DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM
|
DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM |
Texas Instruments BA II Plus (2004)
| Date of introduction: | 2004 | Display technology: | LCD dot matrix |
| New price: | $34.99 (SRP 2004) | Display size: | 3 alpha + 10 (7+2) |
| Size: | 6.1" x 3.2" x 0.6" 154 x 83 x 15 mm³ |
||
| Weight: | 3.3 ounces, 94 grams | Serial No: | |
| Batteries: | CR2032 (60µA) | Date of manufacture: | mth 08 year 2004 |
| AC-Adapter: | Origin of manufacture: | China (S) | |
| Precision: | 13 | Integrated circuits: | |
| Memories: | 10 | ||
| Program steps: | Courtesy of: | Joerg Woerner |
Not
just
a redesign of the original BA II PLUS introduced
already in 2000.
Please compare the appearance the both calculators and you'll notice some changes:
| •
Aluminum bezel around the display to match with the basic TI-1706SV, the graphing TI-84 Plus and the scientific TI-36X II. • Key colors changed to a more serious grey in grey like the TI-84 PLUS. |
Much
more dramatic changes could be found inside the calculator! Disassembling the
featured BA II Plus with Date code S-0804 and
manufactured in August 2004 by Inventec Shanghai reveals
a completely different internal design. At first glance you'll notice that the
connector to the LC-Display uses more contacts than before and that the
single-chip calculator circuit hidden under a small epoxy blob is surrounded by
many more discrete components like resistors and capacitors. Obviously did Texas
Instruments replace the Toshiba T6A53 chip with a new design. At a second look
of the printed circuit board (PCB) you'll notice a label "BA II PLUS STUDENT", a
reference to the BA
II Plus Professional introduced in the same year as an improved financial calculator. We
certainly remember the BA-35
Student Business Analyst introduced in 1982.
With every suspected new advanced single-chip calculator circuit, we run Mike
Sebastian's "Calculator forensics" test and
the featured BA II PLUS manufactured in August 2004 reports indeed a different
result compared to the original design. Interestingly is the result matching the
BA II PLUS Professional, indicating that the two products share some common
software code, if not even the hardware platform.
| Calculator | Forensics Result |
| BA II PLUS (2000) | 8.999999883164 |
| BA II Plus (2004) | 8.999999993942 |
| BA II Plus Professional | 8.999999993942 |
The Stokes Publishing Company, Inc. based in Sunnyvale, California sold a companion for the teacher, view the colorful Business.
When Texas Instruments released in 2013 the redesigned TI-30Xa even the BA II Plus got some new clothes. Don't miss the new BA II Plus.
If you have additions to the above article please email: joerg@datamath.org.
© Joerg Woerner, November 12, 2004. No reprints without written permission.