I've got a couple fraction calculators made by Casio. An fx-55 and another with more functions. They work, but are far from being convenient. Too many key strokes and they need a rounding feature/setting for the fractions.
Not an easy product to make and have it be really user friendly.
I'm a bit of a calculator nut I guess - just can't resist temptation to buy something different for under a dollar. This started back in '72 when I was doing earthwork quantity calculations with pecil and paper. One night I found a major department store selling an eight digit, four function pocket calculator for $99.95 and since this was under the $100.00 limit for petty cash, I tried to persuade my boss to allow the purchase. He finally gave in and allowed me to take one of the motorized mechanical calculators from the office to the job site! I have since bought four bangers with memory for as little as $0.19 (the little, credit card sized units sometimes given away as advertizing gimmicks) Gerry :-)} London, Canada
I rarely find silver oxide batteries at a store for a decent price, but just this week found SR44/SG13 cells (~0.452" dia) 5 on a card for $1.90 at a Big Lots store. These replace AG13, LR44, SR1154, V357 and SR44W. The package is marked with the Sunbeam brand, Sunbeam Products - Jarden Consumer Solutions.
They also had the same quantity/price for tiny SG4 silver oxide, replacement for AG4, SR66, SR626, V377 and SR626SW. The only place I found one of these locally when I wanted on earlier, was that Shack store, for about $4 IIRC.
I recently encountered a thinner button the same diameter of a LR44, numbered L1142 (also ~0.452" dia). I'm not sure about the actual height, as the dead ones I have are bulged/domed on the + side.
A cell that's even thinner, only about 1/2 the thickness/height of a SR/LR44 is packaged as AG10, which are labeled as replacements for LR1130, 189. These are about 0.124" thick.
I've found the AG10 and LR44/A76 cells at Dollar General in 8-packs for $1.
WB ......... metalworking projects
The civilised world calls it 17.5133 mm :)
I have a few myself, but I'm sure you have me beat :)
My first one was an 8 digit Heath Kit (AC) and it is still hiding around here somewhere. Last I checked it works too!
Then I got a TI-30 whoweee! I was the envy of my chemistry class and several more TI's appeared in class very shortly.
I bought the fx-55 pretty much because of the fraction feature, along with solar power. These work okay, but not quite as well as I thought they would. Awkward comes to mind.
One of my favourites is a Sunstrand adding machine converted from pull handle with an externally mounted electric motor, bought new in 1938 by a government department. When I was tasked with closing down the local office, I discovered that it was no longer on inventory! On my first office type employment I was tasked with checking invoice extensions using a latter model of this same machine - multiplication was accomplished through repeated addition with appropriate register shifts - I used to go through at least a roll of paper tape per day. No wonder the print banks used to disintegrate into flying springs, screws, and print faces on a regular basis. I also have a Monroe Educator - small hand cranked four function school version machine - just wish I could get my hands on the Walther my uncle had while getting his PHD in physics, or the Curta my cubical neighbour had. Gerry :-)} London, Canada
On Thu, 15 Nov 2007 19:20:54 -0500, Gerald Miller wrote: SNIP
Hey Gerry,
A RAPIDMAN-8 I bet !! The calculator had 8 tiny nixie tube style readout, and only the 4 functions plus a "K" key that was a single number memory. Think I've still got mine if I look hard enough. Funny thing is, in late 1970 they were $ 119.95 at Eaton's, plus $4.95 for the little transformers that have come to be called "wall-warts". The calculators of today with all that they can do cost probably under $10, but the wall-warts are still $4.95 !!!!
The only point I can dispute is that I seem to remember it as the 800, a green box 3.5 x 5 x 1" or thereabout powered by 4 AA's IIRC. I never did buy it, but SWMBO got me one from Simpson's a year latter and when it broke they returned it for repair, a broken open box came back to the store. When I went in to pick it up and pointed out that the box was empty save for the "wall wart" I was given a store credit for the full purchase price which I then traded for a Digimatic D-8 and a dollar in change. Gerry :-)} London, Canada
According to Gerald Miller :
My first electronic calculator was a Cannon "Printronic". The display was a line of print on some narrow thermal print tape which was stepped past the print head and displayed in a window, and then continued on out the side of the machine. Then I got a chance at an HP-45 and the other was pretty much ignored from then on.
Following that were the HP-65, the HP-15C and finally a HP-16C to keep it company in my belt pouch.
Enjoy, DoN.
As long as everyone here is getting blurry eyed and reminiscing, you might find this website interesting to peruse for a few minutes:
I bought at a business store a 12 digit nixie 4 banger with memory for $600. I was a professor at the time and did so much adding and dividing...
Then the SR50 came out. I was TI until I bought my HP 28C. Had the strip machine and strips - it was a waste after a while - crapped out. Had the HP ?? logic math - hex and all that.
The best one I saw and it never made it out of the labs - it test trialled in the test labs - it used large pattern for symbols and graphics - LED array that was 9x13 something like that. Nice numbers.
Mart> >
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