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Texas Instruments Buddy

Date of introduction:  1980 Display technology:  Fluorescent
New price:   Display size:  8 alphanumeric
Size:  10.0" x 7.0" x  1.3" 
 254 x 177 x 34 mm3
   
Weight:  16.7 ounces, 474 grams Serial No:  
Batteries:  4*C cells Date of manufacture:  wk 49 year 1981
AC-Adapter:   Origin of manufacture:  Italy 
Precision:   Integrated circuits:  TMC0270/CD2702, TMC0280/CD2801, CD2345 and CD2346
Memories:      
Program steps:   Courtesy of:  Joerg Woerner
    Download manual:   (DE: 2.4M Bytes)

You are familiar with this blue Buddy? It is the German version of the well known Speak & Spell (Type 2). 

Don't miss the French La Dictée Magique, Italian Grillo Parlante and Spanish Speak & Spell.

Buddy_PCB.jpg (160360 Byte)Dismantling the Buddy manufactured in December 1981 by Texas Instruments in their Rieti, Italy facility reveals a small surprise: The green fluorescent display of the Buddy uses only 8 alphanumeric characters compared to the 9 characters of the 2nd generation Speak & Spell manufactured in the same timeframe in the United States. Please visit "Inside a Speak & Spell" and find more pictures about various Speak & Spell versions. The design of the Buddy is centered around four Integrated Circuits:

TMC0270/CD2702: 4-bit microcontroller with 2k*9 Bits ROM and 9*64 Bits RAM
TMC0280/CD2801: TMS5100 VSP (Voice Synthesis Processor)
TMC0350/CD2345, TMC0350/CD2346: TMS6100 VSM (Voice Synthesis Memory) with 128k Bits, each

 

Press the Play button and listen Buddy tunes.
Find more sound samples in the DOWNLOAD section.
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Buddy Tunes

Deutsch

Composer: Martin Pscherer
Contact info: Martin Pscherer
Permission by: Martin Pscherer


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

© Joerg Woerner, December 5, 2001. No reprints without written permission.