Inventec (Jun 28, 2006)

From: Gary Clouse Jul 6, 2006
From: "wayne" Jun 28, 2006
From: "cyranojones_lalp" Jan 23, 2010
From: "FyberOptic" Jan 24, 2010
From: "FyberOptic" Jan 24, 2010

Subject: Inventec

From: "Cyrano Jones" <cyranojones_lalp@...>

Jun 28, 2006

This site has some info on TI Avigo PDA.
The 6SI117 CPU is made by Inventec=
.
(URL)

Also from another page on t=
hat site:
(URL)
tion was founded in Taiwan, on July 1, 1975
ors and telephone sets. In 1984
er of calculators.
founded
rates. Inventec Micro-Electronics Corporation (IMC), one of
c Group companies, established a factory in Shanghai,
. Inventec manufactures most of Texas Instrument=EF=BF=BDs
culators from the TI-73 to the TI-89 and the
2 and CBR. IMC was renamed IME
1999.

I have read a lot of web pages regarding Inventec, and I get the
im=
pression that they are a *HUGE* company. They make notebooks and
pdas and =
phones for a lot of other companies. They also make
the iPod for apple.

=
Googling [inventec z80] finds this site:
(URL)
che:lao-3vhKzuoJ:electro-tech-online.com/viewtopic.php%3Ft%3D15332%26sid%3D=
0483339950207f7a33ddb214e4c43d2e+inventec+z80&hl=3Den&gl=3Dus&ct=3Dclnk&cd=
=3D1&client=3Dfirefox-a

Well, that link will likely be garbled. It was
to=
p hit for that search, and I had to view it via
googles cache, because pag=
e seems to be gone now.

The pertinent part of page was a post asking for =
info:

from a TI-83+ graphing calculator
837 0A
0-enabled CISC processor.
a on pinouts,

There was no answe=
r posted. Note the manufacturer,
the similar part number, and most curious=
ly the "PDARD".
I believe the Avigo 6SI117 also says "PDARD", but I can't
f=
ind a good picture of it right now. In case it didn't
jump right out at yo=
u, the Avigo is a PDA, as in PDARD.

I don't have any guess what the RD sta=
nds for, but
RSDRD ends with RD, too. I have not been able to come
up with=
any meaning for RSD as of yet.

Googling for [rsdrd inventec] returns two =
sites
that list 3SI176 as manufactured by "RSDRD".
The line just above 3SI1=
76 is for a 3SI0870A manufactured
by "Inventec".
(URL)
istributors/parts/3s/parts_3s.php

I think the brokers are just jumping to =
conclusion
that the RSDRD is the manufacturer, because for some
reason, the=
y did not print "Inventec" on the package.

1: Subject: Re: [mailstation] Inventec

(top)

From: Gary Clouse <niklaus37217@...>

Jul 6, 2006

I believe the RD stands for "Research Design"

(URL)
(URL)

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
(URL)

2: Subject: RE: [mailstation] Inventec

(top)

From: "wayne" <waynem@...>

Jun 28, 2006

charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

There is a big book that is available every year that lists EVERY chip made
by part number,
and who the manufacturer is. I have a very old one 1980's, I will check in
it, but you
probably need to find somebody that has a new one and look it up.

Also, the RD at the end means R & D, as in research and development...The
chip may
not be a full production line model yet, or it was just a "modified" version
of another chip
for a specific customer to use ??

Wayne

From: mailstation@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mailstation@yahoogroups.com]On
Behalf Of Cyrano Jones
Sent: Tuesday, June 27, 2006 10:57 PM
To: mailstation@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [mailstation] Inventec

This site has some info on TI Avigo PDA.
The 6SI117 CPU is made by Inventec.
(URL)

Also from another page on that site:
(URL)

I have read a lot of web pages regarding Inventec, and I get the
impression that they are a *HUGE* company. They make notebooks and
pdas and phones for a lot of other companies. They also make
the iPod for apple.

Googling [inventec z80] finds this site:

(URL)
wtopic.php%3Ft%3D15332%26sid%3D0483339950207f7a33ddb214e4c43d2e+inventec+z80
&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1&client=firefox-a

Well, that link will likely be garbled. It was
top hit for that search, and I had to view it via
googles cache, because page seems to be gone now.

The pertinent part of page was a post asking for info:

There was no answer posted. Note the manufacturer,
the similar part number, and most curiously the "PDARD".
I believe the Avigo 6SI117 also says "PDARD", but I can't
find a good picture of it right now. In case it didn't
jump right out at you, the Avigo is a PDA, as in PDARD.

I don't have any guess what the RD stands for, but
RSDRD ends with RD, too. I have not been able to come
up with any meaning for RSD as of yet.

