Pocket Calculators

[Buzz]

In the seventies. I was lucky that my Dad worked for a company called Singer Friden who were the the technical division of the Singer sewing machine company.

Anyway, one day my dad brought home three pocket calculators, one each for my two sisters and myself.
At the time they were the smallest calculators in the world. About the size of a video cassette case !!

He had paid about £50 EACH for them and that was with his staff discount !!

Remember taking it into school and all the staff and pupils were absolutely amazed that something so "small" was capable of doing what it did.
( add subtract divide and times --- Thats all

When you look today at the calculators that are wafer thin and about £1 each it is laughable.

Wish I still had my old calculator. I believe they sell for an absolute fortune.:cry:

Ah well....

Buzz

[Stockcarfan]

Re: Pocket Calculators

I still have mine form the 70's it's a Commodore 796M, it has a red LED display, it's a little shorter than a beer can and as wide as one and it still works. I don't have the box for it though. :cry:

[andria]

Re: Pocket Calculators

did anyone else used to spell out sill words with their calulator, such as shell, oil, legless, boobies(popular with the boys), etc - maybe it was just something we did.........

[sixtyten]

Re: Pocket Calculators

Nope..EVERYBODY did it, I still do when I get to use a calculator

[Heather74]

Re: Pocket Calculators

LOL Daz, Puts hand up we did it too.

[pedro]

Re: Pocket Calculators

Mines was Texas intruments calculator about the size of your average hard back book. It was rechargeable and cost £22 about two weeks wages?

[nogden]

Re: Pocket Calculators

i remember being so envious when i was in secondary school, i saw someone with a scientific calculator for the first time..... one of those big brick like ones with a hard plastic protective case the size of a small book lol

[Cal]

Re: Pocket Calculators

my dad bought an all singing and dancing texas instruments calculator in the early 80's.
cost a fortune back then.....i used to sneak it into school until i got a calculator watch.

[sixtyten]

Re: Pocket Calculators

I had the Casio VL-Tone. Can't ever remember using it to do calculations though

[SG1973]

Re: Pocket Calculators

did anyone else used to spell out sill words with their calulator, such as shell, oil, legless, boobies(popular with the boys), etc - maybe it was just something we did.........

My cousin's name is Leigh Ellis and I remember being dead jealous cos he could spell his whole name on a calculator - 51773 46137

[sixtyten]

Re: Pocket Calculators

The swine!

[diggermac]

Re: Pocket Calculators

My mate had one with a game on it. A line of numbers scrolled across the screen, and you had to push the number to zap it. hours of fun...

[Luddite]

Re: Pocket Calculators

Mines was Texas intruments calculator about the size of your average hard back book. It was rechargeable and cost £22 about two weeks wages?

Got one of those on me desk, still in daily use (to spell out boobies to the amusement and delight of my colleagues, obviously ).

[ziksby]

Re: Pocket Calculators

30 years old ... I think it wants a new battery ... duh
Amazingly thin ... only 3mm. The ruler is inches, so about 3x2 in its own wallet. I used it for about 10 years.


Its a SHARP EL-8140 from 1978

[yelever]

Re: Pocket Calculators

The one we had as kids was I think a casio which had a green led. My brother taught me a game on it which can be done on a calculator but being young I thought it was only on mine one lol. Oh the game was my brother would type in a random number and press divide twice then equals, I would then have to guess what number he put in and press equal, then a another number would come up on the screen say like 0.1122 then that would mean I would have to guess higher. If you guess to high then you get say 1.1533. If you get a 1 then you`ve guessed the number. This game kept me quiet for hours.