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Texas Instruments PocketMate 120

Date of introduction:  1998 Display technology:  LCD 
New price:   Display size:  12 char + 2*12 digits 
Size:  3.0" x 5.5" x 0.6"    
Weight:  3.7 ounces Serial No:  0262245
Batteries:  2*CR2025 Date of manufacture:  mth 09 year 1998
AC-Adapter:   Origin of manufacture:  Thailand
Precision:  10 Integrated circuits:  single-chip MPU, 8k Byte RAM
Memories:  10kB RAM    
Program steps:   Courtesy of:  Joerg Woerner
    Download manual:   (EUR: 7.223 kB)

The PocketMate 120 was introduced together with the sibblings PocketMate 100 and PocketMate 140 late in the market. The PocketMate 120 is the successor of the PS-3660i.

The PocketMate 120 Databank features 6 useful functions: 

The Telephone Directory stores names, addresses and telephone numbers
The Scheduler stores appointments, meeting times an dreminders
A flexible clock with 12-hour AM/PM or 24-hour time showing day of week
A calendar displays day of week and year of any schedule entry
A calculator with 10-digits display capacity and 12-digits of accuracy
World time of 30 cities in all 24 time zones supporting one home city and one world city

The display of the PocketMate 120 consists of one line for alphanumeric characters and two lines supporting only numbers. 

PM-120_1.jpg (103540 Byte)The inside view of the PocketMate 120 gives a simple construction using only one Integrated Circuit scanning the keyboard, driving the display and storing data in the internal memory and one additional memory chip.

A closer view gives you the differences between this PocketMate 120 and the simpler PM-100. The area marked RAM is populated with a 8k Byte chip on the PM-120 and kept free on the PocketMate 100. The small chip is placed on the printed circuit board (PCB) and bonded with about 28 wires direct to it. A small "top glop" - the black epoxy resin found also on top of the MPU on the right - is placed above the circuit to protect it. This technique called chip-on-board (COB) is very common in far east assemblies. Early products like the PS-2100 used COB to reduce the size of the printed circuit board, later designs to lower manufacturing costs.

The design of the PocketMate 120 fits neatly with the PocketMate 300 series.

The whole PocketMate series was discontinued in the year 2000. 

 

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

© Joerg Woerner, January 17, 2002. No reprints without written permission.