Guest Book Archive 2006/7

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Guest book: Archive 2006-2007

One nice thing about running a web site is the numerous emails you get from people interested in the same things as you. Aside from the "how much is it worth" requests I get some very useful information and some lovely stories that add depth to the dry images and descriptions of Vintage Technology. Please be aware that your email to me could end up in this page without your specific request not to (please request removal if offended, or just want your name removed). Comments in [] are edited out by me as some items are too sensitive to put on the web.

(I'm still recovering this detail from an ex-computer)

Name:	Ken Goldberg
Loc:	USA
Date:	December 2007
Subject:	Microlith calculator on your web site
Link:	Microlith 112
URL:
Msg:	Dear Emil: Thanks for your web site. It is so helpful to me in identifying vintage calculators I have or am thinking of purchasing. And the pictures are beautiful. Do you own all the calculators you have pictures and information about on your site? You have only one Microlith calculator showing and ask if it is a model 111. I don't believe so. I think the 111 has four red keys along the top row and the on-off switch above them. I think it is the 112, which has the on-off switch on the top row left with three red keys on the same line to its right, like the one you show. Ken
Reply:	Hi Ken, thanks for your email and kind comments. Yep, I own them all - but after moving to a smaller house I'm now in the process of selling the bulk of them. Unfortunately I just packed them all in boxes randomly, so it will take me all of next year to unearth them, check and update the web images (as some of the early ones are poor or missing side images). Then they go on ebay. I think there is about 200 not even examined yet! When that is done - I can start to buy some more! Remembering back to the Microlith, mine has no model number and it was similar to the 111/113 I hunted down on the web - so that solves the mystery for me - thanks very much. Emil
Reply:

Name:	Duncan
Loc:	UK
Date:	November 2007
Subject:	Casio AL-8S
Link:	Casio AL-8S
URL:
Msg:	Hello Emil Love the site. You may be interested to hear that I have a Casio AL-8S S.No 4317026 which doesn't suffer from the negative zero bug and does dates all the way to 2099. Enter 2099 date 12 date 31 date and you get 99.12.31 4 Enter 2100 date 1 date 1 date and you get E. Another interesting thing is that it is happy with any number of days in a month. Enter 2007 date 10 date 35 date and you get 07.10.35 0 indicating the correct day of Sunday for 4/11/2007. I bought this calculator at a car boot sale a few weeks ago for 50p (including new batteries). When I paid the seller she said "They might become collectable one day". Definitely one of my best buys Keep up the good work on the site :- Duncan
Reply:	Thanks - will need to check this one out - interesting as there may have been two versions..
Reply:

Name:	Mike Walker
Loc:	UK
Date:	September 2007
Subject:	Litton Industries
Link:	Litton calculators
URL:
Msg:	Good site! Re the vintage calculators; I was a rep for Litton Industries in the early 60s [corrected below]. It was an American Corporation with a UK office in the city and branch sales offices around the country. The main product was manual comptometers, multiple adding machines – I was employed in Leicester to sell the newly released range of calculators under the Monroe name. I was given a hard case, about 18” x 30” x 6” in which to transport the ‘mains-portable’ machine and a training course to teach me how to sell the US way (door-stopping). All the first calc would do was the basic 4 functions and it cost £198, a huge sum then! [text removed] Incidentally, Litton also owned the Swedish Cash Register company ‘SWEDA’ and was in the process of buying Imperial when I left. Regards, Mike
Reply:	Hi Mike Thanks for your kind words and fascinating memories - most useful. [text removed] Was Munroe just a brand name or a purchase? Best regards
Reply:	Monroe Calculators (not Munroe) was a brand name owned by Litton along with Sweda Cash Registers, Litton Business Systems and Imperial Typewriters. We were in competition with the market leader, Anita, owned by Sumlock Comptometers, Olympia and a rake of Japanese machines from what were then new names like Brother, Sharp, Casio, Sanyo, etc. Incidentally, I lost 10 years in my last message; I was with Litton in 1971, not the early 60s. Regards, Mike

Name:	Roger Dillon
Loc:	USA
Date:	August 2007
Subject:	The sharp EL-8114 calculator - how to open
Link:	Sharp EL-8114
URL:
Msg:	Found your awesome site today looking up a Sharp calc I found at a garage sale. I see you had not been able to open the case. I found out how as I must clean off one of the corroded battery connectors. After removing the screw in the battery compartment, press the lug toward the center of the case while squeezing the sides of the front together. It may help to push a toothpick between the blue and white plastic on the side about halfway from top and bottom. There are two small lugs on the inside of the front half. The case hinges open about the top front. Make any sense to you? I can send a pic if you need. Hope this helps. Roger Dillon
Reply:	Many thanks - I will try this when I come across it again.
Reply:

Name:	Duncan Walters
Loc:	UK
Date:	July 2007
Subject:	Whiteley Stentorian Baffle Speakers
Link:	WB Speakers
URL:
Msg:	Hi Emil, I read with interest the guest book entry from Ian Dyer regarding Whiteley Electrical Radio Company and the origin of "WB". The letters became a brand name representing the early partnership of Whiteley Boneham, not Boheman as Ian stated. I believe Mr Boneham was just a "silent partner" of Mr A H Whiteley, helping with the financial side of the business. He teamed up with a Mr Turner to form an engineering business "Boneham and Turner", which is still going to this day! I worked at Whiteley's from 1967 to 1990, and I know Ian Dyer very well, so I am sure he will forgive me for correcting him on this one! Best wishes Duncan Walters
Reply:	Thanks for that update
Reply:

Name:	Dick Saunders
Loc:	Australia
Date:	August 2006
Subject:	Arvin Shernal Shaver
Msg:	Hi Emil My stepfather [name withheld] bought an Arvin Shernal shaver about 1950. When he replaced it I hung onto it, for reasons I cannot explain. Apart from the electric cable having perished and cracked, I believe that it probably still works. It's a Model D.S. 4-A and is in its original box. Does this have any value to a collector, or possibly to a technology museum? Regards Dick
Reply:	Not sure I know of any shaver collectors, so I imagine it is worth a little at best. Also, the mains cable sound very dangerous - so I would not recommend using it without an electrical test by a professional first. Thanks for sharing the memories though, and great to see one still in existence - Regards.

Name:	Mike Barrows
Loc:	Uknown
Date:	August 2006
Subject:	Changing the display mode of the Radio Shack EC-495 calculator
Msg:	Dear Emil, I was reading with interest and enjoyment your descriptions of vintage calculators. I remember the Radio Shack EC-495 from the 1970s, and I noticed that you don't mention its ability to change display mode. I thought you might be amused by the key sequences, which are not at all obvious. Its peculiar X.XXXX default display mode can be changed with a key sequence starting with the HYP key and followed by a digit, or HYP followed by a decimal point and then a digit. For example, type HYP 2 to enter forced scientific mode rounded to two decimal places, so 12345 is displayed as 1.23 04. Type HYP . 2 to enter normal mode with only two decimal places, so 12345 is displayed as 12345.00 The default mode is HYP . 4 Regards,
Reply:	Great stuff - I'm eager to replicate when I dig out my example - many thanks.

Name:	Ian Travis
Loc:	UK
Date:	August 2006
Subject:	Decimo Calculators
Msg:	Hi Emil, I worked for Decimo for about 7 years in the late 80's, just before the company went bust. They did a whole range of office equipment, as well as calculators, they did their own branded photocopiers (Max 1100 and Max 800, they were made by Sanyo if I remember correctly) dictation machines, cash registers, typewriters, safes. The range of calculators included a lot of printing calculators, the model numbers I can remember are 1212 DPX mk1, mk2 and mk3, 1220 MPD, there were lots more but I can't remember any at the moment. The hand held that sticks in my mind the most was one called the goldfinger (I think) it was gold plated. I worked in the service dept mainly on the cash registers and photocopiers, but also did some work on calculators. The company imported all the calculators from Japan, they came in branded with the Decimo logos. The company name and address was : Decimo International 4 - 18 Chobham Street Luton It was nice to see some of the old calculators on your site, it brought back many memories. The only thing I have is some Decimo branded playing cards, I think they were used as give a ways by the sales guys. Regards,
Reply:	Excellent! Such memories bring a new angle to dry old pictures - many thanks.