Googling for [rsdrd inventec] returns two sites
that list 3SI176 as manufactured by "RSDRD".
The line just above 3SI176 is for a 3SI0870A manufactured
by "Inventec".
(URL)

I think the brokers are just jumping to conclusion
that the RSDRD is the manufacturer, because for some
reason, they did not print "Inventec" on the package.

charset="iso-8859-1"

w3c.org/TR/1999/REC-html401-19991224/loose.dtd">

ontent=3D"MSHTML 6.00.2800.1555" name=3DGENERATOR></HEAD>
CKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff">
is a big book that is available eve=
ry year that lists EVERY chip made by part
number,</DIV>
V>and
who the manufacturer is. I have a very old one 1980's, I wil=
l check in it,
but you</DIV>
=3D#0000ff size=3D2>probably need to find=
somebody that has a new one and
look it up.</DIV>
T face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff size=3D2><=
/SPAN> </DIV>
the RD at the end means R & D, =
as in research and development...The chip
may</DIV>
NT face=3DArial color=3D#0000ff size=3D2>n=
ot be
a full production line model yet, or it was just a "modified" versio=
n of another
chip</DIV>
0ff size=3D2>for a
specific customer to u=
se ??</DIV>
class=3D501224314-28062006> </DIV>
e=3DArial color=3D#0000ff size=3D2>Wayne<=
/SPAN></DIV>

class=3D501224314-28062006> </DIV>
ial color=3D#0000ff size=3D2></FON=
T> </DIV>
lign=3Dleft>-----Original Message----- <=
B>From: mailstation@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:mailstation@yahoogroups.=
com]On Behalf Of Cyrano
Jones Sent: Tuesday, June 27, 2=
006 10:57 PM To:
mailstation@yahoogroups.com Subject:</B=
Inventec </DIV>
P>This site has some info on TI Avigo PDA. The 6SI117 CPU is made by
=
Inventec. <A
href=3D"ht=">(URL)
tp://www.datamath.org/Personal/Avigo10.htm</A> Also
fro=
m another page on that site: <A
href=3D"(URL)
red_Companies.htm">(URL)
R>htm</A> >
Inventec Corporation was founded in Taiwan, on July 1,=
1975 > to
produce simple calculators and telephone sets. In 1984=
Taiwan's largest manufacturer of calculators. <BR=
overseas manufacturing base was founded &g=
t; in Penang, Malaysia to take
advantage of competitive labour > =
rates. Inventec Micro-Electronics
Corporation (IMC), one of > the=
Inventec Group companies, established a
factory in Shanghai, > C=
hina during 1995. Inventec manufactures most of
Texas Instrument=EF=BF=
=BDs > graphing calculators from the TI-73 to the TI-89
and the <=
BR>> data collection systems CBL2 and CBR. IMC was renamed IME
t; after Inventec group's reorganization in 1999. I have read a
=
lot of web pages regarding Inventec, and I get the impression that they =
are
a *HUGE* company. They make notebooks and pdas and phones for a l=
ot of
other companies. They also make the iPod for apple. Goo=
gling
[inventec z80] finds this site: <A
href=3D"(URL)
104/search?q=3Dcache:lao-3vhKzuoJ:electro-tech-online.com/viewtopic.php%3Ft=
%3D15332%26sid%3D0483339950207f7a33ddb214e4c43d2e+inventec+z80&hl=3Den&=
amp;gl=3Dus&ct=3Dclnk&cd=3D1&client=3Dfirefox-a">(URL)
WBR>203.104/search?q=3Dcache:lao-3vhKzuoJ:electro-tech-=
online.com/viewtopic.php%3Ft%3D15332%26sid%3D0483339950=
207f7a33ddb214e4c43d2e+inventec+z80&hl=3Den&gl=
=3Dus&ct=3Dclnk&cd=3D1&client=3Dfirefox-a</A><BR=
that link will likely be garbled. It was top hit for that =
search, and I had
to view it via googles cache, because page seems t=
o be gone
now. The pertinent part of page was a post asking for i=
nfo: >
I'm in search of data for an Inventec processor. &g=
t; The chip came from a
TI-83+ graphing calculator > as bares the=
text: > >
Inventec > 6SI837 0A > Japan 0216EAI=
F0254ZAA > > ...if it helps, this is=
a Z80-enabled CISC
processor. > I've tried googling and came up =
empty. Any data on
pinouts, > or clocking data would be appreciat=
ed. There was no
answer posted. Note the manufacturer, the sim=
ilar part number, and most
curiously the "PDARD". I believe the Avigo=
6SI117 also says "PDARD", but I
can't find a good picture of it righ=
t now. In case it didn't jump right
out at you, the Avigo is a PDA, a=
s in PDARD. I don't have any guess
what the RD stands for, but<BR=
to come up with any me=
aning for RSD as of yet. Googling for [rsdrd
inventec] returns tw=
o sites that list 3SI176 as manufactured by
"RSDRD". The line just=
above 3SI176 is for a 3SI0870A manufactured by
"Inventec". <A
=
href=3D"http:/=">(URL)
/www.digchip.com/distributors/parts/3s/parts_3s.php</A>=
think the brokers are just jumping to conclusion that the R=
SDRD is the
manufacturer, because for some reason, they did not print=
"Inventec" on the
package. -- CJ </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>

