What was that line in Red Dwarf from Kreiten for his proof of robot heaven when asked about the existence of a robot heaven.
I think his answer was something like 'where do all the dead calculators go?'
At Kodak we had the mechanical Marchant caculators. They divided by subtracting. If you did not move the decimal point it would crank all day to get an answer. Tell that to the young people today and they won't believe you.
Bert
Bert, I remember using a mechanical calculator at CSR in 1973/4. It was fascinating watching it do division. The wheels clunked round and round!
Erick the Marchants were 20 digit accuracy and when it was in action stand clear! As young bad lads we would have competitions to see who could do the most dynamic computation!
I admit that I have a weakness for calculators - both new and vintage. My nerd gene is pretty dominant, so I'm putting it down to that. They'll have a cure one day I'm sure, but until then I can't wait for my new HP41CV to arrive. I landed it horribly cheaply... HP calculators are usually going for a fortune on eBay these days.
A couple of my favourites in my collection, some from from way-back:
Elektronika MK-61 (Russian RPN calculator from the mid-80's)
I've always loved HP's tactile keyboards and RPN logic rather than algebraic. The Russian MK-61 is really interesting too - and being heavily influenced by HP, the Russians made a fine calculator that's ultimately hackable. They didn't provide any safety features in the design, so you can access a pile of undocumented functions. I really like the green vacuum fluorescent display too.
Hmmmm... HP35 - the original hand-held scientific calculator.... I want one.... and a HP67CX... and a....
I have a dozen other "lesser" algebraic calclators floating around, like a couple of T.I.'s etc, (them's fightin' words to a T.I. owner - LOL!) but they don't hold the fascination for me for some reason. I wouldn't mind a Casio FX-702P programmable though - just because I had one years ago and loved it.
Chris, I know where you are coming from, mate.
My father, who worked in the financial sector for most of his life owned just about every single model of HP caluculator. He still have a couple left. I think I have one tucked away.
I used to collect vintage home computers, including:
IBM XT
IBM AT
Televideo TPC
various laptops from the mid-late 1980's
One each of Pentium 286, 386, 486 etc.
Apple IIe's
Apple Lisa and original Macs
Spectrum Z80 / Dick Smith VZ200/300
Tandy TRS80 and Commodore Vic 20 and 64.
All in mint condition, all working perfectly, and all with the software installed from their era. I started talks with another person about opening up a museum/permenant display somewhere, but never eventuated, so I sold them all to other collectors.
I still have a small collection of 5.25, 7.5 floppy discs, hard drives, and memory chips and have archived all the software I have owned from the last 25 years.
Back to calculators, about 30 years ago I owned a manual adding machine. It was about the size of a small typewriter but with only numbers and symbols. Along the top (where the ribbon would be in a normal typewriter) were a series of rotary dials with nuimbers on them. One the side was a lever (that was the "equals"). I wish I had of kept that, but like all young boys, I pulled it apart.
They would all have been hard to part with, but you sold your Lisa
Regrettably yes, Chris. They have all gone (hopefully) to other collectors. I have a real fascination for computers, and calculators and any other associated technology from the last 50 years. These sort of items should be preserved in some way before they are forgotten about. Fortunately there are people around the world who are doing this, including yourself
I also used to have a small collection of digital watched from the 1970's with LED digits, but they went long ago.
Yes, I too have always thought of a museum - or at least one that I'd have access to in order to use the equipment from time to time. I hate to see all the super-innovative, uber-cool stuff from the early days of personal computing just fade away.
I've told you guys before, but I remember actually unpacking the VERY first IBM PC ever to come into the country when I was at IBM in Kent St Sydney. A fellow systems engineer and I opened the boxes and out came a little beige thing and a monitor. We looked at each other and solemnly said "this is a toy and it'll never catch on - the mainframe is here forever."
I've thought of collecting IBM System 360 and System 370 mainframe components too, but I simply don't have the room. I'll just lament the fact that I know they are all crushed for their metals after a long life in a bank.
What was that line in Red Dwarf from Kreiten for his proof of robot heaven when asked about the existence of a robot heaven.
I think his answer was something like 'where do all the dead calculators go?'
Sorry!
Bert
Silicon Heaven. He used the line "There is no Silicon Heaven" to trigger an overload in his replacement
Ooh, I have one of those, twin 8 inch drives, rack width, two foot deep, and about 10 inches high. Can't remember what brand it is, possibly Cherry. Was SuperBrain the Lindfield company?
Also got a VZ200 and a VIC-20 in the shed. The VIC-20 I bought new when I was about 13, but hadn't saved enough to get the tape drive, so every time I wanted to use the computer I had to type the program in! It was about three months before I had enough to get the tape drive, but I used the computer many times every day in between!
A couple of mates and I bought a DataSaab D16 in our early 20's, but that went years ago. Look that one up in your Funken Wagnells!
Well.. the HP33's have arrived from Bert. Once again - thanks so very much Bert!
I've just dismantled the 33C and refurbished it inside and out. It's clean as a whistle (down to the last key) and works wonderfully on 1.5v AA's. I'll go down to Jaycar tomorrow and buy some new 1.2v NiCd batteries for it and the 33E, which I'm just repairing (re-rivetting and soldering) the spring contacts on before it'll go too.
The 33E is a fair whack heavier than the 33C which surprises me. It's of totally different construction internally, with removable LED array and steel-encased logic. Looks like they really revamped their construction techniques on the 33C and made them lighter and I dare say more cost effectively.
The museum collection has started, and Bert - they've come to a good home.
Chris), how'd you call that one Mick?
