DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM |
Texas Instruments TI-70 Digital Clock
Date of introduction: | June 1974 | Display technology: | LED |
New price: | Display size: | 4 | |
Size: | 5.7" x 4.0" x 1.6" 144 x 101 x 40 mm3 |
||
Weight: | 8.8 ounces, 249 grams | Serial No: | A70-1003668 |
Batteries: | Date of manufacture: | wk 36 year 1974 | |
AC-Adapter: | 110 V | Origin of manufacture: | USA |
Precision: | Integrated circuits: | TMS3834, SN75492, RCA CA3082 | |
Memories: | Displays: | TIL370 | |
Program steps: | Courtesy of: | Joerg Woerner |
This
TI-70 electronic Digital Clock with its bright LED-display was introduced by
Texas Instruments together with its sibling TI-71
already in 1974. While the TI-71 sports an alarm function, is the TI-70 a bare
digital clock.
Both the TI-70 and TI-71 rely on the
TMS3834 Digital Alarm Clock
Chip and make use of an identical printed circuit board (PCB) with different options to distinguish between:
• TI-70 (no Alarm) or TI-71 (Alarm) • 50 Hz or 60 Hz operation • 12-hour or 24-hour display format Hz • PM indicator or Flashing Colon |
Dismantling a TI-70 (Serial Number A70-1012099) with
Date code 504 and manufactured in December 1974
by Texas Instruments reveals a clever design centered around the
TMS3834 Digital
Alarm Clock Chip, an ITT 492 (SN75492) Digit Driver and a RCA CA3082 NPN
Transistor Array as Segment Drivers mounted on a center mounted single-sided
PCB.
The main PCB connects with flat wires on one side to a
TIL370 Four-Digit Clock/Timer Numeric Seven-Segment LED Display
and on the other side to a small PCB with the controls to adjust the time and
set the brightness of the display. The individual transistors of the CA3082 chip control
the current of the display segments based on the setting of the brightness
switch accordingly. The main PCB sports additional connections for both the
Alarm buzzer and Snooze button of the TI-71.
We
recently discovered a TI-70 (Serial Number A70-1013272) with Date code 314 and
manufactured in July 1974 and repaired at a later date sporting a
TMS3834A on a
different looking PCB but with similar components. The differences between the
TMS3834 and TMS3834A are not yet discovered but might be related to the "p.m.
bug" of the original design.
In
one their earlier products Texas Instruments used a clock chip from on of their competitors, read more
about the TI-3510 introduced already in
December 1973.
Don't miss the last watch sold by Texas Instruments.
If you have additions to the above article please email: joerg@datamath.org.
© Joerg Woerner, May 12, 2008. No reprints without written permission.