DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM
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DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM |
Texas Instruments Grillo Parlante Piu
| Date of introduction: | 1991 | 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 19 year 1991 |
| AC-Adapter: | AC9199 | Origin of manufacture: | USA |
| Precision: | Integrated circuits: | TSP50C42 (CSM42030), TSP60C19 (CMM19035), 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 Italian talking Grillo Parlante Piu was called Super Speak & Spell, too. In France we know the La Super Dictée Magique and in Italy the Grillo Parlante Piu. With the El Loro Parlanchin and El Loro Profesor two Spanish versions were introduced.
Tired of the blue line? Believe it or not, customers in China enjoyed already in 1990 their own "Professor" in bright red colors.
Dismantling this Grillo Parlante Piu manufactured in April 1991 by Texas Instruments in the United States reveals a clean design centered around just three Integrated Circuits:
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• TSP50C42/CSM42030: 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/CMM19035: 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.
One Grillo Parlante Piu Cartridge Library is known:
| Name | Grade | Words | Description | Module | Word List |
| No1 | 200 | Contains words in everyday use. Helps to master the spelling of a basic Italian vocabulary. |  |
 (IT: 3.3M Bytes) |
If you have additions to the above article please email: joerg@datamath.org.
© Joerg Woerner, May 6, 2007. No reprints without written permission.