Okay, I'll be really surprised if anyone else has seen this one...
During the summer of 1992 I worked in an OfficeMax store in Eugene, Oregon.
This store carried a line of third-party printer ribbons made by a company
called Nu-Kote. Nu-Kote manufactured ribbons for all different kinds of
dot-matrix printers, so they used an in-store electronic mini-kiosk to help
the shopper find what one they need.
One day, I got bored and decided to open the thing up. The machine
consisted of a panel of buttons, a 13" or so screen, and a TURBOGRAFX-16!!!
"Whhhhhhoa...!" was my reaction. Upon closer inspection, I found that
instead of a HuCard, it had a longer PCB with several chips in sockets
(PROMs, I guess). I also noticed that the controller port was unused.
Well, I was afraid to get caught poking around so I replaced the little
panel on the side. The next day, however, I decided to bring my TurboPad
and my R-Type HuCard with me ;) When I found a few spare moments, sure
enough, fired right up. One of the other guys saw me with my R9 and didn't
know what to think. It was cool ;)
Then I decided to take it a step further and do something really bold. I
was closing that night, so I 'borrowed' the PCB from the Nu-Kote machine ;)
I took it home, and yep, it worked too, but I couldn't move the cursor with
the controller (I guess because the panel of buttons on the Nu-Kote machine
were interfaced via the expansion port on the rear of the TG-16).
I'd like it if anyone else who has seen this machine inside or out to
respond. If I get no replies, I'll know what you're all thinking; "He's
just like the guys who have a beta copy of Strider..." But it's true. I'll
try to find some references on the internet if I can. Long live the Turbo!
Earnest
xxxxxx@valleyint.com