DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM
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DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM |
Texas Instruments TI-83 Parcus
| Date of introduction: | June 2000 | Display technology: | LCD dot matrix |
| New price: | Display size: | 8 * 16 characters | |
| Size: | 7.2" x 3.2" x 0.85" | ||
| Weight: | 5.6 ounces | Serial No: | 1033512826 |
| Batteries: | 4*AAA + CR1620 (35mA) | Date of manufacture: | mth 07 year 2000 (A) |
| AC-Adapter: | Origin of manufacture: | Taiwan (I) | |
| Precision: | 14 | Integrated circuits: | CPU: Toshiba T6C79 ROM: MX-ROM RAM: GM76C256 Display: Toshiba T6A04A |
| Memories: | |||
| Program steps: | 28k Bytes | Courtesy of: | Joerg Woerner |
When
Texas Instruments introduced with the TI-81 their first
graphing calculator it made use of a standard 8-bit hardware architecture known
from e.g. the TI-95 Procalc and FIA-10:
An 8-bit microprocessor of the Z80 family, a huge ROM of 128k
Bytes capacity, a RAM of 32k Bytes size and a driver for the LCD display. Learn more about the
Hardware Architecture of TI’s Graphing Calculators.
The
TI-83 Parcus introduced in 2000 is basically identical but streamlined the
printed circuit board (PCB) to just 4 components:
| • Toshiba
T6C79 - Application specific CPU, combines a Z80 core with an ASIC • MX-ROM - TA1783©2000 - 256k Bytes Mask ROM for internal program storage • AMIC A62W5308 - 32k Bytes SRAM for user program and data • Toshiba T6A04A - display driver |
CPU
(Central processing Unit): The Toshiba T6C79 is a so-called Application Specific
CPU and combines a Z80 core with an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated
Circuit). You’ll find different approaches within the graphing calculator line
of Texas Instruments, sometimes the use of an individual CPU (e.g. Z80 and
M68000) with a supporting ASIC or – like with the TI-83 Parcus the integration
of the CPU into the ASIC.
ROM
(Read Only Memory): The ROM contains the operating system of the calculator. The
first products on the market used mask-programmable ROM, the program was
stored already during the production of the Integrated Circuit. Later
calculators changed to Flash ROM, a technology allowing the programming of
the software during the final production stage of the calculator. With the TI-83
Plus and all later graphing calculators from Texas Instruments even the user
was able to reprogram the operating system.
The Mask ROM of this TI-83 Parcus was
manufactured by Macronix International, the largest supplier of ROM products
established in 1989 in Taiwan.
AMIC, headquartered in Hsin-Chu City, Taiwan, started as new memory product division within United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) and is today a major player in the memory market.
DISPLAY:
The Toshiba T6A04A is a driver for small-to-medium-sized dot matrix graphic
LCD. It is compatible with Z80 based CPUs and drives displays with up to
120 columns and 64 rows. The display of the TI-83 Parcus is just 96 * 64,
therefore only one display driver is necessary. The bare chip is mounted on a
flexible piece of circuit board attached between the display and the main PCB.
We prepared together with fellow collector Xavier Andréani a comprehensive
comparison of entry level graphing calculators, to shed some light on the
different specifications of the TI-82 and TI-83 / TI-83 Plus based products.
A serial port of the calculators allows the connection to the Calculator-Based Laboratory system CBL, its successor CBL 2, the Calculator-Based Ranger CBR and its successor CBR 2.
Don't miss the stylish TI-82 STATS
introduced in France, the sibling TI-82 Parcus and
the first edition of the TI-83. Manufacturing of the
TI-83 Parcus was eventually shifted to China.
ROM-Versions:
1.10
You can check the ROM version of your TI-83 using the following key sequence and reading the number on your screen:
