[1][Hosted by Floodgap Systems] [2]What's new? | [3]Jump directly to table of
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     ____________________________________________________________________________

                             [4]Floodgap Systems presents

                              [The Tutor banner screen.]

                           The Little Orphan: The Tomy Tutor

also featuring the Grandstand Tutor, Tomy Pyuuta, Tomy Pyuuta Mk II and Tomy Pyuuta Jr.

                              Last modify 18 March 2024.

    Here lies probably the only major memorial to this most obscure of 1980's home
   computers. Part kid's toy, part graphics superstar, part unknown TI-99 clone, the
   Tomy was just another computer to fall under the wheels of the Commodore 64. And
    I should know, because my parents got me a Commodore 64 after we got the Tutor.
    Released in 1983, the Tutor was just unlucky enough to hit in the middle of the
   VIC-20 and 64 craze, despite its superior graphics and its fast, efficient speed.
   Based around the 16-bit Texas Instruments 9995 processor, it blew away the 99/4's
   in both speed and efficiency (but alas is largely incompatible), implementing the
      fine graphics of the TMS 9918ANL chip, its earlier relative, the TMS 9918A,
   powering the Coleco Adam, the Sord and, of course, the 99/4 series. It even had a
    built-in paint program, since the graphics were so good, plus lots of fabulous
                                        games.

    I have no information on when the Tutor was discontinued or how many units were
   ultimately sold. Inquiries to [5]the Tomy Corporation have been to date ignored.
         Presumably no one there knows that the computer even exists nowadays.

                       [6][Thumbnail of the entire Tomy system.]
     The Tomy Tutor (left) and Tomy Pyuuta (right) at [7]Vintage Computer Festival
                                         6.0.
       Click the thumbnail for a full-size .JPG (111K), or visit the [8]complete
                                 photographs archive.

 If you have one of these little gems, and it still works/you still use it, or even if
           you used to have one, please get in contact with me! Send mail to
                   [9]ckaiser@floodgap.com. Let's trade information!
     ____________________________________________________________________________

   [Jungler Screen Shot]

  What's on this site

     * (18 Mar 2024)[10]What's New?
       Site news, on the hoof!
     * (23 Aug 2020)[11]The Tomy Tutor And I and [12]My Trade List
       Why is it I'm so nostalgic about this thing? What's so good about the Tutor?
       Why am I using a Mac instead of a Tomy Tutor 2000? And what Tutor stuff can I
       trade ya for?
     * (18 Oct 2019)[13]General Information
       Summary of capabilities, characteristics and history. Call it our mini-FAQ.
       What could you do with a Tutor? Well, here you go.
          + (15 Mar 2024)[14]Tomy Tutor Cartridge and Hardware Catalogue
            Stock numbers for games and peripherals, plus screen shots of selected
            games so you can easily identify them! Perpetually under update.
          + (23 Aug 2020)[15]The Myth, The Muddle, The Marketing: The Purcell
            Pamphlet and Demonstration Cartridge
            A healthy dose of Tomy's wishful thinking, sold to you on demo units in
            your favourite store and through the dulcet tones of celebrity endorser
            Sarah Purcell. Find out the scoop on how the Tomy was marketed to
            parents, what features were advertised, what the vapourware peripherals
            looked like, and what happened after.
          + (26 Jan 2009)[16]The Tomy Tutor User Club: You Are Not Alone!
            All about the official 1980s USA Tomy Tutor User Club, along with
            downloadable newsletters in Adobe PDF!
          + [17]The Yahoo! Groups Tomy Tutor Archive
            From 2001 to 2019, the Yahoo! Tomy Tutor Users Group was the spiritual
            successor to the User Club, and we've got all the messages archived for
            posterity. The Internet never forgets! Even when you want it to!
     * [18]The Pyuuta Page: the Pyuuta, Pyuuta mk II "Mark Two" and the Pyuuta Jr.
       Includes (1 Jan 2007)[19]the Pyuuta series' history and subparts for
       [20]individual models, complete with disassemblies and scans, photographs and
       screenshots. Nothing beats the original(s)! Our special dedicated section
       lets you see the Japanese remixes and console version in all their (its)
       glory, plus (23 Aug 2020)[21]their own demonstration cartridge. I'll even
       translate the Japanese for ya!
     * (17 Sep 2005)[22]The Grandstand Tutor Page
       The mysterious UK Tutors, so far as yet unseen -- but perhaps unlabeled as
       well? We check it out.
     * Pictures and Photographs
       Some images of this wonderbox. Also see the [23]Pyuuta section for images of
       those units. Subparts:

