The Hardware
It is estimated that 50-100 Tsushin Booster units were manufactured in total. NEC manufactured the hardware in 1989 (the date inside the plastic mouldings reads May '89.) The software was begun by Hudson Soft as early as Sept. 6, 1989, though other parts of the software were made in December that year, and the title screen reads 1990. NEC distributed sample copies of the Tsushin Booster and software to video game magazines, and undoubtedly other software companies for evaluation. Testers of the hardware could login to a special BBS and download several example programs made with Tsushin BASIC.
To see some [sorry, blurry!] reports of the Tsushin Booster in the Japanese gaming mags of the time, click here!
(Click on all images to
see a larger version.)
Inside the Tsushin Booster are the usual internals for such a device: Modular Jacks for Line In and Telephone Out, relays and transformers for the modem, an OKI M6826L modem controller, and oscillator for the modem. For program storage, there is a chip with 32 KBytes of SRAM, and a Ni-Cd battery to supply voltage for the SRAM when the power is off.
There is also a switch for two volume levels for the modem. The modem's speed is switchable between 300 and 1200 bits per second, which is extremely slow, more appropriate for the early- or mid-80's, not 1990. Add to this the fact that all calls in Japan, even local ones, are billed by the minute, and one can see why so many console modem ideas just didn't take off in that country.
My Tushin Booster came with ample documentation. The hardware itself has a 12-page setup guide explaining the usual things such as what will be included in the box (if it ever had reached the production stage), how to connect cables, a warning about NTT's service charges, and a troubleshooting guide.
The much larger Tsushin Tool documentation is very interesting! It is a 56-page stapled booklet with detailed instructions on how to use all parts of the software. Jump on over to the SOFTWARE side of this page for an explanation of the Tsushin Tool, and a translation of the Tool documentation.
