NAME  

Microcomputer Trainer

MANUFACTURER  

Science Fair

TYPE  

Home Computer

ORIGIN  

U.S.A.

YEAR  

1976

BUILT IN LANGUAGE

Assembler-style mnemonics, entered as hex codes.

KEYBOARD  

20 keys (hex 0-F, Reset, Run, Increment and Address Set.

CPU  

TI TMS-1100 (extended version of the TMS-1000)

SPEED  

400 KHz ?

COPROCESSOR

None

RAM

128 nibbles (only 16 addressable from user program. Some used for operating system

ROM

Unknown

TEXT

7 LEDs showing address, 7-segment LED showing data

SOUND

Built-in speaker producing beep tones and effects.

I/O PORTS

None

BUILT IN MEDIA

None

OS

Hexadecimal monitor

POWER SUPPLY

9V DC (6 AA batteties)

PRICE

About E18 in 1986.

 

Microcomputer Trainer

Microcomputer Trainer


 Microcomputer Trainer had a set of about 30 commands (15 simple, plus some 'extended'), which were entered through the keyboard. The keyboard suffered badly from switch bounce; increment would sometimes be registered twice, causing much annoyance.

The CPU (or rather MCU - Micro Computer Unit) is a Texas Instruments TMS1100. This was an expanded version


of their flagship "computer-on-a-chip" - the TMS1000, which was used in their "Speak and Spell" toy. According to the MCT manual, the clock speed was 400 kHz but this is higher than the specification for the chip! (Were Science Fair guilty of over-clocking!?!). Presumably the monitor was burnt into ROM.

There was no bulk storage: programs were lost when power was removed, so had to written down manually. The manual contains instructions for the built-in games and example programs (complete with flowcharts). Some of the example programs are quite complicated.