1700 for the web). I'm working to update all my scans to be very nice like this.

They are 300dpi, just pick them from here!
http://i915.photobucket.com/albums/ac360/HobbyData/Pic2.jpg
http://i915.photobucket.com/albums/ac360/HobbyData/Pic7.jpg
http://i915.photobucket.com/albums/ac360/HobbyData/Pic6.jpg
http://i915.photobucket.com/albums/ac360/HobbyData/Pic5.jpg
http://i915.photobucket.com/albums/ac360/HobbyData/Pic1.jpg
http://i915.photobucket.com/albums/ac360/HobbyData/Pic3.jpg
http://i915.photobucket.com/albums/ac360/HobbyData/Pic4.jpg
Just give credit were credit is due thats all I ask!
More scans will come, got this "Canon LaserBase MF5630" and she scans so fine and fast it's allmost fun

Hey wait a sec...........Your not the guy that host The Turboplay magazine archive?

turbogrfxfan · 03/21/2010, 05:13 PM

awesome. the link cable to the pc is such a great selling point to parents for kids. I so would of used that

TGX16 · 03/21/2010, 05:40 PM

More scans m8's
Got these from TTI i think, had a lot of letter contact with them back then and got some promo stuff like this

Some Catalog scans:

Not sure about this one since I'm missing the coverpages, I think and guess
it's a very late one since it contains Godzilla amongst other late games?

Probably the closest I'll get to this game: The manual in mint condition!
Anyone that can and will sell me the game?

ParanoiaDragon · 03/21/2010, 11:42 PM

I got alot of this stuff as well, though, the few at the top with the Intella Link or whatever I didn't get. I did get a bunch of different colored Bomberman hats(which are now long gone), & Sherlock Holmes 2 matchbook that opens up to become a calculator, & I think just alot of different stikers n' stuff that I actually put on stuff, like that Bonk for President thing. I have no idea where they are or what I put them on

I also got some free unlabled games(Bonk 3 CD, Super Air Zonk, Might & Magic 3) & a full retail release of Terraforming, but, all that stuff was Eun Lopez's, so not strictly from TTI themselves. Did you ever talk to her, she was their last secretary. I'm curious about your experience BITD in contacting TTI.

wmacmonagle · 03/22/2010, 01:46 AM

I do have Sherlock Holmes 2 Matchbox (calculator) somewhere in garage!.. Once I find it ... will post here. =)

offsidewing · 03/22/2010, 11:08 AM

I have all those club duo mags too. And the TZD 30+ page mag from 1994 ish. I also have a TON of Turbo flyers and mailers, just too lazy to scan and to stupid to post.

Arkhan Asylum · 03/25/2010, 01:32 AM

Quote from: Joe Redifer on 03/21/2010, 09:49 AMDamn d00d, the PC blows away the Mac when connected to a TurboDuo. This is about the time the PC started to pull ahead of the Mac in popularity as well. Now we know why... it was faster with a Duo.

Could that intelligent link be connected to a TG-CD as well? or does it use the built in RAM of the Duo that is not present in the TG-CD?

Dunno. Its kinda like using it as a CDROM on the MSx/pc98 also, with develo box. It might not actually the syscard ram. We need to find one and see.

Id totally use my TGCD to install / play old DOS CDrom games in style.

D-Lite · 03/25/2010, 02:45 AM

So I need to ask. Does anyone know of another Intelligent Link other than the one I have? I've been trying to figure out if mine is thee proto or not. I got it a few years back from Turbo Zone Direct's Steve. I'll have to post pics.

Arkhan Asylum · 03/25/2010, 06:25 AM

screw postin pics!

how mush you wants for it?

D-Lite · 03/25/2010, 11:36 AM

Quote from: guest on 03/25/2010, 06:25 AMscrew postin pics!

how mush you wants for it?

Three sealed Magical Chase US?

Arkhan Asylum · 03/25/2010, 12:24 PM

Quote from: D-Lite on 03/25/2010, 11:36 AM
Quote from: Psycho Arkhan on 03/25/2010, 06:25 AMscrew postin pics!

how mush you wants for it?
Three sealed Magical Chase US?

Done. Let me go dig out the shrinkwrap machine and find some ebayers to buy from.

D-Lite · 03/25/2010, 12:41 PM

Seriously, I'm curious how many of a proto piece of hardware they would have made.

NecroPhile · 03/25/2010, 12:50 PM

The one you have is kind of a 'finished' product, isn't it? I figure there's got to be an earlier more MacGyverish version out there somewhere, one made with lots of electrical tape, rubber bands, and paper clips.

D-Lite · 03/25/2010, 01:03 PM

Quote from: guest on 03/25/2010, 12:50 PMThe one you have is kind of a 'finished' product, isn't it? I figure there's got to be an earlier more MacGyverish version out there somewhere, one made with lots of electrical tape, rubber bands, and paper clips.