Name:	Michel Levy
Loc:	France
Date:	July 2006
Subject:	Vintage Calculators
URL:	www.autodrome-cannes.com
Msg:	Hello Emil, I discovered your wonderful site on vintage calculators and other historic items. Congratulations, it is really full of clear and precise information on so many models that even if you are not into this sort of things, you become an enthusiast. Really interesting, detailed, and agreeable to browse. It's also reassuring when you realise that many people have an interest in "old" things that look like rubbish to most, but that are in effect witnesses of past craftsmanship or early technology. Among the different pages (not browsed all, though) I noted an advert section, but I am afraid this is not very active at the moment, which was disappointing, and I'll explain why. In fact, I have just "resurrected" and old Commodore (CBM) C110 (S/N G9100), that I kept for "when I have time to take care of it". I knew that the batteries were dead and that I didn't have an AC adapter. But one day, I couldn't resist, and I realised that I had been hoping to see the machine alive again for twenty years or more. I bought a new rechargeable battery set, and an AC adapter. However, the three-way in-line plug could not be used, so I fitted a small coax connector (Fischer - Camac 00) as neatly as I could in the case, just next to the original AC adapter plug, and I wired and tried it. It works but... .In fact I am puzzled because it seems that the calculator wrongly displays an "L" (low-battery) signal when the batteries are. too full. It appears that, above 7,6 volts, the circuit is not happy and displays an L (and even a series of "L"s on all positions of the display. Is it because the technology of the seventies didn't allow rechargeable batteries to go beyond 7,6 V - whereas today, a set of 6 x 1?2 V. Cd-Ni batteries deliver over 9 volts ? I don't know, but the fact is that the "L" certainly was stronger when I charged the batteries to full level, and disappeared when the tension dropped below 7,6 V. I also noticed that the original plug included a micro switch that would (I think) change the power source when the AC charger is plugged. I a not knowledgeable in electronics, but I thought that this may also have something to do with the "detection" of the Low tension ? It would be helpful to know your opinion about this ! Also, since I have kept the original plug (and therefore could wire the device back to the original circuit scheme), I would love to find an AC Adapter suitable for this model. The original type would be great, but a different make, but technically compatible would be excellent as well ! Rare bird, probably. Than you for your attention, anyway, and once again, "bravo" for your site - and for your diversity of interests. Michel Levy.
Reply:	The advert section has now somewhat advanced. The spurious "L" on high power is interesting. It make be that the detecting circuit is internal resistance-based or that it just also had an upper threshold. Ni-Cd batteries should be OK, but you may experience problems with the more modern rechargeable ones for the same reason. The other possibility is that the "three-line" plug you mentioned is actually a dual-line power supply, say needing +6,0,-6V power. The low-power sensing circuit would therefore be looking at the differential of all three lines, which may not be correct in your set-up. The Micro-switch on the original plug is more likely to be a mains voltage switching option I would have thought. For those calculators that use odd configuration power supplies (where a universal switched power supply will not do) I suggest you will find original adaptors on ebay from time to time. Thanks for your kind words and interesting discussion.

Name:	Murray Wilson
Loc:	US
Date:	July 2006
Subject:	Radio Rentals
URL:	www.tpscorp.com and www.murmini.com
Msg:	Emil - congrats on a wonderful site. I am not quite sure how I stumbled on it but I enjoyed it. While I live in Savannah GA, in the USA I am actually from England and grew up there in the 50s. One question, I was intrigued by your Radio Rentals set and wondered if it was one of the rental ones that only had an IF receiver. There was a period in time I believe when RR distributed television and radio as an IF signal that you tuned to. It was delivered to your house via cable and the somewhat reduced receiver allowed you to tune to the program of choice. I used to have a lot of short-wave gear as a kid growing up and was very involved in Ham radio and electronics in general. Good luck with the site... I also have a small 'enthusiast' blog Best regards... Murray Wilson
Reply:	The Radio Rentals sets on this site are pure radios that were rented. RR did get heavily involved in re-distributed radio programmes - but this was during an earlier period than these 50s and 60s sets.

Name:	Beryl Gray
Loc:	US
Date:	February 2006
Subject:	Stupid trick on the Burroughs C3300
Msg:	Thank you for your fascinating site. After I left the US Army Signal Corp back in 1975, I worked for a year as a service guy for Burroughs. This was the twilight for the big desktop units, but I really developed an affection for the C3300 and its wonderful nixie digits. One of the older technicians showed me a trick on the C3300. Key in 9999999 (to fill the display with 9s). Tap the divide key. Now enter 1000001 (so that the display has 1s and the most significant and least significant digit and all other digits are 0s. The display endlessly counts down or up--too fast for me to tell. I don't know if this works on all models, or whether it was just on a particular rev., but would only take a minute or to to try out! -Beryl Gray
Reply:	Excellent information - thanks a lot!