Computers & Business Machines

• 

  NCR Class 18-22 Electronic Calculator

  Description

  In the late 1960s and 1970s, desktop electronic calculators replaced mechanical adding and calculating machines. The Nippon Calculating Machine Corporation of Japan sold such machines under the brand name Busicom. It also supplied other firms with electronic calculators sold under other names. This is a Busicom electronic calculator sold by the Dayton, Ohio, firm of NCR.

  The machine has nine digit keys and a 0 bar. Clear and clear entry keys are left of the digit keys. Keys to the right of the digit keys are for the four arithmetic operations and memory access. Apparently nine or ten digit numbers may be entered, with results of up to twelve digits.

  A tag attached at the top reads: NCR. A tag attached to the back reads; NCR (/) Class 18-22. It also reads: THE NATIONAL CASH REGISTER COMPANY. (/) MADE IN JAPAN. It also reads: NO. 1-9940221. This serial number indicates a date of 1972.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1972

  maker

  Nippon Electric Co.

  ID Number

  1987.0339.01

  accession number

  1987.0339

  catalog number

  1987.0339.01

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Wang LOCI-2 Electronic Calculator

  Description

  One of the first programmable electronic calculators, this instrument was announced in 1964 and sold from 1965. It was designed by An Wang (1920-1990) and his associates. Wang, a native of Shanghai, immigrated to the United States after World War II, studied computer science at Harvard University, and worked at the Harvard Computation Laboratory. He started his own business in 1951, producing magnetic core memories and other electronic equipment on order. The LOCI or “logarithmic calculating instrument” was the first product marketed by the company. Two versions of the machine were announced: the LOCI I, which was not programmable, and the LOCI II, which was.

  The desktop machine has nine digit keys arranged in an array, as well as a zero bar and a decimal point key. Depressing other keys changes the sign of the number, shifts the decimal point, shifts from the logarithmic to the work register, and shifts from the work to the logarithmic register. Further keys are for arithmetic operations, squares, square roots, inverse squares, inverse square roots, inverse logarithms, and clearance of various registers. To the right are controls for the decrement counter, the program counter, and the operation code. According to company advertising, the machine offers ten-digit precision in addition and subtraction and eight-digit precision in multiplication, division, exponentiation, root extraction, and logarithm computation. It has five storage registers of ten-digit capacity and a ten-digit display, plus a display for the sign of the answer. A cooling fan and a cord are at the back. The card reader attachment that plugs into the back holds program cards.

  A tag on the front of the machine reads: LOCI-2. A tag on the back reads: ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS AND DEVICES (/) LOCI II (/) MODEL NO. 2AB (/) SERIAL NO. 2734 (/) TEWKSBURY, MASS. U.S.A. A paper tag on the back of the machine indicates that it was serviced 4/28/68, 9/12/68, and 2/9/71.

  According to a 1964 flier, the machine was to sell for $4,750.00. Kenney says that the initial price was $6,500. Wang Laboratories would go on to sell the 300 series of calculators (from 1966) and the 700 series (from 1969), and to manufacture minicomputers and networked microcomputers.

  For related objects and documents, see 1980.0096.02 through 1980.0096.10.

  Compare 1980.0096.01 with the later 1983.0171.01 (a Wang Series 700 calculator), and the even later 2011.0022.01 (a Wang Series 600 calculator).

  References:

  There is an extensive discussion of the LOCI II at the website of the Old Calculator Museum. See:http://www.oldcalculatormuseum.com/wangloci.html

  Wang Laboratories, Inc., “LOCI-2 Open New Vistas to your Personal Computing . . .,” Tewksbury, Ma., 1964. This is 1980.0096.08. A similar leaflet describes the LOCI-1 and has museum number 1980.0096.07.

