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Texas Instruments BA-20 Profit Manager (2002)

Date of introduction:	August 2002	Display technology:	LCD
New price:	$24.99 (SRP 2006)	Display size:	10
Size:	4.7" x 5.0" x 0.80" 120 x 128 x 20 mm³
Weight:	3.9 ounces, 110 grams	Serial No:
Batteries:	n.a.	Date of manufacture:	mth 03 year 2007 (C)
AC-Adapter:		Origin of manufacture:	China (S)
Precision:	10	Integrated circuits:	Inventa LI3163
Memories:	1
Program steps:		Courtesy of:	Joerg Woerner

Texas Instruments introduced in the United States with the BA-20 Profit Manager already in 1986 a very useful calculator. Beside the basic calculator functions six additional keys enable the COST, SELL, MARGIN calculations. You enter either two of the variables and get instantly the result of the remaining value.

Dismantling this BA-20 Profit Manager manufactured in March 2007 by Inventec Corporation in Shanghai, China reveals a clean design centered around an Inventa LI3163 single-chip calculator circuit soldered on a double-sided printed circuit board (PCB) and powered by four solar cells.

The LI3163 is packaged in a standard Quad Flat Pack (QFP) housing known already from the first generation BA-20 Profit Manager introduced more than 20 years before the featured calculator was manufactured. A very uncommon approach mid of the 2000s, most calculators of this era use "Chip-on-Board" (COB) technology. Please compare it with a TI-1795+ manufactured in May 1998 by Nam Tai Electronics in China, too.

Inspecting the PCB of this BA-20 Profit Manager calculator brought our attention to a small mark reading BA20N PCB VER0.1, we spotted similar PCB-Marks already with the previous versions of the BA-20 Profit manager and started compiling a list of the PCB-Marks on calculators manufactured by OEMs for Texas Instruments.

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