DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM
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DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM |
Texas Instruments BA-20 Profit Manager (1990)
| Date of introduction: | 1990 | Display technology: | LCD |
| New price: | Display size: | 10 | |
| Size: | 4.7" x 5.0" x
0.80" 120 x 128 x 20 mm3 |
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| Weight: | 3.9 ounces, 110 grams | Serial No: | |
| Batteries: | LR41 (30µA) | Date of manufacture: | mth 07 year 1990 |
| AC-Adapter: | Origin of manufacture: | Taiwan (C) | |
| Precision: | 10 | Integrated circuits: | Inventa LI3163 |
| Memories: | 1 | ||
| Program steps: | Courtesy of: | Joerg Woerner |
Compared
with the original design of the BA-20 Profit Manager introduced in 1986 this later model lacks
the switch to select between battery and solar cells operation.
Dismantling this BA-20 Profit Manager manufactured in
July 1990 by Compal Electronics
in Taiwan reveals a clean design centered around an Inventa LI3163 single-chip calculator
circuit soldered on a double-sided printed circuit board (PCB) and powered by
four solar cells. The small LR54 (LR1130) backup battery from the first design
disappeared apparently with the switch - please notice that the PCB still sports
the contacts for the omitted switch. We couldn't locate any differences
between this BA-20 manufactured in July 1990 by Compal Electronics in Taiwan and a
second BA-20 manufactured in September 1990 by
Inventec Corporation in Taiwan
(The Inventa chip was located in the unit from Inventec though).
Production of the BA-20 was in Summer 1991 consolidated to
an Inventec Corporation facility in Malaysia before shifted to China.
Please notice the clock module used with
the TI-1798 and BA-20 Profit Manager next to the calculator display is powered by its own
small LR41 battery. Later designs like the stylish EUROPA
10 powered the clock module directly from the calculator electronics and
omitted the extra battery.
Inspecting
the PCB of this BA-20 Profit Manager calculator brought our attention to a small mark reading
IOBA20-02A, we spotted similar PCB-Marks already with the
TI-1796 and TI-1798. We started compiling a list of the
PCB-Marks on calculators manufactured by OEMs for Texas Instruments.
The third generation of the BA-20 Profit Manager
introduced in 2000 omitted the integrated clock.
In Europe a very similar calculator was sold as TI-620.
Don't miss the rare TI-10 Profit
Guide combining similar functions in a much smaller housing.
If you have additions to the above article please email: joerg@datamath.org.
© Joerg Woerner, April 5, 2020. No reprints without written permission.