  Charles C. Kenney, Riding the Runaway Horse: The Rise and Decline of Wang Laboratories, Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1992.

  date made

  1965 or later

  date received

  1980

  maker

  Wang Laboratories

  ID Number

  1980.0096.01

  catalog number

  1980.0096.01

  accession number

  1980.0096

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Accumatic 100 Electronic Calculator

  Description

  This small, desktop electronic calculator has ten digit buttons and a decimal point button on the left front. Five function buttons (for addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, total and canceling) are on the right front, along with an on/off button that causes the window over the display to rise. The calculator has a leather, cloth-lined case, which fits in a cardboard box. The paper instruction leaflet is dated 8/72. The instructions are given in English, French, German, and Spanish. The case has a space for a power adapter, but there is no adapter.

  This is one of the first electronic calculators sold to have a liquid crystal display. The chips in it were made by Rockwell and, according to a mark on the object, the calculator was: assembled in Mexico primarily of Unted States parts. The serial number of this example is 134939 and it was sold by Lloyd's Electronics, Inc. of Compton, Calif. (near Los Angeles). According to an advertisement of the period, it sold for $99.95.

  Compare 1990.0462.01, an Accumatic 70.

  Reference:

  Guy Ball and Bruce Flamm, The Complete Collector's Guide to Pocket Calculators, Tustin, Calif.: Wilson/Barnett Publishing, 1997, pp. 88–92.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1972

  maker

  Lloyd's Electronics

  ID Number

  2011.0186.01

  accession number

  2011.0186

  catalog number

  2011.0186.01

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Radio Shack LCD Mini Desktop EC-2003 Electronic Calculator

  Description

  This small desktop electronic calculator has a tan and brown plastic case and an array of twenty-four square plastic keys. These include ten digit keys, a decimal point key, a total key, four arithmetic function keys, three memory keys, a clear/clear memory key, a clear entry key, a percentage key, a square root key, and an off key.

  The eight-digit LCD display is behind the keys. A mark to the right of it reads: Radio Shack (/) LCD MINI-DESKTOP.

  The back of the calculator has a battery pack at the top. A sticker in the middle reads: Radio Shack MODEL NO. (/) EC2003 (/) Uses 2 Type AA Batteries (RS Cat. No. 23-552) (/) Custom manufactured in Hong Kong for Radio Shack (/) A Div of Tandy Corp Ft. Worth TX76102.

  Compare 1986.0988.007, which sold for somewhat more.

  References:

  Radio Shack, A Tandy Company, 1983 Catalog No. 354, p. 169, accessed September 22, 2014. The price listed for the calculator is $19.95.

  Radio Shack, A Tandy Company, 1984 Catalog No. 367, p. 167, accessed September 22, 2014. The price listed for the calculator is $14.95.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1983-1984

  maker

  Tandy Corporation

  ID Number

  1986.0988.033

  catalog number

  1986.0988.033

  accession number

  1986.0988

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  SCM Marchant Cogito 240 Electronic Calculator

  Description

  This ten-key, non-printing electronic desktop calculator performs the four arithmetic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The factors and results are stored in three registers, two of twelve-digit capacity and the third, of twenty-four digits. The content of these registers appears in three rows on a cathode ray tube display. The top row (K) shows the entry from the keyboard, the second row (Q) the second factor or the quotient, and the third row (P) the total, product, or dividend.

  In front of the display is the keyboard, with an array of digit keys at the center, keys for arithmetic functions and memory on the right, and on the left reset, register transfer, register entry, recall, and exchange keys.

  A mark on the left front of the machine reads: SCM MARCHANT. A mark behind the keyboard and below the screen reads: COGITO 240.

  In the summer of 1965, the SCM Marchant Division of SCM Corporation announced that it would begin to sell the company’s first electronic calculators that fall. These were the Cogito 240 and a similar machine, the Cogito 240SR, which also had the ability to take square roots. The 240 was to sell for $2,195, and the 240SR for $2,395. The machines were manufactured at a company plant in Oakland, California.