     * (26 Jan 2009)[24]Photographs of the Tomy Tutor
       Pictures of the main unit, box and packaging, ports, and some of the
       cartridges and peripherals. Plus, check out the goodies inside with our
       "Disassembling the Tutor" section and high-resolution photographs of the
       internals!
     * (3 Apr 1999)[25]Scans and Pictures, [26]Rear Ports Diagram and [27]Keyboard
       Diagram
       Fully annotated diagrams from the manual showing how to hook up your Tutor,
       and what keys do what.

     (17 Sep 2017)[28]Hardware and Schematics
   Hardware and a brief, illustrative schematic of the main board. Also contains
   information on ports and connectors, such as the [29]Data Recorder cable, the
   [30]joy port and the [31]Centronics printer interface.

   [ntutticjayne.gif]

     (27 Jun 2015)[32]Emulating the Tomy Tutor
   Yeah, yeah, you little warez leeches: you can emulate it. But you're not fit to
   polish the Tutor's deep purple butt if all you want to do is play some free
   games. However, for those of you who want to get your Tomy up and running again
   on your modern Macintosh or PC, we'll show you how! Plus,

     * (25 Sep 2020)[33]Tutti II, the Tape-Enabled Tomy Tutor Emulator
       Typing your old programs on that Chiclet keyboard got you down? Does six
       minutes of waiting for pictures from the Data Recorder make you want to bang
       your head against the wall? If you've got a Mac, then you've got a saviour:
       the very first Tutor emulator that can load and save tape files compatible
       with the real hardware. Demo tape images included! (And check out
       [34]XTOMYDEV below for other cool cross-development tools.)
     * (17 Sep 2005)[35]Tutti, The Tomy Tutor Simulator
       Now that we have better emulators, Tutti -- my original Tomy Tutor simulator
       -- is no longer updated. But, if you can't legally get the ROMs for another
       emulator, you can still download and use Tutti instead! Commodore 64 or 100%
       compatible C64 emulator required: I'm dead serious. Includes the Tutti
       never-asked-but-should-be-questions document, and how you can get it. It's
       freeware, and honest, you don't need ROMs. Honest.

     (6 Jul 2014)[36]Programming the Tutor
   At last! Comprehensive comparison of keywords, error messages, exhaustive
   vocabulary list, memory map, and more. Selected subparts:

     * (13 Apr 2016)[37]Sample Tomy Tutor Programs
       Learn Tutor programming by example in the comfort of your own home! Lots of
       programs from useful simple tools to thorougly baffling hacks.
     * (17 Sep 2017)[38]Exhaustive BASIC Keywords List
       Complete list of keywords and operators (and tokens) in Tomy BASIC.
     * (1 Jan 2007)[39]GBASIC Tutorial
       A tutorial and comparison of GBASIC to other more conventional BASIC
       dialects.
     * (13 Apr 2016)[40]GBASIC and MONitor Keywords
       A (now probably) complete list of known MONitor commands and GBASIC keywords,
       with an analysis of internal GBASIC structure and known tokens.
     * (6 Jul 2014)[41]9918/9995 Memory Maps
       Now you know where to stick your, uh, stuff! Covers VDP and "real" RAM.

     (22 Jun 2016)[42]XTOMYDEV: Tomy Tutor Cross-Development and the Tomy Tutor
   Cassette Tape Format Page
   The Tutor, like man, is no longer an island. Use your Data Recorder to send and
   receive data from your desktop computer with your Tomy Tutor! Includes tools to
   detokenize BASIC and GBASIC programs, convert GRAPHIC images and even encode your
   own GRAPHIC bitmaps!

     GPL and GBASIC: Separated At Birth?, or, (27 Jan 2009)[43]How Close are the TI
   and the Tomy Tutor?
   Is it enough to call the Texas Instruments 99 series of home computers brother,
   just because they both have TI CPUs and VDPs? We investigate.