3: Subject: Inventec

(top)

From: "cyranojones_lalp" <cyranojones_lalp@...>

Jan 23, 2010

Some info on Inventec:

Where are ipods made
ums/ipod-hardware-accessories/27234-where-\
ipods-made-inventec-info.html> =
?

Insider trading
to-disclose-ipod\
-order-cuts-could-face-pris/> at Inventec.

CJ

Some info on Inventec:

Where are (URL)
m/forums/ipod-hardware-accessories/27234-where-ipods-made-inventec-info.htm=
l">ipods made?

(URL)
entec-execs-fail-to-disclose-ipod-order-cuts-could-face-pris/">Insider trad=
ing</a> at Inventec. CJ

4: Subject: Re: Inventec

(top)

From: "FyberOptic" <fyberoptic@...>

Jan 24, 2010

I remembered the old half-working Avigo PDA I had stashed away supposedly h=
aving a Z80 CPU, and it was made my Texas Instruments, so I thought that I'=
d just take a look to see if it too might have ended up with an Inventec CP=
U.

Turns out, the answer is yep! I took a photo, but then when searching =
for the CPU I found this, which is much better quality than mine:

(URL)
ww.datamath.org/Personal/JPEG_Avigo10.htm#ASIC

It's a 6SI117.

Memory map =
look familiar?

$0000 - $3FFF System ROM region
$4000 - $7FFF ROM bank acc=
ess region
$8000 - $BFFF RAM bank access region
$C000 - $FFFF System RA=
M region

It has 1MB of Flash, 128KB of RAM. 240x160 LCD.

Even though it =
has an FCC ID (DGI-PDA100) it doesn't exist in the database. DGI is anothe=
r ID for Inventec and all, though. Unfortunately none of their earlier sub=
missions have any files, so even if it's there with another ID, I wouldn't =
know it.

I think if we could find the datasheet or information on ANY of t=
he other Inventec CPUs, it would be useful for the Mailstation too.

5: Subject: Re: Inventec

(top)

From: "FyberOptic" <fyberoptic@...>

Jan 24, 2010

Did some Avigo research. Lookee what I came across:

(URL)
hlink.net/~rdgill/avigo/#I/O%20Ports

Not only does this possibly indicate =
the Mailstation does have a buzzer pin as I previously assumed, but it show=
s the possible ports to use the onboard serial pins. But most importantly,=
look at the RTC ports! They say that version of the CPU uses a TC8521 for=
the RTC.

(URL)
8521AM/+22188uOlPGHwwcVhDCvYIV+/datasheet.pdf

A 4-bit Toshiba real-time cl=
ock, which just so happens to have a 1hz and 16hz timer, as well as alarm. =
We know the Mailstation has a 1hz interrupt, but from my deductions, the o=
ther was 64hz. Then again, since they built this directly into the CPU, th=
ey could have modified the divider, or more likely based on what we've seen=
, run it through a user-changeable divider (port $2F maybe??).

I found m=
any other 4-bit RTC chips which did have a 64hz alternate timer, and others=
with a 1024hz one (much more divideable), so who knows what they actually =
used in the Mailstation version of the CPU. All I know is that the port ad=
dresses seem to match up perfectly for the one I linked, compared to the ot=
hers I looked at, so that's a good start. I want to try accessing that bit=
of ram on pages 2 and 3 of its address space sometime, just to confirm it'=
s there.

Here's a snippet I took from the disassembly before of it setting=
up the RTC at one point. Now we have an idea of what it's doing, based on=
the datasheet:

xor a
set 2, a
out (#1d), a
ld a, #0e
out (#1f), a
ld a, =
#0c
out (#1f), a

Avigo aside, this might also potentially be helpful, i=
ndirectly:

(URL)

This is for a TI=
-83 calculator. The interesting parts are the CPU speed and timer ports. =
Some info might be able to be derived from them, since they might be simila=
r in function, just not directly applicable.