Sharp PC-1300S
Datasheet legend
Ab/c:
Fractions calculation
AC: Alternating current BaseN: Number base calculations Card: Magnetic card storage Cmem: Continuous memory Cond: Conditional execution Const: Scientific constants Cplx: Complex number arithmetic DC: Direct current Eqlib: Equation library Exp: Exponential/logarithmic functions Fin: Financial functions Grph: Graphing capability Hyp: Hyperbolic functions Ind: Indirect addressing Intg: Numerical integration Jump: Unconditional jump (GOTO) Lbl: Program labels LCD: Liquid Crystal Display LED: Light-Emitting Diode Li-ion: Lithium-ion rechargeable battery Lreg: Linear regression (2-variable statistics) mA: Milliamperes of current Mtrx: Matrix support NiCd: Nickel-Cadmium rechargeable battery NiMH: Nickel-metal-hydrite rechargeable battery Prnt: Printer RTC: Real-time clock Sdev: Standard deviation (1-variable statistics) Solv: Equation solver Subr: Subroutine call capability Symb: Symbolic computing Tape: Magnetic tape storage Trig: Trigonometric functions Units: Unit conversions VAC: Volts AC VDC: Volts DC |
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Sharp PC-1300S
Look what just arrived, straight from Tokyo: a true rarity, a first-generation magnetic card programmable calculator from Sharp, the PC-1300S. It is rare these days that I can hold in my hand a machine that is so completely different from other machines in my collection; the PC-1300S is truly unique, one of only a small handful of models that used magnetic cards for recording programs.
According to Yoshisuke Tsuji, who sent me this wonderful device from Japan (thank you!), the PC-1300S was less successful than it could have been; at the time, as part of a government-initiated effort to reduce Japan's tremendous trade surplus with the United States, many products were imported, including Hewlett-Packard calculators like the HP-67 and the HP-97, and the PC-1300S had to compete against those in the domestic marketplace.
The PC-1300S is called a "pocket computer", though you need rather roomy coat pockets to carry this machine about; nevertheless, it is a true portable, capable of operating from its built-in rechargeable battery.
It is described as programmable in "mini-FORTRAN", which is really just keystroke programming with some program control statements that were obviously inspired by the FORTRAN language. Loops are entered using DO and CNT (for continue); even the raise-to-the-power function is denoted using the double star, **, in true FORTRAN tradition.
Programs are shown in the machine's 16-character alphanumeric VFD display. The display is not very bright (I had to edit the scanned image on the right to increase the display contrast, and even so, the numbers are not very legible there) but it's still quite comfortable to use in normal office lighting conditions. Programs are shown symbolically (no cryptic keycodes here) and organized into lines; program labels are also available for easy keyboard access to subroutines. And, like its counterparts from Texas Instruments and Hewlett Packard, the Sharp PC-1300S also offers a slot over the display where a program card can be stored; any writing on the card appears here, identifying the functions of the A, B, C, X, and Y keys.
Programs can be listed using the built-in spark printer. The printer uses a lot of current; a fully charged battery is essential, otherwise any attempt to operate the printer just shuts down the calculator, even if it is connected to its wall charger. (This is not uncommon behavior; I've seen this in many other calculators, the current drawn by the printer exceeding the rated power of the adapter.)
Naturally, I could not resist playing with my 30-year old "new" machine. It has been quite a while since I last wrote a Gamma function test program for a completely new architecture! It's not very refined (I really ought to get back to work right now, as I have plenty on my "TO DO" list), but it works... Best of all, the calculator can record it flawlessly onto its hard plastic magnetic cards:
00; "A" 01; 1=>X 02; IF Z>5,GTO 6 03; X*Z=>X 04; Z+1=>Z 05; GTO 2 06; Z*LN Z-Z+LN (2*π/Z)/2+((((1/99/Z/Z-1/140)/Z/Z+1/105)/Z/Z-1/30)/Z/Z+1)/Z/12-LN X 07; END
Speaking of magnetic cards, it is curious that while American manufacturers, namely Hewlett Packard and Texas Instruments, opted to use a complicated, elaborate, motorized mechanism for card transport, both Sharp and Casio chose muscle power instead: the (hard) cards are slid through the reader slot by hand, not unlike the way credit cards are used today. Hewlett-Packard later adopted a similar mechanism for its HP-71B and HP-75C/HP-75D machines before abandoning magnetic card technology in calculators altogether.