  According to Bensene, the machine was designed by computer pioneer Stanley Frankel, who had worked on the Manhattan Project, run programs on the ENIAC computer, headed the Computation Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology, and contributed to the design of minicomputers such as the LGP-30 and the Packard-Bell PB-250. Frankel worked on the design at Computron Corporation, a subsidiary of the California firm of Electrosolids. Not long after the British firm of Sumlock Comptometer released a desktop electronic calculator in 1961 (see the Anita Mark VIII), SCM acquired Computron Corporation, and Frankel and his team moved there to develop the Cogito 240.

  The calculator was quickly replaced by other electronic calculators in the SCM line. SCM dropped out of the calculator business entirely in 1972.

  References:

  R. Bensene, “SCM Marchant Cogito 240SR Electronic Desktop Computer,” at the website The Old Calculator Museum, accessed March 28, 2013.

  SCM Marchant, Cogito 240-240SR Service Manual & Parts List, Oakland, Calif.: SCM Corporation, 1965. This is 1979.3084.72.

  W. D. Smith, “Electronic Calculators Gaining,” New York Times, August 7, 1965, p. 25.

  “Presenting a new, highly advanced electronic calculator the Cogito 240,” Los Angeles Times, June 17, 1965, p. B10. Similar advertisements ran in the Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, and New York Times.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1966

  maker

  SCM Corporation

  ID Number

  CI.335373

  accession number

  318944

  catalog number

  335373

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Ribbon for a Monroe EPIC 3000 Electronic Calculator

  Description

  This two-color ribbon is for a Monroe EPIC 3000 electronic calculator, with its paper box. One feature of the machine highly touted in advertisements was its ability to print entries and results of calculations, unlike some other electronic calculators.

  For related objects, see the rest of accession 1983.0471.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1966

  ID Number

  1983.0471.02

  accession number

  1983.0471

  catalog number

  1983.0471.02

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  AC Adaptor for Sharp EL-8 Electronic Calculator

  Description

  This black box for charging the battery on a Sharp EL-8 electronic calculator has two cords. One plugs into the wall, the other into the calculator. A tag on the bottom reads in part: SHARP MODEL EL-81. It also reads: 1016024. A tag on the top reads: SHARP (/) AC ADATOR. The device has a black plastic carrying case. Dimensions do not include case.

  See 1981.0992.05.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1971

  ca 1971

  maker

  Sharp Corporation

  ID Number

  1981.0922.05.1

  accession number

  1981.0922

  catalog number

  1981.0922.05.1

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Sharp EL-8 Electronic Calculator

  Description

  This compact Japanese electronic calculator straddles the border between desktop and pocket calculators. It is too large to fit in the pocket but considerably more compact than Sharp’s QT-8B. It does not require a cradle to recharge batteries.

  The calculator has an array of nine digit keys, with larger 0 and decimal point keys below. Right of these are a clear key, a key for indicating that multiplication (rather than addition) should be carried out, a key for indication that division (rather than subtraction) should be carried out, and a key for multiplication or division. The machine has an eight-digit capacity for all operations. In back of the keyboard is an eight-digit display. Above these are alarm and error indicators. A switch is on the side shifts between AC operation, off, and DC operation.

  A mark on the front reads: SHARP. A tag on the back reads in part: SHARP MODEL EL-8. It also reads: NO. 1021694 (/) SHARP ELECTRONICS CORPORATION (/) 10 KEYSTONE PLACE, PARAMUS (/) NEW JERSEY 07652 MADE IN JAPAN. An AC adaptor comes with the device and is assigned number 1981.0922.05.1. The dimensions given do not include the adaptor, the case for the adapter, or the case for the calculator.

  Inside the instrument are six nickel-cadmium batteries in a case, a calculator circuit board, a display circuit board, and eight tubes for the display. The four integrated circuits on the calculator board were made by North American Rockwell. A stamp below the calculator circuit board reads: 1021694.

