DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM |
Texas Instruments Listen & Learn "Sounds of Christmas"
Date of introduction: | 1992 | Display technology: | |
New price: | $21.21 (1992) | Display size: | n.a. |
Size: | 6.1" x 6.1" x
6.1" 155 x 155 x 155 mm3 |
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Weight: | 18.7 ounces, 530 grams | Serial No: | |
Batteries: | 4*AA cells | Date of manufacture: | mth 08 year 1992 |
AC-Adapter: | Origin of manufacture: | China (A) | |
Precision: | Integrated circuits: | ||
Memories: | |||
Program steps: | Courtesy of: | Joerg Woerner |
Small toddlers use the Listen & Learn toy like a small ball. Due to the flats on each side the toy will find a stable position and play a sound associated to the Farm Animal on top of the ball. The Listen & Learn uses again Texas Instruments speech technology introduced with the Speak & Spell.
Dismantling a similar Magic Melody manufactured in 1992 by (or for) Texas Instruments in China reveals a technology very similar to the various Touch & Talkies. The design of the Magic Melody Tell is centered around a TSP50C11 Voice Synthesis Processor (VSP) and makes use of just one Integrated Circuit:
• TSP50C11/CSM11XXX: TSP50C50 VSP (Voice Synthesis Processor) with 8-bit microcontroller and 16k Bytes Mask ROM for both program and voice and 128 Bytes + 16 Nibbles RAM |
Each year another Listen & Learn theme appeared shortly before Christmas:
• 1989: Farm Animals • 1990: Nursery Rhymes • 1991: Sounds we Hear • 1992: Sounds of Christmas |
The toy is intended for toddlers ages 6 to 36 month.
Other toys for toddlers are the Peek-A-Boo Zoo and the Magic Sorter.
If you have additions to the above article please email: joerg@datamath.org.
© Joerg Woerner, March 3, 2002. No reprints without written permission.