TI-30 vs Desktop Calculators Teardown -- The Electronics Inside 45

element14 Presents | About David | Project Videos | The Electronics Inside

I guess most people are used to modern scientific calculators, small, light, efficient, and inexpensive. But it wasn't always like this. Let's take a look at a turning point in history.

Supplemental Content:

The Electronics Inside 45: Bonus Content: Sharp Multi-Voltage Transformer

a531016 over 3 years ago in reply to DAB

Thanks DAB,

Lets just say that there are potential conversations ongoing for future episodes....
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a531016 over 3 years ago in reply to dkmmhdk

I'm 95% sure it wouldn't make any difference, but I'd be very upset with myself if i damaged something like this! I know it seems a little against my MO, but I do try not to permenately break old or rare things!

Also - If a job is worth doing, it's worth doing right!!
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DAB over 3 years ago

Nice tear down.
I remember seeing the first HP 35 calculator and quickly acquired the TI SR50 scientific calculator that I used through my college classes and on the job.

Now if you want a real challenge, see if you can get access to an old Friedman mechanical calculator.
We had one in the office in 1973 and it was amazing to see it solve problems.

DAB
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dkmmhdk over 3 years ago

Why so fussy about the power supply for the desk-calculator? Just use a step-down or an (isolation)-variable transformer, the difference between 50/60 Hz can't really mean anything to this kind of device, as it doesn't rely on the mains frequency to spin a motor at a constant speed, like clocks, tape deck, record players and so.
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