  The battery cover is marked in part: SHARP MODEL EL-84 (/) NICKEL-CADMIUM (/) RECHARGEABLE BATTERY. It also is marked: SHARP CORPORATION OSAKA, JAPAN. Hayakawa Electric adopted the name Sharp Corporation in January of 1970.

  The SHARP EL-8 was widely advertised in the United States from early 1971 and sold for $345. This example was used by NMAH curator John White. An invoice received with the device (part of 1981.0922.05.2) indicates that he purchased it October 30, 1971.

  Compare a slightly earlier Sharp machine, the model QT-8B (2006.0132.22). Also compare three versions of the EL-8 (1982.0656.01, 1981.0922.05, and 1991.0154.01).

  References:

  Examples of the Sharp EL-8 are discussed online at the Vintage Calculators Web Museum, The Old Calculators Web Museum, John Wolff’s Web Museum and the Datamath Calculator Museum.

  Guy Ball and Bruce Flamm, The Complete Collector’s Guide to Pocket Calculators, Tustin, Calif.: Wilson/Barnett Publishing, 1997, pp. 136–137.

  J. R. Free, “Microelectronics Shrinks the Calculator,” Popular Science, 198 #6, June 1971, pp. 74–76.

  “How to Cut a Pocket Calculator in Half,” Electronics, 44. February 1, 1971, no page. An ad for the EL-8 (called the ELSI-8) appeared on pp. 12–13 of this issue.

  Sharp Electronic Calculator with ELSI Compet ELSI-8 Model EL-8 Instruction Manual, no date. This is 1981.0933.05.2.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1971

  maker

  Sharp Corporation

  ID Number

  1981.0922.05

  accession number

  1981.0922

  catalog number

  1981.0922.05

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Remington 1259S Electronic Calculator

  Description

  This small desktop scientific electronic calculator has nine digit keys, a zero bar, and a decimal point key at the center. Above these keys are two rows of keys for 16 scientific functions. On the left are a change sign key, a decimal selector (ranging from 0 to 8), and keys for memory recall, positive accumulation, memory clear, and negative accumulation. A switch allows one to choose between floating, round-off, or cut-off of decimals. On the right front are keys for positive result, negative result, multiplication, division and storage. The power switch is on the right side at the back. The Nixie tube readout shows up to 12 digits. The donor typed up a table giving the accuracy of 11 of the function keys, and taped the paper to the machine at the back. The cord is missing. The machine is marked at the front: REMINGTON 1259S. A tag on the bottom has the serial number: 305491. That tag also reads in part: MADE IN JAPAN. The black plastic cover is marked: REMINGTON (/) SPERRY RAND.

  A yellow sheet received with the machine reads: Remington (/) 1259S (/) The scientific (/) calculator with 16 specific mathematical functions. A pamphlet entitled "Remington 1259S Operators Instruction Manual," and an advertisement announcing a special on the machine, complete the accession. The ad indicates that the machines sold to dealers for $346 and had a suggested retail price of $495.

  According to the donor, Steven Lett, his father, office machines dealer Joseph E. Lett III, brought this machine home for his son to explore.

  Like other American firms, Sperry Rand imported desktop electronic calculators from Japan. Compare this machine to the Casio fx-1.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1972

  maker

  Casio

  ID Number

  2011.0108.01

  accession number

  2011.0108

  catalog number

  2011.0108.01

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Friden Model 1150 Desktop Electronic Calculator

  Description

  This electronic calculator was introduced by the Friden Division of Singer Company in 1968. It was the first printing calculator sold by that company. The instrument has an array of nine square plastic keys for entering digits as well as a zero bar and a decimal point bar. Right of the digit keys are addition and subtraction keys. Left are other function keys. Above these keys are memory, clearance and duplication keys. At the top left is a place for a paper tape.

