Casio Biolator H-801

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Calculators: Handheld: Casio Biolator (aka H-801)

	Size (approx):	74mm x 125mm x23mm (w x h x d) Weight 104g not including batteries.
	Power:	3.0v DC using 2 x AA size batteries. Can accept an adapter/charger (AD-2S 0.2W) through a socket on the top side to the far left. Quoted battery life is 13 hours (manganese) and 34 hours (alkaline).
	Case:	Three piece case in black (rear), off-white (middle) and black (front) smooth plastic. All the edges are rounded making it quite nice to hold. The top recessed area holds a multi-coloured printed metallic panel. The middle recess holds an inset, flush and flat, neutral display filter that gives a bright image. The bottom recessed panel holds a brushed aluminium keyboard surround which has black printed text. The keys are typically Casio, medium-travel and squishy but they work well. My example has a back information panel label in Japanese only. The on/off switch is on the left hand side, roughly in line with the Casio logo.
	Display:	8 digit blue VFD with no ninth digit.
	Features:	Standard four functions with biorhythm functions.
	Age:	1975
	Manufacturer:	Casio Computer Co., Ltd., made in Japan. Serial number 2173130 on battery cover and 9114226 in the battery compartment.
	Comments:	This is not much of a calculator with no percentages or memory and only seven digit negative numbers. The Biolator functions are fun but the day and “number of days” functions are probably more useful. Unfortunately it is not Y2K compliant, valid dates for the 1990s only as it is a two-digit year entry system. The original cover is soft black plastic, open top with half-moon cut-outs.

Components:	1 x cpu: NEC µPD572C H5X266, 28 pin DIL 0.6" width 1 x glass round faced 8 digit VFD display; E6535A 2 x transistors 5 x diodes 3 x resistors 3 x resistor arrays 8 x capacitors 1 x transformer module: ZC CD-1010 TDK
Boards:	The keyboard assembly (CMK55HB) is fixed to the front with 4 screws and to the main board (C8P-1B) that sits on top by a 13 strong wires. There is a separate little transformer board attached to the main board.
Construction:	Remove the small screw inside the battery compartment. Separate by gently popping in the three small side lugs. The rear section will then come away.

Logic comments:	The (C) key is used to clear the last entry whilst the (AC) key clears the whole calculator. The (C) key will not function on date entry after the “day” entry.
	Input overflow is suppressed, typing in a ninth digit is ignored
	There is automatic constant on all four functions
	Negative numbers are indicated by a “-“ in the digit to the immediate left of the number but as there is no ninth digit to travel into you are limited to seven digit negative numbers.
	Overflow shows the nothing but “E” in the right (first) digit and is not recoverable.
	Divide by zero results in “E” in the right (first) digit and is not recoverable.
	Biolator (or Biorhythm): these functions are not Y2K compliant and can only be used between 1900 and 1999. Functions are operated thus;
	Day calculation: enter the date 5 Feb 1961 as (61)(Date)(2)(date)(5) and the first digit will indicate the day of the week (“0” for Sunday in this case)
	Number of days: You can enter dates like numbers so that subtracting 1 Jan 1980 from 1 Jan 1979 gives you “365” days; (1)(date)(1)(date)(80)(date)(-)(1)(date)(1)(date)(79)(date)(=)
	Biorhythm display: Enter the birth date and today’s date as above separated by (-) and press (BIO). You get a three number display “-PP.SS.II- as shown on the key label. From the label examine the P (Physical), S (Sensitivity/Emotional) and I (Intellectual) positions. Positive is good (peak days) middle is caution (critical days) and negative is bad (ebb days).
	According to the manual, on the day I was born I had a headache, was irresponsible and not very attentive – hmm, explains a lot.

	The (rather shabby) manual measures 100mm x 70mm and has 20 black and white pages. The majority of it, as you would expect is dedicated to Biorhythm instructions. Printed in Japan.