DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM |
Texas Instruments TI-5100 (ATA)
Date of introduction: | January 1976 | Display technology: | Fluorescent |
New price: | $69.95, DM
198.00 $40 (October 1981) |
Display size: | 10 |
Size: | 7.8" x 7.6" x 2.6" 197 x 193 x 65 mm3 |
||
Weight: | 20.1 ounces, 571 grams | Serial No: | 9396085 |
Batteries: | Date of manufacture: | wk 50 year 1981 | |
AC-Adapter: | AC9171, AC9900/G | Origin of manufacture: | USA (ATA) |
Precision: | 10 | Integrated circuits: | TMC1073 (DS 8131) |
Memories: | 1 | Displays: | Itron FG119A1 |
Program steps: | Courtesy of: | Joerg Woerner | |
Download manual: | (US: 3.2M Bytes) |
Texas
Instruments introduced this TI-5100 desktop calculator together with the very
successful TI-5040 printing desktop calculator in
January 1976, followed within a few month by the TI-5200
sporting a 12-digit display.
The
TI-5100 had for its time a rather long life-cycle and was manufactured both in
the USA and The Netherlands. We discovered in the meantime four different
manufacturing facilities for the TI-5100:
• TI-5100 Lubbock, TX (July 1976) • TI-5100 Midland, TX (January 1979) • TI-5100 Abilene, TX (December 1981) • TI-5100 Almelo, The Netherlands (April 1976) |
Comparing TI-5100 calculators manufactured within a
timeframe of about 5 years at different places reveals only minor differences
between them and you can find a complete tear-down of a TI-5100
here.
Dismantling the featured TI-5100 with
Date code ATA 5081 and manufactured in December
1981
in Abilene, TX reveals a very efficient design based on a single-sided printed
circuit board (PCB) connected to the keyboard module and powered by an external
AC adapter.
The
Main-PCB of the TI-5100 is centered around a TMC1073 single-chip calculator
circuit, a member of the
TMS1000
Microcomputer family introduced in October 1974 with the
SR-16 calculator. While the
TMS1000 design was mainly intended for
designs using power-hungry LED displays with external display drivers, uses the
TMS1070 redesigned output drivers for the 11 R-Outputs (Display Scan) and 8
O-Outputs (Segments) that can withstand voltages up to -35 Volts and hence allows
direct operation of low-voltage Vacuum Fluorescent Displays (VFDs).
The
TI-5100 makes fully use of the TMS1070 design and we could identify on the
Main-PCB both the voltage doubler to generate a -32 Volts supply for the Itron
FG119A1 VFD and the external "pull down" resistors for the R- and
O-Outputs. A very similar design was introduced already with the
TI-2550 II, the first application
of the TMS1070 chip.
If
you compare this TI-5100 with the Toshiba BC-1015 introduced
in 1979 sporting an identical TMC1073 chip carefully, you'll
notice differences with both the number of keys and the lettering on them and
you might ask yourself: Are there even more features and functions available
with the TMC1073 chip that neither of the two calculators is using? And how do
they control a 9-segment display with just 8 O-Outputs? Learn
more about Characterization of Single-Chip Calculator Circuits with the
DCM-50A Platform.
Texas Instruments revived the TI-5100 designation in 1983 with
the TI-5100
II using a much sleeker housing.
TI-5100 An attractive, functional calculator that means business. This versatile, quality calculator can increase calculating efficiency in the office or at home with silent, effortless operation. Adds, subtracts, multiplies, divides and features a memory to store and recall numbers. Display shows M when a number is in memory. Overflow is indicated by an arrow at the left of the display. Calculate percentages, taxes and discounts. An item count key for simplified inventory and calculation of averages. Decimal selector switch positions decimal at full floating or presets at two places. Large 10-digit green vacuum fluorescent display (with comma) for easy readability. © Texas Instruments, 1981 |
If you have additions to the above article please email: joerg@datamath.org.
© Joerg Woerner, December 5, 2001. No reprints without written permission.