  A mark on the front of the calculator reads: Friden. Another mark there reads: 1150 ELECTRONIC PRINTING CALCULATOR. According to the accession file, the machine has serial number 532. According to contemporary newspaper advertisements, it sold for $1,495 at a time when rival electronic printing calculators cost between $2,250 and $3,800.

  References:

  Accession File.

  [Advertisement], Washington Post, March 19 1968, p. 23.

  [Advertisement], New York Times, February 27 1968, p. 68.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1968

  maker

  Friden, Inc.

  ID Number

  CI.334381

  catalog number

  334381

  accession number

  313935

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Logic Unit for the Green Machine, A Prototype Desktop Electronic Calculator

  Description

  As a graduate student in electrical engineering at the University of California – Berkeley, Thomas E. Osborne began thinking about the design of a desktop electronic calculator that could compute the very large and very small numbers encountered in scientific work. In January of 1964 he formed the firm Logic Design, Inc., to develop his ideas. By late 1964 he had built a prototype keyboard and display (1978.0311.01), as well as this prototype logic unit.

  The framework of the logic unit is a group of five rectangular perforated boards, arranged in the shape of a box. Numerous smaller boards are perpendicular to the base and to three of the sides. Metal supports are along the base of two opposite sides. Circuit components include transistors, resistors, capacitors, diodes, and a plug. A second plug is loose in the box.

  Elements of the green machine were incorporated in Hewlett-Packard’s first commercial electronic calculator, the HP9100. For a prototype of that machine, see 1978.0311.03. For related documentation, see invention notebooks and photographs by Osborne (1978.0311.03 through 1978.0311.14). For purchase orders of components used in the prototype, see 1985.0264.01.

  References:

  Bernard M. Oliver, “How the Model 9100A Was Developed,” Hewlett-Packard Journal, September, 1968. A copy of this article is at the HP Museum website.

  The website of the University of Wyoming contains biographical information about Osborne.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1964

  date received

  1978

  maker

  Osborne, Thomas E.

  ID Number

  1978.0311.02

  accession number

  1978.0311

  catalog number

  1978.0311.02

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Sharp QT-8B Micro Compet Electronic Calculator

  Description

  This Japanese-made non-printing electronic calculator is a relatively small and light desktop machine. It has an array of nine digit keys with a 0 and a decimal key below these. On the right are a clearance key, a key for indicating that multiplication (rather than addition) should be carried out, a key for indication that division (rather than subtraction) should be carried out, and a key for multiplication or division. The machine has an eight-digit capacity for all operations. In back of the keyboard is an eight-digit display. The on-off switch is on the side.

  A mark on the front left reads: SHARP. A mark on the front right reads: microCompet. A mark behind the display reads: CORDLESS. A tag attached to the back reads in part: SHARP QT-8B (/) CORDLESS MICRO COMPET/. It also says in part: NO. 0067148 (/) SHARP ELECTRONICS CORPORATION (/) 10 KEYSTONE PLACE, PARAMUS (/) NEW JERSEY 07652 MADE IN JAPAN. The black carrying case has a handle.

  The calculator fits into a plastic battery unit. The unit is plugged into the wall to operate the machine on alternating current or to charge the adapter. To operate the machine on direct current, the plug is not used and the switch is turned off. A mark on the back of the adapter reads: MICRO COMPET ADAPTOR. The adaptor has a gray cloth cover.

  The instruction manual that comes with the calculator indicates that the machine incorporates four ELSIs (Extra Large Scale Integrations) with one 4-phase clock generator. The calculator was advertised in American newspapers from mid-1970 into 1971. The QT-8B (with the battery pack) cost $495.

  References:

  Sharp Electronics Corporation, SHARP Electronic Calculator with ELSI Micro COMPET QT-8B Instruction Manual, no date.

  [advertisement], Los Angeles Times, July 29, 1970, p. G5.

  [advertisement], Chicago Tribune, December 2, 1970, p. G5.

