DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM
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DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM |
Texas Instruments El Loro Profesor
| Date of introduction: | 1992 | Display technology: | LCD |
| New price: | Display size: | 9 alphanumeric | |
| Size: | 10.0" x 7.0" x 1.3" 254 x 177 x 34 mm3 |
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| Weight: | 16.7 ounces, 474 grams | Serial No: | |
| Batteries: | 4*C cells | Date of manufacture: | wk 13 year 1992 |
| AC-Adapter: | Origin of manufacture: | USA | |
| Precision: | Integrated circuits: | TSP50C42 (CSM42031), TSP60C19 (CMM19054), HD44780 |
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| Memories: | |||
| Program steps: | Courtesy of: | Joerg Woerner |
This
wonderful hybrid uses the housing of the original Speak
& Spell from 1980 with the modern electronics of the first Super
Speak & Spell.
The English speaking sibling of this Spanish talking El Loro Profesor was called Super Speak & Spell, too.
Dismantling this El Loro Profesor manufactured in March 1992 by Texas Instruments in the United States reveals a very well engineered printed circuit board (PCB) with three Integrated Circuits:
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• TSP50C42/CSM42031: TSP50C50 VSP (Voice Synthesis Processor) with 8-bit microcontroller and 8k Bytes Mask ROM for both program and voice and
128 Bytes + 16 Nibbles RAM • TSP60C19/CMM19054: VSM (Voice Synthesis Memory) with 256k Bits • Hitachi HD44780: LCD Controller for monochrome dot matrix liquid crystal display with 8-bit Interface |
The main differences between the different Super Speak & Spell siblings are the Speech-ROMs:
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• La Super Dictée Magique: TSP50C42/CSM42027, CMM19031 • Grillo Parlante Piu: TSP50C42/CSM42030, CMM19035 • El Loro Parlanchin: TSP50C42/CSM42031, CMM19036 • Super Speak & Spell (91): TSP50C42/CSM42030, CMM19048 • El Loro Profesor: TSP50C42/CSM42031, CMM19054 |
The toy is intended for players ages 6 to 11.
With the similar El Loro Parlanchin we know a second Spanish speaking Super Speak & Spell. Judging from the codes found on the Speech-ROM's the El Loro Profesor seems to be the successor of the El Loro Parlanchin.
A similar product was introduced in France with the La Super Dictée Magique and in Italy with the Grillo Parlante Piu.
Tired of the blue line? Believe it or not, customers in China enjoyed already in 1990 their own "Professor" in bright red colors.
If you have additions to the above article please email: joerg@datamath.org.
© Joerg Woerner, September 25, 2002. No reprints without written permission.