Compal TS30A, TS30AS, & TS30AT

The Compal TS30A, TS30AS, and TS30AT are generic/ODM laptops both released in 1994. The only difference between all three are the displays - TS30A is grayscale passive matrix, TS30AS is passive matrix color, and TS30AT is active matrix color. The TS30AS and TS30AT released first, as they passed FCC in February 1994. The TS30A passed FCC in April 1994.

The TS30A/AS/AT are 486 laptops, and I believe they use desktop CPUs. They support up to a DX4-100. They also support Cyrix CPUs.

Some TS30A/AS/AT laptops have stereo speakers and a microphone on the palmrest and some don't. Ones without the speakers/mic may still have a sound card though. I'd assume all with the stereo speakers and mic have a sound card. The sound circuitry is soldered to the motherboard, so you cannot easily add sound to a TS30A/AS/AT that didn't ship with sound.

The Epson ActionNote 650 and 660 Series (pictured on this page) were all TS30A/AS/AT laptops. None of these had the sound card.
Targa sold the TS30A and the TS30AS
MidWest Micro sold all three under their "Elite" line of laptops. These had SX-25, DX-33, DX2-50, or DX2-66 CPUs.
MPC Technologies sold them. I think the model number from MPC was the 380 (note - NOT the M-380), but I'm not positive. They probably only have TS30A, AS, or AT on the label anyway.
I've seen a TS30A on eBay badged as "PLATINUM". I don't know anything about PLATINUM.
Mitsuba sold the TS30A.
Systemax sold the TS30AS with a sound card under their "ULTRA" brand. They also sold the TS30AT.
Ambra sold the TS30AS and TS30AT.
Some brand called "Swift-Pro" sold one of the three.
Sceptre sold the TS30A.
The Viglen Dossier 486 ST was a TS30AT - this one was from the UK. It has a printed model number of TS30ME, but looks exactly like the TS30AT.

Specifications

Spec	Details
CPU	CPU Type: Socket 3 - Intel 486SX @25MHz - Intel 486DX @33MHz - Cyrix or Intel 486DX2 @50 or 66MHz - Intel 486DX4 @75 or 100MHz - Other options likely supported
Chipset	Unknown
RAM	Type: 1 Proprietary Module Standard: Unknown Maximum: 20MB
Hard Disk	2.5" IDE Uses proprietary adapter?: Sort of Standard: N/A
Display Options	- 9.4" Passive Matrix Grayscale @640x480 - 10.3" Passive Matrix Color @640x480 - 9.5" Active Matrix Color @640x480
Graphics Chipset	Chips & Technologies 65540 VRAM: 512KB or 1MB
Audio	ESS AudioDrive 488 (Optional)
Main Battery	NiMH
CMOS Battery	3-cell Varta NiCad (3/V11RT)
Power Supply	Proprietary 3-pin - AC Adapter P/N TSA3
Disk Drives	3.5" 1.44MB Floppy Drive (Teac)
PC Cards	2x PCMCIA Slots
Networking	None
Other I/O	- 1x Parallel - 1x Serial - 1x VGA Out - 1x PS/2 - 1x Line In (if equipped w/ sound) - 1x Line Out (if equipped w/ sound) - 1x Dock Connector (Optional)
BIOS	SystemSoft
Pointing Device	Trackball

Common Faults & Maintenance

Battery Leaks

The TS30A/AS/AT's CMOS battery is a NiCad Varta pack which is soldered directly to the motherboard. These batteries are extremely prone to leaking and should be removed from any TS30A.

The main battery is NiMH and can also leak.

Brittle Plastic

Plastic on these laptops is quite brittle, so keep that in mind when handling them and especially when taking one apart. The hinge mounts directly into a metal sub-frame at the base, so it will never fail there. They probably mount to plastic in the screen but they don't break here as often as other laptops from this time.