National PiPi 6 (JE-6W)
Brief History
An interesting highlight of Matsushita’s line of very impressive and distinctive pocket calculators is the two versions of the PiPi: the PiPi 6, released in 1974, has a 6-digit display and 12-digit accuracy. In addition to its unusually arranged buttons, it also stands out from the myriad of contemporary calculators with its flashy red side and back. The Mitsubishi chip in it has already been used by several competing companies for cheap, six-digit machines, but Matsushita tried it on the market late, only in 1974, with which the development of the six-digit models was finally completed. The machine was available in the US as Panasonic JE-6U and distributed in Europe by Olympia as CD 60. It has a companion called PiPi with a similar keyboard, but with an eight-digit display and capacity, with a design that most closely resembles a soap dish.
You can read more about this and competing six-digit models in our special article.
| Manufacturer: | Matsushita Communication Industrial Co., Ltd. (Japan) |
| Mfg. date: | 1974 |
| Size: | 9,5×11,5×3 cm |
| Weight (ready for operate): | n.a. |
| Type: | four-function |
| Capacity: | 12 digits (input) 2×6 digits (display) 12 digits (internal precision) |
| Operating logic: | algebraic |
| CPU: | Mitsubishi MA8168B |
| Registers: | 2 standard (with saving the pending operation) 1 constant (with saving the pending operation) |
| Features: | Ffloating-point notation |
| Display: | 6+1 digit VFD (Futaba 7-CT-02) |
| Power: | 4×AA battery or adaptor |
PiPi 6
Inside of the PiPi 6
The original PiPi 6 and Olympia CD60
Detailed description
This calculator displays digits from left to right, so even when displaying numbers longer than six digits, the six most significant digits are always displayed. The other digits can be displayed with the ↔ key. When entering more than 6 digits, these are not displayed, but can be displayed with the ↔ key.
The machine handles input overflow, but the 0 digit can be entered more than once at the beginning.
If result overflow or division by zero occurs, no result is displayed, all decimal points are lit and the calculator can only be used after clearing registers with C.