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Texas Instruments TI-73 Explorer

Date of introduction:  2003 Display technology:  LCD dot matrix
New price:  $69.99 Display size:  8 * 16 characters
Size:  7.2" x 3.2" x 0.80"
 182 x 81 x 20 mm3
   
Weight:  6.4 ounces, 182 grams Serial No:  2242007236
Batteries:  4*AAA + CR1620 (35mA) Date of manufacture:  mth 04 year 2004
AC-Adapter:   Origin of manufacture:  China (S)
Precision:  14 Integrated circuits:  CPU: Zilog Z84C00
 ASIC: TI-REF 9815455
 Flash: F29LV400
 RAM: HY62WT081
 Display: Toshiba T6A04A
Memories:      
Program steps:  25k Bytes, 128k Bytes Flash-ROM Courtesy of:  Joerg Woerner

TI-73_Explorer_1.jpg (96775 Byte)The TI-73 Explorer followed the TI-73 and serves as a bridge between the TI-15 Explorer and the TI-83 Plus.

TI-73_Explorer_PCB.jpg (303731 Byte)Dismantling the TI-73 Explorer reveals no surprises, the printed circuit boards (PCBs) are still identical with the TI-83 Plus and based on 5 main Integrated Circuits:

Zilog Z84C00 microprocessor
512k Byte Flash-ROM
32k Byte RAM
TI-REF 9815455 ASIC
Toshiba T6A04A: Single-chip 64*128 pixel display driver

TI-73_Explorer_ASIC.jpg (82187 Byte)The picture on the right gives an enhanced view of the ASIC "TI-REF 9815455"  integrating some support logic. 

TI-73_Explorer_LC.jpg (104841 Byte)A component not easily detected on the printed circuit board (PCB) of the TI-73 Explorer is the driver circuit of the LC-Display. It is just a bare chip mounted on a flexible piece of circuit board attached between the display and the main PCB.

Stokes Publishing Company, Inc. based in Sunnyvale, California sold a companion for the teacher, view the wonderful TI-73 Explorer.

Explorer™ is a trademark of Texas Instruments.


ROM-Versions:

1.60 (December 16, 2001)
1.90 (February 6, 2006, actual in February 2008)

You can check the ROM version of your TI-73 Explorer using the following key sequence and reading the number on your screen:

[2nd] [MEM] [1]

Information provided by ticalc.org.

Exam acceptance:

The TI-73 Explorer is permitted (as of September 27, 2007) for use on SAT, ACT, PSAT and AP exams but is not recommended for the AP exam.

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

© Joerg Woerner, November 11, 2004. No reprints without written permission.