"Mostly". It looks good, but there's elements that suggest "unfinished".

RoyVegas · 03/25/2010, 03:52 PM

Quote from: D-Lite on 03/25/2010, 01:03 PM"Mostly". It looks good, but there's elements that suggest "unfinished".

Me wants to see! Pics Pics!

Arkhan Asylum · 03/25/2010, 08:03 PM

Quote from: RoyVegas on 03/25/2010, 03:52 PM
Quote from: D-Lite on 03/25/2010, 01:03 PM"Mostly". It looks good, but there's elements that suggest "unfinished".
Me wants to see! Pics Pics!

yeah more importantly, does it WORK>? can you use it?

D-Lite · 03/25/2010, 10:00 PM

Quote from: guest on 03/25/2010, 08:03 PM
Quote from: RoyVegas on 03/25/2010, 03:52 PM
Quote from: D-Lite on 03/25/2010, 01:03 PM"Mostly". It looks good, but there's elements that suggest "unfinished".
Me wants to see! Pics Pics!
yeah more importantly, does it WORK>? can you use it?

Alas, I'm a Mac guy so the thing is mostly worthless in terms of use.

NecroPhile · 03/26/2010, 09:21 AM

Quote from: D-Lite on 03/25/2010, 10:00 PMAlas, I'm a Mac guy so the thing is mostly worthless in terms of use.

Isn't it a SCSI interface? That was a standard of Apples of yore (until about ten years ago), unlike PCs where it was seldom found outside of workstations and servers.

D-Lite · 03/26/2010, 09:42 AM

Quote from: guest on 03/26/2010, 09:21 AM
Quote from: D-Lite on 03/25/2010, 10:00 PMAlas, I'm a Mac guy so the thing is mostly worthless in terms of use.
Isn't it a SCSI interface? That was a standard of Apples of yore (until about ten years ago), unlike PCs where it was seldom found outside of workstations and servers.

Yes, but like you have there "until about ten years ago". You can still find PCs with the SCSI port, but no Macs other than the bigger towers for years now.

Did you need software/drivers for it? I would assume.

NecroPhile · 03/26/2010, 10:28 AM

Any newer PC with SCSI has had it added by a PCIe card, and I'd expect at least a few of those cards to support OS X; I've also seen adapters that have SCSI on one end and FireWire and/or USB on the other. The biggest problem might be figuring out which one of the eleventyjillion flavors of SCSI that the Link uses and then finding a card and adapter that will support it. If all else fails, I have a 486 of similar vintage that has SCSI and I'd allow you to send the Link to me to see if it works. Who knows, I might even send it back to you.

P.S. - I'm not advocating that you blow a few hundred dollars on cards, cables, adapters, and scotch (to keep you from punching a cat out of frustration when it still doesn't work), just to see if this thing is alive. Even if it has died of old age, it's still an awesome piece of hardware.

Vecanti · 03/26/2010, 12:45 PM

I'd love to plug this thing into my Amiga 3000. I'm guessing the cable is just a standard DB25 like an old parallel port connector? On the Amiga it's SCSI-1(which is what all the old Mac's, Amiga's, etc had back when this was released as I don't think SCSI 2 was approved until sometime in '94), but most all those old SCSI are the same port, just different speeds (SCSI-1, SCSI-2, Fast-SCSI, Wide-SCSI, same port just different speeds depending what you plugged in)

On the Amiga there shouldn't be any special drivers needed beside it's on CD driver stuff.

TGX16 · 03/26/2010, 03:43 PM

Quote from: D-Lite on 03/25/2010, 01:03 PM
Quote from: guest on 03/25/2010, 12:50 PMThe one you have is kind of a 'finished' product, isn't it? I figure there's got to be an earlier more MacGyverish version out there somewhere, one made with lots of electrical tape, rubber bands, and paper clips.
"Mostly". It looks good, but there's elements that suggest "unfinished".

Does it look like this one or like the one in the flyer in the original post

offsidewing · 03/26/2010, 06:29 PM

Hahahaha. Apple. The only place you can buy a $300 computer for $1500! They're horrible for 3D applications too!

Arkhan Asylum · 03/26/2010, 07:53 PM

send it here, I has the means to test it.

and also, the means to never get back to you on it or send it back, and vanish from the face of the internet with the raer still in hand!

Sparky · 03/26/2010, 07:58 PM

Quote from: offsidewing on 03/26/2010, 06:29 PMHahahaha. Apple. The only place you can buy a $300 computer for $1500! They're horrible for 3D applications too!

now, now!!! dont make this north mexican slap ya, pc and mac can live together as equals.
lets leave it at that... <<tips sunbrero down a little>>

D-Lite · 03/26/2010, 10:04 PM

LARGE pics can now be found here. More details to follow and probably it's own post soon too.

http://www.multimods.com/IntLink/

nat · 03/26/2010, 10:16 PM

You know what's fucked up, if I had one of those I'd actually use it. My secondary hobby after video games is vintage Apple computer hardware. I have a number of computers that would be compatible with that.

