DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM
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DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM |
Texas Instruments Super Speak & Read
| Date of introduction: | 1988 | Display technology: | n.a. |
| New price: | $59.50 (1992) Libraries: $19.95 |
Display size: | |
| Size: | 12.0" x 21.5" x 1.7" | ||
| Weight: | 2 pounds 13 ounces | Serial No: | |
| Batteries: | 4*AA cells | Date of manufacture: | year 1991 |
| AC-Adapter: | Origin of manufacture: | USA | |
| Precision: | Integrated circuits: | TSP50C42 (CSM42008), TSP60C80 (CMM80002) Module: TSP60C21 |
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| Memories: | |||
| Program steps: | Courtesy of: | Joerg Woerner |
Texas
Instruments introduced with the Super Speak & Read a combination of the previous
Speak & Read and the position sensitive keyboard of the
Touch &
Tell game. The game could be opened and one of the supplied small booklets inserted.
The integrated voice synthesizer will ask you different questions and you have
to show with your fingertip the answers.
Dismantling
the featured Super Speak & Read manufactured in 1991 by Texas Instruments in the
United States reveals a very efficient internal construction centered around a TSP50C4X
Speech Synthesizer and supported with a TSP60C80
Speech-ROM.
We located on the double-sided printed circuit
board (PCB) just two Integrated Circuits:
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• TSP50C42/CSM42008: 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 • TSP60C80/CMM80002: VSM (Voice Synthesis Memory) with 1024k Bits |
The Super Speak & Read uses exchangeable Speech-ROMs in an
expansion port. Each of them corresponds to a set of different booklets.
Three different modules with a total of 18 booklets are
known:
| Name | Books | Words | Description | Module | Word List |
| Basic set (blue) |
1..4 | 169 | 1: Let's play 2: The Old Woman in the Shoe 3: Lucy's Pockets 4: Fe Fi Fo Fum |
Included in Unit |
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| Reading Fun 1 Expansion Pack (orange) |
5..11 | 169 | 5: Big and Little ABC's 6: Baa Baa Black Sheep 7: Andy Pandy's Candy 8: Acka Backa Boo & The Magic Word Stories 9: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star & Fat Yaks Stories 10: Alikazam Kazoo 11: One Two, Buckle My Shoe |
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| Reading Fun 2 Expansion Pack (purple) |
12..18 | 169 | 12: The Purple Cow 13: Magic E 14: Dirty Bill & The Monster Stories 15: Teddy Bear Teddy Bear 16: Wiggle Waggle Jelly-beans 17: Apples and Bananas 18: Hink Pink |
Texas Instruments developed some country specific versions of the Super Speak & Read, currently we know:
| Country | Name | Speech ROM |
| US | Super Speak & Read | TSP60C80 (CMM80002) |
| US | Ready...Set...Read! | TSP60C80 (CMM80002) |
| France | La Lecture Magique | CMM19015, CMM19019 |
| Germany | Lesefreund | CMM19018, CMM19028 |
| Italy | La Lettura Magica | CMM19021, CMM19029 |
| United Kingdom | Chatter-Book | CMM19010, CMM19027 |
Up to now we don't know the differences to the Ready...Set...Read!.
The picture on the left side displays the game in the opened state. Find a picture of the closed box here.
The toy is intended for players ages 3 to 7.
The Super Speak & Read got later a smaller sibling with identical booklets and hardware, the Magic Reading Desk. Don't miss the related Touch & Discover and the smaller Teddy Touch & Tell.
If you have additions to the above article please email: joerg@datamath.org.
© Joerg Woerner, December 5, 2001. No reprints without written permission.