     (23 Aug 2020)[44]The Tomy Tutor Toys: Tomy's Tutor Typer, the Tomy Tutor Play
   Computer and the Pyuuta-kun Series
   Our bonus feature just goes to show that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Meet
   the toy that gave the Tomy Tutor its name, and the toys (and even a coin-op) the
   Pyuuta and Tomy Tutor later spawned.
     ____________________________________________________________________________

   Also check out:
     * Tutor luminaries past and present are now accumulating at the [45]"Online"
       Tomy Tutor Users Group (replacing our old Yahoo! Groups meeting place after
       Verizon Media announced its shutdown: [46]old messages archived here).
     * Also: [47]Steven Stengel has a nice page on his Tutor, Chris Stratford has an
       entry on the Tutor at the [48]Home Computer Hall of Fame (the UK variant, the
       Grandstand Tutor) -- cool! -- and there's also a very complete entry on the
       Tutor at Olivier Boisseau's [49]Old-Computers.com. Finally, check out this
       complete [50]Pyuuta catalogue.
     * While these have gone to the great Wayback Machine in the sky, if you can
       read Japanese, be sure to see the remnants of the outstanding [51]Pyuuta
       Palace (Pyuuta no Yakata). Check out the tidbits on a Pyuuta sighting at
       Tokyo Disneyland, [52]Junya Kubota's Pyuuta page and see the Japanese remixes
       in all their glory!
     ____________________________________________________________________________

        Except where otherwise credited, all images and write-ups are mine, and
                    ©1998-2024 Cameron Kaiser. All rights reserved.

      Feel free to use data and pictures from this page [53]after!!! E-mailing me
    first, as long as credit and proper links are made to this site as the source.
     For what it's worth, the Tomy Tutor and applicable software, peripherals and
      designs is ©1983 Tomy Corporation, Carson, California. All rights reserved.

             Send me [54]some E-mail, because, doggone it, people like me.

          (And my parents just thought the Tutor was just a harmless toy ...)

              [55]this link for badly behaved robots and harvesters only

References

   1. http://www.floodgap.com/
   2. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/new.html
   3. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/#toc
   4. http://www.floodgap.com/
   5. http://www.tomy.com/
   6. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/tvcf6-1.jpg
   7. http://www.vintage.org/
   8. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/photos.html
   9. mailto:ckaiser@floodgap.com
  10. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/new.html
  11. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/me.html
  12. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/me.html#me
  13. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/general.html
  14. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/carts.html
  15. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/purcell.html
  16. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/ttuc.html
  17. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/yghtml/
  18. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/pyuuta/
  19. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/pyuuta/history.html
  20. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/pyuuta/
  21. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/pyuuta/demo.html
  22. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/grand.html
  23. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/pyuuta/
  24. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/photos.html
  25. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/pictures.html
  26. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/pictures.html#ports
  27. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/pictures.html#keyboard
  28. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/hardware.html
  29. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/hardware.html#tcable
  30. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/hardware.html#joyport
  31. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/hardware.html#pint
  32. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/emu.html
  33. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/xtomydev/tutti2.html
  34. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/xtomydev/
  35. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/tutti.html
  36. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/prog.html
  37. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/sprog.html
  38. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/keywords.html
  39. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/gbasic.html
  40. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/gbkeyw.html
  41. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/mmap.html
  42. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/xtomydev/index.html
  43. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/ti-vs-tomy.html
  44. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/toys.html
  45. https://groups.io/g/tomytutor
  46. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/yghtml/
  47. http://www.oldcomputers.net/
  48. http://www.gondolin.org.uk/hchof/
  49. http://www.old-computers.com/museum/doc.asp?st=1&c=337
  50. http://www.geocities.co.jp/Playtown-King/8341/pyuta.html
  51. http://web.archive.org/web/20190301012149/http://www.geocities.co.jp/Playtown/1763/index2.html
  52. http://web.archive.org/web/20150319073438/http://www.toragiku.com/kopa/pyuta.htm
  53. mailto:ckaiser@floodgap.com
  54. mailto:ckaiser@floodgap.com
  55. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/tomy/nlwfwencidecittesearclestewglqaebtq.html