Sharp Elsimate EL-209

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Calculators: Handheld: Sharp Elsimate EL-209

		Size:	77mm x 128.5mm x 20mm (max) (w,h,d) Whilst the manual states 77mm x 129mm x 19.5mm Weight 126g excluding batteries
		Power:	3V, 0.2W through 2 x AA size batteries. Also accepts adapter (3V, 0.35W DC EA-17E) which can be used as a charger through a socket on the top side on the far left. The back states you should use rechargeable battery EA-18B, 2.4V. The on/off switch is on the left hand side in line with the top line. Battery life is quoted at 12 hours (dry) and 10 hours (rechargeable) with a recharge time of 15 hours..
		Case:	Slim two piece plastic case, the front being black matt plastic and the back grey matt plastic. Small metallic sticker above the display is printed black for the company name and model number and sits in its own recess. An oversized green plastic display filter is flat and inset and gives a reasonable display - letting in a bit too much light. They keys are squishy but work well.
		Display:	8 digit green VFD with a ninth (right-most) digit used for negative and error indication
		Features:	4 function calculator with percentages and square root
		Age:	1980
		Manufacturer:	Sharp Corporation of Osaka, Japan. Made in Korea. Serial number 08031861 is on a sticker on the inside of the battery compartment.
		Comments:	Typical later compact Sharp that fits quite well in the hand especially with the on/off switch at perfect thumb position. Odd right hand digit use for error flags and minus is common to Sharp. The logic is sound. At such a late date it is odd to see the high component count and the use of metal panels in the keyboard design. This must have been one of the last VFD calculators. I suspect there may be a white version of this model in common with similar calculators. The original case is soft black plastic with open top, half-moon cut-outs either side and Sharp embossed on the front.

Components:	1 x cpu: Sharp LI2026A 0A5 029 (1980 date code), 28 pin DIL, 0.6" width black plastic 1 x 9 digit VFD; single glass tube flat faced, Futaba 9-ST-20 9K (1979 date code) Made in Korea 1 x transistor 4 x diodes 5 x capacitors 3 x resistors 1 x transformer; TDK 1457
Boards:	The main cpu board (F1746A) is fixed to the keyboard assembly by the three ribbon cable screws and is joined by a 16-way ribbon cable. The keyboard assembly is metal backed, very sturdy and fixed to the front with one screw.
Construction:	Remove the two screws from the back. Quite difficult to open without damage. The best way appears to be by levering out the two lugs on the top edge and hinging from the top two lugs.

Logic comments:	The (CE) button is used to clear last entry of a number and the (C) to clear the whole calculator.
	Overflow on number input is suppressed, keying in a ninth digit is ignored
	An overflow shows the result and "C" ("E" if negative) in the far right (first) digit and is recoverable using (CE)
	Divide by zero shows "0.C" and is not recoverable
	There is automatic constant on all four functions
	Negative numbers are flagged by a "-" sign in the far right (first) digit thereby allowing full eight digit negative numbers.
	Negative square roots are not allowed give you "0.C" which is not recoverable.
	No bugs found

	This scan is actually from an EL-210 model - which looks exactly the same apart from the transformer is by a different manufacturer.
This scan shows the view when you fold back the main cpu board. Quite a high component count for such a late date. The large metal plate shield can just be seen at the bottom of the image - making the keyboard assembly quite sturdy. In between the two you can see the black plastic bracket with three screw holes for holding the whole assembly together. An impressive and expensive to manufacture calculator for 1980 when they surely could not command the high retail price needed to sustain this quality.		The simple manual measures 125mm by 76mm and is a fan-fold six sided booklet printed in dark brown. This example is in English only and only has room for basic examples, battery changing instructions and a specifications page. Printed in Korea (2651). The accessories list states that it was supplied with two dry batteries and a soft case.