Accession No
6053
Brief Description
Sinclair Cambridge Programmable electronic pocket calculator; with case, AC adapter and related print material; 1977
Origin
England
Maker
Sinclair
Class
calculating; computer technology
Earliest Date
1978
Latest Date
1979
Inscription Date
Material
Plastic; leatherette; metal (copper); paper
Dimensions
[calculator] length 111mm; width 45mm; thickness 22mm [box of print material] length 227mm; width 178mm; height 47mm
Special Collection
Provenance
Donated on or before 23/09/2004.
Inscription
“sinclair
Cambridge Programmable” (front, centre left)
“10 CB2 2HH” (reverse; remains of owner's address)
Description Notes
Sinclair Cambridge Programmable electronic pocket calculator; with case, AC adapter and related print material; 1977.
White Sinclair Cambridge Programmable.
Red LED display, with purple background.
Battery cover raised.
Leatherette case. Sinclair AC adapter.
Black card box with white and gold printed markings - “Sinclair Cambridge Programmable”. Box contains:
1. Program Library: 4 paperback books (white covers) in card sleeve, on ‘General / Financial / Statistics’; ‘Mathematics’; ‘Physics & Engineering’; and ‘Electronics’
2. Small paperback pamphlet (black cover) entitled ‘Operating Instructions’
3. Small paperback pamphlet (white cover) containing 294 programs - entitled ‘Works out mortgage repayments, solves quadratic equations, calculates linear regression, helps design a twin-T filter, plays a lunar landing game’
4. 1 glossy A4 advertising leaflet for the calculator, quoting the price of the item (£15.95 + 8% VAT) and outlining its features etc.
5. Original receipt for the item
[Note: This box of print material was deposited by Pamela Morris at the Whipple on 18/4/07, several years after her initial donation of the calculator itself. She turned up the material while moving house, and felt that it should be added to the material she had already donated.]
Condition: Good; complete
References
Events
Description
Pocket Electronic Calculator
The pocket electronic calculator is now familiar to us all. However, these everyday objects were still a novelty in the early 1970s and priced out of the reach of most customers. To our modern eyes, the operation of a calculator is quite simple, at least for basic arithmetic. We just push the buttons and the machine does the hard part for us. Since calculators never make mistakes, we need never worry about what goes on inside.
Behind the buttons and screen lies a complex set of miniature circuits. It is the ability of electronics firms to make smaller and smaller components that has led to the success of the calculator. All the electronic circuits that provide the calculating power can now fit onto tiny ‘chips’ of silicon. By also developing the technology for liquid crystal displays (LCD’s), manufacturers were able to shrink calculators even further. When solar power arrived towards the end of the 1970s they could even be made without batteries. Prices fell whilst popularity soared.
Despite all this technology, successful use of the calculator still relies on the knowledge of the operator. The latest machines pack in countless functions and require a large instruction manual. Their increasing power has led to debates about their proper use in schools. The widespread use of calculators – at school, home and in the office – has been blamed for falling standards of arithmetic.
This is in contrast with the early days of calculator use. During the 1970s, a number of textbooks were published to encourage people to use what was still an unfamiliar instrument. These would give examples of how calculators could help with anything, from income tax forms to the weekly shopping list!
FM:46523
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