DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM
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DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM |
Texas Instruments Music-Star
| Date of introduction: | 1988 | Display technology: | |
| New price: | Display size: | n.a. | |
| Size: | 9.1" x 11.1" x
1.2" 231 x 282 x 30 mm3 |
||
| Weight: | 18.2 ounces, 515 grams | Serial No: | |
| Batteries: | 4*AA cells | Date of manufacture: | wk 34 year 1988 |
| AC-Adapter: | Origin of manufacture: | USA (A) | |
| Precision: | Integrated circuits: | TMS50C43/CD57303 | |
| Memories: | |||
| Program steps: | Courtesy of: | Joerg Woerner | |
| Download manual: | 
(DE: 14.6M Bytes) |
This
funny synthesizer based product from Texas Instruments generates a lot of
different sounds and stores them into an internal memory to replay. Compared with earlier
products of the Speak & line this one uses a quite simple technology.
This educational toy introduced in 1988 is very similar to the Speak
& Music introduced already in 1986 but uses a German speaking language. Don't miss the Speak
& Music sold in United Kingdom, with the La Musique
Magique a French speaking version and the Italian speaking
Fonillo Suonaparla.
Dismantling this Music-Star manufactured in August 1988 by Texas Instruments in the United
States for the German speaking market reveals a small surprise - the printed
circuit board (PCB) is different from its International siblings. The original
two-chip design with a TMS50C40 Voice Synthesis Processor and CF60034 was
replaced with a single-chip solution.
The single-sided PCB
of this Music-Star sports
just one Integrated Circuit:
| • TMS50C43/CD57303: 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 |
Comparing the short-lived TMS50C40(A) introduced in 1986 and its successors from the TMS50C4X Series introduced in 1987 show a few differences including a more flexible I/O Port structure of the latter parts. We assume that the CF60034 is a simple Port-Expander for the TMS50C40 to sample the keyboard of the toys.
Don't miss a very early Prototype of the Music-Star with a very unusual internal design.
A total of 12 well-known German children songs are stored inside the memory toy:
| • Ihr Kinderlein, kommet • Was soll das bedeuten • Ich geh mit meiner Laterne • Fuchs, Du hast die Gans gestohlen • Weisst Du, wieviel Sternlein stehen • Wer will fleissige Handwerker sehen • Es tanzt ein Bi-Ba-Butzemann • Ein Männlein steht im Walde • Es war eine Mutter • Alle Vögel sind schon da • Im Märzen der Bauer • Winter, ade! |
Other products in the Speak & line cover spelling and reading words. Compare this Music-Star with Speak & Math, Speak & Spell and Speak & Read.
If you have additions to the above article please email: joerg@datamath.org.
© Joerg Woerner, December 5, 2001. No reprints without written permission.