So many fond memories hardware hacking my TI-85. I remember learning to solder so I could add an extra battery pack with 4 D batteries (played too many games!) and writing apps to play music out of the jack.
Hacking on my TI-85 and wanting to build websites for gaming guilds (Diablo, Starcraft) is what drove me into computers and software development. There was certainly something unique about that era!
I learned to solder for TI-purposes too! Not for battery but to build the 2.5mm-jack-to-serial connector cable (I was too cheap to buy an official one, but successfully wired together the 2-3 resistors and diodes necessary to make the cable work. It was not pretty, but it worked!)
Same here! I initially had the cable fit with scotch tape and then later soldered to make it work properly. Also first trip to an electronics store, was terrifying to enter a specialist shop with close to no knowledge
Hacking on my TI-85 and wanting to build websites for gaming guilds (Diablo, Starcraft) is what drove me into computers and software development. There was certainly something unique about that era!