D-Lite · 03/26/2010, 10:42 PM

I should try it someday. I DO have a few beige boxes here somewhere. 7100 included I believe

nat · 03/26/2010, 11:02 PM

Yes, the 7100 would be fully compatible with that. Assuming it works.

RoyVegas · 03/26/2010, 11:03 PM

Quote from: D-Lite on 03/26/2010, 10:04 PMLARGE pics can now be found here. More details to follow and probably it's own post soon too.

http://www.multimods.com/IntLink/

Now that's just cool!

Arkhan Asylum · 03/27/2010, 03:39 AM

Quote from: nat on 03/26/2010, 10:16 PMYou know what's fucked up, if I had one of those I'd actually use it. My secondary hobby after video games is vintage Apple computer hardware. I have a number of computers that would be compatible with that.

funny my secondary hobby after video games, is hooking up computers from the 1980s to old crap and pretending its not 2010.

esteban · 03/28/2010, 01:05 AM

Quote from: TGX16 on 03/21/2010, 04:50 PMHey wait a sec...........Your not the guy that host The Turboplay magazine archive?

Quote from: D-Lite on 03/26/2010, 10:04 PMLARGE pics can now be found here. More details to follow and probably it's own post soon too.

http://www.multimods.com/IntLink/

D-Lite, that's friggin' awesome. It is definitely the same as the one pictured in the Electronics Boutique catalog. You have slightly darker plastic and no branding, so I reckon there are at least two prototypes that look "finished". I actually thought that a graphic artist added the magenta color to the photo used in the EB catalog, but, upon seeing yours, it seems I was wrong.

The catalog prototype does not appear to have the two exposed wires featured in your pictures...

I posted a bunch of links in my prior post, but just to refresh:

NecroPhile · 03/29/2010, 10:21 AM

Quote from: esteban on 03/28/2010, 01:05 AMThe catalog prototype does not appear to have the two exposed wires featured in your pictures...

I think you spotted what Dean meant when he said that there's some "elements that suggest unfinished".

esteban · 03/29/2010, 12:31 PM

Quote from: guest on 03/29/2010, 10:21 AM
Quote from: esteban on 03/28/2010, 01:05 AMThe catalog prototype does not appear to have the two exposed wires featured in your pictures...
I think you spotted what Dean meant when he said that there's some "elements that suggest unfinished".

Dean's TurboLink is certainly is nicer than the one featured on Computer Chronicles (Show #1043, "CD-ROM"):

16:53 - The mess of wires is totally unfortunate. The black cable is from the standard TurboPad. The TurboLink cable is thick and gray. The TurboLink would look awkward, but not nearly as messy if the DUO's controller was removed from view. The CD games aren't helping the situation, either.

You can see the PCB is green in the prototype above, but the gray cable and plastic housing looks nice.

J.B. uses the TurboLink to play Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective on a Mac.

18:19 Then he pulls out the adapter, slaps in Lords of Thunder (which he refers to as a "VHD" shooter... I've written about this elsewhere--it's a ridiculous term for "Vertical, Horizontal & Diagonal" scrolling in shoot-em-ups... TTi was desperate, but pathetic, with the marketing on this one. Thankfully, TTi never pushed the "VHD" angle anywhere else (to my knowledge).

19:50 Next, J.B. demos a game that was never released: "Thomas' Snowsuit" from Discis (Discus?) Books (they had published the title for Mac)

I've been meaning to collect all this TurboLink stuff on one page for my website, but I haven't gotten around to it (obviously).

D-Lite · 03/29/2010, 01:27 PM

That is one dope dude.

esteban · 03/29/2010, 02:18 PM

Quote from: D-Lite on 03/29/2010, 01:27 PMThat is one dope dude.

Technically, I think "chunky pixie" might be more apt.

TGX16 · 03/29/2010, 02:58 PM

Looks like that guy John brandstetter is showing the proto I posted earlier with a scanned page from TurboForce magazine, The lower PCB is green but the upper one is red. It does not look very sturdy either.
And with guy like him working for TTI no wonder they went under

nat · 03/29/2010, 06:46 PM

I wonder if this John character WAS Turbo Technologies. Looks like an apparatus he cooked up in his mom's basement.

esteban · 03/30/2010, 08:47 AM

Quote from: nat on 03/29/2010, 06:46 PMI wonder if this John character WAS Turbo Technologies. Looks like an apparatus he cooked up in his mom's basement.

Why does everyone keep using "he" to refer to the chunky pixie? And why does everyone assume he couldn't single-handedly kick our collective asses?