RE: A86: Tamagotchi?
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RE: A86: Tamagotchi?
The electricity that keeps the RAM intact is extroardinarily tiny. The
batteries would last over 200 years if they only supplied power at that
rate. The batteries last only over 200 hours, though, at the rate the
calculator is on. The Z80 is NOT executing instructions when the calculator
is "off"; it is stopped on a HALT instruction, and the 200-times-per-second
interrupts are disabled. (I'm not sure whether the device that generates
the interrupts is disabled or whether the processor is put into a mode in
which it ignores the interrupts without executing instructions). Running
the Tamagotchi would require a program to be running, and would be a huge
waste of battery power.
Why not just ask the user for the date and time whenever the Tamagotchi
program is run? Sure, the user could cheat, but that's the user's problem.
________________
Jeff Tyrrill
http://tyrrill-ticalc.home.ml.org/
http://ti-files.home.ml.org/
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-assembly-86@lists.ticalc.org On Behalf Of TGaArdvark@aol.com
Sent: Saturday, September 20, 1997 11:29 PM
To: assembly-86@lists.ticalc.org
Subject: Re: A86: Tamagotchi?
> The battery drain would be more than slight if it were running when the
> calc was off. Although the LCD screen could be turned off, if the
processor
> were running, it would take from 1/4 to 1/2 of the battery power that the
> calc would take when it was running. You'd have to change your batteries
> every week.
Z80 fact: in order to keep the RAM intact, the chip must ALWAYS be
running. If the chip is EVER turned off, you lose your mem. With that in
mind, the backup battery must have enough juice to keep the chip active
(when halted). It may just run it at a slower speed.
The chip checks for [ON] being pressed 200 times a second, when the
calc is on or off. Why can't it run the tamagotchi too?
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