DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM
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DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM |
Texas Instruments Little Professor (1985)
| Date of introduction: | Jan. 5, 1985 | Display technology: | LCD |
| New price: | $18.95 | Display size: | 8 |
| Size: | 5.3" x 3.3" x 1.3" | ||
| Weight: | 3.5 ounces | Serial No: | |
| Batteries: | 2*AA | Date of manufacture: | wk 43 year 1986 |
| AC-Adapter: | Origin of manufacture: | USA (LTA) | |
| Precision: | Integrated circuits: | CD4570 | |
| Memories: | |||
| Program steps: | Courtesy of: | Joerg Woerner |
Compared
with the early Little Professor with the LED display this one uses a LC-Display to ask
the child one of thousands preprogrammed math questions.
This Little Professor manufactured 1985 looks very similar to
the version Little Professor (1982) with a solid brown backround instead this black-red
one.
Disassembling
the Little Professor reveals a cost optimized design combining two key
technologies:
 | Flexible printed circuit board, single-chip calculator
circuit, LC-Display borrowed from the TI-50 introduced already June 1978. |
| Membrane keyboard technolgy introduced with the Speak & Spell in 1980. |
The
single-chip calculator circuit Texas Instruments CD4570 is based one the TMS1000
Microcomputer family but added some features known from the TI-55
II.
In Europe a version of the Little Professor with normal keys instead the
membrane keyboard appeared. Don't miss the Little Professor
(1985 Europe).
If you have additions to the above article please email: joerg@datamath.org.
© Joerg Woerner, December 5, 2001. No reprints without written permission.