A posting today on OneTubeRadio mentions that in March 1973, handheld calculators were beginning to be available for less than $100. These calculators were quite simple, usually performing only the four basic math functions.
It was then that I started working DX on a regular basis. A common part of QSO info exchanged included temperature, height of antenna, etc.
I was not at all fluent in the metric system at the time so Radio Shack's 'Metric Conversion' calculator was both my crutch and my teacher. It even calculates square roots - super advanced!
A lot of radios have come and gone in the past 42 years but these two items seem to have the staying power that comes from continued usability.
I'd forgotten that I had the calculator - it took a cross-country move, with the requisite packing/unpacking, to find it.
The battery was long dead, of course, but a new battery and a bit of cleaning brought the old device right back to life.
Adjusting for inflation, its equivalent cost back then was $84.
A worthy investment I think. Little could I have known as the 20-year old buyer of this calculator that a future version of myself - a grandfather, retiree, old fart, etc - would still be using it.
.
.
I didn’t know how old the Nye Viking paddles were. I just remember buying the used probably in the 70s at a Hamfest. Still using them today too.
ReplyDeleteHi Max,
DeleteI don't know when they quit making them either but I get a lot of questions/comments on them. I bought mine from a man/Elmer name Ed Perkins W5TKZ (SK) at a Lafayette Radio store - remember those...? Ed taught Morse lessons in his store back in the 70's. Learned Morse Code there, bought my 1st and 2nd rigs (Ten Tec Century21, Yaesu FT-101EE) from him, and the Nye paddles.
73,
John
THe TI-36 Solar Caculator dates back to 1986, and I bought one shortly after they came out for use in my office at Simon Fraser University. I soon bought a second one for use at home—even on my low salary it was cheap enough that I could afford a second one. When I retired in 1997 I brought the office one home with me. By then it had been used so much that the decimal point button had become intermittent but the cure was simple—just tap it several times. Eventually some other buttons became intermittent and, sadly, I took it to the recycling centre. I still have and use the one bought for home use. It's sitting right here next to the computer. Works fine, and I've never had to replace its (non-existent) batteries. Other than a GE SuperRadio and an ancient Heathkit multimeter, I think it's the oldest piece of electronic equipment I have.
ReplyDeleteDavid VE7EZM and AF7BZ
There is an online "Calculator Museum" here:
Deletehttp://www.datamath.org/
Unfortunately, they don't mention the prices of calculators when they were first introduced. Who would've thought back then that calculators with advanced functions would someday be available for the same price as 5 gallons of gasoline?
73,
John