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Texas Instruments PC-324 Printer

Date of introduction:	1986	Display technology:
New price:	$115.00 (SRP 1988)	Display size:
Size:	3.6" x 8.0" x 1.2" 92 x 204 x 31 mm³	Printer technology:	Thermal TP-324
Weight:	11.1 ounces, 314 grams	Serial No:	0045269
Batteries:	4*AA	Date of manufacture:	mth 38 year 1989
AC-Adapter:	AC9201	Origin of manufacture:	USA (LTA)
Precision:		Integrated circuits:	CPU: TMC70016
Memories:
Program steps:		Courtesy of:	Joerg Woerner
		Download manual:	(US: 2.6M Bytes) (EU: 8.4M Bytes)

Texas Instruments introduced in 1986 with the TI-74 BASICALC the successor of the Compact Computer System CC-40 and used the platform for the TI-95 PROCALC, a very powerful programmable calculator.

The battery operated, 24-column thermal printer PC-324 connects with the Dock-Bus to both the TI-74, it's OEM version TI-74S and the TI-95.

Dismantling this PC-324 manufactured in September 1989 by Texas Instruments in their Lubbock, Texas facility, reveals a clean design centered with just two main components:

CPU (Central processing Unit): The Texas Instruments TMC70016 microcomputer is a member of the TMS7000 family manufactured in CMOS technology. The original design of the TMS7000 series was introduced in 1981 as an 8-bit extension of the TMS1000 Family to compete with the Intel i8051, Motorola M6801, and Zilog Z8 parts. The first chips sported 128 Bytes of on-chip RAM (Random Access Memory) and either 2k Bytes or 4k Bytes of ROM (Read Only Memory). Later versions, e.g. the TMS70C46 used with this PC-324 printer, integrate 128 bytes of RAM, 4k Bytes of ROM and add some features like wake-up on key press and the Dock-Bus interface to the TMS70C40.

Printer Driver: The PC-324 makes use of a Sanyo LB1256, combining 7 high-current, low-saturation output drivers for the thermal elements of the print head and a motor driver for the printer mechanism.

If you have additions to the above article please email: joerg@datamath.org.