- #DOOM FOR TI 84 PLUS SERIAL#
- #DOOM FOR TI 84 PLUS UPDATE#
- #DOOM FOR TI 84 PLUS CODE#
- #DOOM FOR TI 84 PLUS PLUS#
We’ve already seen some TI-84s that have been modified to connect to the Internet, for example.Ĭontinue reading “Talking To A Texas Instruments Calculator” → Posted in Teardown Tagged arm, CE, port, programming, python, test, texas instruments, ti-84, z80 Perhaps this is the starting point for someone else to figure out something more useful to put these machines to work with beyond the classroom too. While there are probably limited use cases for 1980s calculators to run Python programs, we can at least commend TI for attempting to modernize within its self-built standardized testing prison. Jankiness aside, eventually was able to wire up a port to the side of the calculator which lets him use his computer to send Python commands to the device when it is in its Python programming mode.
#DOOM FOR TI 84 PLUS SERIAL#
After some investigation of test points, found that the Z80 and ARM chips are communicating with each other over twin serial lines using a very “janky” interface. The immediately noticeable difference is the ARM coprocessor that is not present in other graphing calculators. While he’s not sure exactly what implementation of Python the calculator is running, he did tear it apart to try and figure out as much as he could about what this machine is doing.
#DOOM FOR TI 84 PLUS CODE#
They still run their code on a Z80 microcontroller, but found himself in possession of one which has a modern ARM coprocessor in it and thus can run Python.
#DOOM FOR TI 84 PLUS UPDATE#
These testing standards are so entrenched, in fact, that TI has not had to update the hardware in these calculators since the early 90s.
By day 6, you can hear Equalo struggling for air that doesn’t smell like the world’s worst storage cellar.Texas Instruments is a world-class semiconductors company, but unfortunately what they are best known for among the general public is dated consumer-grade calculators thanks to entrenched standardized testing. During the six days it took the ‘Tuber to boil, cut, wire, and construct his battery, the potatoes - having no idea they were being used in such an illustrious project - began the rote process of decomposing.
#DOOM FOR TI 84 PLUS PLUS#
The experience on a Z80 with 24KB of RAM is far from what you’d want, but it is Doom (at least the Ti-84 Plus version), and it is being powered by a massive, rotting organic battery. The brand-new, yam-energized Tater-84 Plus proves capable of zipping through the game, making this the first time to my knowledge that any computing device capable of playing Doom has been powered entirely by potato. The Ti-84 Plus is basement-level equipment even by the standards of minimally-powered embedded devices, and if Texas Instruments had been willing to allow end-users to have more than 24KB of RAM to play with, the version of Doom he eventually gets running wouldn’t look like a Vectrex game. To put this in perspective, the Z-80 was first developed during the Carter Administration and current eZ80 versions of the chip clock up to 50MHz. Ti-84s only use 10-30 milliamps, which makes sense, considering the Zilog Z-80 that powers it only runs at 15MHz. Instead of attempting to power a Raspberry Pi, he decides to go for a Ti-84. My dreams of a tater-powered laser and/or railgun died aborning.īut Equalo, spud-stud that he is, has another trick up his sleeve.
This many potatoes can’t run a Raspberry Pi. The electrical output from this kind of battery is tiny - Wikipedia helpfully notes that “We can conclude that it would take more than 6 million lemons to give us the power of an average 4320W car battery.” This is not a task for the faint of heart or those with less-than-strong stomachs. What sets this project apart is the fact that the graphing calculator is powered entirely by potatoes.Įver heard of a potato battery? Stick zinc and copper electrodes into a potato, and voila - you’ve got yourself a tiny, crappy battery. The device in question - a Ti-84 graphing calculator - is long-conquered territory, as far as Doom is concerned. This tendency also results in Doom being played on devices that aren’t a lot of fun to play with (which is integral to this story). The reason we use Doom for this purpose, I suspect, is because Doom is more-or-less the father of the FPS genre. Typically, when someone presents a demonstration of “Doom running on X,” it’s a way to demonstrate how powerful low-end computing has become.