  [advertisement], The New York Times, January 9, 1971, p. 41.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1970

  maker

  Sharp Corporation

  ID Number

  2006.0132.22

  catalog number

  2006.0132.22

  accession number

  2006.0132

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Hewlett-Packard 9100B Desktop Electronic Calculator

  Description

  This programmable desktop electronic scientific calculator has a beige metal case, a cathode ray tube display, a keyboard with four groups of keys, and a slot for a magnetic program card. The leftmost set of 15 tan keys includes coordinate conversion, logarithmic, exponential, trigonometric, and absolute value function keys. A switch above it can be set at degrees or radians.

  The set of 15 ivory and dark brown keys second from the left allows for the positioning and storage of numbers in different registers. Next to the right is a set of 20 brown and ivory keys to enter numbers and to specify machine functions. The rightmost set of 14 tan keys is used for programming.

  Five hand-wound circuit boards are inside the case, and three smaller circuit boards are inside the lid. There is a white power cord. A sticker on the back of the machine reads: SERIAL NUMBER (/) 938-02147.

  The Crocker Nuclear Laboratory of the University of California at Davis acquired this machine in May of 1970 for a price of $5,195.00. Funds came from the Atomic Energy Commission’s Experimental Nuclear Physics program.

  For related prototypes, see the green machine of Thomas Osborne (198.0311.01, 1978.0311.02) and the prototype HP9100A (1978.0311.03).

  Reference:

  Accession File.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1970

  date received

  2012

  maker

  Hewlett-Packard Company

  ID Number

  2012.0044.01

  accession number

  2012.0044

  catalog number

  2012.0044.01

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Unisonic XL-101 Electronic Calculator

  Description

  This lightweight, non-printing electronic calculator has an array of nine digit keys at the center with a zero bar and a decimal point key below these. On the right are arithmetic and clear keys. On the left are percentage, percent change, gross profit margin, item count, clear memory, recall memory, memory subtraction, and memory addition keys. A switch between a floating and a fixed decimal point, a constant switch, and a power switch are above the keyboard. Behind is a ten-digit vacuum fluorescent diode display. A cabinet has space for two D batteries. A hole for a cord is at the back, but there is no cord.

  A mark on the front of the machine reads: Unisonic XL-101. A label on the back reads in part: Unisonic XL-101 (/) 10-DIGIT DESK-TOP (/) ELECTRONIC CALCULATOR. It also reads in part: SERIAL NO. 055588 (/)MADE IN TAIWAN. The bottom of the keyboard is stamped: 53 3 24. The interior of the calculator has a single circuit board with a mark on the bottom that reads: 5212232. A mark on the top of the base of the keyboard reads: CA-24 A-1. The chip by Texas Instruments has a mark that reads: TMC1073NL (/) KSLP 814. The “7814” indicates that the chip was made in the 14th week of 1978.

  The device has a black plastic cover marked: Unisonic.

  Compare the Radio Shack EC-2001 (1986.0998.007) and Lloyd’s Accumatic 680 (1986.0988.006). Radio Shack advertised the EC-2001 in American newspapers as early as 1978 and as late as 1985. Ads for the Unisonic XL-101 appeared in 1979 and 1980. Prices for the Unisonic XL-101 ranged from $19.70 to $29.95

  References:

  [advertisement], Boston Globe,February 25, 1979, p. 23.

  [advertisement], Washington Post, March 13, 1980, p. A16.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1978

  maker

  Unisonic Products Corporation

  ID Number

  1986.0988.004

  catalog number

  1986.0988.004

  accession number

  1986.0988

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Victor Tallymate Desktop Electronic Calculator, Model 85

  Description

  This four-function desktop electronic calculator has a turquoise plastic case with plastic keys in two shades of the same color. The keyboard has an array of nine digit keys with a zero bar and a decimal point key below these. Above the digit keys are clear entry, clear all, and subtraction keys. On the right is a division key and bars for multiplication and addition. Switches behind the keyboard turn the device on or off and determine the position of the decimal point in result. Behind the switches is an eight-digit display. Behind these is a battery indicator as well as two warning lights, one labeled OFL (for overflow) and the other NEG (for negative numbers).

