#big trak

[yodaprod]

Big Trak (1979)

[wesleytyler]

Old-Tech Corner (and Why That Big Trak Matters)

I took a photo of what I jokingly call the “old-tech corner” of my office and fed it to ChatGPT, asking it to recreate the scene using the actual items. It did a pretty good job overall, but I did have to correct one detail: the vehicle at the bottom.

It had to be that specific Big Trak, not a generic substitute. That Big Trak used a Texas Instruments TMS1000-series microcontroller, and that chip mattered to me. It represents the same era and class of “brain” as the computer sitting in the middle, a Tandy PC perched on top of the Apple.

That truck and that computer share the same spirit of early computing—when a single chip handled everything and felt like magic. Back then, the TMS1000 was effectively the CPU of the machine, or the closest equivalent a young kid like me could get his hands on.

[curatorofthisdigitalmorass]

BIG TRAK

[pauljacobevans]

Big Trak Gets a New Brain

If you were a kid in the 1980s you might have been lucky enough to score a Big Trak — a robotic toy you could program using a membrane keyboard to do 16 different motions. [Howard] has one, but not wanting to live with a 16-step program, he gave it a brain transplant with an Arduino and brought it on [RetroManCave’s] video blog and you can see that below. If you want to duplicate the feat and your mom already cleaned your room to make it a craft shop, you can score one on eBay or there’s even a new …read more http://pje.fyi/QBqJBc

[yesterdayville]

Looking Back at Big Trak

Looking Back at Big Trak - The Original A.I. Toy

November of 1979 was the moment the future finally arrived in the American living room. When the holidays arrived a month later, many American children (mostly boys) were treated to the toy of their dreams, lovingly realized in injection mold plastic and the invisible world of internal chip technology. Imagine the revelatory shock that spread like miniature mushroom clouds of excitement through…

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[bronzeaged]

[yesterdayville]

Big Trak

Big Trak - One of the coolest toys for the early 80's. Read it's story here!

November of 1979 was the moment the future finally arrived in the American living room. When the holidays arrived a month later, many American children (mostly boys) were treated to the toy of their dreams, lovingly realized in injection mold plastic and the invisible world of internal chip technology. Imagine the revelatory shock that spread like miniature mushroom clouds of excitement through…

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[lovebabyessentials]

Big Trak

Description: Big Trak You might remember having one of these in the early 80’s. Retro and cool, Bigtrak is back! This programmable educational toy is a six-wheeled tank with a front mounted blue photon beam headlamp used for firing. The centre wheels are driven by two motors to allow change of direction. Use the 23-button keypad to enter instructions for Bigtrak. Where do I want Bigtrak to go? In…

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