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DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM

The Educator® TI-73 Explorer

Date of introduction:	September, 2006	Display technology:	LCD dot matrix
New price:	$295	Display size:	8 * 16 characters
Size:	13" x 9" x 1.4"
Weight:	32 ounces	Serial No:
Batteries:	4*AA	Date of manufacture:
AC-Adapter:		Origin of manufacture:	China
Precision:	14	Integrated circuits:	TI-REF TI-738X (220C080FG102), S29AL004D70 Display: Toshiba T6K04
Memories:
Program steps:	25k Bytes, 128k Bytes FLASH-ROM	Courtesy of:	Joerg Woerner

The California based company Stokes Publishing Company, Inc. distributes under the label "The Educator®" calculators optimized for teaching purposes.

Both the keyboard and the display are made from translucent glass and plastics. Using a simple overhead projector the teacher could demonstrate easily the function of a calculator.

The TI-73 Explorer introduced by Texas Instruments in 2003 developed itself to a very successful graphing calculator. The one to one replacement from Stokes Publishing Company is this Educator TI-73 Explorer overhead calculator.

Dismantling the Educator TI-73 Explorer reveals a great surprise: The printed circuit boards (PCBs) were dramatically changed compared to the TI-73 Explorer and even the 32k Bytes S-RAM dropped.

We know a similiar evolution from the TI-83 Plus to the TI-84 Plus with only 3 main Integrated Circuits left:

Component	Educator TI-73 Explorer
ASIC	TI-738X Z-80 CPU, RAM, USB
Flash-ROM	Spansion 29AL004 512k Byte Flash-ROM
Display driver	Toshiba T6K04 Single-chip 64*128 pixel

A close-up image of the Toshiba T6K04 single-chip driver for dot matrix displays with up to 128 columns and 64 rows mounted on a tape carrier package.

A close-up image of the TI-738X ASIC and the Spansion S29AL004 Flash-ROM.

We know this technology from TI-82 Stats.fr introduced in July 2006 in France.

Overhead™ Calculator is a trademark of Stokes Publishing Company, Inc.

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