  A case for six AA batteries is on the bottom of the machine. No batteries are present. A jack for a power adapter or cord is at the back, but the adapter is not present.

  A mark on the front reads: VICTOR (/) tallymate. A tag in the bottom gives instructions for using the calculator. It reads in part: MODEL – 85 (/) SERIAL NO. 059311 (/) MADE IN JAPAN (/) FOR VICTOR COMPTOMETER BUSINESS MACHINES DIVISION (/) CHICAGO ILLINOIS 60618.

  According to the website of Victor Technology, the successor firm to Victor Comptometer, the calculator has a MOS-LSI calculator chip (the TMS0105) from Texas Instruments, and a vacuum fluorescent display module from ISE (DP88F). It was introduced in 1972. A newspaper advertisement from late 1973 gives a price of $79.95. Another ad, from early 1974, lists a sale price of $99.95, down from a regular price of $159.50.

  References:

  Website of Victor Technology, http://www.victortech.com/.

  [Advertisement], Los Angeles Times, December 20, 1973, p. D4.

  [Advertisement], New York Times, January 2, 1974, p. 12.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1973

  maker

  Victor Comptometer Corporation

  ID Number

  1986.0988.062

  catalog number

  1986.0988.062

  accession number

  1986.0988

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Wang Loci-2 Card Reader

  Description

  The Wang LOCI II is one of relatively few calculators that had a variety of peripheral equipment. Included in the price of the machine was this metal card reader, painted light blue. It read specially designed punched program cards. A card is in the reader.

  A mark on the bottom of the card reader reads: Wang Laboratories, Inc. (/) ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS AND DEVICES (/) LOCI CARD READER (/) MODEL NO. [blank] (/) SERLAL NO. 22806 (/) TEWKSBURY, MASS. U.S.A.

  For further information about the LOCI II, see 1980.0096.01.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1965 or later

  maker

  Wang Laboratories

  ID Number

  1980.0096.01.1

  accession number

  1980.0096

  catalog number

  1980.0096.01.1

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Lloyd's Model Y204 Power Adapter

  Description

  This power supply has a black plastic case and a black and white cord. A mark on a silver-colored sticker reads: LLOYD’S (/) MODEL Y204 (/) SERIES 279A (/) ADAPT-O-PAK (/) INPUT: 117 V 60Hz 3W (/) OUTPUT: 9V DC 100mA (/) TAIWAN. This adapter is used with the Lloyd’s E680-3 desktop electronic calculator (see 1986.0988.006).

  Location

  Currently not on view

  maker

  Lloyd's Electronics

  ID Number

  1986.0988.377

  catalog number

  1986.0988.377

  accession number

  1986.0988

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Wang 600 Electronic Calculator

  Description

  This desktop programmable printing calculator has a variety of digit and function keys. Above these, on the right side, is a space that holds a cassette tape. Left of this is a small display screen. Above the screen is the printing mechanism with a paper tape 9 cm. (3 1/2") wide. A metal tag glued to the front left reads: WANG 600. A sticker on the back of the machine reads: WANG LABORATORIES INC (/) TEWKSBURY MASS U.S.A. Another mark there reads: MODEL 600 2TP (/) SERIAL NUMBER CC5187.

  An electric cord extends from the back. The machine has a plastic cover. The dimensions given do not include cord and cover.

  Chinese-born An Wang (1920–1990) came to the United States after World War II to do graduate work at Harvard University. Not wishing to return to a Communist regime, he stayed on to work at the Harvard Computation Laboratory, where he and Way Dong Woo invented magnetic core memory, an important improvement in computer memory for the time. Wang soon left Harvard to establish Wang Laboratories. In the mid-1960s, he invented a transistorized logarithmic electronic calculator that would sell in several forms. The Wang 600 is a modified and less expensive version of the earlier Wang 700. Wang soon turned his attention to the manufacture of minicomputers.

