DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM
|
DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM |
Texas Instruments CA-800 Cassette Interface (DVT Clear-Case)
| Date of introduction: | Never (Announced: May 1982) |
Display technology: | |
| New price: | MSRP: $60.00 | Display size: | |
| Size: | 6.5" x 3.2" x
1.3" 165 x 82 x 33 mm3 |
Printer technology: | |
| Weight: | 7.4 ounces, 210 grams | Serial No: | --- |
| Batteries: | 1*C | Date of manufacture: | wk 52 year 1981 |
| AC-Adapter: | Origin of manufacture: | USA (ATA) | |
| Precision: | Integrated circuits: | TP0455/CD4511 or TP0456/CD4561, SN77203, LM393 | |
| Memories: | |||
| Program steps: | Courtesy of: | Joerg Woerner |
The
CA-800 Cassette Interface allows to use most cassette audio recorders to save programs or data files on tape. It
connects to the TI-88 Programmable through a 2-pin
Peripheral I/O connector. A second Peripheral I/O connector on the back of the
CA-800 allows to connect another device like the PC-800
Printer to the TI-88. The CA-800 is highly reliable because its redundant
recording feature whereby information is stored twice no the tape.
The Operating System of the TI-88 supports four different types of tape recordings or tape files:
| • Main memory file records all of calculator memory on tape • Program files from a minimum of eight program steps to all of program memory • Data files from a minimum of one data memory to all of data memory • Numbered Constant Memory Module (CRAM) records all contents of the module on tape |
This CA-800
Clear-Case Prototype from a DVT (Design Validation Test) series manufactured most likely in
December 1981 by Texas Instruments in their Abilene, TX facility was used by the
engineering team at Texas Instruments to verify clearances between the
electronics and the housing before introducing the EVT (Engineering Validation
Test) series.
Dismantling
this Cassette Interface Prototype
reveals a rather complex design using a microcomputer of the
TP0456 series and a
SN77203 Voltage Controller chip together with some analog circuitry to connect
to a tape recorder. The SN77203 is known from the
TI-88 Schematics Diagram, it converts
a single-cell battery (1.2 Volts - 1.5 Volts) to two independent power supplies,
one adjustable for the LC-Display through a Serial I/O pin and one fixed for the
main electronics. Due to the lower power consumption of its electronics is the
battery life of the CA-800 projected to be 75 hours.
The TP0456 microcontroller sports Custom
Design software
CD4561, indicating that the original design was based on a
TP0455 microcontroller with CD4511 software. The additional "D"
marking indicates a very early production run of the chip.
Color-coded plugs of the CA-800 to cassette audio recorder:
| • Black wire to remote jack • Red wire to microphone jack • Grey wire to earphone jack |
Don't connect a CA-800 Cassette
Interface or a PC-800 Printer to TI-88 calculators without the
Diode-Modification!
If you have additions to the above article please email: joerg@datamath.org.
© Joerg Woerner, December 22, 2020. No reprints without written permission.