  The Smithsonian’s Conservation Analytical Laboratory acquired this Wang 600 in about 1974. When it was replaced in 1983, it was transferred to the NMAH historical collections.

  Compare 1983.0171.01, a Wang 700 series calculator, and 1980.0096.01, a Wang LOCI 2.

  Reference:

  Accession File.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1974

  maker

  Wang Laboratories

  ID Number

  2011.0022.01

  accession number

  2011.0022

  catalog number

  2011.0022.01

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Monroe EPIC 3000 Electronic Calculator

  Description

  In 1966, Monroe International, Inc., a descendent of the Monroe Calculating Machine Company and a division of Litton Industries, introduced its EPIC electronic programmable printing calculator. The device includes a desktop keyboard and printing unit, and an attached calculating unit that sits on the floor. It has transistors, but not microprocessors.

  At the center of the desktop part of the machine is an array of nine digit keys with a 0 bar below it. To the right of these keys are function keys for the four arithmetic operations as well as a square root key and enter and print bars. To the left of the digit keys are keys for start, decimal point placement, interchange of the contents of two registers, repeat, and other operations. The printing mechanism is behind the keyboard. It displayed entries as well as the answer. A mark next to the paper tape reads: EPIC 3000. A mark below this reads: MONROE li.

  Monroe also sold a similar electronic calculator called the EPIC 2000.

  The calculator was given to the Museum by George C. Davis, who apparently used it in work as a consulting engineer in radio and television in Washington, D.C.

  References:

  Accession file, instructions 1983.0471.03.

  Personal Communication, Monroe Systems for Business.

  Vintage Calculators Web Museum.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1966

  maker

  Monroe International Corporation

  ID Number

  1983.0471.01

  accession number

  1983.0471

  catalog number

  1983.0471.01

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Friden Model 130 Desktop Electronic Calculator

  Description

  This is one of the first fully transistorized electronic calculators. The hefty instrument has an array of nine square plastic digit keys, with a zero bar and a decimal point bar below these. In addition to keys for the four arithmetic operations, it has change sign, enter, repeat, clear entry, clear all, store, recall, and overflow lock keys. A decimal point selector dial is on the right.

  In entering arithmetic operations into the calculator, one first keys in a number, then pushes the enter key, then keys in the second number, and then pushes the key for the operator (e.g. the + key for addition). This way of representing arithmetic operations is known as reverse Polish notation, and would be used on several electronic calculators.

  Behind the keyboard is a cathode ray tube display that shows four rows of numbers. Each line shows 13 digits. If the numbers are smaller, the digits to the left are zeroes. The bottom line of the display shows the answers, and numeric entries as they are entered.

  Tags on the front and on the back of the machine read: Friden. A mark on the front next to the display reads: 130 ELECTRONIC CALCULATOR. A mark on the bottom at the front reads: MODEL 130 SER 9479.

  The Friden Calculating Machine Company began manufacturing mechanical calculating machines in California in the 1930s. In 1963 Friden was acquired by Singer Company. In August of 1964, the Friden 130 electronic calculator went on the market, selling for $2,150. Within a year, the price was down to $1,695. Friden soon introduced the 132 electronic calculator, which took square roots.

  References:

  W. D. Smith, “Electronic Calculators Gaining,” New York Times, August 7, 1965, p. 25, 27.

  [advertisement], Science, n.s. vol. 151, no. 3708 (21 January 1966), p. 367.

  Mathematics for the Space Age: The Totally New Friden 130 Electronic Calculator, undated advertising booklet.

  An extensive discussion of the development of the Friden 130 is at the Old Calculators Web Museum.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1964

  maker

  Friden, Inc.

  ID Number

  CI.334377

  catalog number

  334377

  accession number

  313935

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

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